Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Who here uses "too much rifle"

I like to shoot. I have used various rifles to kill game and varmints but I shot what was fun most times. There are times I shoot guns and bullets perfectly matched to the game I want to kill like when I was shooting hides for money. I did NOT want large holes in them.

But for the most part, I use bullet that don't blow up for any game I want to eat, and I don't pay as much attention to the chambering as many other do. I have killed deer with guns as small as a 22 WMR and the most powerful rifle I ever killed a deer with was a 460 G&A. I have head shot cotton-tails for food with a 375H&H, and also shot the heads off grouse and chucker with that gun. I killed 3 mule deer does with a 458.

I am on my 3rd barrel in one of my 270s and on my 2nd barrel in my 375H&H.

As you may guess, the 375 was not shot out killing elk and moose or elephants and buffalo. Most of the bore erosion in my 270 was not done killing deer, elk and antelope either. What they did get used for a LOT was jack rabbits and rock chucks. But I did learn the trajectories REALLY well, as well as windage holds, and I got to be a very good shot with those 2 rifles. So when I fired at a deer, elk, antelope, bear or moose I hit them where I wanted to. The large number of my misses were shot at running rabbits and Rock Chucks at long distances. Get good that hitting them and a deer gets pretty easy.

So shooting a lot with a big gun often means you are shooting more power than you need. Looking back over the 54 years I have hunted I can only count 1 time I ever fired a 270 two times at an animal (both hits) and only shot 2 times (also both hits) with my 375H&H at a moose. ALL the other shots at big game animals with those 2 rifles were one shot kills as far as I can recall. ( With those 2 rifles. I can't say that with some others I have owned) I expect good results with both rounds, but placing the bullets either exactly where I wanted to, or "very close to exactly", I believe my supper high success rate with those 2 rounds is not because there is some kind of magic inherent the cartridges, but because shooting the 375 about 11,000 times and the 270 about 21,000 times, I got to be VERY good at bullet placement.

Are they "too much gun" for most of the kills? Yes. So what? Why would that matter?

My 270s have killed every big game animal I have ever shot with them and so did my 375. Are they "too much gun" for marmots and grouse ? Yup.

But that didn't kill them any less than a 22-250 or 222 Remington---------- and they never lodged a single formal complaints,--- least wise none I ever got.