Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles My best woods rifle for big game.

Yes Mike. The "Pittsburg Machinegun." If I remember correctly these are at their best with see-through mounts, and any cheap scope.

These are also the people that cannot bring enough alcohol to camp to stay at least partly well plastered for a few days straight, and are what we called "ticket fillers." Their motto is, "we have six licenses, so we should shoot six deer. What's the difference who shoots them?" Hence the machine gun term.

My father started hunting over in PA before WW2. He started taking me over there when I was about 14. As family changes took place we sold our last place in Elk County. When my father started taking me we were lucky we had money for gas, and often slept in the car Friday night to hunt Saturday. I saw my first bear in the woods about then. During deer season. It made my entire hunting season. I never hunted bear over there, but I always enjoyed seeing them, and just getting to observe them in their element.

I am not anthropomorphic. But, when I harvest game it is in a legal season and allotted, and I do think that I owe it a good and unexpected death without suffering, and not the inevitable decline of old age, starvation, and suffering.

This is the last place were I should think that someone who has had the opportunity to knock around Alaska for a year or so should be belittled and remanded for wanting to buy another rifle... It's not necessarily what you are doing, but also what you want to do next.

Do you really need a big excuse to want another rifle? Maybe some of you people should just go out and buy a chicken and choke it to eat.

If my being somewhat educated, well read, and well informed is offensive to you, and having formed opinions. Shame on you. I pride myself on having learned, grown, and changed many of my opinions since I was 14. I still try to do that. Science has changed its opinions on many things since I was 14. It seems a sad state of affairs in the world today that many have only become more simplistically hysterical and only look for evidence to buttress there views - like a bad scientist, or a poor historian.

I have gotten to the age and stage in life where when sometimes, someone says something I often say, "Maybe I'll get hit by the "Big Truck" by then." They often respond, "But you might not die!" My response is always a surprised look and, "Don't you understand the term BIG?"

We should all be happy to be our game.

If my being somewhat educated, well read, and well informed is offensive to you, and having formed opinions.

"I determined that if I had a powerful rifle and practiced with it I would get more.

I have no idea what that means...

Since I have been hunting deer and other game for a lifetime here is how and why I chose the rifle I use prefer.

Most of my game hunting has been in Vermont where I have had a cabin for most of my life. We have hunted from there since 1964.

Right now its ready and the heat is on!

The hunting there has required that it be a buck with antlers.

Very few hunters get anything there.

The success rate has been about 10%, ie: one in ten get a buck!

I determined that if I had a powerful rifle and practiced with it I would get more.

I chose my Savage 99 F in .358 Winchester.

We run running deer matches at our rifle club here. I participate in them and in others in the region.

I tested rifles chambered for various cartridges and learned about bush cartridges.

I know a hunter will do better for this hunting shooting the most powerful rifle they can handle!

Those that use tiny cartridges for hunting are passing up shots and hurting our sport of hunting.