Hunting Forum

GREAT THREAD BTW.

Guess I`m a budget hunter since I buy most of my guns and my bow at garage and estate sales, and hunt with in 16 miles of home. During gun week I stay at my buddies that owns the farm I hunt so I don`t have to drive back and forth. We usually have a couple drinks after a days hunt so I don`t have to worry driving.

an example of a great budget deal i saw while travelling...

at Bucky's in Prescott (if you are out that way) AZ i saw a ruger 77 (mkII i think) with an aftermarket decent quality synthetic stock. It had a fixed 6x tasco scope and of course ruger rings in 6mm (an excellent deer/antelope round) for $399. good quality rifle, scoped for under 400 by buying used. budget hunting.

if you are not familiar, the 6mm is a 7x57 necked down to .244 caliber (same as a .243 winchester) but 100-150 fps hotter with most bullet weights.

Buddahead. I live in Arizona and I hunt with a Yugo 8x57cal. and your right you don't need a $1000.00 gun to get the job done. The 8mm has been around a long time and is a out standing hunting round. I reload and have a hunting load I like. If I have to get out past 300yds for a kill that's not hunting to me. Even here in the flat lands and mountains you can get your game with in and under 200 yd. I bet when you got your deer the fancy guns were looking for a cover to get in. LOL.
Take care and good hunting. SEMPER FI.

Hey J.Rodrigues what are your ballistics on your 8mm self loaded rounds. I have a Yugo m-48 8mm that I had scoped and use that for deer hunting. I use Sieler and Balot 196 grn rounds and I think they are just under 2600 f.p.s. I wish i could find something a tad lighter and a tad faster for the 8mm mauser. Though I do get great goups with the 196 grn rounds. close to 1" at 100 yards. Depending on what kind of day I am having.

Orionh4: sorry taken so long to get back on had trouble with my CP. I use IMR 4064 and load 45.60 or 47.50gr. behind a Nosler ballistic tip 180gr. spitzer. I use this on all my game loads. I fined this load works good on deer, elk, bear, and jave's just fine. SEMPER FI.

Delta 3-D Riverbottom Buck Target



I found this target at Academy on sale for $70.00. It can be picked up at Bass Pro and most other places for $100. The insert is $23 at Academy and about $30 at bass pro. I've probably put about 100-200 arrows in it by now and so far it has held up pretty good. As you can see it stops the arrows like it should and the hole seals up after the first couple of shots and then by the third or fourth in that spot you notice a little pass through...



The insert is fairly cheap and I think this one will last a few months so it's really not that bad for the price you pay. Arrow removal isn't as easy as say a bag target, but about the same as a Rhinehart. As long as you put your hip where the core is and pull out the arrow it's pretty easy this way you get better leverage and the core stays in place. It should have come with longer stakes as it's a little wobbly when you hit it with an arrow, but rebar can be bought if it's too big of a problem. It does stop wobbling a second or two after it's shot and stays up. The head isn't very sturdy and I don't know how long it will stay on, but so far it's holding and I leave it outside. The reason is in the picture bellow...



The foam that is loose was supposed to stay in that hole but came off after trying to get the head to go on better (guess I should have left well enough alone). The head has a slot that slides over it all the bumps did was keep it steady so it will still go on it just might shake itself loose a little easier now. With a little glue or ductape I'm sure it can be fixed.
Overall I'm pleased with this target as it gives me plenty of good practice and by replacing cores I don't have to go out and buy a new one every few months. I'm sure a $200 Rhinehart would be better, but this is the budget hunter thread and I found this to be a good value. I've spent $30 on a Bass Pro block target that was a lot worse than this $30 insert.

I've had great luck over the last few years purchasing specialty items like clothing, boots, waders and decoys through Ebay. In almost every case, I was able to get what I wanted, either new with and without tags or slightly used, for less than half the price of a new one from the big named sporting goods stores. Some of the best items come from a couple of sellers who purchase items that have been returned to the big stores who now can't sell them as new.

Thank you both. Been off the horse, testing new ammo but too busy to actually test it... Still impressed with the clarity and fov of the vortex, less so with tracking, although once I figured it out it's Bette than I thought....

