Hunting with Milsurps- 2012 Edition

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Attachment 38366

That's a pretty nice too small to shoot there

Not around here we are pretty fortunate to have some very nice bucks in our area. Minimum
14" inside spread is legal. The picture above was taken in my sisters front yard earlier this year.

[jmoore]

And just how do you accurately gage a "14" inside spread"? Before you pull the trigger, that is?

[Aragorn243]

Rule of thumb is a bucks ears when alert and looking right at you are 16 inches apart. Not sure exactly how accurate that is. I never heard of spread being a "legal" definition although I've heard of it being a requirement on many private properties where you have to be a member to hunt.

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And just how do you accurately gage a "14" inside spread"? Before you pull the trigger, that is?

I confused the beam legnth and spread it is actually 10" spread and 13" main beam.
http://www.mdwfp.com/media/7311/hunting_seasons.pdf
I have a 19" eight point killed in a "hunting accident" some 30 years ago so until I see somthing bigger ,does beware.

[jmoore]

Would you believe i missed an easy 60 yard shot yesterday at a good sized buck? Possibly because the excitement of being nearly run over by the doe he was probably pursuing. And the fact that the tremors form holding the scoped revolver were pretty severe by the time he moved into the clear zone. Dadgummed thing gets hard to hold standing there for many looong minutes frozen in place. Oh, well- it was all amusing after an exhaustive search of over an hour to ensure there was no impact. He wasn't even excited. Just slowly moved off. Watched him in the brush for 10 minutes or so- finally dissappeared about 200 yards out going up a small valley. Now I feel like Elmer Fudd in a Pepe LePew cartoon. Or something like that. At any rate, I'm now well convinced that magnified optics on a big game hunting handgun are about the worst possible combination possible for stalking. Might be OK from a fixed location. First miss in a long time, though!

Went back to an old reliable today, but quite windy and the moon is getting very full. Bailed out early to sight in another AR. Still looking for a location on the property where a heavier rifle can be used effectively (I.e., the direction in which the deer are apt to appear can be guessed beforehand...and at more than 30 yards.) Would surely like to get the No.4 (T) back in the woods- it's been a long time! And was not too bad on the old property-but all it got to do was ID deer that were too small to shoot. That old Mk.I scope is clearer than many modern units!

[jmoore]

Thinking back on past hunts, the subject of "see-through scope mounts" came to mind. As wretchedly "non-zero holding" as the bulk of the commercial units have been and continue to be, they certainly can be practical. Both the scoped P'14 and the Simpson rework long side rail Mauser 98 have taken deer using the iron sights under the scope because the animals were so close. Not something that can be done with the No.4 (T).

I remember the scope on the P'14 being completely filled with featureless deerhide. The "high powered" (6x, I think) scope on the Mauser was useless for picking out a good shot through thin brush. But the irons worked superbly on both rifles!

Probably why the hunting ARs have scopes mounted on the carry handle, rather than the current fad of having flattop receivers and BUIS. Not useful when time and allowable movements both can be minimal.

---------- Post added at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 PM ----------

Rule of thumb is a bucks ears when alert and looking right at you are 16 inches apart. Not sure exactly how accurate that is. I never heard of spread being a "legal" definition although I've heard of it being a requirement on many private properties where you have to be a member to hunt.

I'd guess not very! Biggest buck I ever took was actually way too far off, but his size made him appear much closer. Plus, he was "side view only" so it would have been impossible to judge regardless.

[jmoore]

Not so much milsurp as "milcurrent": Loaned out the FN 17s (no select fire) and my friend had this seven pointer after only 45 minutes of stumbling about the woods. The other two of us on the property have been over a month since the last deer...(BTW, I'm almost certain this is the deer I missed last week with the revolver- same skinny lopsided rack.)

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I think that deer was scared to death after seeing that rifle!

[Bill Hollinger]

Neck shot? Sweet! Mule deer have as much a 18" ear tip to ear tip.

[jmoore]

But perhaps not the sort of game that you would expect.









Might have had more than two squirrels, had I not moved the sight just before entering the woods. Missed two and then did a bit of impromptu zeroing. Still, hitting tiny moving targets with iron sights isn't getting any easier...Had to swap glasses and go with the "range" pair so that the front sight would stand out. Apparently, targets ARE illusions, as the squirrels are barely distingushable with those lenses. No matter, sight alignment is the far more important factor in the equation.

What continues to amaze is that this "old fashioned" stock ends up being less fatiguing to carry at the ready than a three pound lighter AR. Wrist stain is less, mostly. Maybe pistol gripped rifles are a fad!