I heard a news reporter refer to the AR-15 as a deer hunting rifle. They don't know WTF they're talking about because they're obviously NOT big game hunters. A .223 is a varmint round, not a big game round.
Jook - Right you are, and I didn't think of that until sometime much later, .223 is one of several considered varmint rounds. Also .22 magnum, 22-250, .218 Bee and .222, 17 caliber if you can find it, and 5mm magnum, which I haven't seen since the 70's. Had one back then, rimfire, something like a .22 with powder behind it between .22 and .22 magnum. We used it for hunting muskrat and nutria for the pelts. Great squirrel and rabbit gun too.
I did a little looking around, more varmint rifles than I thought, and some I'd never even heard of. The .223 is probably the largest of them, but good for things like coyotes and such. For other uses, like rabbits, squirrels, one of the smaller rounds like .22 magnum or the 5mm magnum, which seems to be making a comeback, would be better.
The reporter claiming 'temporary' PTSD from the recoil of a .223??? That's horseshit. This is the rub there- the guy had his mind made up before he went through the experience.
You put it better than I did, he had his mind made up before he started. My first shot with a big gun was the Browning humpback 12 gauge I commented about earlier, I was about 10 and it almost knocked me down. My uncle handed it to me, I still think it was a prank (he was like that, always up to something) but later on I got a 16 gauge and liked it really well. Really wish it hadn't been stolen a few years later, not many Winchester Model 12 around at all in any gauge these days. My current 16 is a Winchester model 1200. Even if it was a prank, it wasn't exactly unsafe, he already knew I Had plenty firearm safety under my belt and had been hunting with a .410 for a couple of years, as well as target practice with several of us, all relatives, since age 5. I was already a very good shot, I wasn't allowed to go in the woods till I could hit a .22 cartridge box 10 times in a row at 30 yards with a Remington 512 single shot. Not much chance I'd hit anything but my target with a shotgun...we had a rule, you do not miss...period. If I shot 3 times, I was in trouble if I didn't bring in 3 rabbits...so he had no worries about anything going wacko. I hit my target too, even though I could barely handle the thing...
And thanks for confirming my guess about the .270 trajectory, I knew it was the flattest in the 80's, but haven't checked since then so I wasn't sure if something else had been developed that performed better. I had just gotten a .22 Marlin lever action and the Llama .22 pistol, and did a bit of research for someone who wanted a good deer rifle for long range shots, 200 to 300 yards. At that time the .270 was the flattest we could find, so that's what he got. I was surprised it out performed the 30-06, since that was a very popular deer hunting round. His had scope only, we sighted it in at 175 yards I think, that way anything between 150 and 250 yards would be within a half inch. Talk about loud...
That's what bothers me about people's anti gun views, I came from a background of hunters for at least 3 generations back, and we had definite rules. every gun in the house at my grandparents house was always loaded, you never EVER touched one unless it was to go out hunting. Before you did, you had to be able to hit your target. Missing was not an option. You also had to know how to keep it cleaned and oiled, and the very first thing you always did was check it to be sure it is or is not loaded. The way I was taught is, there's no such thing as an unloaded gun, until YOU check the chamber for yourself. Until then it's ALWAYS loaded. When cleaning the first thing you do is empty chamber and magazine, no exceptions. Want your ass whipped? start cleaning a gun without emptying it first...or pick one up and don't check the chamber...always keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot. I still do all of the above after 55 years shooting.
Everyone I knew when I grew up had those same rules. There was no such thing as a gun accidentally firing. It just didn't happen. I've walked into my grandparents' house and seen 15 rifles and shotguns leaning in the corner just inside the front door, all fully loaded, and never in 75 years had a shot been fired inside that house, even by accident. That's the kind of firearm safety we were taught, soon as we were old enough to hold and fire a .22 rifle. So it was automatic, pick it up, check the chamber.
I've always felt every kid in the US should be taught those same rules, even if they don't shoot, so they have respect for the firearm, rather than not knowing diddly about them and shooting a neighbor's while kid playing around with a gun they found in a closet...we never ever played with guns, even BB guns. BB guns were handled the exact same way. I started at age 5, by age 8 I could disassemble, clean, oil and re assemble every firearm in the house. Ditto for all our fishing reels, I was about 12 before I learned to clean the Ambassadeur reels, never had one till then. I have two Ambassadeur 5000 reels stored in my shed that I've had since the early 70's, both still work perfect. I could pull them out, put on new line and use them right now. I upgraded to the newer ones around 25 years ago, and still used the old ones for several years. But they are taken care of the same way. It's a tool that puts food on the table, you take care of it. Which reminds me, time to clean my guns. Even though the only one that's been fired is the .22 pistol in at least 6 months...took a shot at a snake a few weeks ago...I still clean and oil them all about twice a year, fired or not. More often if used.
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 1:44 pm
