jamesti is right on with his comments. Perhaps you other fellows misread the question poised? It involved how much powder to use when there is a wide range in the loading data provided. Forget which bullet, forget other designs.. the question must be answered with safety being the issue. If you don't understand that any reloading info provides the groundwork for working up loads it is highly unlikely that your particular rifle and chamber is going to dublicate what you see on the page. It is damn dangerous to make such an assumption. Enjoy reloading but "know before you load" and do so with a measure of fear so as not to become careless or complacent. Furthermore. don't listen to a bunch a guys like us advising you in such a critical matter... read the manual READ THE MNUAL ... every reloading book I own has very comprehensive instructions on reloading an discusses the issue you have raised her in more detail and with more expertise than you are going to find on this forum.

I had the same question on November 13 and received a response from Gerry Bethge saying he would check. Bigjake, I have posted 57 answers many of which received positive comments and I have never seen any point on the answer section of my Profile. So, Timberdoodle was assessed a negative point for in all likelihood being correct. Which raised another issue, I thought this NO on the comment section had to do with making a rude or inappropriate comment. A well present argument that sponsors a discussion will have points upon which others will disagree. It wouldn't be much of a forum if contributors never disageed... boring!! Furthermore, assessing a negative comment without stating your case and remaining anonymous is pretty lame. Have the common courtesy of telling why otherwise you appear a little nasty and fearful. timberdoodle, I gave you a Yes comment to cancel the No ... that is the answer to other responsible users. Knock off the inappropriate "no" comment with one click of the mouse.

The .243 in a Savage may not be the perfect rifle but you would not being making a mistake by choosing it as your first deer rifle. Savage offers this rifle as a package deal with a scope at a price that is tough to beat. The scope will not be top of the line but the low recoil of the .243 is easy on the shoulder of a new shooter and equally easy on the workings of the scope. Nevertheless, the .243 will a little 100 gr bullet packs a good punch at the receiving end. It is an accurate round and a versatile one. It is also one of the most popular rounds meaning you will not have a problem finding ammunition anywhere. The same can be said about the 30-06 and the .270 but I would not have much confidence in a cheap scope mounted on a bigger bore rifle. Properly scoping the heavier hitting rifles could eat up your whole budget.

I agree with bigjake and pineywoods, if pushed into service the.22 could do the job at limited ranges and with proper placement. Knowing that it is not the rifle of choice suggests it would be more responsible to choose a centerfire rifle with more hitting power. Wounding an animal is not good. Any hunter should be pained to see it happen or their head is in the wrong place.

robby, my first deer was not a giant but certainly ranks up there in terms of being memorable. To take that first deer with a bow, something I have never done, would qualify in most people's minds as a big deal regardless of the size of the antlers. My only shot at a muley buck with a bow saw the arrow slip below his chest has he jumped up from his bed. As he wheeled away one of his first steps was onto the arrow. I kept the bent arrow as a keepsake. I remember the stalk and the arrow zipping by the buck vividly 25 years later. The point being I missed on my only bow hunt opportunity yet it remains a great recollection. I would bet you are anxious to collect that first buck, get after it because next year you have an opportunity to do it all over again.

I see where Clay Cooper got a negative assessment for his comment. If disagree with his statement or find them offensive, then have the common courtesy of stating why. This is a forum in which people coming looking for answers and to share information and experiences. The big 'negative' rating should go to anybody who slams another party anonymously and fails to support his assessment in anyway. I wasn't raised that way! Clay, suggesting it is alright to shoot mule deer at absurd ranges with an inadequate calibre is wrong. I know it to be a mistake. Just as it is condemned by Fish and Game Associations across the country and Fish and Wildlife Regulations in areas where it is deemed illegal to hunt big game with such a caliber at any range. I can hear your response already, "It worked just fine for me." While that may be the case, the ballistics in our loading manual tells a different story. The deer with a chunk blown out of his flank would tell a different story as he dies in misery in the bush. Yes, the 25-06 on mule deer is good advice and the 257 Weatherby that much better. As for the other talk, keep it to yourself. PS Anybody giving a negative comment without telling me why isn't worth hearing from anyway!

