Aletheia
Member
As with all my tools (and guns for me are just tools) I try to use the best tool for the job. I very seldom deliberately select a screw driver to remove a nut from a bolt, or pound a nail with a wrench. Same with guns.
Same for me. I use the best choice firearm until the freezer is pretty full, then switch to something more challenging.Yes!.....No!.... Maybe?
Sometimes yes, when i absolutely need meat, or to kill something, ill choose the most effective tool that i have on hand.
Mostly no, i use what interests me that day
I thought I had in the OP and then confirm to Daniel Craig above. This is selecting from guns you already own, ready to hunt with. Do you always pick the best most optimal for the particular critter your about to hunt?
Oh. Absolutely. Why wouldn't you? Sure I could hunt moose with a 22LR. Much lighter to carry, but why would I? In all serious, though I only hunt with one of 2 guns: a 243 if I'm hunting on open tundra/taiga, or a 30-30 if I'm hunting muskeg swamps/heavy brush. But I handload for both to optimize each one.
Why?Because you might have a gun that is not as capable as another one but you want to hunt with it anyway.
Why would you do that?You have a 450 Bushmaster sitting next to the 44 Mag carbine and you take the 44 Mag for brush hunting deer.
Again, why?You have a modern bolt gun in 270 Win with a nice scope and choose to take the old surplus Mauser in 7.65x53 and iron sights.
That actually makes sense.You have have a 12 gauge and a 410 and you take the 410 rabbit hunting
I could see that if you were just looking for added challenge.You choose to hunt deer with a revolver rather than a rifle.
You choose to hunt deer during modern gun season with a muzzle loader or bow.
Your last concession works for the first three whys. Someone wants a challenge. Or the lesser gun has some sentimental value that makes you want to use it. Or the lesser gun is new to you and you want to see what you can do with it. There are lots of potential reasons, when putting meat on the table is not critical or taking the best trophy is not the primary focus of the hunt.Why?
Why would you do that?
Again, why?
That actually makes sense.
I could see that if you were just looking for added challenge.
Do you always pick the gun that is optimal/best for the targeted species from those that might be appropriate?
There is another reason someone might use a choice that is less than the "best". I do things my own way. I go against the grain a lot. If I want to use a levergun, I do, regardless of peer pressure. I suspect that there are a lot of people like me but they just don't say a whole lot because of the kickback that happens on forums. Heck I got kickback on another forum for wanting to hunt with leverguns. The attitude was, either use a real gun or just hunt with a bow if you want a challenge. Well, the type of guns I like are leverguns and sixguns, not bows or scoped bolt guns. I do like bows and scoped bolt guns by the way.
I'll give you an example of hunting my own way. I hunt deer from the ground. I find a spot where I can sit and watch. Everyone else uses tree stands. They all are more successful than I am, but my goal isn't merely the end result. The deer I have taken that way, from close ranges were very satisfying and memorable.
Now that’s a hunting story!One of my more memorable hunts was with my old iron-sighted Remington 788 carbine in .308 Win. Didn't get a deer nor did I fire a shot in anger.
I went out really early the morning after a no-wind, overnight 2" snowfall and picked a ridge overlooking a nice little meadow that had a heavily traveled game trail under the snow cover and not a (yet) a single track other than my own. I sat down with my back against a tall pine tree, my rifle across my lap and the sun peaking over the distant ridge onto my face. And when the sun warmed the light chill from my bones, I promptly dozed off. An hour or so later, I awoke and surveyed my little patch of the Black Hills Bear Lodge Mountains from under the bill of my hat without moving my head. Not a critter in sight, but a whole lot of activity happened while I had been dozing. There were deer tracks from multiple critters all around my seat. Some small, some large. Some had come within 20 yards of me.
I guess I didn't belong and the locals thought I should be checked out.
That happened almost 30 years ago and I still get warm fuzzies when I think about that mid-November morning....
You have drank the coolaid and it slaked your thirst!It depends on the time of the season and if I am hunting fields or woods. Case in point, I once took my Bergara Creedmoor into thick timber and had a herd of 4 does come by at about 35-40 yards. When I looked through the scope the deer filled the scope. It was a 6-18X Vortex. I killed the deer but when I went back the next day I had my Savage 10 300WSM with a 2-7X Leupold. If I am still hunting in timber and around fields I will have my M18 Mauser wearing a 3-9X Leupold. I am pretty comfortable with it out to 300 yards. Yeah, it is a Creedmoor too.
I like it.You have drank the coolaid and it slaked your thirst!