500 S&W Mag (don't forget to hold your mouth right)

[solo1]

That looks like a real nice combo Gavin.  What reflex sight is that ?

My Hi Point has a UTG 1x30 38mm tube red/greendot sight and it works fine but for 46 bucks I'm not sure about reliability. Reviews were good but Chinese of course.

Here is my bench rest group of twenty shots at 50 yards with the Hi Point. 165gr .40 cal American eagle ammo. (not 265 as I wrote on the target).  The Hi Point doesn't have much recoil but I don't care for the Spring loaded buttplate.

[Gavin_Sons]

It is a Burris fastfire 3. I read reviews on cheaper knock offs and decided to get a good reputable brand. Yes it was a little pricey but I don't need it coming off zero and injuring deer. I have only lost 2 deer in my life and it makes me sick to think I might have killed them and couldn't recover them.

[Bronxboy]

Love everything Guns myself 





The Single Malt is also my favorite, but not enjoyed together 

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I'll have to get out the camera latter in the week and add a little to this thread. Man, this has been an enjoyable read. 

I had a disaster and a near disaster last year with my one and only chance to use my 450 Bushmaster while hunting. It was opening morning & just as I have done every opening morning for the last 27 years or so, I was hunting with my buddy Paul at his place. We have a big 2 man permanent stand on posts there. It has half walls we can shoot over all the way around and a metal roof. I took my first deer from that stand as Paul watched and visa versa for him. I tanned the hide from that first deer and a couple strips from it are holding my ride bells on the Valk right now.

Last year at about 75 yards I had a shooting opportunity on a nice doe and took the shot which appeared to be a good shot. I was pretty excited as this would have been my first deer taken with an AR. We gave her 30 minutes and walked over to recover the deer from the brush and there was no deer. We tracked her for hours till the blood trail got down to a drop every 20-30 yards and then just went away. I was sick, as you can imagine. And, I was at a complete loss as to how it happened. I went back and looked for her on and off all season but she was not dead on his property anywhere. Although I continued to hunt for the rest of the season my confidence and drive were kind of shot because of losing that deer. I played the shot over in my mind daily and couldn't figure it out. That 450 was the most accurate deer gun I have ever owned and I was really puzzled.

Fast forward to a month after season and I've got the upper taken apart and stored in the shop ready for me to find time to Duracoat. When I finally got it out to Duracoat it I realized the barrel extension was cracked  where the pin penetrates it. Then I realize the upper is cracked at the same place too. I guess that would explain the miss and, of course, it could have been a disaster if I had fired a 2nd round. Probably the only reason I didn't was because I am so used to hunting with single-shots I didn't even think about how quickly I could have fired a 2nd shot until the chance was long past.

I guess I adverted disaster again by not having another shooting opportunity for the rest of the season. Or, maybe it would have held together... Glad I didn't find out. I have never reloaded for that rifle although I've bought dies and powder to do so. Was just waiting on having a good supply of brass built up since new brass is half the cost of commercially loaded ammo.

Although it was a year out of warranty I contacted Bushmaster and sent it in for repairs. They are sending me a new upper on them which I will be eternally grateful for. Why it broke, pin hole undersized, bad round, defective metal, I don't know. The brass is probably still out there in the brush under our stand but it would be tough to find at this point. I'm just glad it held together but I'm still disappointed and kinda sick over the wounded deer. I hope this new upper will be as accurate as the old one was. 3 shot, one hole 100 yard groups was the norm for it. One hole groups can still be pretty big with a big round like that, it's not like they'd have fit into a dime, but it was still an impressive gun. I'm honestly not sure if I would call what happened with it good luck or bad but I think since my head is still attached to my shoulders I'd have to call it good. 

[solo1]

I'm glad that you didn't take another shot.  Something like that is a rare occurrence (or should be).

On my very last hunt I finished on a good note.  I was hunting from a camo blind on the ground.  I had been hunting on this nice woods just NW of ft. Wayne.  The farmer had given me special permission to hunt but only with a bow. On this my last hunt, He had sold the property and gave me permission to hunt one time with a firearm.  I chose my old model Super Blackhawk and carried it in a one of a kind flapped Ruger holster.  The handloads were 210 gr. jhp at 1500fps (chronographed.) and accurate.

