First time hunter

For someone new to the sport

You are going to be on a steep learning curve at the start. It is important like the posts above recommended that you start with reading about hunting and shooting. I would bet that you have already got a good start on that. The next step would be to get into a hunter safety class. Some of it will be as boring as watching paint dry, but you might learn something that saves your life or someone elses.

The next thing I would do is talk to your friends about what they use/learned to shoot on. Often times it was a lever action 30-30. Do those kill Deer, probibly more than any other action/caliber combination. Would I recommend one to a new shooter/hunter no. There are action choices that don't have the exposed hammer and a far more comfortable stock design. The whole idea of shooting/hunting is to have fun. You can't ethically hunt until you learn how to safely shoot. You owe it to the animal that you are about to kill, to kill it cleanly without risking hurting someone else in the woods with you.

The bolt action rifle is easier to help a new shooter/hunter master in my opinion. The bolt action has a simple operation, a simple safety, straight line stock design to help with recoil, it usually has a good trigger feel, and last is ideal for mounting a scope.

I have taken alot of new shooters to the range prior to them becoming hunters. They all had a lot of fun. I picked rifles that didn't beat the crap out of them, but were easy to shoot well. The positive feed back from actually hitting what you are shooting at without pain during the process is what you are looking for.

I always feel better when I see a new shooter come to the line at the range with a scoped bolt action rifle in a non magnum caliber. I always think that person is going to have some fun.... And that is what it is all about.

Karl

RE: SoftwareEngin

RE: SoftwareEngineer look at it this way. China has a vested isnerett in selling things to the US. They will work with US administration to make sure America stays well without too much cough. And this is the way to go. So the US govt if i does not go overboard it can simply start programs like cash for clunkers. Maybe they can start a new program We buy 30% of your new home and the US govt will pay you to own a house. They can start buying new planes from Boeing or give subisdies to airlines. Finally if unemployment gets nasty Obama can start public works. This way it can gurantee that unemploymen will be less than 7%.And Sniglet and others are right that this carries risk of- Debt will spin out of control. Who will pay for this? The return for debt will get less and less. So it will get harder to sustain this situation with every year.- Investors might start sniffing this is a mess and start buying more gold, dumping US currency etc. This way the purcahsing power will start going down anyways.- Investors might not be willing to buy anymore of US debt and as such the isnerett rate on treasuries could skyrocket?- China might panic and so sthg unreasonable like dump US dollar to become more diversified- At some point people may want the US not to default on its debt. And might be angry if the US just prints some bucks to pay off the debt. Wars have been started over similar things. I think Germany had to start WWII because it was heading in for a bankruptcy and Hitler's popularity was about to take a hit. So there are risks involved in govt spending are real. But what I am saying that at MINIMUM the govt can conceal for a limited time the mess it is in. If you say earn 30K and take out 2 mill loan you can party for couple of years until sb finds out that you are just a fish partying on the 2 mills. But when you party on he 2 mills it feels good. You invite some party girls, buy yachts, tour Hawaii, stay at great hotels etc. You feel rich although you really are not that rich. Rate this comment: 0 0

Brush cartridges, take a pass on them

I wish someone a long time ago had said don't ever say you can shoot through brush. Even the big bore magnums that are used in Africa can be deflected if shot through brush. As a rule I will NOT shoot through any brush. I really want a clear view of were I want the bullet to go. I haven't had it happen to me but several friends tell stories of missing a sure shot only to walk up and have a small tree basically cut in two by their bullet on the way to the deer they were shooting at. The brush calibers that people like to recommend are usually large bores with heavy weight bullets. I would love one of the Marlin 1895 in 444 Marlin. The only problem with this rifle is that it will kick like a mule from the bench at the range and will not do anything better than the 30-06s I have. Plus the 30-06s give the shooter options that the 444 Marlin could only dream about. If you want to do a little test, go to a small Mom and Pop gas and snack station near where you plan to hunt. If they offer ammo for sale and most will if the area is popular with hunters during the season ask what calibers they stock for. I will bet that you will find 30-30, 30-06, 270, .308, .243, 7mm Rem mag, and 12 ga slug. What this tells you is these are what 95% of the hunters are using and looking for when they forget their ammo at home.

Karl