I live in Iowa were the legal caliber for deer is .24 caliber. I would like to start predator calling and would like to sell the hides (mainly coyote and fox) but still kill a deer humanly. The farthest i would shoot is probably 500 yds.:thu What cartridge do you think would suit my needs the best. I already own 3 12 gauges, 1 20 gauge, 1 410, 2 .50 cal muzzle loaders, and a .22 LR. any help would be appreciated. Thanks.:
The .243 will work, but the problem is what they do to smaller critters like coyote and fox, you won't be saving any hides using a .243 believe me. If I were you I'd sell all your shotguns except for 2-12 ga.s and sell your one of your muzzle loaders, then buy a .223 or .22-250 for predator hunting, both good at not blowing up coyotes with good shot placement, and I'd also buy a .270, .280, .30-06, or a 7mm mag for a deer rifle, all these are more than capable of taking deer at 500 yds, but if your'e a good hunter you shouldn't need to be shooting at whitetail that far away anyways, the farthest shot I've ever taken at a deer was probably 200 yds, and this was wide open terrain on the border of KS/OK.
Why not? You kill an animal and eat it, you profitted. If you kill an animal, sell the hide, and use the money to buy food, you profitted. Humans have been profitting at the expense of animals since the beginning of time, who are you to change all that?
When the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the land...do 'em a favor and thin the population a little as required. Its better then seeing them starve to death or picking them out of the fence line in the summer. That being said...
400 yards is a long way to be shooting much less another 100 yards on top of that. The .243 has dropped about 24 inches when zeroed at 100. After that drop off is considerable and at a fairly quick rate. You will also find it to be in the 900-950 ftlbs range too with some of the better bullets. Using light frangible bullets that you will want to use on Yotes, your performance will be even less and they will likely still punch through both sides of the animal at the longer distances due to velocity loss.
The 22 centerfires are really at their best for wacking Yotes
Another way of thinking is: When the population exceeds the feeding capacity of the land, stop building subdivisions in previously wooded land that used to feed deer.
We have more deer now, then when Columbus discovered America. Deer have benefited dramatically from human populations. When they get in your garden, you shoot them, game, set, and match.
The smaller the bullet the less damage to the pelt especially if you can have no exit hole...For that purpose I like the sub-calibers from .17 to .219 and my favourites are the .19 Badger, .20 VarTarg, .17 Rem Mach2, .20 Tactical etc. All are good 400 yard calibers on coyotes, badger, fox but so are .22/250, .220 Swift, .22 Hornet and have the benefit of longer range...
There is a group of us that try keeping the classic cartridges alive like the .221 Fireball, .225 Win, .224 Weatherby, .218 Bee, .219 Zipper etc. as they make superb predator calibers--long range, cheap to shoot, quiet and little pelt damage...
Remember, that if you're calling the ranges tend to be much shorter--I've had coyotes with 10 yards of me and had to let them get farther away before shooting them...
If you zero a .243 at 40 yards it will be dead on at around 250 yards and a little high at 100 yards depending on the bullet you use and less drop further out. I've used this zeroing method for years with great success with my .243. Good all around round for my neck of the woods.
I might consider getting an AR-15 in .223 and the you would have a good varmint gun that would double as a good defense weapon.
Also might want to consider trapping the coyotes.
most people don't understand how coyotes and wolves have become serious problems for ranchers and farmers out west. wolves hunt for sport as well folks, and i have seen MANY MANY der and elk dragging their guts around as a result of a wolf attack in which the wolves had NO intention of eating....they just like to kill.. they kill indescriminantly; pets, live stock, wild game, people if possible.
ever seen wolves kill calves? ever see the results of a pack of wolves that gut maul 10 or so cattle at the cost of $1500 a cow to the rancher? most of the people bashing hunters who shoot wolves and coyotes are confused. they imagine the wolf being hunted as the same animal thay have pictures (or in some sad cases....black light posters) of on their walls.
to answer the ORIGINAL point of this thread....get a 22-250 or .223
most people don't understand how coyotes and wolves have become serious problems for ranchers and farmers out west. wolves hunt for sport as well folks, and i have seen MANY MANY der and elk dragging their guts around as a result of a wolf attack in which the wolves had NO intention of eating....they just like to kill.. they kill indescriminantly; pets, live stock, wild game, people if possible.
And you know that wolves are the least dangerous carnivorous mammals to humans right? Wolf attacks on humans are very rare as they tend to avoid us if at all possible. Wolves do not like people, they are scared of us and probably for good reason as they usually end up dying when making contact with us. I am curious where you gather that they kill for "fun". With only 10% of their hunts ending in a meal it seems they don't have opportunity to kill for the heck of it. More likely you are listening to those politicians again. As for the injured/mauled deer, ever consider the wolves were spooked form the kill or maybe another animal was involved or maybe the thing just got away?
And to original OP, .270 Win, but please don't shoot wolves
If you're going to kill an animal then do so with the most effective caliber for the job...but kill them!
I stated that I like the .17, 19, .20 and .21 calibers because they do the least amount of damage to the pelt and because of their explosive nature kill the animal almost instantly...
As to gut shooting, specifically to cause pain and suffering (not a missed shot) then I'll agree with the Easterner on that score and just hope the ASPCA doesn't come a calling...If you want to try and think that I'm a liberal, PETA supporter, read my bio!
Sorry, as said, this shouldn't get into animal rights but just remember one thing, it's people like you that give us legitimate, consciences, hunters a bad name and we really don't need anymore bad press, thank you very much!
I am willing to take up the wolf issue on a separate thread as there is a lot more to this story than most people realize.
Werewolf: Think what you want, but I am going to apologize to you for my earlier post, it was unbecomming, written in anger, and inappropriate of me. My personal rule is to post like you would if the person was sitting right in front of you talking, and I wouldn't call anybody names if they were in my house at my kitchen table.
Werewolf: Think what you want, but I am going to apologize to you for my earlier post, it was unbecomming, written in anger, and inappropriate of me. My personal rule is to post like you would if the person was sitting right in front of you talking, and I wouldn't call anybody names if they were in my house at my kitchen table.[/QUOTE]
Probably because Werewolf would beat the living s*** out of you, if you were in the kitchen as you say.
I know, because he's my brother...
Internet tough guys really annoy me.
BUT! At least you did apologize, but you are worthless in my opinion for "gut shot"ing an animal....
weak
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Survivalist Forum
11.6M posts
167.1K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to survivalists and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about collections, gear, DIY projects, hobbies, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!