I have shot mule deer with light calibers like the 7MM Mauser at ranges out to that distance and would not hesitate to use a 25-05, 270 or 30-06 of course. However, I have had occasions when I encountered muley bucks so big, so muscled up they looked like a well bred horse If I ever get the opportunity to get a rifle on such a mule deer you had better believe I will be using something with some knock down power. A 300 Winchester Magnum would be my choice..why?? because I own one, I shoot it well and I would want a 30 cal bullet of good construction still traveling at high velocity and high energy at 200 yards to do the job. Of course any cartridge with similar ballistics would serve as well. The point is simply, if you get the chance at the buck of a lifetime you don't want to use a marginal cartridge.

On the subject of urine!!! If you were to tell a hunter of old that you were purchasing deer urine in order to get a shot at a deer they would have told the story at the local bar and gotten plenty of laughs at your expense. They would probably have mustered a free round of drinks for the telling. Yes, you and many other hunters are buying deer piss, I mean deer urine, to trick those wily critters into range. While you and many other are good consumers put your hard earned dollars out for deer 'urine', those of us who have managed to fill our tags year in and year out with the occasional giant buck in the mix will continue to move with stealth, watch the wind and fire our rifles quickly and accurately. Trust me, while you are distracted by the toys of the sport, the deer of your dreams is slipping by. There is no substitute for getting the rifle to your shoulder and firing the gun in the few seconds available to you. Buck fever is more subtle than a hunter shaking at the sight of a deer, it is also being too stunned to quickly get the gun to your shoulder and get the shot off quickly. Having screwed it up on numerous occasions I can tell you that it is better to get the shot off and miss than not to have had it together enough to have fired at all!

Scout the area for deer sign in advance. Check out the Outdoor Life advice on locations close to feed sources and well used trails. The trophy buck will likely be seen about the time you are prepared to give up your stand. He will have been watching that feed area from the bush and may not give you an opportunity until the last bit of legal shooting time. So, being alert and patient are keys to success. Part of successful hunting is belief! You have got to believe that buck is about to step into view at any moment- that keeps you interested and ready. The bonus of paying attention is that you get to see some interesting stuff even if the buck never shows. As you sat quietly, a partridge drummed below your stand, it flew off as a coyote approached, later a porcupine ambled down the trail , a woodpecker hammered away at a nearby tree. Brother, that is the amazing part of hunting.. you can have a memorable season and never pull the trigger.

I have cursed my scope mounted rifles, regardless of the price, as the deer roars thru the trees and I see little else thru the trees. I like to use a quality scope but I keep a rifle with open sights and practice with that rifle.

Grasshoppers on a flatfish have done the trick for us.

Your manual likely point out that the use of magnum primers instead of large rifle primers changes the load. I believe they advise you to consider the magnum primer to be an additional gr of powder in terms of its effect on the load. In your case, that would suggest you could expect a diminished performance of the load when substituting the large rifle primer. while it may follow that you are reducing the load by the equivalent of 1 gr there may be other factors at work. As you know the intent of the mag primer is to ensure a good and even powder burn in the magnums high capacity case. this is likely info that you already know but I think some caution has to be exercised as too reduced a load in a magnum case can have serious consequences as well. I wonder if a call to customer service rep from one of the companies who supplies loading manuals would provide some expert advice? I would be interested in hearing their reply.

If I could correctly answer that question I would not have frozen my ass off on numerous occasions without seeing a thing. The only thing I learned to do smarter was to dress like a bagman to stay warm and last in the stand. Perhaps cold is not an issue where you live. Where I am from, the severe cold often dictates how long you last. Sometimes the best part of the hunt is the warm cup of coffee in your hands.

