Enough Gun vs Shot Placement

[sell33]

hey those carbines are semi auto you could get slingin lead pretty quick if you had to! lol. i still wouldn't wanna try it haha.

[angler]

Through several decades of hunting on two continents i learned a few things by trial and error.
it all boils down to use the right gun for the job
and place the bullet in the right place.
as for killing big game with small calibres:
during my second hunt in BC i met some of the locals. one was a older lady that killed 16 black bears with her .22 single shot.
a few years ago i see the ladies' gun with another (middleaged) 'bush bitch'.
when i inquired about it i was told that bear #17 got her.

[Mooseman684]

That is one Brave SOB.... a .30 Carbine for Bears...Yikes !

[Cole K]

Anyone that hunts brown bears with small calibers or light calibers is a fool. The only reason I would shot a bear with a M-1 Carbine is that it was the only rifle handy at the time I saw them and couldn't back away. Heck, a M-1 .30 Caliber Carbine isn't even a adequate beer cartridge.


Several years ago when my son called to say he had booked us a brown bear hunt in B.C. I told him I would have to get a bigger rifle. He said, “Ah, Dad there isn't a bear alive that can survive a good 180 gr bullet from a .30-06.”


I replied, “Yes, I know, but anything that can bite, claw, or stop me to death gets a bigger damn bullet!”


Well my shot his at a about 200 yards 3 times with a 180 gr Partitions from a .300 WSM.


I shot mine once at less than 100 yards with a .286 gr Partition from a 9.3x62.

[SwedeSteve]

Perhaps that was the only rifle that he had at the time ?? We will never know I guess.

[Cole K]

Originally Posted by SwedeSteve

Perhaps that was the only rifle that he had at the time ?? We will never know I guess.

Perhaps it was the only rifle he had at the time. That is the only reason I would use a M-1 .30 cal Carbine!

[buzzsaw]

When confronted by something that can bite, claw, shoot or cut me to death I revert to sage advice that was shared with me so long ago that I forget who offered it. Carrysomething that can bore the biggest hole possible in the place it will do the most good. Always worked for me.

[SwedeSteve]

Thanks for the great posts guys !!

[dmsbandit]

Originally Posted by SwedeSteve

^ I wanna see you walk up to a Cape Buffalo OR a Grizzly !!

I remember reading about a State game official who's job it was to take care of problem bears at town dumps. He used a 22 Hornet to kill every Grizzly and black bear he shot. The bears went down on the spot, because he hit them in the ear.

It's also on record of an Elephant being killed with a .22LR.

It doesn't matter what you kill them with, if you hit them in the right spot. You could carry a 460 Weatherby and still get in trouble if you can't hit your target. I's have no complaints about going after Grizzley, Kodiaks, or Polar Bears with my 35 Whelen loaded with 250 grain bullets. Those slugs break bones and scramble inerds for many different animals.

[FortyXDM]

Originally Posted by dmsbandit

I remember reading about a State game official who's job it was to take care of problem bears at town dumps. He used a 22 Hornet to kill every Grizzly and black bear he shot. The bears went down on the spot, because he hit them in the ear.

It's also on record of an Elephant being killed with a .22LR.

It doesn't matter what you kill them with, if you hit them in the right spot. You could carry a 460 Weatherby and still get in trouble if you can't hit your target. I's have no complaints about going after Grizzley, Kodiaks, or Polar Bears with my 35 Whelen loaded with 250 grain bullets. Those slugs break bones and scramble inerds for many different animals.

IF this man had used better judgement, and IF he had hit the ear hole, and IF he had brought adequate backup, and IF the bear hadn't seen him, He would still be with us. Tombstone of a small bore hunter in Bear Country somewhere.

Disclaimer - Don't know if this tombstone really exists. But it might.

[jmp8927]

^ I heard of the elephants being put down by .22lr as well. Apparently people would just sit back and kill time shooting them with their .22s because their skin is so thick it isn't capable of going through. Then one day one actually died. Seems there's a spot around the ear that doesn't have thick skin or any bone and the bullets went straight to the brain. Example of shot placement. If you know the anatomy of the animal well enough almost anything can be killed with something really small.

Not saying I'd do it though. If I was in brown bear country, I'd have my Remington 742. There's something to be said for semi-auto .30-06.

[SwedeSteve]

Forty- That tombstone is right next to the Overbored Can't Hit a Dang Thing Hunter !

[ArkansasHunter]

Enough Gun vs. Shot Placement ?

