Airbusdriver

I got a nice Stoney Point rifle rest (now... I just need to get a deer rifle to put in it!) We got the boys their first guns: A Ruger 10/22 for the 9 year old, and a Henry Lever Action .22 for the 10 year old. They loved them

Thanks for the input Ruff. Any gun buying will be postponed until our tax refund...and maybe then some! Hoping to be geared up by next deer season. Met a couple of people at work who are going to let me try their .270 and .06. Will be a good education for me in making a more informed choice.

My brother-in-law works for the water conservation district up in Utah and sent this picture. Thought it was kind of cool so I thought you all might enjoy.

Now that you mention "Christmas card", I wonder...If he took this picture or it IS a card?

After hearing all of your inputs and the inputs of others, I've come to the following conclusions: 1. Shoot what rifle and caliber you're most comfortable with 2. None of the calibers discussed are bad 3. Cross hairs on target at a reasonable distance will get the job done 4. The deer doesn't care how fast or how big the bullet is Have I missed anything?? Thanks again for all of the input

I looked at the .270 WSM at the advice of my neighbor...then I looked at the price of the ammo.

My brain hurts.

Could you elaborate on that??

Thanks all for the input. You've helped me decide to take the .308 out of the mix. Based on the input I've heard here and elsewhere, I'm leaning towards the .270 The feed back I've received is about 80/20 in favor of .270 It sounds like .270 will work well for both deer and elk under 350 yards. Now I just need to sit back and wait for those "rifle donations" to roll in!

Wouldn't that be considered "baiting"?

My son bought a .234 Weatherby Vanguard 2. So far, I'm pretty impressed with the gun. Since I'm on a pretty tight budget, I'll probably stick with Weatherby, or possibly go with a Howa 1500 (which makes actions for Weatherby). For you .270 fans: grain for grain, how does the recoil compare to the .30-06?

I keep my chair towards the back of the blind. When a deer comes in range, I slowly slide out of the chair and kneel on one knee. For some reason, it's easier for me to shoot from one knee than sitting in a chair.

I know I'm comparing apples to oranges here, but I was amazed to learn that you can take five does PER DAY in Michigan.

Shells that I used to shoot as a kid...now considered "antiques". Boy do I feel old.

Maybe a dumb question: Do the calls you can buy in the sporting stores work as well for Muleys as they do for Whitetail? Is there enough difference in the species' grunts, bleats, etc, that a Muley would be able to tell if the standard over the counter calls are not specific to their species?

Didn't even think about the mud factor! Thanks for the heads-up.

I use the Spitfire Maxx. I took this guy in Michigan from a tree stand. It took out both lungs, and lacerated the left ventricle. He dropped dead 20 yards from impact. I'm sold on the Spitfire.

I found this link on Gunbroker.com. Never tried any of the FFL's, but thought this might be a good place to start. If you search through the list, you'll notice that a bunch of the folks just hold the license and aren't really retail dealers. These seem to be the ones with the most reasonable rates. Of course, any gun shop will act as an agent for you as well. Good luck..hope this helps. http://www.gunbroker.com/FFL/SearchForFFL.aspx?st=State&sv=AZ

Sorry to hear that, Desert. He WAS a good guy. He went to heck and back for his daughter's illness, only to have this tragic outcome. He will be missed by all.

I just found out it was one of my colleagues; I also flew corporate with him. Heck of a guy. It is truly a sad day.

I have been using Federal 100 grain soft .243Win to break in my son's new Weatherby barrel. The first box I bought at one of the sporting goods stores cost $20/box of 20 rounds. I found the exact same ammo at Walmart for $15/box. (The pics below are of one box bought at Walmart, one at a local "big box" sporting goods store). I have mentioned this disparity in price to the sales staffs at the sporting goods stores and gun shops. Their response was, in a nutshell: "Walmart sells inferior ammo..factory rejects...junk ammo", and whatever else they could think of to say. My question: Given that the box is EXACTLY same..same caliber, weight, everything..is there any chance that the Walmart IS inferior to the sporting good/gun shop ammo, or is this just a "sour grapes" response form a salesperson who is seeing their ammo sales undercut by Walmart? Has anyone noticed any difference, or have any data to support such claims?

I'm taking my son's new Weatherby Vanguard-2 .243 in to get scope mounted tomorrow. Wanted to pick up some rounds so I can start breaking in the barrel. The standard round is a 100gr, but was thinking of going with a lighter load until he gets used to it. Is there a big difference in recoil between 60-85-100 grain loads in this caliber? Another question: do I have to recalibrate the scope each time I change round weight? I.e., if it's dialed it at 200 yards with an 80grn, do I need to recalibrate if I switch to 100grn, and vice-versa. I'm new at HP rifles too, so he and I are learning together, with the help of the web and all of you, thanks in advance.

I've always found it interesting that back in the midwest, there are the raging debates about which cammo pattern is the best. Then they slap on a big "blaze orange" vest over the top of the cammo. I believe most of the laws back their require 40% total coverage of blaze orange. Makes you wonder,doesn't it?

Ok..so they're not hunters or show dogs..but they are my kids

I am considering the purchase of a spotting scope, mostly for the gun range. Given my current limited funds, it will be a relative cheapy (sub$200). We do the majority of our shooting from a bench. Can I hear some feedback and pros/cons of straight viewfinders versus angled? It seems that the angled eyepieces would be very fatiguing to hover over. Again..not looking to count nose hairs at 1000 yards, just something I can see my paper targets at about 200 yards. Thanks