I once took my bolt action .577 wildcat to a high power rifle match and showed it around to the crowd in the pits.

Several of them wanted to shoot it, and all agreed that it was a most satisfying gun to shoot.

In fact, most were satisfied after one shot....

I had my 378 wby at the range one day and the guy next to me had to ask what I was shooting. He then lectured me about how important it was to be able to shoot accurately and that accuracy is what kills. He finished his wise lecture with a comment about a gun with so much recoil will make it hard to shoot good groups due to fear of recoil. After his lecture we went to check our targets and was proud to show me his 2 inch group with his deer gun. As he stood next to me I proclaimed "damn buddy you are right" as I pick up my target and showed it to him. He had a funny look on his face as he saw my 1/2 inch group and said what do you mean. I replied I usually dont have such a damn big group with my light kicking 340.
I think his first mistake was that he has never shot a 378 but read all the bs about recoil written by a gun writer. Then there are those guys who come up when you shooting your 450 double and ask what the hell are you planning on shooting that??? " elephant"???. And when you say yes and maybe a cape buffalo they seem to not have anything else to say

i say "hogs, maybe deer.. might not be up to armadillos, but i have bigger guns for them.. wanna shoot it?"

I tell them that I kill bugs for a living and that there is a new strain of big roaches in New Orleans that is very dangerous and hard to stop. I tell them it is not spoken of because of a gag order, we don't want to scare away the tourist.

JD

That stuff has been going on for 200 years, its cool to shoot stuff with light calibers, it makes you a better hunter blah, blah, blah, Mostly it means you can't handle recoil.

What it tells those that know is the person passing gas is a probable once a year hunter, an ocassional shooter at best, and has no knowledge of guns or hunting, either that or the guy is a imbecile.

the old dodge, "that big ole gun will blow them in half and I am a meat hunter" simply holds no water..I guarentee you a 458 Win or 416 Rem for instance with a heavy bullet wastes less meat than a 243, 22-250, 270 or any of the rest. It puts a hole the size of a broomstick through a deer or antelope and litte if any bloodshot meat, and even if you hit a bone it seldom causes extreme blood shot problems. I have shot too much camp meat on Safari to be fooled by that old stuff.

Those kind of folks don't even deserve a reply.

The only reason I don't use my big bores to hunt deer and elk in my home state is because they are too heavy and I see no need as I get by very well with my 30-06, 300 H&H and my .338 etc. Besides its my business, not anybody elses.

G'Day Fella's,

The Canadian, sorry I haven't read all the other posts on this thread, so I may be repeating what has already be said?

Like in so many situations, it may be nothing more than envy!
One person wants but can't afford what you have, so they belittle and bag you for being able to afford it?

I don't really know but I personally don't really care, what others may think. I have worked bloody hard and long and have gone without, to get what I now have!
You are obviously a more polite person than myself, as I would have put my ear muffs back on (after about 30 seconds), and made it obvious, that I was going to start shooting (targets) and done just that!!!

Doh!
Homer

I think it is really nothing more than ignorance.

I recall a visit I had with the NW Regional Administrator for NMFS a few years back when he was working on the whaling permit for the Makah Indians and the main issue was what rifle regulations would be required for the finishing shot after it was harpooned; he knew nothing about big bores and was considering requiring them to use a T-Rex or 460 Wby. I asked him what bullets he was going to require and he was shocked when he found out that getting brain penetration on a whale most likely required solids and he didn't need to worry so much about requiring the biggest of the big bores just something 375 or up with solids. It would have been nice to find out how it all ended up!

OP, you should have told him you work seasonally culling elephant and if you don't shoot 250 a year they'll fire you.

I bet he'd flip out...

I'm quite lucky, whenever I go to the range most people are interested in the heavy calibres I own and the craftsmanship of the rifles.
I lived in southern Africa for many years, and for some of those,I was heavily involved in game conservation ( African style ) so most of my rifles are .375 and up. My recently acquired "petite" rifle is in 45-70 and everybody at the range refers to it as my .22.
The only comment I have ever had- was when dropping off some cartridges for a collector friend, was from one of his more distant acquaintances "But they are for elephant guns" "Yes" being my reply, to which I had "There are no elephants in France" (I now live in France) to which my answer was "SEE -they work!" Which everybody else thought highly amusing, apart from the somewhat flummoxed questioner !

What wildcat is this?

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
I once took my bolt action .577 wildcat to a high power rifle match and showed it around to the crowd in the pits.

