harvested hogs and deer with superb results. 204 ruger

[lanenebraska]

I plan on going Elk hunting this fall. Do you think my 17 hmr is adequate, or should I use my 204?

that's nice....yawn....

[Rick in Oregon]

You won't do yourself any favors about posting shooting ANY game animals with a 204 here, period. We all (mostly) consider this caliber a VARMINT caliber, not really suitable for game animals.

Legal or not, sure you COULD shoot a deer with a 204, but it doesn't mean you SHOULD.

BT

[lanenebraska]

Legal or not, sure you COULD shoot a deer with a 204, but it doesn't mean you SHOULD.

BT

I DO agree with YOU on DEER,.....now what about feral hogs (F-Hogs)?

Oklahoma DNR rates F-Hogs right up there with P-dogs:

GENERAL REGULATIONS FOR HOGS AND PRAIRIE DOGS

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/regs/hogsanddogs.htm

[Rick in Oregon]

You won't do yourself any favors about posting shooting ANY game animals with a 204 here, period.

I'm just saying that you'd get more enthusiasm and interest if you posted shooting game animals with varmint rifles elsewhere on another forum. (Personally, I use my S&W .44 Mags for hogs, feeling rifle hog hunting is like shooting caged rabbits with a shotgun....JMO)

[lanenebraska]

Well Rick,

I'll just say it like this: We will be varmint hunting in Oklahoma very soon.

nuff said.

[chicoredneck]

look up a study done in south carlina. it was about the effectiveness of dogs in recovering game that had been wounded. they also kept track of what caliber projectile was used, shot placement, blood trail, and how far the deer ran. the conclusion was that caliber had little effect on lethality. bullet construction and placement were reallly the gretest factors which influenced how far an animal ran. iterestingly enough, the 25 caliber bullets wich was the second smallest caliber used in the expirement resulted in the shortest distance traveled after being shot on average. this doesent mean that this caliber is more effective than say a 30 or 7mm, but probabbly has to do more with the marksmanship of the people who happened to be using that caliber. my father used to work on santa rosa island as a skinner / guide. They use 6mm rem as their primary firearm for culling everyting from elk to feral pigs. The pigs are all gone now, but they still take elk with those 6mm. a 243 is the most common caliber used to take elk in north america. Shocking isn't it! how could that be? it is most commonly used by fish and wildlife services and game mangers because it is soft on the shoulder for lots of shooting and people sensetive to recoil can still shoot it accurately. point is, weather you feel it is ethical or not, animals are being killed with calibers that many people feel are inadequate. many of these offenders are employes of our own government. also look up new zealand. 22-250 is used there often to manage red deer herds. there were videos on youtube of new zealanders taking fallow deer with the 204 for meat. can't find the video anymore. here's one using a 22-250. please not shot placement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjYV10-GSFw

[chicoredneck]

look up a study done in south carlina. it was about the effectiveness of dogs in recovering game that had been wounded. they also kept track of what caliber projectile was used, shot placement, blood trail, and how far the deer ran. the conclusion was that caliber had little effect on lethality. bullet construction and placement were reallly the gretest factors which influenced how far an animal ran. iterestingly enough, the 25 caliber bullets wich was the second smallest caliber used in the expirement resulted in the shortest distance traveled after being shot on average. this doesent mean that this caliber is more effective than say a 30 or 7mm, but probabbly has to do more with the marksmanship of the people who happened to be using that caliber. my father used to work on santa rosa island as a skinner / guide. They use 6mm rem as their primary firearm for culling everyting from elk to feral pigs. The pigs are all gone now, but they still take elk with those 6mm. a 243 is the most common caliber used to take elk in north america. Shocking isn't it! how could that be? it is most commonly used by fish and wildlife services and game mangers because it is soft on the shoulder for lots of shooting and people sensetive to recoil can still shoot it accurately. point is, weather you feel it is ethical or not, animals are being killed with calibers that many people feel are inadequate. many of these offenders are employes of our own government. also look up new zealand. 22-250 is used there often to manage red deer herds. there were videos on youtube of new zealanders taking fallow deer with the 204 for meat. can't find the video anymore. here's one using a 22-250. please note shot placement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjYV10-GSFw

[Rick in Oregon]

look up a study done in south carlina.

south carlina? Never heard of it, don't care either.

Can this be "nuff said?"