Another trick, one gunning it. I know, not sexy, but if you one gun it with a caliber you can shoot everything with, it's cheaper than multiple firearms... Another consideration, if you have kids or a wife who's short who wanna hunt, weather by makes a 4-2-1 that gives you a short stock, that shouldn't (you should still check) change your point of aim when changing stocks as long as you tighten correctly and don't mess with the sope

Hey just Bought a 870 supper mag express at a pawn shop for $180. Only thing wrong with it is the person that had it did a home made cammo job on it. But it works good its a little ugly but I only bought it for parts anyhow. I can always use it as a back up. It was good advice from a friend to look at the pawn shop. 870s are in my experince very hardy guns as long as you look it over and cycle it and it seems fine it probly is.

Whatever you buy for a rifle, my advice is spend as much on glass as you can afford!

I spent $29.95 the other day...really hurt too. Prostaffers are killing me....LOL
In all honesty though, It does not hurt to check out the pawn shops and second places. Get to know the folks there and let them know what your in the market for. I have SEVERAL that call me when someone drops something off on my "list"
The other day, I got 3 calls from 3 different gunshops and pawn shop about some rifles and a shotgun someone was trying to sell. Everytime they stopped at a new place they would call me to let me know what it was and ther person's asking price. WAY too high for what he had but it was still good they called.

Meanwhile, some still actually shell out hard earned dollars for a hawg hunt in TX where they are paying helicopters and sharpshooters to killl pigs....

Another way to budget and kind of off track, but what I see as a necessary is camo clothing. You can buy good used camo at army surplus stores and save Big $$$$. And if you really need to save you can where your winter coveralls and make yourself a camo parka out of the fabric you use for ground blinds. Not perfect by all means, but beats the heck out of no camo at all. All for about 10 dollars.

much needed bump for this thread

i will be doing a very in-depth piece for you gehee on my 11-87 that i took in for a makeover during the winter and some other things
will hopefully be able to do one for my 100 ATR in .30-06 this summer as well
and eventually the CVA Wolf that is planned to be purchased this year as well

J., look forward to hearing your input, IMO the wolf is a good deal, that or I got lucky.

Well since I haven't gotten the time to go out to the range yet, I figured I would flow some of my knowledge and experience from a recent thread from Firearms that I have a good handle on.........competition clay shotguns.

Just for the record (not tooting my own horn) I shot competitive shotgun sports all through high school and was on either a runner up or championship team every year and was also on the first team in high school league history to ever run an undefeated season. And I did it all with a total of two guns both combined not even coming close to $1K.

The first was an 870 express in 20 guage and the second was a 1187 in 12 guage. In my last year of shooting competitively my dad bought me my graduation present which was a browning citori 425 or 525 sporting with a set of briley tubes in 20-410 with all the chokes off one of the coaches that worked the range. Man that thing is a sweet shooter but still sometimes doesnt have that comfort feel that that 870 or the 1187 has. Probably because the 870 was my christmas presetn at 13, or because the 1187 was the first gun I ever bought with money I had earned (and later on added more sentimental value after discovering the gun was made the same year I was born) but that $2K citori deal just didnt have that same feel as the ol faithful.

That being said I learned a valuable lesson in those 4 years when it comes to competition firearms. The first was that of upmost importance that the gun needed to fit the shooter like a glove. Second was the guage(s) that could be handled effectively by the shooter. And third was that it had to be something that was affordable. I remember seeing people shooting at the gun club I worked at when I was 16 toting around custom trap guns worth more money than I probably made in a year - and boy was it funny to see them start cussin the gun when they missed and I'd go on bustin birds beside em with the 1187.

Truth be told the best type of shotgun for competition clay sports (JMHO) is an over-and-under shotgun for one main important reason - reliability. I would never ever tell someone to not clean a gun but those of you who have been around here longer than I have know that the old break open single and double guns can take a whoopin of a beatin and keep on shootin. Also and of similar importance is the automatic moving parts (or lack there of) with this type of action. An o/u requires absolutely nothing of the gun and the shooter except to re-set the trigger between shots. No worrying about getting off-lead while shucking the pump gun on fast low doubles; no worrying about all the rounds youve shot during the day now clogging up your gas ports; or for the super mag guys accidently grabbing the lighter loaded box of shells as opposed to a heavy target or handicap target load and not creating enough pressure to cycle the action.