I recall a poster of Charlie Chaplin goes to war in which he has everything including the kitchen sink strapped to his person..as you say the sport of hunting has amassed a pile of accessories. You can pack so many of the extras into your pickup truck that you could forget to take your rifle. Hunting is big business - this forum and the magazine and their many advertisers make money from your interest in the sport of hunting. If hunters stop buying fancy toys, the toys and those who profit from the toys will go away. Hunting would revert to the kind of activity you long to see again. What are the chances of that happening??? Nil! I would argue the claim that you simply walk into the bush with all your futuristic accessories shoot the deer and head home in time for a late breakfast. Hunting has evolved from the days of sustenance hunters. Yes, hunters eat what they shoot but the purely sustenance hunter is a rare breed today. Hunters hunt for sport and it is inevitable that they start to measure success in ways beyond filling the freezer. Sure you tell people you hunt for the meat, but you can't help but yearn to shoot the buck with the huge rack. Besides, if you add up the costs of fuel, licences, ammo, etc the honest accounting says you should have gone to Safeway's meat department. The market for toys that claim to give you an advantage in the field has grown from the hunter desire to get that trophy of his dreams - that dream could range from the spike buck to the Boone and Crockett buck. Big game animals outsmart hunters regularly. While there is no substitute for knowledge in the field some of those toys work - not necessarily enough to make for an easy kill but certainly enough to better the odds. I hunted two trophy deer for entire seasons on land I know well. My only opportunity to get the rifle to my shoulder for a shot came on the last day of the season for each of these bucks. I had some of those fancy toys and a deadly accurate rifle but it was my determination and LUCK that put those racks on my wall. You can do 'everything' right and use every commercial advantage available and not succeed. If it wasn't challenging most hunters would lose interest! I'm still interested and I watch the new innovations with interest on the pages of Outdoor Life.

We have seen big increases in the Canada Geese populations and a population explosion in the case of Snow Geese. Biologists are warning us that the snow geese are so overpopulated that they are destroying the habitat in the far North. Meaning, there are so many of them that they are overwhelming the food supply. In effort to control the population the daily bag limits and the possession limits for snow geese has been raise to levels that have not been seen in the last 50 years. To this point hunters have not been getting the job done as there are not as many hunters in the field. Nevertheless. controlling wildlife populations through hunting plays a significant role in protecting the environment. To a large extent we are seeing game species out of control because there is so much feed for them provided by our agricultural lands. That is to say, it is a manmade problem and one that requires are intervention. Once the farmers have harvested, these species are forced to depend on the natural habitat. Out of control populations foraging desperately can damage the environment and starve despite their best efforts.

Whoa! Put the shotgun to bed until gets a clean bill of health from the gunsmith. Good news would be finding the problem at the gunsmith. If he is unable to identify the issue and the Mossberg people aren't helpful, I wouldn't care if it worked fine- I'd be done with that shotgun! To me it would be like owning a truck with brakes that stop working unexpectedly and the problem can't be traced, that is not acceptable at any time.

I agree! The killing zone is large in the chest area and at that range striking fractions of an inch from the crosshair point is not worth worrying about.

I have to disagree with the guys recommending the Savage over the Tikka. Yes I like the Savage trigger and I believe they are very good value. I have owned several but they are no longer in my gun cases. Having owned both makes of rifles, I say if you can afford the Tikka, it is the one to buy. Why? The Savage bolt is strong and functional, but it is ugly and clumsy compared to the Tikka bolt. Furthermore, the Tikka lines are a thing of beauty compared to the Savage. Aside from the aesthetics, you will hard pressed to find a rifle out of the box that shoots as consistently well as a Tikka. Throw both rifles to your shoulder and tell me the Tikka doesn't feel better. You pay more for the Tikka because it is worth more! That much you can tell at a glance and the shooting will only confirm that view.

Deer, much like our migratory birds, have the advantage of feeding from farmers fields. The migrating birds have a smorg of grains and tasty feed crops from Northern Canada down to the Gulf. Like the ducks and geese, the huge deer populations would overwhelm the natural feed sources in many parts of the country if the farmer's fields were denied to them. People forget that there are many more deer and migratory birds since the settlement of this continent then there every were long ago.

With the rut coming on the bucks are more likely to get careless. Of course the most likely opportunity will be at first light. I am sure you have already come up empty trying your luck at that time - it is still your best bet. I have watched big bucks in the company of does as I awaited legal shooting time with dawn rising. Like your deer these big guys were use to moving in the open only at night. Old habits die hard with them and they are especially spooky standing out in the open at first light. Alert in an instant, poised to bolt into the bush and next instant back to the business at hand. It can some exciting moments watching and waiting for your opportunity. It once provided me with my worst case of buck fever - I got it together just in time and shot the largest buck I ever collected.

