Advice needed

[Articcat]

To Gun Nut
I don't hunt or conform to spray and pray, where we hunt deer during the rifle season our method of hunting is with doggers and sitters and it is mainly thick bush with many openings which is the way it has been done for eons and it works well. When deer start running away from doggers they are usually at full stride and you pick and choose your shots in the openings and when it's safe to do so. try that with a lever action or a bolt action on multiple deer as it it difficult to keep your eye on a running deer while you are cycling shells. Love or hate it that's my groups style of deer hunting. I also bow and shot gun hunt for deer which is totally different as you are in a ground blind or a tree stand and deer are typically walking or standing. Not sure how old you are or how much deer hunting experience you but in my 50 years of hunting and life in general I always think before I make comments like you did.

[Gilroy]

Fox,

"My dad is one of the guys that was a regular for shooting deer on a full run, but that was very rare when we used to use dogs. When hunting with dogs most of the deer kept stopping and looking back, moving ahead a bit then stopping and looking back, ideally you shoot them like that but you can still become proficient shooting moving targets."

The camp I hunted at the " boss" ran black and tan coon hounds and these dogs ran hard and fast and so did the deer LOL. It was a different hunt when I used my beagle
for a day, one of the camp guests actually shot a deer that day.

[Gun Nut]

To Gun Nut
I don't hunt or conform to spray and pray, where we hunt deer during the rifle season our method of hunting is with doggers and sitters and it is mainly thick bush with many openings which is the way it has been done for eons and it works well. When deer start running away from doggers they are usually at full stride and you pick and choose your shots in the openings and when it's safe to do so. try that with a lever action or a bolt action on multiple deer as it it difficult to keep your eye on a running deer while you are cycling shells. Love or hate it that's my groups style of deer hunting. I also bow and shot gun hunt for deer which is totally different as you are in a ground blind or a tree stand and deer are typically walking or standing. Not sure how old you are or how much deer hunting experience you but in my 50 years of hunting and life in general I always think before I make comments like you did.

Actually, Articcat, it was your not thinking when you made the comment “ use a Remington Model 742 Semi in the bush because of the fast action and usually multiple shots on running deer,” that led to my remarks . Had you said something to the affect, “ use a Remington Model 742 Semi in the bush because of its fast action which can provide for a quick follow up shot on running deer,” the words pray and spray would have never entered my mind. It was the phrase, ‘multiple shots on running deer,’ that conjured up the words pray and spray.
Gilroy used the term shooting proficiency, too few people take the time to develop it. Although I may have an unrealistic expectation of what he has in mind. My bro’s experience comes to mind. He had two deer pushed by his stand that were being hard pressed by dogs, so they were moving. He fire once at the lead deer, which disappeared from sight down a low ridge. He levered his rifle and picked up the second deer with his next shot. It too disappeared in the same fashion as the first. Thinking he had a definite hit on the second deer. He climbed down from his stand to check things out, and found two dead deer a short distance down the ridge.
I use to shoot rabbits with him around the farm. He used his 44-40 with rabbit loads, I had a bolt action Sure Shot .22 We use to take them on the dead run with his dog driving them out of the long marsh grass. On one occasion a rabbit came running out. We almost fire to gather at it, however my bullet arrive first driving the rabbit off the line with his bullet.
I use to practice on tin can, you look over the back sight and place the top of the front sight just below the can and pull the trigger. When you get the feel for the right elevation for your line of sight over the rear sight, you can bounce tin cans with easy. On a running rabbit you do the same thing, move the front sight on a line just underneath the rabbit them move it an few inches a head of it path of travel and fire. It helps to have a gun that fits you. By that I mean when you through it to your shoulder the gun is automatically on target. I’ve carve a couple gun stocks base on a pattern that I’ve taken off that old Sure Shot for that reason.


You don’t stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting,
- Gun Nut

[Fox]

The camp I hunted at the " boss" ran black and tan coon hounds and these dogs ran hard and fast and so did the deer LOL. It was a different hunt when I used my beagle for a day, one of the camp guests actually shot a deer that day.

We only ever used beagles and one beagle/walker cross when I hunted there, they used to have a beagle/lab cross and a trig hound and those dogs would run deer hard. They said when the big dogs were on the deer you raised the gun with the first deer and shot at the third because they were moving so fast, skeet deer hunting. That being said, almost every deer my dad shot up there was moving, I think there was only 1 that was not running. I only ever had one run past me, 1 walk quickly in heavy cover and one standing. The interesting thing is that the running one was in an unsafe direction (towards other standers), the walking quickly one lead to some trees coming down with 3 shots and the one standing also ended up with a tree. It is amazing how little you can see when using iron sights, the deer walked down and stopped, I already had the gun up and leveled on the vitals, aimed behind the shoulder and shot, the deer took off, moved the gun and saw a horizontal branch about 6in in diameter with a big hole in the one side.

I did not have any luck at that camp, one guy shot a deer on his first chase ever deer hunting and it was a borrowed gun he had only shot 5 times before the evening earlier, I spent 10+ years hunting there and never had a good chance to get a deer.

[Gilroy]

We only ever used beagles and one beagle/walker cross when I hunted there, they used to have a beagle/lab cross and a trig hound and those dogs would run deer hard. They said when the big dogs were on the deer you raised the gun with the first deer and shot at the third because they were moving so fast, skeet deer hunting. That being said, almost every deer my dad shot up there was moving, I think there was only 1 that was not running. I only ever had one run past me, 1 walk quickly in heavy cover and one standing. The interesting thing is that the running one was in an unsafe direction (towards other standers), the walking quickly one lead to some trees coming down with 3 shots and the one standing also ended up with a tree. It is amazing how little you can see when using iron sights, the deer walked down and stopped, I already had the gun up and leveled on the vitals, aimed behind the shoulder and shot, the deer took off, moved the gun and saw a horizontal branch about 6in in diameter with a big hole in the one side.

I did not have any luck at that camp, one guy shot a deer on his first chase ever deer hunting and it was a borrowed gun he had only shot 5 times before the evening earlier, I spent 10+ years hunting there and never had a good chance to get a deer.

Pretty much sums up my same experience with deer over hounds in the same number of years. Well established camps who have been hunting on the same land for generations with good houndsmen of course do better,but such camps are not that common anymore.IMO

[packmule]

Ok, I thought I owe you all an update. Well I didn't go with a lever. I went to my local gunshop and He had a year old browning left handed 270 semiautomatic with a leopold scope that I went with. I believe I made a good choice. Can’t wait for November. Thanks again to everyone and best of luck to you all with your hunting in the future!

[Useless]

Sounds like you got a good gun and scope! You can't go wrong with Browning and Leupold.

[canadaman30]

Ok, I thought I owe you all an update. Well I didn't go with a lever. I went to my local gunshop and He had a year old browning left handed 270 semiautomatic with a leopold scope that I went with. I believe I made a good choice. Can’t wait for November. Thanks again to everyone and best of luck to you all with your hunting in the future!

Nicely done Packmule. Welcome to praynspray crowd.. lol.

[sawbill]

I think you made a good choice too. I'm as left handed as anyone could possibly be (I thumb through a magazine from back to front) and I know what its like to work in a world of stuff made for righties. My first pick for a guy in your position would have been to keep things simple like a single shot rifle with tang safety or the semi with tang safety.

[packmule]

Just realized my spelling error. Leupold not leopold.