Several of them wanted to shoot it, and all agreed that it was a most satisfying gun to shoot.

In fact, most were satisfied after one shot....

It is weird to "hate" calibers. A waste of time and not real bright. I hope I never have that much time on my hands.

I agree that it is weird to hate calibers. There are many calibers that I don't bother using myself, I don't even own a 30-06 for goodness sake. But if the person shooting the gun likes the caliber, well then thats one more happy shooter in the world and one more friend to be made.

Here in Vegas I take my big bores to the regional shooting range all of the time. If people ask me about the "big boomer" (which sometimes sets off car alarms in the parking lot-LOL!), I tell them that it's one of my dangerous game guns. Usually they then ask about the gun and what I hunt with it, and I tell them dangerous game!

I don't see the problem. I just tell them I' m sighting in/practicing/working up loads to go to Africa. Most ignorant people think
that Africa requires extra-powerful rifles, even for plains game, so what I say is acceptable.

I may hunt deer with my .375 but if anybody asks about it, I'll merely say that in my limited experience it kills deer-sized game a lot quicker, which it does.

At our range it's mostly big bores. We have a saying, "Real rifles have two barrels". If you are shooting a big bore you had better have brought enough ammo for everyone. Big bores are just fun....Tom

Being raised on living on big ranches in far West Texas I saw and heard a lot of that, but it was not hating as they truly believed the bigger a gun was the more damage it did, Most of my family felt that most hunters were over gunned and they probably were by our standards back then..

It was only in later years that I realized that it was not a fact of life..

I do think many hunters are overgunned in that they cannot shoot them and refuse to admit it and I really see not need to shoot deer and elk with anything beyond a medium big bore, but to each his own and whatever blows your skirt up, Hunting today is fun and games and not subsistence in most cases, sure it adds to the larder but in most cases beef is cheaper to buy than paying for the cost of hunting, guided or not, so enjoy and use whatever gun you want..
I have used about all the calibers on deer and antelope over the years from the 22 L.R. to the 500 Jeffery's as I recall, and both worked well.

I have had this happen a number of times and my responses tend to vary with my mood.

Here are a few I tend to use though.

1. "Because I have a small penis and I am compensating". Say it with a straight face. They usually have nothing to say.

2. Bacuse I can not feck off.

3. EATADICK..... it is all one wird.

Because this is my small bore gun the big bore I left at home. I usually use this with the 416 or the 470.

Only one I have ever used-

Because I can.

SSR

If I get told I DON'T need big rifles I usually respond by asking them what car (automobile) they own.

When I start lecturing to them that they SHOULD only be driving a Toyota PRIUS or Hybrid because you dont need any more power to get from point A to point B and they dont need that big Ford 250 or SUV parked outside, they tend to get the message real quick

regards S&F

I've really only had this issue at public ranges and from the folks shooting their SKS's, AK's, or AR's. Haven't really had any "Haters". Usually after 3 or 4 shots, I'll look up to see a small group of people watching me shoot like it's a football game, always complimented with "Holy S..T" comments and the like.

One or more will eventually ask about the caliber and I just tell them I'm headed to Africa and that's the end of it.

I'm not sure I could let anyone I don't know pretty well shoot my DR. If I did, I certainly wouldn't load both barrels. The last time I let a friend shoot my 500NE was my PH in South Africa. Never crossed my mind that he was unfamiliar with doubles. Without me noticing, he put a finger on both triggers and "Doubled" it. Cut his hand and gave him a bloody nose. He just stood there with his eyes glazed over and shaking his head like Mike Tyson had just hit him. Laughed my ass off until I noticed a small crack in the stock.

I got nothing but trouble from people in Minnestoa about shooting big bores and hunting with them. I moved to South Dakota and most of the people here seem curious and interested instead. I think it depends a lot where you are.

One guy at a MN range continued to badger me about how I would never hit a person with my 475 linebaugh. I continued to tell him this revolver is for fun and hunting, not self defense. he spent more time badgering me than shooting and he seemed to be getting pissed off.

I get a lot of shit because I'm only 30 so when I ask about the big guns at stores, they think I have no idea about them and try like hell to discourage me, while I usually know more than most the people working there.

So I am honest here in SD, but in MN I learned to not tell people what I am shooting.

The very best is when you can go down range and show them how much better you shoot your big bore than they shoot there small bore. Don't get discouraged, just get smart about limiting the information you tell people. Many times when asked what I am shooting, I say, "a rifle."