Decoys for field hunting are important..ducks tend to be less wary than geese to decoy spreads and not as easily spooked by higher blinds. As goose season progresses it gets more and more necessary to get down low with your cover--- that doesn't always make for the most comfortable shooting positions. Wait to see what kind of blind suits you but the wader are good in marsh or the field. Learn to call as bigjake suggested. I love that bird hunting because unlike many big game hunts you usually get to pull the trigger lots. I also don't mind missing as some of my best stories involve those little teal coming in lightning fast and with their wings howling. ... the sky gets plenty of holes punched when those characters come roaring in at last light... have fun! PS overand unders are great but in migratory bird hunting that third shot would be sorely missed get a pump or an auto loader!!!

Deer, antelope and some varmint shooting-- if you are considering a .243 or a 25-06, the 25-06 is a clear winner. The .243 is a great little round but it gives us plenty of effective range on the 25-06. There are terrific range of bullets available for the 25 cal and I believe you have another 100 yards of effective range over the .24 cal. The 25 is a great round if you handload and the many new factory rounds have further enhanced 25-06's reputation. The 25-06 is generally one that fires different weights of bullets including the light weight varmint bullets with consistent accuracy. That is not the case with many of the calibers available. If you are considering going for bigger game and putting aside the .338 in favour of a 25-06 it is not the right gun and you need to step up as Bo suggested. Your comments suggest you are looking to fill the medium to small game. If that is the case then 25-06! I like the fact that it has good hitting power but is still light enough in the recoil department that I can see the effects of my shot- meaning I stay on target, ready for a follow up if required.

I can not say whether a deer would appreciate the colour purple but I do know of an interesting connection between the colour and the creature. Legend has it, that the Royal's choice of the colour purple as a Regal symbol is linked to a famous stag who roamed the English forest in the time of Henry of Navarre . History tells us that Henry was a rogue who loved the ladies. On one of his escapades at a monastery he glanced from a window and spotted a huge stag at the edge of the forest. Snatching up the only article of clothing at hand, which happened to be the lady in questions cape, he dashed from the place stark naked but for the cape and his bow and arrow in hand. Henry downed the stag with the long bow, gutted the animal and returned to the monastery with the buck on his shoulder and a Regal Purple cape around his person. Since that day the colour Purple has been linked to the great deer and to the Royals. There are tall tales and there are buck tails!

I had the same thought charlie elk. I you know a good chef their noses are as educated as their tastebuds. As you say all of us can simultaneously identify many different smells from the kitchen, and those who cultivate their sense of smell can process even more. Deer need to have a highly refined sense of smell to survive, that life and death stuff is the fundamental component of animal adaptation. The strong survive based not just on muscle but upon the refinement of senses that give them an edge over those that would prey upon them.

Big game hunting out of a vehicle is not legal in my area. Also, it is illegal to have a loaded gun or even a clip in your gun while in a vehicle. Nonetheless, those who hunted on remote roads back when there were no such laws will acknowledge their rifles were by their sides in the truck. In the 1950' and 60's, the oilfield guy did not feel wrong to do so on the way to his remote location. These were not gentlemen hunters with plenty of leisure time, they were working guys trying to fit some hunting time into demanding careers. They could legitimately claim to be hunting to feed the family. Times have changed and no one can justify this type of big game hunting today. Just for a little perspective--One of our favorite outings as kids was in a relation's convertible with our bolt action single shot .22' s out each side, working our way across the gopher fields. Those ranchers invited us to come to shoot their gophers and we had a ball. Today, there would probably be a swat team waiting for us at the gate. So, in a relatively short space of time what would have been considered a harmless outing is now considered to be a criminal activity. That outing would feel as right to me today as it did over 40 years ago and rules be damned I would do it again with my grandkids given the opportunity.