I've said it before and I'll say it again the NEF/HR single shots in a 12 guage with a modified choke will allow someone to go out and become extremely proficient at all competion clay sports minus those where multiple shots are required (although I did used to know some old timers that would fast reload during doubles with a single shot - takes tons and tons of practice) Their only downfall in my opinion is a lack of a vent rib and use of only a single bead - this can be overcome however with ease and good form and repetitive correct practice. If being able to do multiple shot games is your cup of tea then a good 12 guage pump action will do you perfectly well providing you take the time to perfect the art of shucking the next round in the chamber without loosing the lead and sight picture of you secondary target.

Refering back to those light loads I mentioned earlier that tend to give most super magnum and even a good amount of magnum semi-automatics fits; they are the reason I suggest starting youngsters and first time shooters out with a 12 guage. For example this is how I work a new shooter in that can handle a 12 guage (if the person is known to be extremely sensitive to reciol I will use a semi-auto here as opposed to any other action to help minimize reciol as we start with only one shell at a time).

Starting off at the low house of a skeet field (station 7) you have the shooter get into the box and use their non-dominate hand to point and follow the bird saying "bang" when they would have pulled the trigger and watching their follow through. Next have them do the same thing with the gun mounted and empty and have them say "bang" again without pulling the trigger. Then move to an empty hull in the chamber for the firing pin to strike. Then to a snap cap if available. (previous two steps for know reciol sensitivity only - for the most part) Then you start with a load like winchesters featherlite low noise low recoil - same shot payload as a 20 guage with even less recoil and noise than their standard 12 round. Then to xtra lite target loads. Then to light target loads. And so on and so on teaching them the basics.

Also with the ammount of managed recoil ammunition research and technology that has come about the 12 guage has grown even more popular as the all-around shotgun for younger and younger audiences. I hope I provided some good insight to anyone who was either seriously looking at a competition gun or someone who was just curious.

In a wrap up - If you're on a tight tight budget a good pump action that could be 5 days to 50 years old will do the trick. If you can either find the diamond in the rough bargain or have the ability to afford it then go with an o/u. If you have someone really recoil sensitive or young starting out, then a remington 1100 would be my recomendation with a good limb saver stock attached. The 1100 is a target style semi-auto as it only chambers 2 3/4" shells and sometimes you can find good deals on them online and at pawn shops/gun shows etc from when they made them in synthetic.

Good luck and as I used to make a livin sayin "dead bird"!



Edit:

Dont know how in the he77 I forgot to metion anything about chokes but I did.  JMHO a full modified and improved cylinder is all you need for competition sports.  A skeet and or cylinder choke will be really benificial if using an o/u and you get into skeet more than another game.  While imp mod and lt mod and x full do have their pros, they simply don't provide enough difference in my opion - unless you're in some crazy wind.  Most guns come now with a F M IC set up so all you would need would be a SKT and if you find them good enough a IM LM and XF.

And while were on budgets - Weaver makes a side saddle mount for shotguns that uses the trigger guard pins to attach the mounting plate to the side of the reciever and then attach an optic.  Believe its 40-80 bucks or a removable set of adjustable fiber optic rifle sights can be found sometimes under 40 bucks.  Or you never know you may come upon the diamond in the rough mint condition half the price of a new fully rifled cantilever slug barrel like i did two months or so ago in the local gun shop.

Good luck and dead bird!

As a note, hornady just introduced their 'custom lite' line of ammo, a line of low recoil ammo similar to fusion light and Remington managed recoil with what I would consider one great benefit... SST bullets. By using a ballistic tip style bullet vs conventional (Remington) or bonded (fusion) you guarantee more bullet upset.

Again, a reminder, used firearms. Came across an nef compact 243 today for 199... Could have added a used scope, rings and a box of shells for a total of 300.. Great start, but I didn't really need one so that is decidedly NOT budget hunting

Truth be told the auctions you find, here or gunbroker or estate auctions are great places to find deals. Right now there's a garmin erred for 1/3 value and a cuddieback trail cam in the same percentage... At the HHH auction