The Shootist

[Tom Mason]

Make sure of what is behind your target. Having shot deer from my porch, I had to make sure that the grandparent's house was not in the line of fire. A miss that bounces off a rock can still go a few thousand feet.

The 6 mm is a good gun for your task.

Make sure that you are in a rifle zone. I don't know about Tennessee, but in Arkansas I live in a shotgun/muzzleloader/bow only zone, due to the miles of flat land. My parent's hose is in the hills and therefore in a rifle or shotgun zone.

Head shots are hard to get, even with the right training and the right circumstances. Untill you get breathing control, windage, and nerves controlled, you are asking for a miss. Shoot in the front sholder area where the heart is. A 6 mm will not tear up that much meat. A larger round would destroy much moe meat if you go that route.

If you need someone to help remove the deer menace, plaease pm me. I can arrange a time to come with my 7 mm magnum and help eliminate the menacing hoard of deer.

Tom Mason

[OldsRecording]

I've hit prairie dogs with a .223 and a .22. Both kill 'em dead, the .223 makes 'em roll further.

Joe, as for deer, you have the luxury of being able to shoot down at them from your deck. I'd set up right there and use the railing for a bench rest. The 6 mm ought to do fine in my opinion given the lay of your land. The other calibers mentioned will also do the job well. So would a 30-30 Winchester or a 30-06. The 06 will make you feel like you've shot something respectable, make sure you're wearing something other than a light shirt when you squeeze the trigger. That would pretty well apply to most high powered rifles.

My friends and I used to go frog hunting with a 30-06. Didn't hit much (my aim wasn't that great), but it was awfull cool blowing huge craters in the mud.

[ZNC Dandy]

I'll second the vote for the .375 H&H. But a .30-06 will definately be more comfortable to shoot. .338 Lapua isn't bad either.

[OldsRecording]

6mm is perfect for deer. Anything more is thoroughly unnecessary. There should be no further discussion.

I'd bet that the deer would beg to differ. I'm sure they'd be happier with a handful of corn and a friendly scratch behind the ears.

[lgb&dtuba]

6mm is perfect for deer. Anything more is thoroughly unnecessary. There should be no further discussion.

I'd bet that the deer would beg to differ. I'm sure they'd be happier with a handful of corn and a friendly scratch behind the ears.

The body shops around here are full of vehicles struck by deer this time of year. Less corn and more 6mm seems in order.

[windshieldbug]

It scares the @#%^*)(_+$! out of me to drive home on these no-shoulders/no-lights rural roads at night after gigs in Nov.-Dec.

Then there's the famous story of our symphony's 2nd trombone player who didn't show up one night for a gig. Guy was pretty reliable, so we all assumed something BAD had happened. It did.

Driving across Amish country, he saw the sky get dark in front of him, so he ducked out of reflex. Good thing he did. Next thing he knew, a run-away Amish draft horse went through the windshield, and OUT through the back window.

Best we can figure, the horse saw his headlights coming, and tried to jump them. Luckily, not too many scratches from the exploding laminated windshield on him.

We always said, you miss a gig, you better have a good story. He had a GOOD story!

(and yes, it was verified by his totaled car, and the horse they had to put down on the road... )

[windshieldbug]

How do you think we get the beef for your cheesburger

What do you mean!? It's right there, under the cheese!

[lgb&dtuba]

No I generally just buy what WalMart has on special...You know the stuff that is about to go out of date...but I wrote that because no kidding I got into a discussion with an idiot about how inhumane and barbaric it is to hunt "poor little Bambi" while we were sitting in a restaurant eating burgers. He just didn't see the irony in that.

A week with Uncle Ted would take care of that.

[MaryAnn]

Saw TWO whitetails this weekend, one very close range (10 yards, maybe) while primitive camping in the Chiricahua mountains.

They were both does.

Saw one hunter, who had stealth down to an art. I wore my bright red ski hat all weekend. I still remember when I lived in NY state, that every year during November the troopers would stop at least one guy who was proudly driving home with a dead cow lashed to the hood of his car. Farmers in upstate NY used to write COW on the sides of their cattle, and people STILL shot them and hauled them home to "the City."

MA

[Tom Mason]

My 11 year old son and I were in the deer stand. He got cold feet, (really) and left for the house to get some pocket warmers to put in his boots. About 20 minutes later, a buck comes walking down the hill into the draw. He is sniffing out doe, and came down the wrong hill.

With my favorite 7 mm magnum, I was able to hit and kill the 8 point as it was moving in the woods at 130 yards. Dropped it with a heart shot through the right shoulder.

Came home today with 120 pounds of meat. Had to watch about 40 turkey walk by.


Tom Mason

[Tom Mason]

Turkey is out of season here. Not worth having the game warden stop me for a turkey.

The good thing is that when season does come back in, my deer stand is right in the middle of the group's nesting ground.

At that time, I have the 12 gauge with 3 1/2 inch magnum t-shot and a clear shot in any direction.

I do believe that the turkey never knew what hit him. That 25.06 is a really fast round. Like mine, the shot would hit the target before the sound would arrive at the target.

Tom Mason

[Dan Schultz]

It scares the @#%^*)(_+$! out of me to drive home on these no-shoulders/no-lights rural roads at night after gigs in Nov.-Dec. (particularly when it has been raining).

The deer act CRAZY during this season, and there are WAY too many of them.

I can just imagine one coming through the windshield @ 50-60 mph.

I haven't had one come through the windshield yet. But... I've tried to do my part to keep the deer population down around here. I've killed four of the little buggers:

1) With a Chevy Geo about 3 miles south of Fairfield Il. The air bags went off and scared the hell out of me!
2) With 'Christine', my trusty Olds.
3) With an almost new rental Grand Prix while traveling to Great Falls, Montana last fall.
4) Another one with 'Christine' about ten miles from home after making a service call to a local high school last winter.

Gotta love that Olds! The last one got smeared around underneath the car for a hundred yards or so. 'Christine' smelled like pot roast for about two weeks until all the meat and hair finally burned off the tailpipes and mufflers.

[windshieldbug]

Anybody need any recipes for cookin' skeet?

Why? Who's "skeet"?