by Member-Deleted » 13 Nov 2016, 1:43 pm
I was going to ignore this thread initially, until I saw the amount of interest and "he said/she said" being generated. In Brief, whatever the yanks do, we do 10 years later. magnumitis started there, and ended up here, something along the lines of bigger is better or size matters etc. Of course we can all buy a car or motorcycle than can do triple the speed limit, "because we can ", so why not? Much the same with guns, but with a couple of variations. I've personally shot many hundreds of Buffalo with a 303 and a 30-06, countless scrub cattle and horses, and same with pigs. A 12 year stint in the territory, quite some time in qld's gulf country and less time amongst the cane fields of FNQ brought me into contact with much quarry and a lesser number of hunters. The amount of BS I have heard, and continue to hear still astounds me. Seen a buff take 8 shots from a 30.06 using fmj ammo, ( full clip of an M1 Garand in case your curios), all neck and chest shots, before she dropped from ONE shot to the head from my P14 303 in swampy country; point in question being shot placement. Needless to say I never went shooting with that idiot again. Gut shot pigs with 444 marlins running as if they had been missed completely, Kangaroos hit with 300 Win mags hopping away like nothing happened......in the end I chose to hunt with one other bloke and stuck to it. Too many cowboys out there that think that the bigger the gun, the less you have to aim it correctly.
I've owned and hunted with 458's and 375 H&H's, and never saw a big game animal drop any quicker, than one hit in a vital spot than with my old 8mm Mauser. Shot placement and bullet selection make all the difference. Don't try and sell me the old line that a perfect sight picture doesn't always happen. My rule of thumb is that I go for a head shot or nothing; the world will not end if I can't take a shot that will ensure a clean kill. Try chasing a wounded boar or scrub bull through mimosa or pandanus swamp and you'll get my point of view. My father was a professional shooter, and his 222 accounted for many head shot roo's with skins intact.
Years ago, the 303 was considered too powerfull for most Australian game, and spawned a host of wildcats in smaller calibres to suit our lighter skinned quarry. It's a change in mindset that has spurred on magnumitis, as our game hasn't gotten any tougher to kill. Also keep in my mind that over 90% of our projectiles come from the good ol' US of A, and designed for much thicker skinned heavily boned prey. And if you think that dropping an animal at 1000 metres is a pre requisite, maybe your stalking skills need looking at. I've rarely taken a shot over 300 meteres in my life, and most being under 200.
We're all entitled to our views, so all you magnum toting shooters out there please don't regard this as a personal attack. I've personally met pro Buff hunters who used a 308 norma magnum, or a 375 H&H, because it suited them at the time, and there have been lots of animals left to die from military ammo. For me, it has always been , and always will, be about shot placement with the best type of projectile avaible for the job. Do your home work to find out what brand and type expands at what velocity, tailor your handloads to suit, and practice putting it in the right spot. As for "too much gun"........well, maybe not if you are just trying to kill something, but it certainly promotes flinching, wrecks a lot of meat and hides, and gives the anti-gun morons something else to dribble about. Happy shooting......
You'll be flooded with offers of beer and stout in return for an invite over. I'm telling you this cause I am your friend so let me know when I can come over, ignore the others
We all know that a penis is a tool to both copulate and urinate with. All tools wear with use so therefore if you have a massive tool then you probably haven't used it much or for its intended purpose 
