Too Much/Too Little for Whitetail?

[Art Eatman]

Our short mule deer season is a rainfall and population density thing. In SW Texas, it's real desert, the "Chihuahuan". Average rainfall some 6" to 8" per year. In north Texas, the "Panhandle", it's technically desert, defined officially as under 17" per year.

The El Nino phenomenon tends to make my own area drier than average. I've had 0.7" of rain since last September. The "Big Dry" is going on all the way up into New Mexico and Colorado.

So, all wildlife populations are sparse. Large numbers of hunters coupled with small populations = short hunting season.

For whitetail deer in central and eastern Texas, the season has been steadily lengthened over the last forty years. It used to be some six weeks; now it's more like nine weeks, beginning the first of November. Still, the total allowable take is around five, both sexes.

Other states have more generous bag limits.

The overall idea is to match the size of the herds and the numbers/success-rate of hunters to have stable populations.

Art

 

[Old Time Hunter]

I'm impressed with the lack of local input! Doesn't everyone know that there is an unwritten law in the UP that YOU MUST OWN AT LEAST ONE 30-30 LEVERGUN! It is also supposed to be your first new deer hunting rifle and the last one before you hang it up. In between, after that 30-30 has wet your whistle, you have your 30-06, 308, 444, and 45-70's. The only bolts in the Upper Penisula, were too cheap to pass up or brought up there by foreigners from Illinois, or some other foreign flat lander state. They left them there when the locals (some shirt tail relatives of the eastern Tennessee hills) figured that if you bring a bolt to the UP, you might have a loose wrist also and have tendencies to become a terd burgular. Do you think that it might be some accident that every gas station, grocery store,and convience store in the UP stocks 30-30 ammo? Usually 170gr PP's for around $12 bucks a box. I'd say 45-70's are the next most popular, then the 30-06 (in a pump! or Savage 99) but they have ammo only at every third gas station. What I am getting at is... buy the 30-30 and feed the lust for an additional rifle later after you gain the experience to know what will or will not work for you later. For the UP the 30-30 will do everything you will need to start with. The only distance's in the UP that would cause a concern are illegal anyway, your chances of seeing a deer more than 100 yards away would probably be on a road.

 

[bang_bang]

My grandpa has dropped alot of nice bucks with his 30-30. Great brush gun, not too hot in the fields. That's one reason I went for a 7mm Mag, but kinda nasty on the meat. But there is no such thing as overkill. Then again Hornaday developed a balistic tip for the 30-30 and is capable of busting milk jugs at 200+ yards.

 

[MCgunner]

Personally, I believe in the old adage of 1000 ft lbs on target for a clean, sportsman-like kill. I've shot enough deer to think this is a good rule of thumb. Yes, I've killed deer with less, .357 magnum out of a handgun, but it's a good rule of thumb.

There are definitely rifles too small. I draw the line at anything below 6mm, just not enough bullet to suit me. There really isn't a gun "too large". A large gun with a fragile bullet will tear up a lot of meat, but the deer will be dead, dead, dead.

I've killed deer with a variety of calibers and have settled on my Remington M7 stainless .308 as my favorite of favorite hunting rifles. I'd even carry that thing in the mountains for elk it's so light and handy and has plenty of power with the proper bullet selection. I have a 7 mag, but it's a safe queen anymore.