The Barnes Reloading Manual offers suggestions for breaking in a barrel that made sense to me. They claim the break in will make later cleanings easier and help it remain accurate between cleanings. Furthermore, their experience show many so called clean barrels have significant amounts of copper fouling and thses efirearms suffered in the accuracy department. So using one of the copper solvent cleaners during break in and at regular intervals would be a plan. Their advice is based on a broad spectrum of rifles and many thousands of rounds. In terms of wearing out barrels, I suppose that is contingent on the cartridge and the chambers of various rifles. I recall Jack O'Connor mentioning he noticed his .270's losing accuracy in much less than 3000 rounds and one of his 7 X 57's with an especially long throat eroded even more quickly.

The usual advice is to stay focused. The question is focus on what!! The key is to have something to focus on specifically. The military guys will be better schooled in techniques but the standard is to focus on your breathing. Concentrate on your breathing, take a deep breath as you bear on the target.. release the breathe slowly as if to calm and steady yourself. Take a shallow breathe and squeeze the trigger holding on target. Concentrating on 'not flinching' is a lost cause. Rather, concentrate on fundamentals and don't pull the trigger until such time as you have maintained focus. Controlling your breathing is a good starting point. Make sure other matters are in order as well, stance, your posture and position of the rifle in various shooting styles. The point is that the trigger is one aspect of the skill, pay attention to the details that lead up to pulling the trigger and you will find yourself better disposed to shooting without a flinch. All that being said, if I get smacked on the cheek by not paying attention I am hard pressed not to flinch on the next shot.

I don't have an answer to the tears and running nose possibly catching the attention of some buck with a good nose. Assuming someone says it is a problem what could you possibly do to correct the problem??? If you can't answer that question why worry about it in the first place? It is risky to get too far down this path or you may find yourself worrying about burbing or.... and face some very hard choices. Just kidding! I can't wait to hear the suggestions in this matter!

I want a rifle to look good AND shoot straight. I have never understood why you would not ' want your cake and eat it too'. A character piece of walnut that looks good on the wall, feels good in your hand and shoots well in the field is worth a dozen of those ugly black things to me. While you encounter a few more variables with the wood stock as opposed to the synthetic I don't care. I like the feel of a wood stock, so I am willing to address the temperamental issues and try to get it shooting well. The nicks that may occur give it character. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...well, when I behold a synthetic stock a say "butt ugly" whether it shoots straight or not!!

My brother and I hunted with both my father and mother. There were many hunts with my Grandfather as well. As young man we often hunted with my Uncle on my father's side. As I think about it.. I can think of so many other relations I hunted with over the years, I guess, like dropjhook, it was an activity enjoyed by the extended family. Small wonder hunting comes to occupy such a significant role in a life so lived.

I can't speak to this with certainty but Remington has turned out this rifle as a value package. That generally means they have to reduce their costs. I am not familiar with this bolt, but I do not believe it is a strong as that used in the old 788 sometimes called the Mohawk. I stand to be corrected but I would say it is a cheaper bolt. The bolt in the Savage is the same one that has been proven for quite some time. As a reloader I have been impressed by the way it handles potential gas discharges from blown cases. I guess I am saying one is a proven performer over time while the other may be its equal but does not have the proven track record. As Bo pointed out the caliber is important, if the rifle is not available in your caliber of choice at the good deal, the decision is a simple one... buy the Savage. I like the .308 but it is not the all round cartridge that you will have in a 270 or 30-06.

So the age old debate continues, which is better the .270 or the 30-06??? The non-answer to that question is they both do the same thing only differently. The 150 gr bullet is a common choice for deer with either caliber - the bullets weigh the same but one is .277 inches in diameter and the other is .308 of an inch, so one is a little fatter than the other. The deer would have hard time knowing which round was hitting him...they both are outstanding rounds in terms of killing power and accuracy. You may not know that the .270 was fathered by the older 30-06 ... neck down a 30-06 case and it is transformed into a .270.....so small wonder they have so much in common. They are two of the most widely used cartridges in the world, you can buy ammo pretty much anywhere. Which is the best deer round..flip a coin for the answer because you can't lose either way. Having said that there other things to consider. What other kind of hunting do you plan on doing? The .270 lives on a diet of relatively light bullets usually the 130 gr or 150 gr it can shoot flat way out there and has enough power (though marginal) for an elk in the right hands. The 30-06 offers a wider range of bullet weights but the main difference from the .270 is that it can fire much heavier bullets that are a better choice for larger game. A 30-06 loaded with 180 gr ammo can shoot any game animal on this continent...again in the right hands. Antelope at long range give me the .270 ... a moose in the bush I'll take a 30-06. for a big Alberta whitetail I'll take either gun. Just to confuse the issue, there is another round fathered by the old 30-06 that is a great deer round.. the 25-06 fires a .257 caliber bullet usually in the 100 to 120 gr weight at blistering speeds and great impact. Here comes the great part my friend, as you get older perhaps you will be able to afford all of the above. So many great guns and so little time...enjoy!

