Who all is sitting in the woods with a rifle way to big for the critter they are after

[Hillbilly Marine]

Sitting here in the North Carolina woods watching for deer it occurred to me that I may just be over gunned, or undersighted.

Across my lap is my beloved CZ 550 .416 Rigby. Nothing fancy, just factory stock, express sights, loaded with the old Hornady DGX 400 grain soft. I have passed up two bucks because they were far enough away that my front sight covered the whole body. I likewise passed on three more bucks and a couple of juicy does because I lost the light

Had I been using my .270 Weather by all of these deer could have been in the freezer.

Does anyone else suffer from my affliction?

 

[matt85]

ive hunted deer with my 416 RM, its just more fun to hunt with big bore rifles.

however i use a 1-6 scope on my rifle and 300gr Barnes TSX hand loads (2700 fps).

-matt

 

[Von S.]

I go hunting armed for what possibly might show up, it's not my fault that just a bunch of puny 200 pound 8 and 10 point bucks is all there is!

 

[Luvthunt]

Never—never too big —-too small yes but never too big.

Good luck and your choice of sights is the issue not the caliber!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hunter4752001]

Nothing wrong with the calibre if that's what you like. A lot to be said for being totally in sync with one rifle, one lot of muscle memory and reactions. If you reload, adjust the bullet and load to suit the game. Express sights aren't ideal for that type of hunting. Warne make a set of QD mount to suit the CZ dovetail. On mine they go on and off without loss of zero.

 

[sgt_zim]

Well, my 45-70 lobbing 405 gr hard-cast lead was a bit much for this little year-and-a-half spike, esp. from 40 yards. And darned if he didn't run off about 100 yards into the worst tangle of thorns you can imagine before he finally realized he was dead.

 

[Cleveland48]

I was sitting in a cutover after whitetail this morning with my 9.3x62. I grabbed it out of the truck this morning, instead of two other scoped rifles. I ended up in a 40 acre cutover with a red dot sighted 9.3x62.

 

[tarbe]

I've been known to use over-sized rifles to hunt whitetails, but I always load them down.

300gr at 2,000fps (sometimes less) in the .458 Win or 45/70 and 235gr at 2,450 in the .375 H&H.

Kill well, shoot easy and don't grenade the deer like 3,000 fps does!

 

[colorado]

I hunt elk with my 500 Jeffery. I do have a 1-5x Leupold scope on it. It's good out to 300 yards. If I think I'm going to hunt open country, I have my 270 Weatherby loaded with 150g Partitions going a sweet 3150 fps.

 

[CTDolan]

Most of us could start and stop with a 30-06, but what fun is that?

 

[meigsbucks]

I'll be carrying my Ruger #1 in .458 Lott with 350 gr Barnes TSX. If I get one with that, I’ll grab my .475 Linebaugh revolver and try for deer number two.

 

[2L8]

Hmmmm... 4 deer this year. To be perfectly honest anything bigger than a slingshot feels like overkill. I don't think a ones been over 15 yards.

I tend to shoot deer a lot with my Great Grandad's .38-40. It:s generally a 180 Grain Cast Large Meplat .401 (Name is a misnomer) at 1550 fps. Think of it as a hot 10mm out out of a rifle.

According to some sources that caliber is inadequate for deer but none of mine have complained.

Winchester used to sell a High Velocity (Rifle Only) Load at 1775 fps but people kept blowing up early Colts with it and it was prior to SAAMI so pressures are strictly conjecture. I have stuck within SAAMI pressures as I don't want abuse the old 1892 Winchester.

Im going to be doing some testing using my 6.5 CR and Texas Heart Shots on Wild Hogs to settle on a bullets for an African PG Hunt.

I tried shooting Deer with my .338 WM using 200 Grain Winchester Loads and a neck shot all but decapitated the deer. If your going to go big use heavy controlled espansion bullets at modest velocities and be sure of your backstop so you don't kill three at once.

 

[700xcr]

I find less blood shot meat from a larger caliber going slower then a smaller caliber going higher velocities. Used my 375 Ruger on a damage control mule deer doe hunt, had less blood shot meat on it then the 4pt. mule deer buck with the 270wsm.

 

[Shawn.54]

I planned to hunt deer this year with my 404 Jeffery but a last minute surgery stopped the sighting in process so I fell back to my light rifle for tomorrow’s whitetail season.
My planned load for the 404 was a GS Customs 320gr at about 2750fps since I had no way to work the load or adjust the sights I decided to take my 375 Ruger loaded with 200 gr GS Customs at 3212fps with 2-7 Vortex scope.
Do I think I’m over gunned? No way maybe under gamed but never overkill.
Shawn

 

[jacques smith]

My brothers old faithful deer rifle is a model 1 ruger in 45-70. I plan on using my open sight 470 double next year to tune up before an elephant hunt in 2020
My deer country is thick and nasty and my typical shot is very close. Under 50 yards. Cheers

 

[Luvthunt]

Years ago—many years ago my deer rifle was a 25-20 Marlin lever. Never lost a deer and little spoilage due to bullet damage. Loaded my own with one of those tong tools with the bullet mold on the handle. Cast a 80+ gr bullet from wheel weights and lubed in the bucket of axle grease in the shed. Dipped your powder charge with a supplied dipper and pulled on your Woolrich and 5 buckle Arctic’s and went hunting.

 

[2L8]

My brothers old faithful deer rifle is a model 1 ruger in 45-70. I plan on using my open sight 470 double next year to tune up before an elephant hunt in 2020
My deer country is thick and nasty and my typical shot is very close. Under 50 yards. Cheers

Local guy here has a Sabatti in .45/70. I know they have a checkered history (Primarily caused by time & price restraints in the Cabela's contract I believe) but his regulates to 1" at 25 yards with Hornady FTX (325 Grain at 2050 fps). Guess he got lucky and got a good one. If I thought I would get as lucky I would buy one. Seems like it would be an economical way to get used to doubles.

 

[Hillbilly Marine]

I was just wondering. The area I hunt has a swamp to one side that makes twenty-five yards a long shot and the other side is soybean field that reaches out to about 600 yards from my stand.

Until the last couple of years I usually used a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt. Then I bought the .416 and decided since I have it I had to use it. I fully understand the limits I have imposed with open sights and ammunition. Within the self set limits of 125 yards, give or take, the .416 Rigby is like a bolt from Zeus on any deer I have shot at.

 

[2L8]

I was just wondering. The area I hunt has a swamp to one side that makes twenty-five yards a long shot and the other side is soybean field that reaches out to about 600 yards from my stand.

Until the last couple of years I usually used a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt. Then I bought the .416 and decided since I have it I had to use it. I fully understand the limits I have imposed with open sights and ammunition. Within the self set limits of 125 yards, give or take, the .416 Rigby is like a bolt from Zeus on any deer I have shot at.

Place I usually hunt. Is in the oaks along the edge of a slough (Been known to take a few ducks there) and when your sitting in the stand and you get a breeze it sounds like it's raining (acorns). I think the longest shot I've made there is around 60 yards.

All my deer this year have responded to either social grunts (bucks) or fawn bleat (does) and they are very good at locating sound so they have all walked directly under the stand. So no shots over 15 yards.

 

[Eric Anderson]

Most of us could start and stop with a 30-06, but what fun is that?

30-06 is my go to rifle when hunting places I am not familiar with. I have been known to tag deer with a .375 though.