I recon I would want enough gun if'in my shot placement was a little off...A.H

[dmsbandit]

Eskimos have been killing seals, walrus, polar bears, caribou with guns that some wouldn't shoot anything but varmits with for years. It's all about shot placement and a steady aim. If you can't hit them, you can't kill them.

[CircuitRider]

Enough Gun and Correct Shot placement go hand in hand. Of course "ENOUGH" is subjective and becomes even more subjective with little or no experience in taking the game in question. "Correct Shot Placement" considering the game (game here in the USA many times requires different shot placement than on African game, that is why I use the term "Correct Shot Placement") is not subjective, it is a known quantity and quality of specific action, that insures a quick and humane kill much less a safe one for the hunter.

[Dakoma]

I have read of fireing a 22LR (if that is all you got) aiming for the nose and the bullet will find the brain,read about this in a Field and Stream Magazine,the guy was up a tree and all he had was a 22 simiauto rifle the skull is thin behind the sinus cavity.Bet this guy wished he had something besides a camera.Whatever you shoot you must know how to shoot it or you might end up Bear Poop!

[big shrek]

When I'm hunting with a bow, my Desert Eagle .50ae is strapped to me.

I've had to dispatch a couple of overly aggo hogs that way over the years...they would have died eventually from the arrow, but they decided that they were a little upset with the Stalking Archer that shot 'em

I've had Game Warden's question me when they saw the hawgleg on my hip, but none of 'em ever told me to put my "Safety Measure" back in the truck, or given me any grief for having to use it. I appreciate that as we also have quite a few Black Bears in NW Fla.


I also don't deny that a .22 will drop a deer if you hit it properly in the brain...when I was a kid we'ed occasionally use 22lr pistols to dispatch Hog & Cows on the farm. Most of the time we used a Sledgehammer as it was quieter & cheaper than bullets. Either work well.

But when it comes to safety factor, I'll opt for a Bigger Gun every time, because I know I'm a pretty fair shot, but EVERONE screws up a Perfect Shot sooner or later..or has an animal MOVE at the wrong time. When you ABSOLUTELY need to have a second shot work on a charging animal, there is NO substitution for RAW POWER applied accurately.

Let's put it this way...you have to go into a VERY bad neighborhood for whatever reason...do you carry a .22 pistol, or a more serious hawgleg like a .357, .44, 9mm, or 10mm??? Same thing as going into the woods where there are Bear/Cougar/Wolves/Hog...you better have a solid power gun...and you had darn well better be a good shot with it.

[Rambo]

He used a pistol round to shoot two black bears. .30 carbine is just a round nosed bullet cartridge, designed to kill humans out to about 100yds so it may be adequate to also kill a black bear or deer. If he went after brown bear intentionally with a light caliber, I'd question his sanity.

[CircuitRider]

Originally Posted by big shrek

When I'm hunting with a bow, my Desert Eagle .50ae is strapped to me.

I've had to dispatch a couple of overly aggo hogs that way over the years...they would have died eventually from the arrow, but they decided that they were a little upset with the Stalking Archer that shot 'em

I've had Game Warden's question me when they saw the hawgleg on my hip, but none of 'em ever told me to put my "Safety Measure" back in the truck, or given me any grief for having to use it. I appreciate that as we also have quite a few Black Bears in NW Fla.


I also don't deny that a .22 will drop a deer if you hit it properly in the brain...when I was a kid we'ed occasionally use 22lr pistols to dispatch Hog & Cows on the farm. Most of the time we used a Sledgehammer as it was quieter & cheaper than bullets. Either work well.

But when it comes to safety factor, I'll opt for a Bigger Gun every time, because I know I'm a pretty fair shot, but EVERONE screws up a Perfect Shot sooner or later..or has an animal MOVE at the wrong time. When you ABSOLUTELY need to have a second shot work on a charging animal, there is NO substitution for RAW POWER applied accurately.

Let's put it this way...you have to go into a VERY bad neighborhood for whatever reason...do you carry a .22 pistol, or a more serious hawgleg like a .357, .44, 9mm, or 10mm??? Same thing as going into the woods where there are Bear/Cougar/Wolves/Hog...you better have a solid power gun...and you had darn well better be a good shot with it.

I carry a 44mag for back up on hog and bear hunts. I did not know that Black Bear were legal to kill in any part of Fla. When did they open a season on them or make them legal to kill in the varmint class? I have been hunting Black bear for years in different states, just curious.

[tappedandtagged]

^ legal to kill or not, if its me or the bear, the bear's going down... I think this is what Big Shrek meant