I generally go for a lung shot. I believe I am as good as most at the range but the best of guys are fallible in hunting situations. So, I play the odds and take the broad side shot if that is what is offered. When I take a board side shot in a situation where I am concerned about losing the deer into thick cover I ma choose to pull as the shoulder facing me steps ahead. This allows for a clean shot into the lung area or heart should it strike low. The shoulder on the off side will take the exiting bullet which means there will be tremendous energy rapidly expended. a deer lung shot and with a broken shoulder is down. Of course this can ruin much of that 1/4 so it is a trade off.

One of my Grandfather's acquaintances hunted Grizzly in the area outside of Waterton National Park which is part of an International Park that extends down into Montana. This character hunted the big bears with a 30-30 Winchester. My Grandfather had told him he was crazy but the fellow was too successful not to be acknowledged as someone who knew his business. He claimed he let the bears charge him!?! He swore that they always reared up on their hind legs at some point at which time he would put a round thru the roof of their mouths into their brain. Now, understand my Grandfather was drinking man as was his acquaintance but the fact the man was eventually killed by a grizzly gives the story some credibility. One bear must have felt four legs are better than two and neglected to rear for the rifle.

I did not know you could shoot big game with a calibre under .243. In most provinces in Canada you can not as it is assumed the bullet is too small to make an effective kill. Dropping from a 100 gr bullet to one around 55 gr would suggest there is some basis for concern. I thought one of the considerations in moving away from the 7.62 MM (.308) battle rifle, and shelving the M1A for the M16 in 5.56 mmm (.223) was that a wounded enemy soldier took his comrades away from the field. Perhaps I am misinformed in that regard but it as it is a favorite gopher round in most places I don't see using it on deer. I have said before that just because big game can be taken with a small calibre doesn't serve as much of an endorsement for its general use. The massive moose displayed many years ago in Robert Service's cabin was killed by a native lady with a .22 fired from the window of her cabin. Sure it put down the moose but 99% of the time there would have been a wounded and suffering animal at the receiving end. Not good!

A 150 round nose 30-30 bullet leaving the muzzle of the lever gun at 2200 fps is traveling 1325 fps at three hundred yards and has dropped 43 inches from the muzzle. A 10 mph wind will have moved the bullet over 23 inches by the 300 yard mark. A 30 mph wind will have moved that bullet over 76 inches. At three hundred hards the hard working 30-30 doesn't generate much muzzle energy meaning it will not be much of an effective killer. A bullet taking that much time to get to that distance is unlikely to get where you are aiming. Give the old 30-30 some respect as one of the classics but allow her to do what she does best at ranges that allow her to perform well and kill game effectively.

Let's quote the old guru of the ,270 - probably Bo's idol! Jack O'Connor did most of his "mountain hunting with .270 rifles sighted to hit 4 inches high at 150 yards. The bullet is right at point of aim at 275 yards and only two inches low at 300. At 350 the bullet falls only 7 1/2 inches which means that a .270 so sighted has a point blank range of about 350 yards". That pretty much jives with Bo's calculations as Jack O'Connor had his pet 130 gr loads roaring out the barrel in excess of 3100 fps. I doubt that a regular factory load in 130 gr .270 will be above 3000 fps so I would use the Sierra manuals calculation of maximum point blank range of 350 yards with zero set at 290 yards. Just to clarify, point blank range is that range where the bullet will rise no higher than five inches above and below the line of sight. Meaning... if you hold smack on that animal's chest somewhere within 350 yards you have a 10 inch window to make the kill.. you can misjudge the range dramatically but has long as it is within that 350 yards you will not be more than 5 inches high or 5 inches low. As a deer's chest is more than 10 inches deep you can still make a killing shot. Leopold has a beautiful system on their Vari -111 40 mm rifle scopes for finding ranges quickly. Frame the deer's chest with the duplex thicker outer crosshair using the magnification adjustment ring( the system assumes the deer's chest to be 18 inches deep) then check the corresponding numbers on the adjustment ring to identify yardage. Most of my flat shooting rifles have similar trajectories so knowing drop rates is not tuff to do. Who knew, the salesman didn't and I only figured it out because I read the instructions for a change!

