Do you believe in overkill?

Question

personally I don't believe there is such a thing
you can never kill something too much

Am I saying you should use a 50 BMG for squirl hunting no but if you do I don't really care and no one else should care either your not a very efficent hunter if you do but its a humane kill

lets face it if someone was using a 458 Lot for deer hunting most people would say that it is overkill but so what if someone wants to use a 458 Lot for deer hunting nobody should give him/her any greif if someone walks into a store and asks what should I use for deer hunting someone should say "you might want to look into a 308 30-06 or 25-06 sir you probably don't need a 338"

I'm just saying nobody should get mad at anybody for using a larger than proficent cal.

If that makes any sense

I do agree with the damaging of the meat I just hate it when people use a 22 LR on coyots if anything is going to give peata more things to use against hunters its shooting animals with an unsuficent cal.

I do agree with the damaging of the meat I just hate it when people use a 22 LR on coyots if anything is going to give peata more things to use against hunters its shooting animals with an unsufficent cal.

Answer 1

If some one wants to get the living he11 kicked out of them for the giggles that one thing.
So what if he wants to shoot Prairie dogs with a 300 Win magnum.
I’ve been known to shoot armadillos with my 45/70 for giggles.

But there is 4 items that will set me off quick.
1. Using a Monster Magnum to make up for poor shot placement.
( when the old boy cant kill a deer with a 270 thanks well maybe if I use a 458 Win Magnum I’ll kill that deer this year.)
2. Those who wont the Magnums so they can shoot deer at 600 yards, when they cant hit a bulls eye at 100 yard.
3. Using semi auto with high capacity magazines, to make up for poor shot placement.
(Because they might need more then 5 shots to kill that deer.)
4. Those who wont to under gun for anything, like you said about the 22LR and Coyotes.
( I cant count how many times I have read questions on this forum, can a .17 caliber be used for deer because I‘m recoil sensitive.)
I have bumped in to fools like this.

It is these people (note I did not say hunters) that are giving you and I a bad reputation.
If they cant kill a deer ( or other animal ) with a humane one shot kill, they need to stay out of the woods.
If they are so recoil sensitive that they cant use a sufficient caliber weapon to do the job, they need to stay out of the wood.
If they cant hit the bulls eye at 100 yards, Don’t shoot 600 yards.

Hunting and Ethics go hand in hand, true hunters respect the game they hunt and don’t intentionally allow it to suffer.

If someone has the Skill and wants to use a 30-06 to shoot the heads off squirrel that his or her business, I use a 22LR to save money and do the same job and giggle on how much money I saved over the person using the 30-06.

I cant help but wonder if we should not make everyone qualify each year with their weapons before being allowed to get a hunting license.

You don’t get a drivers license or pilots license until you prove you can drive or fly.

Granted nuts, drunks and drug addicts still get to driver or flying, but maybe it would stop some of them for the sake of our sport and the wildlife.

D58


Hunting with Rifle, Pistol, Muzzle loader and Bow for over 3 decades.
Reloading Rifle, Pistol and shotgun for over 3 decades.

Answer 2

I'm neither Kieth nor O'Connor.
I won't use my old 6mm or my 257 Bob for deer except in special circumstances. On the other hand, I do use a 7 Mauser instead of an 8 (and I have both 8x57 and 8x68). And I'm not much into magnums of any sort. I'd rather hunt with a rifle I know and can shoot, which makes the extra powder superfluous. I don't even know why I own the things. Over the years I've come to think a reasonable caliber shooting a bullet with good sectional density and strong construction at moderate velocities is the best combination for medium game.
Oh, and I know a guy whose only rifle for deer, hogs, etc. is a 458 Win (though he does load it down a bit), and I have to confess to having once used a 500 BPE double. No gripes, just no point in it. I'm more worried about the guys with the semi-auto 338 and no scratches on the wood out to fill a doe tag. Sorry, but they're just going to make me nervous.

Answer 3

I believe in using enough gun, but you can over do things.

Personally I think shooting squirrels with a centerfire cartridge more powerful than a pistol cartridge, and not a .41 Mag or bigger, is not a great idea. A high powered rifle will not only damage lots, or all of the meat, but God alone knows how far it will go before coming down. For safety sake, one should use more moderate cartridges when the name of the game is shooting into trees at a one pound or less target.

When it comes to deer hunting, my three favorite cartridges are .30-30 WCF, .358 Win, and .45-70 Gov't. I simply don't believe that most people in the woods have the skill necessary to use something like a .223 or a .22-250 for deer. I can remember a time when calibers smaller than .30 were not legal for deer. It would not offend me to return to those regulations.

If I see some one using a .458 Lott to hunt skinny Southern Whitetails, I might razz him a bit about his choice of weapon, but there is no way I'd try to prevent him from doing it.

Sure there are some folks who get huffy if a person uses a larger caliber than they use, but that is foolish. A man should be able to use whatever adequate cartridge he likes, AS LONG AS THE CARTRIDGE IS ADEQUATE TO GET THE JOB DONE. If someone is man enough to use an elephant gun on a 100 pound deer, it's alright with me. I might tease him, but I'd also want to try his rifle.

Doc

Answer 4

any who say wasting meat is a cardinal error so don;t use guns too big is actually making no sense.

Since as others have pointed out a lot of the big guns will make less damage on small game since their bullets are too tough to open up.

People usually do not shoot varmints for meat. And a 240 weatherby does a lot more damage to them(like turns them inside out!) than a 416 Rem mag.

Any gunowners preaching about the whole 'don;t use overkill' situation actually play into PETA's hands, since they get tied up straight away with the fact our smaller guns do more damage in some cases. So nothing we use is safe from peta.

Better off just to let anyone use whatever they want.

Let PETA waste their own time coming up with BS excuses and shooting those excuses down, rather than doing the hard work for them.

As long as hunters realise some bullets go further than others and be aware of what is behind the target, what is the difference.

Answer 5

Hmmm And I have some rounds of .50 BMG sitting here. (really) I guess the squirrels are safe.
More than enough is not necessarily too much and the big boomers don't always damage that much meat. They are made for heavier game than deer and the bullets don't expand much as they go through. If they hit bone, they knock them right over.

Answer 6

While I agree that it's really no ones business what you happen to like to hunt with, I will agree with the above post that said if it damages too much meat, in effect wasting the kill, then that is in fact overkill. NEVER use a bazooka to hunt deer with.

Answer 7

I have taken Whitetail Deer with my 218 Bee and 222 caliber with no problem whatsoever*... The key factor here is Marksmanship, and your ability and capacity to deliver the kill shot*... You can be overgunned, but it will never make up for poor Marksmanship and bullet placement*.. Am I under gunned not according to the results based on my experience*...

Answer 8

some problems when using a bigger than nesessary rifle or gun, is flinching and pulling the trigger. trying for a shot that wouldn't normally be considered. resulting in wounding more often than not. generally this type of (hunting) is done by people that haven't been out with experienced hunters much. once these guys gain some experience they will realise the value of of a realistic caliber

Answer 9

Point with over kill!
A bullet should impart its energy inside game to do the most damage!
Not saying it would not be fun to use the big 50 to shoot ground hogs or such with,lol!

Answer 10

not to say that a clean kill isn't a priority.but if it damages to much meat than the animal is wasted.that is a cardinal no-no in our sport as we need to be very careful to not give the PETA nuts any more ammo to use against us.
so yes would say that there is such a thing as "overkill"