36 Caliber deer rifle?

[tatman731]

In my great state of tennessee this year they made legal to kill deer with a.36 rifle or pistol. They use the excuse that some people are very recoil sensitve. Bravo Siera! Wondering what others think of this folly.

 

[gunner69skmc]

I wouldn't try deer with anything less than a .45 myself. :stir:

 

[mooman76]

Up close like 50y or less if someone has a good hit, it should do the job but there or too many what ifs. I also think 45 minimum.

 

[juancho]

I agree with the .45.
A friend of mine did it with a .36 PRB on deer with really bad results, for the deer, that is , it just drop like a sac of potatoes.The catch is that you have to limit your shots to no more than 30 yds, according to him.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Wondering what others think of this folly.

BS graduates to MBBW! (male bovine bowel waste)!!! :haha:

 

[nchawkeye]

Leave it up to the hunter to decide...

Here in NC we have no mention of minimum caliber...We simply leave it to the individual... :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

Depends on the deer and circumstances.
There is a runt fawn that lives in my yard since his momma was killed by the cougar. I was just looking at him yesterday and was mussing to myself that as little as he is and as close as I can get to him I could drop him with a squirrel gun.
Now the bigger ones around here I would prefer a .50 or larger.

Shot placement > Caliber

 

[Dave K]

The person with the tag should be responsible enough to not only being a good hunter and get close, but a good shooter to put the bullet on target.Virtually NOTHING beats proper bullet placement. JMHO and I am sticking to it.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Friend had a place at Chama, New Mexico. The big muley does would lay on the porch waiting for their evening apple and eat cherry sour candy out of Don's hand. I asked him what he was going to hunt with...he laughed and said, "A tire iron!" Just feel'em all and find the fattest one and "Doink!" :haha:

 

[Spikebuck]

I, personally, wouldn't hunt deer with a .350 rb as I think it's too light. If someone else who actually knows what they are doing and is willing to stick to the limitations of that caliber so that the animal is killed quickly and humanely, then I guess that's their business.

My fear with these laws is not the guy or gal who really knows what they are doing. It's the morons that don't know anything that think because the law allows it, they should use it and then only end up wounding and losing game because of their foolhardy incompetence.

That said...for our regular modern firearms season in Minnesota, our legislature approved the use of....get this....all the way down to a .22. But I don't hear of anyone actually doing it...so apparently the hunters are a lot smarter than the idiots in our state house.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Per Spikebuck: "...so apparently the hunters are a lot smarter than the idiots in our state house."

Excellent point, Sir, and also, well, what else is new since the politicians usually aren't the most experienced thinkers/woodsmen/etc.

 

[Nifeman]

Per Spikebuck: "...so apparently the hunters are a lot smarter than the idiots in our state house."

Excellent point, Sir, and also, well, what else is new since the politicians usually aren't the most experienced thinkers/woodsmen/etc.

Yeah, they can't run the country, so how would they know which caliber is big enough :idunno:

 

[Wes/Tex]

so how would they know which caliber is big enough :idunno:

Unfortunately, they listen to some of the misinformation sometimes seen on these message boards. Sadly, they are influenced by money from different sources inside and outside the hunting community. Money talks & politicians listen. One of the goofiest things I've come across was a Washington type who was afraid gun shops in San Antonio might be raided by Mexican bandits! HUH??

 

[MattC]

Pancho Villa rides again?

 

[Little Wattsy]

In my great state of tennessee this year they made legal to kill deer with a.36 rifle or pistol. They use the excuse that some people are very recoil sensitve. Bravo Siera! Wondering what others think of this folly.

Right there with a .22 rimfire, what could go wrong?

 

[Baxter]

Doink! :rotf: baxter

 

[FishDFly]

In my great state of tennessee this year they made legal to kill deer with a.36 rifle or pistol. They use the excuse that some people are very recoil sensitve. Bravo Siera! Wondering what others think of this folly.

Duh, makes as much sense as hunting tree rats with 5 grains of powder in a 36 or 300 lb. hogs with a 36.

 

[BrownBear]

I can't even begin to guess how many deer I've taken with 36 calibers in the last 50 years. It has to run up into the hundreds, considering the last 40 years of hunting in a state with limits as high as 7 deer. Never needed a second shot, and ranges stretched to around 300 yards.

Of course, I'm talking about 36 caliber cartridge guns with "balls" running from 125 grains up to 275 grains in calibers including 357 Mag, 357 Maximum, 357 Herret, 35 Remington, 358 Winchester, 35 Whelen, 358 Norma Mag, and a few wildcats.

Make it a 65 grain round ball from a 36 caliber muzzleloader, and it's a different story. Yeah, it could be done by a cool hand and great shot, someone who is willing to pass up all but perfect shots inside 50 yards.

Does that kind of shooter sound like someone who's recoil shy? :bull:

If the muzzleloading rifle was shooting conicals over around 200 grains at velocities over around 1400 fps, no sweat. But that's not a combo for the recoil shy who can't shoot a 180 grain round ball (50 cal) at a mild 1400 fps or around 60 grains of 3f.

So to be "responsible," that recoil-shy 36 caliber shooter will have to use a modern inline shooting minimum 200 grain conicals.

Fine, let it happen that way. But first show me an inline 36 caliber rifle, or any other 36 caliber muzzleloader built with fast twists for handling loooong conicals. :stir:

 

[Lonegun1894]

BB,
I honestly think I could take one with a .36, but I have also taken plenty of hogs with .22LRs, so know how to get in close, and also have the self-discipline to pass up all but the perfect shot opportunities. I know several others who hunt like I do, but many more who don't. I think the .36 as a deer rifle is doable, but kind of a specialized choice for a experienced hunter, and not something that I would recommend to just anyone, and especially not a beginning hunter. I still personally prefer my .50s and .54s for deer, and my .54 GPR is what I am using this year, and NOT my .32 or my .38, even though I have no doubts they would work. I didn't get a deer last year so not looking to pass up a shot just because the deer is angled slightly off broadside this year like I would do if carrying a small-game rifle that I was forced to use in a big game role.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

In my state if you get caught with a .36 rifle and a shot deer, and that's all you have, you lose the deer, the rifle, and your hunting license for a year. :shocked2:

About five years ago I was in the woods with my .54 and the DNR officer approached me as it wasn't deer season. He thought I had a flinter shotgun and asked me some shotgunning questions, but when he found out it was a rifle, he thought maybe I was out poaching, until I showed him the squirrel and the rabbit I had already taken. Nice fellow, and was really impressed by the accuracy and asked lots of questions about flintlock hunting once he knew I was legit.

I bump into him every now and then and he smiles and waves, and says stuff like "leave some for the rest of us".

LD