Perhaps you could shim under the front and back mounts. While it may be tempting to shim only the front mounting base you may find the scope hasn't enough elevation downward adjustment to get you on paper. Shim front and back equally with just enough to get the end of the scope off the barrel - lock tight would be advisable. I hope your cheek is still on the stock by the time this thing gets right.

Look out treestand the gun manufacturers are going to send a hitman for putting these ideas into people's head. Own only one gun and in only one calibre.. that is blasphemy! Are you suggesting that a deer hit by a 150 gr .308 bullet traveling at 3000 fps doesn't know that the bullet has been fired from different cartridges like a 300 Win Mag, a 300 H & H Mag, a .308 Norma Mag, or a 30-06?? Next you will be claiming it doesn't matter if that same bullet was fired from a lever gun, a bolt action, a pump or an autoloader! Tell me it isn't so..If there was no difference that would make those of us with cabinets full of such rifles, shelves full of different powders and piles of loading manuals look like total idiots....ummmm!

I wonder the same thing pineywoods as I have no answers showing when I thought I had provided plenty. Also, what is that likes and dislikes business.. I don't seem to have any likes or dislikes. Perhaps I haven't paid enough attention to how the profile business is suppose to work or could it be that someone else isn't paying much attention??? How about it Outdoor Life, either some explanation is in order or you need to start minding the store?

The .270 like the 25-06 and .280 are part of the same family... they each pay homage to their daddy the 30-06 as each is simply a necked down 30-06 case firing a smaller diameter bullet. It is hard to outdo the old guy but in some areas each of these cartridges succeeds in ways beyond the old '06. They .270 can shoot flatter with its 130 gr bullet, the 25-06 gets it done with a 120 bullet with a lot less recoil and the .280 bullets may have a superior bullet coefficient..but as an all round cartridge firing a wide range of bullet weight that make it capable of taking any North American game the 30-06 stands above. Still there is no wrong choice in choosing either the .270 or the 30-06, despite the fact each has a cult following.

A savage is a noun often applied to Texans after their sports teams are beaten by teams from places like New York or Boston. A grizzly bear that becomes savage and unmanageable can be tranquilized and moved to a area where they can do no harm. Texans are more difficult to pacify.

I don't have an answer to this one but I am interested in hearing an answer. I wonder about the effects of the rifled choke tube many of us have on our barrels or the effects on shot by a parallax (? spelling?) barrel?

Is it so crazy an idea to suppose that an animal who is preyed upon should develop a sixth sense when danger is imminent. Call it spooked or whatever, who has not had an experience in which they avoid a dangerous situation based on a gut feeling, an uneasiness that demands a response. Many of us owe our lives to reacting instinctively yet we are far removed from the world of predator and prey in which the whitetail lives. His senses and ability to discern danger are exercised constantly while ours have been dulled. Every piece of technology which we come to rely upon removes us from a real sense of the movement of the woods. It may take hours but the stand hunter can shed the hustle and noisy tempo of city life get in touch with the woods below his stand. That same hunter has an instant of awareness that is not from something he hears or sees, it is another sensation all together that announces a deer is approaching the stand. That is the Zen of hunting and whatever you wish to call it, it is the feeling that keeps hunters returning to their stand year after year. Surely a deer is better equipped to hone such a skill than us. I do not stare at big whitetails for any length of time during the stalk and it is not because I am worried about them seeing my eyes.

