Jeez seafire, there is no wisdom beyond my years I'm too close to expiration....

Aw Ray,

I sure hope we are a long way off from that point in time. Guys with your talent, experience and candor are getting in short supply. Guys like you should be allowed to live forever.

As my granddad would say " heaven is in no rush to get him, and hell doesn't want him, Even Satan has standards" Or " gets to a point in a man's life he knows how to do everything right, because he has finally ran thru all the ways to do everything wrong"

Your just a good man and I feel fortunate just to be able to " know" you even if just thru the internet.

I really don't know how we get from A to Z. My dad enjoyed mule deer hunting, but never owned a deer rifle. He would hunt with friends and borrow a gun. I didn't notice he had a consuming passion for guns or hunting, but he was born and raised on a farm that his grandfather was born and raised on, and then he moved to the city and became a teacher. I think hunting to him was mainly about escaping to the rural setting again.

My older brother didn't develop an interest in hunting or guns. The bug skipped him and bit me. Personally I've owned more sets of golf clubs than I have deer rifles. I've owned three. I don't have any interest in having ten M70s, or having one of everything. If a 25.06, .308, or 300 WSM won't kill it, it probably means I'm not interested in hunting it.

The number of guns a man has doesn't tell me anything about the guy as a hunter, it just tells me he likes guns. We all have our specialties. It may just be collecting guns.

Until I was about 35 I never met anyone I thought was a better mule deer hunter than I was. I didn't know much about whitetail. I wasn't the best shot. (I've hunted with some great shots.) But when other people were scratching their heads wondering where the deer were, I was dragging mine out. It was a knack I had.

To me everything becomes clear about a man when you see him in the field. He may have a house full of guns, a closet full of the latest camo, and a drawer full of gadgets; but give me a few hours with him in the field and I'll know whether he's a hunter or not.

Well said Kensco!

I dont know why the subject changed either but I think there is truth from both angles. The "one gun man tripe" may be older than me and Ray put together.
The one gun hunter who used to rely on his one and only firearm to put meat on the table WAS the one to watch out for. Nowadays there is probably more truth to Rays take. Most people hunt now just to "get away from it all" and enjoy the experience.

I started with a 6,5x55 with a 140 grain bullet. Now I am using a .460 Wby with 500 grains bullets. So I have started with light bulelts and now with heavy ones. But the velocity between this two is almost the same

Back on the subject.

When I was a kid a 150 gr. bullet for my .308 was the standard for mule deer. No one would have thought of using a 180 gr. round. That was for some mythical creature that you had only read about.

Now see how many people posting on this website ever recommend a 150 gr. round for a 30 caliber. Damn few.

I suspect in another 40 years a 180 gr. bullet won't be able to kill mule deer. All the "new" hunters will be trying to tell me how 200 gr. is the bare minimum. The good(?) news is there is a better than 50-50 chance I won't be around to have to listen to that crap.

Ganyana seems to think of one man, one rifle, in an area respect is due. From one of your wonderful articles, Mr. G.

PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS. There is a situation where you want the guy to have one rifle, and shoot the hell out of it, sleep with it, etc.

s

Kensco,

I think the reason people discourage using a 150 is more because of the big magnums than anythign else. 150gr in 308Win is great, but in a RUM or WinMag you may get into trouble.