BT

[chicoredneck]

*carolina* i didn't realize this was an english test. this is a forum for posting ones opinons, thoughts, and experience not a fromal document or article. i don't care if there are minor mis-spellings and, no i have never done well on spelling tests. this does not make the study or myself wrong by anymeans. It is simply a document of what was used and the results for a particular area and season on deer. i find it interesting and it helps support my case. by choosing not to look into it you are simply stating you are not willing to even consider what is being put forard. which is fine. I find it funny that on a forum with a bunch of guys who blow up hundreds of pdogs and squirrels every year and don't use any of the meat can find it unethical to use a small caliber on an animal that is actually being utilized by the hunter. Ironic? i don't have a problem with shooting pdogs at all. i'm just making a point. i have never lost an animal i was hunting for meet. in fact iv'e never had one run more than 70 yards after being shot. Thanks others for their stories related to small caliber hunting. again if you feel it's to small fine. but don't give me a hard time about it. i don't don't tell you your big gun is overkill. i shot a deer several years ago through the luungs with my 223 on the first shot. i didn't know how solid the hit was, so when it spun around i put one up the rear end. the 64gr winchester penetrated through the hip bone the lomng way and stuck on the inside of the front chest under the skin. it made a mess of the insides unfortunately.

[chicoredneck]

oh, and by the way, when we hunt pigs we are trying to get rid of as many as possible. we take a few for meat, but most stay where they fall. i agree that feral pigs can be much easier than hunting normal game animals. their eye sight is very poor and they are curoiuse if they have never been messed with. you sure get some target practice in though! pigs are to us what pdogs are to you im guessing. a lot of ranchers shoot them on sight with what ever they have handy. including 22lr. i never have shot one with a 22, but iv'e seen it done and it is suprisingly effective.

[poppybull]

Chico

I believe the thought that people are atempting to convey to you is this, sometime COMMON SENSE must prevail over any laws or regulations.

When in the Prairie Dog pasture, I personally limit my shooting with my 17HMR to 125 yards, even though, I have read NUMEROUS post how this cartridge is effective to 300 yards. When I shoot something, I would like/expect it to die immediately, not crawl off and suffer (yes, even a prairie Dog).

For longer shots, I use the appropriate caliber.

Yes, you can continue to argue your point, but I don't believe you will find any supporters on this forum.

Sometimes it is best to GO ALONG AND GET ALONG, or perhaps find a different forum which would support your views.

Nebraska, I did not fully understand your post directed at me, but if you have something to say, please say it. From your recent post it looks like your the new Sheriff in town. Only problem, this ain't Dodge City, and you ain't Bill Hickok

[chicoredneck]

i think we can agree that 150gr 270 rounds have been sucessfully used and accepted to harvest elk for many years. when converted to pounds a 150gr bullet is 0.0214 lbs. that is 0.0027% of the weight of a 800lb elk. a 40gr bullet when converted to punds is 0.005714. this is 0.0029% of the weight of a 200lb deer. thus, i conclude that 150gr 270 rounds are either ineffective and immoral for elkor a 40gr bullet is capable of taking 200lb animals. 180gr bullet is 0.025714lbs or 0.0032% the weight of an 800lb elk. pretty marginal diffrence eh? common sense used to be that the earth was flat. this didn't make it right.

[chicoredneck]

on the other hand a 40gr bullet is 0.0952% of the weight of a 6lb pdog. that is why you get spectacular flips and explosions with high velocity bullets that dump their energy on small animals but not larger game. the bullet to weight ratio used on smaller game is so much larger than with larger game. with modern expanding bullets the frontal are and caliber of a bullet matters little because it expands to a much larger caliber once contact with the target is made.

[Mike]

on the other hand a 40gr bullet is 0.0952% of the weight of a 6lb pdog.

A 6 lb prairie dog? I want to see one of those!

Chico, no offense to you but you really aren't taking the hint well. This topic has been hashed out more than once and it always, always goes the same way. You are in a very small group who feels that hunting deer with a .204 is acceptable. You're also one of the ONLY people on this forum who feels that way. As a result, there's no way for you to have much of a discussion about this topic here. The harder you push, the more you're going to feel pushed out.

Rick is trying to be nice. Challenging him is a bad, bad idea. Trust me on that one.

[Bayou City Boy]

Some places that I hunt hogs you would be grossly under-gunned for distance, and hence power, using a 44 Mag revolver... And you would also be grossly under-gunned with a 204 Ruger for quick killing power on large hogs at long distances...

Hog hunting in a large remote area is hardly fenced hunting by any stretch of the imagination... And it's best done with significantly more than a handgun or a varmint cartridge in many places... A large bore hand gun - specifically a revolver - works well in heavy cover, but not all hogs live in heavy cover, either....

Nor are they all found in pens.... Sheesh...

JMO - BCB