I always want full penetration so that a good blood trail exists. I have shot deer where there was no exit and it was a bi--ch finding them. It's a good thing my dog is a good trailer.
Well since those Florida whitetails aren’t any bigger than one of our coyotes, I’d consider .30 to be adequate...
Well since those Florida whitetails aren’t any bigger than one of our coyotes, I’d consider .30 to be adequate...
We cannot pistol hunt here in Alberta, however regardless of that I agree the animals deserve more respect and the pistol should come out for a final killing shot if necessary only. I have personally killed whitetails that went 175lbs dressed and one mule deer buck that was slightly over 300lbs on the hoof. They can get rather large up here!My opinion is not going to be popular. Because I think that unless you are very very good with that pistol and your shots very close, under 40 yards, then your chances of wounding a whitetail, especially northern tier whitetails which are heaver and have more body mass get way to high. I have shot deer in Maine and New Hampshire that went 180 pounds and more. Even here in Pa. bucks north of Interstate 80 do get large. I have shot a few I wish I would have weighed. I am a flintlock hunter first most and always and I practice every month to be good enough to make sure kills. I would have to practice A LOT more to be good enough to do that with a pistol. So I just don't see why any one would hunt with a pistol if they had a long rifle or smoothbore. Just do say you did it? Go ahead and eat my lunch fellas, I have a thick skin and I don't mind because that's my opinion.
My opinion is not going to be popular. Because I think that unless you are very very good with that pistol and your shots very close, under 40 yards, then your chances of wounding a whitetail, especially northern tier whitetails which are heaver and have more body mass get way to high. I have shot deer in Maine and New Hampshire that went 180 pounds and more. Even here in Pa. bucks north of Interstate 80 do get large. I have shot a few I wish I would have weighed. I am a flintlock hunter first most and always and I practice every month to be good enough to make sure kills. I would have to practice A LOT more to be good enough to do that with a pistol. So I just don't see why any one would hunt with a pistol if they had a long rifle or smoothbore. Just do say you did it? Go ahead and eat my lunch fellas, I have a thick skin and I don't mind because that's my opinion.
That would be a very big ‘yote indeed...The .30 caliber rule was enacted to put the legal minimum muzzleloading caliber equal to the minimum legal air rifle caliber ... which still makes no sense to me.
Our deer are small. That one only weighed 95 lbs. on the hoof. If you have 95 lb. coyotes, I don't want to visit your state.
I agree with you to a point. If a person is not going to respect the game animal enough to limit its suffering then they should not be out there chasing them. And the sad thing is there are many out there who do just that.
I do not know Skychief personally, but I have read his posts and if he puts as much effort into this quest as he did to figure out the Skychief special (he could have just said "a square load was good enough back then, Its good enough for me"), I believe that he will practice and know the limitations of his abilities and equipment and stay well within this limitations. The regulations regulating caliber and barrel length will ensure sufficient energy to humanely harvest a deer. The rest will lay in his abilities to shoot said pistol with accuracy. If when the time comes, He feels his abilities are not sufficient he will reach for a rifle or smoothbore.
My heartburn comes when people say well its legal, lets see what it does, and not worry about if it leaves a wounded a critter or not. That is not the case here.
There are people that say a longbow or recurve are not adiquate for hunting either compared to a crossbow or compound. If they are of proper weight, just like the proper pistol, In the hands of someone who knows how to use them, they are highly effective at taking any size game.
Heck, there are folks out there who say that flintlocks are not accurate or fast enough for hunting either!! Its all Relative.
My 2 cents, worth what you paid for them!
I agree with you to a point. If a person is not going to respect the game animal enough to limit its suffering then they should not be out there chasing them. And the sad thing is there are many out there who do just that.
I do not know Skychief personally, but I have read his posts and if he puts as much effort into this quest as he did to figure out the Skychief special (he could have just said "a square load was good enough back then, Its good enough for me"), I believe that he will practice and know the limitations of his abilities and equipment and stay well within this limitations. The regulations regulating caliber and barrel length will ensure sufficient energy to humanely harvest a deer. The rest will lay in his abilities to shoot said pistol with accuracy. If when the time comes, He feels his abilities are not sufficient he will reach for a rifle or smoothbore.
My heartburn comes when people say well its legal, lets see what it does, and not worry about if it leaves a wounded a critter or not. That is not the case here.
There are people that say a longbow or recurve are not adiquate for hunting either compared to a crossbow or compound. If they are of proper weight, just like the proper pistol, In the hands of someone who knows how to use them, they are highly effective at taking any size game.
Heck, there are folks out there who say that flintlocks are not accurate or fast enough for hunting either!! Its all Relative.
My 2 cents, worth what you paid for them!
Whats even more amazing, I have taken moose where we have yielded 900lbs of boned out meat, and once guided a friend to his first bull moose, weighed in at 304lbs dressed on the hook, lol. Some are very large, others very small. I guided a close friend to his first archery bull elk, a nice 6x6 he took at ground level, 10 yards. Went into the butcher at slightly over 600lbs dressed on the hook. Not all are that big though, although another close friend got his 6x6 this past fall and it too was at or near 600lbs dressed.
