The Firearm Blog

I’ve tried, but I can’t warm to the .243. It’s billed as having three great attributes: it’s death on varmints, it’s adequate for

deer-sized big game and it is a great cartridge for young hunters because of its moderate recoil. I think it is a poor second-choice—if that—for any of these tasks.

More here.

I must say that I agree with the following comment by Ben on the blog post

Well, if everyone had money to dedicate to a varmint rig and a deer rig then yes, going with a .22 and a .25 or 7mm would make perfect sense. However, since this isn’t always affordable some people split the difference and find that the .243 fits the bill. 55-70grns for varmint, and 85-100grns for deer.

As for the .243 being too big for varmints - a .222 is too big for most varmints, realisticly a .22lr is all you need to kill most varmints - people just like the high powered .22’s because they reach out considerably farther - so too does the .243. And if you’re looking to save coyote pelts it can expend energy in a hurry, unlike the heavier .25’s.

At the end of the day though, if you’re hunting armored deer or Wile E. Coyote then yes, by all means you certainly need more than the little 6mm.

The Box O’ Truth has tested various cartridges to see what penetrates brush the best. As I hunter I found this is a *very* interesting read as it has been something I have wondered about many times.

Sometimes a deer will be behind a brush and only allow a narrow area for a hunter to place a bullet through. Even then, that bullet may hit a branch. Some old deer hunters used to say, “Those high velocity spitzers will be deflected by branches, but not my old .45-70. It’s a brush-buster!”

More here.

Hat Tip: ACE

Slaton @ Gun Shots discusses long distance (100-200 yard) slug hunting:

I started deer hunting with a slug gun. Well, let me qualify that. It was actually an old side-by-side Stevens, and back in college, just before the deer opener my buddy and I would drive to an abandoned railroad culvert.

We drew a deer silhouette on a piece of large cardboard and stood back about 30 yards. For ammo, I used discount Foster slugs—I don’t even remember the brand. If we put a hole anywhere within the silhouette, the gun was pronounced “on.”

More here.

A South African on rec.guns asked about hunting geese with his 30-06!

Hi guys. Jacques here from South Africa. I use my 30-06 to hunt wild
birds especially Egyptian geese for research purposes.My problem is
that this is my only rifle and I need a load to minimize meat damage
seeing that I need to take samples of the organs of the birds

Suggestions included:

Chamber adapters

Light Loads

Sabots (see picture)

UPDATE: A continuation of the discussion is here.

ShelbyFan over at RFC warns about the use of hot .22 rimfire cartridges on game you plan on eating!

normally I use PMC Zappers, but I was in a hurry and used quik shoks to go grouse hunting, big mistake.
just saying, if you wanna blow something up the quik shok’s do the job nicely, not if the target is gonna be eaten.
i barely needed to clean her, she lost almost all her guts, the tail fell off.
ruffled grouse

I have not used CCI Quic-shot but plan of purchasing a box soon and seeing how effective it is on small game. I will be sure to post my experiences on the blog.

Knifes and hunting seem to go together. I have a modest collection of knives for use general DIY and for hunting.

Dave Markowitz over at the Survival & Emergency Preparedness blog has an interesting post about choosing a knife for survival. Something evey hunter should take into account.

Knives are among the most important items in your survival kit. They should be selected with care to maximize their utility in your environment. Between the SAK, LB7, and machete, I should be able to handle anything that needs cutting in an emergency.

More here.

New Jovian Thunderbolt has written about his experiences at a Maryland Hunter Education course.

The course is held at an Isaak Walton League chapter and conducted by members of the local club. The instructors were stereotypical hunting types. Clearly not city bred, middle-aged men that look like they’ve been hunting since they were 8 years old, and probably were. They had an obvious happy enthusiasm for hunting and the outdoors and appeared genuinely pleased to impart their knowledge and positive experience on to others.

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

UPDATE: Part three is here.