aradoar234 wrote:I've always had this on my mind, but never got around to making it public. No problem with bench rest, clays,, smallbore,, bigbore etc but hunting is another matter. Having a father whom was a firearms dealer and pro hunter, I grew up with hunting and shooting in all its various forms, and was given opportunities in these areas that few people would have had.. I'm being objective here, not academic, so i'm talking from real life experience.
I've head for decades the theories for game management and sustainable hunting,although this seems to apply to introduced ( i.e feral) animals. particularly deer, and wondered at the ecological benefits of this . Lets preserve the quality of the herd so future generations can enjoy the opportunity to hunt. ( believe me, I listened to ALL the rationale) If we were serious about this, the objective would be to destroy every non native animal in the country. Instead, it appears that these non native animals were being validated so we get to shoot them them for some time to come.
I'm sure this will raise the ire of all you ethical hunters out there, but what is your real agenda.??? Over many years of hunting all kinds of animals from rabbits to crocodiles ( yes, I did shoot crocs), I met countless shooters who killed for fun, to those who shot to put meat on the table. Don't patronise me by saying that your ethical because you dropped a camel with one shot. There is no financial advantage either, the cost of buying meat from the butcher far outweighs the cost of rifle, ammo, gunsafe, petrol, licenses and time involved.
I'm not passing judgement on those who choose to hunt, as I've been a subsistance hunter myself in times past, I'd just like to hear from others who honestly want to give their opinion on why they hunt,,,,,,,,
And if your interested, lever actioned shotguns are crap, mosin nagants are the WORST bolt action military rifle bar none( Italians Carcanos come a close second), and buying a magnum calibre will do nothing for your. lack of manhood
When I was a kid I spent some time living on a dairy farm, which is why I don't like the dairy farming industry - particularly since we have no real need for milk products as humans. I also spent some time killing and butchering sheep in a small abattoir. When you hold an animal and cut it's throat out you can do it viciously or you can try to make it as pain and fear free as possible. The other people around me preferred the former technique, and I accept that some do it this way to make it bearable for their own consciences. I have no high regard for the abattoir industry, but I accept that people need meat and we need to feed billions of people, so shortcuts will be taken - for the greater good and all that.
For me, I feel much better about taking a freely roaming animal from it's chosen environment without fear or pain via a good stalk and a well-placed killing shot. Most of us can't hunt and kill all the meat we eat, but that would be the ideal for me. Hunting deer or pig with dogs is abhorrent to me as it almost requires terrifying the quarry to be successful.
For pests, in that same environment I grew up in I saw first hand the terrible damage that cats, foxes, crows and pigs do to defenceless farm stock and pets, as well as native animals. If I had a deer in my scope and I saw a fox, cat or dog I would probably take them and leave the deer for another day, and be more satisfied with my efforts. Part of the deal with living on those properties as a kid was that I went out every morning and afternoon patrolling for foxes, crows and cats, and trying to convince the galahs and starlings that they should find somebody else's crops to destroy. The fox pelts easily repaid all my costs of shooting, including buying the rifles. I would even use them as money in my mind, as in, a couple of winter furs would buy me that M38 rifle I saw the other day.
I don't shoot trophies, just as I don't buy dying plantlife as gifts for people. I sort of understand why some people do need trophies, but not from living animals. A pair of nice horns or a cleaned skull or a fur is about it for me. I don't need to make the animal I just killed look like it's alive again - the best way to do that is to not kill it. I have no problem at all with canned hunting in third-world countries. We all use the assets we have to make our way in this world. People of the land can do very well at managing their animal assets for enormous benefit to their communities, and have every right to take every dollar they can from the white man, in my opinion.
As a kid I killed thousands of birds and rabbits with shotguns, more than enough to determine it's a very poor choice for killing something cleanly - unless you use slugs or heavy buck at close range. A head or neck shot with a rifle is a much cleaner way to kill birds in my opinion.
As to the important stuff, lever-action anything is crap from a performance or engineering aspect, but can be fun despite this. Mosin rifles are great, they're the Harley-Davidson of rifles, only much, much better. And the 7.62x54R cartridge is basically the .303 but with better taper on the case for easier extraction. But I just cannot fathom why the damned things kick so hard! The Carcano is a wonder to me, so much to hate, but so nice to shoot.
Magnums? I don't know what they are.