The Remington 870 hits my shoulder and the sights are in line. I shot my first duck with my mother's 870 forty eight years ago....wait a minute, it can't possibly be that long ago. I remember the duck landing at my feet and smelling the spend shotgun shell as if it was yesterday. The point here is that for many of us our recommendations for certain firearms are based on sentimental reasons. Yes, the 870 pump set the standard by which the modern pump action shotgun is judged but that does not mean the Mossberg does not rival the old standard. Perhaps it has features that you would appreciate more. Put both guns to your shoulder quickly and see which one fits .if the sights line up without requiring much alignment of your cheek to the stock that is your new shotgun. Good hunting!

Getting a good meal from a snipe is akin to filling up on hummingbird tongues. They are tiny birds that inhabit the shore lines of most marshes and sloughs in the prairies. They have a distinctive call of alarm as they break into flight. They tend to fly low to the ground along shore lines and are not what I would call a sportman's game. Why?? because they are just to easy to shoot with a shotgun while in flight. If you missed you would see your pattern hitting the shoreline mud or shallow water making it pretty simple to adjust your lead. If anybody out there enjoys killing these little guys you will have to fill me in on the good points.. what next, robin hunting???

The simple answer is 200 fps. The .308 fires a 150 gr bullet at 2800 fps while the '06 puts it out at 3000 fps. The .308 does not handle larger bullets like a 180 gr very effectively at longer ranges as does the '06. What the .308 does do is handle many tasks extremely well and with great accuracy- all in a short little package. I use the .308 lots but I would have to say the '06 can do anything the .308 can do and then some. In terms of felt recoil I have always found the .308 loaded up to snuff to be a pretty snappy piece of recoil - I don't find it any better or worse in recoil with any well stocked gun than the '06.

I would be curious to know what you intend to shoot with a 220 gr bullet out of a 30-06? Most of he 220 gr .308 bullets are designed to be pretty tough, likely because they assume the bullets will be used on large bodied animals. I haven't got a load chart at hand but I believe a bullet of that size coming out of a 30-06 would be traveling around 2500 fps or less. Penetration with such a round will be good on most any North American game animal, but as for expansion--that will depend upon the animal. If you are shooting a whitetail or other small bodied animal there will not be much expansion. With dangerous game it would be better to have that bullet striking with some more velocity, but that is magnum not '06 territory. The truth is that it does not perform well for many hunting circumstances. Ballistically, there is nothing the 220 gr bullet can do that the old reliable 180 gr can't do better. There are so many 180 gr bullet choices that it can be tailored to whatever you require. For this reason it remains the most popular 30-06 load.

I would recommend the Buck Vanguard Drop point knife. It has good balance, has a good grip, a hard working blade and it is reasonable priced. The stainless steel knives can be a little harder to sharpen but that can be dealt with...this knife is a winner.

Like many others who contribute to this forum, I have my favorite deer hunting spots- I could describe these places in detail and seldom use the same adjective twice. They are places of importance to me because, no matter how wild or remote the site, you feel like you have made them your own over the years. To discover another hunter in your favorite spot is a bad experience. I guess what I am telling you is the operative word for that favorite deer hunting spot is "secret". So, put your rifle over your shoulder and start walking until you find that great hunting spot and make it your own. You will feel better for it!

I guess this must be Manitoulin Island which is in Lake Huron. That island claims to be the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. If that is the place brother you are in prime deer country. There are many deer on the island and they can be big bruisers dressing out to over 200 lbs. Good hunting!

The old Savage 24 which was an over and under combination gun was an excellent all round firearm. My cousins each owned a 410 over .22 Savage it was a highly versatile rifle. It seems to me that it has been offered in 20 guage with a 30-30 barrel as well.

Unless those pigs are wearing body armor the .308 is plenty big enough. If the ranges are close you might be inclined to go with a round nose bullet to get good expansion. Don't go below a 150 gr bullet and no hard ball ammo of course.

I don't believe an older Rem 870 with a choked barrel can be modified to handle the screw-in chokes. Machining and threading the barrel doesn't leave enough meat to safely support those handy chokes. Correct me if I'm wrong, any gunsmith out there.

In terms of peak of growth over the years, most bucks will have their best set of antlers in their fifth or sixth year.