It was Sunday late afternoon and this scraggly eight point buck came within 50 yards (my max limit with open dayglo sights.)  It was cold and was going to be dark shortly. I remember saying to myself "If I shoot, I'll be field cleaning almost 'til dark, should I?".  Yep!

I fired.  The buck walked very slowly about 5 yards, with his tail down. I didn't fire again although he was in plain view.  A camp grounds was behind him, about a quarter mile way With only brush in the way,, so i wasn't sure of my shot and beyond and didn't take it..   He swayed and went down.  I waited five minutes and came up behind him. Poked his eyeball with a stick , didn't move.  Then I found out why he walked there.  He fell in a mess of brambles. I had one b**** of a time dragging him out of that.  Cleaned him and it was dark. The JHP had completely obliterated both lungs as it passed through. He was quite a ways from my truck so I cheated and borrowed the farmer's wheelbarrow. Loading him into that was a chore tho.

End of story, End of my hunting days.  I didn't want to go looking for another place to hunt and the wife wanted me to quit after many years of hunting by myself.  I was solo1 back then too.

[Valk_Ridin_Soldier]

"Come on man, Go hunting with us!" my buddies kept saying.  I finally relented after 40 some odd years of not having any interest. 

I grew up in San Diego.  On the Beach.  Joined the Army from there, where I got plenty of time in the woods to satiate my curiosity.  Opening day of the season?  Whazzat?  All my life, skinning meat meant pulling the saran wrap off. 

But a few days at a Hunting cabin with good friends and some better bourbon, No cell phone reception, I figured, what the hell. 

Oh, I'd killed me some deer.  One with a Dodge Caravan, another with a Cherokee sport, one with a Chrysler LHS, and one with a Chevy Corsica.  The last was a big ass buck, and I think the car got the worst of that encounter.  All but the LHS were Government cars when I was recruiting in upstate New York.

At any rate, I went.  Did some shopping bought some decent food to cook.  I like cooking.  My cooking is snuggling awesome.  I mean, breakfast the first day was eggs Benedict, gravy over biscuits and part of the smoked salmon I brought. 

Brought my trusty model 700 in .308 with its bull barrel, Timmany trigger, Parkerized chamber, glass set heavy barrel, Harris bipod and Kevlar stock.  Only rifle I own, had it since 1992.  Modeled it after my M-24.  Went and sat in a tree stand for the better part of the morning, saw nothing, got bored, went back to the cabin and cooked lunch- my enchilada casserole.  Everybody came back empty-handed that first day.  I also refused to put some sort of deer piss on my boots like everyone else.  Prolly why I didn't catch any deer.

Second day, made my cornbread crusted sausage pie for breakfast, then later I saw a buck with a big rack of antlers.  I dunno how many points...just big antlers.  Saw something moving behind him another 75 meters further out.  I could have hit the deer sized target in my sleep but I didn't know what the secondary movement was so I just took a picture of it and let it wander off.  Hiked back to the cabin and did up the rest of the smoked salmon and some bacon for sandwiches and put a huge dent in the bottle of Elijah Craig.  Dinner was my "Permanent Memory" Chili, cornbread, and cucumber salad.  Nobody ever forgets my PM Chili.  The other guys killed two deer, and spent the waning hours before dark dressing them. 

Third and final day, T-bones and Sunnysides for breakfast with biscuits, then back in the tree stand looking up some firebreak, I saw a bear.  Didn't shoot it.  Got bored.  Killed the battery on my cell phone playing Candy Crush.  No signal anyway so it didn't matter.  The last two guys got another couple of deer.  I Wrecked everyone that night with a Beef Wellington that night so good they wanted to go home and beat their wives.  Finished the Elijah Craig, shared the Bulliet with everyone. 

They asked me back a few more times.  I gave up the pretense of hunting, left the rifle home, brought my girlfriend (now my wife) chased her around the cabin while they chased deer, and cooked and drank to my heart's content.  That's the extent of my hunting career.

[Crackerborn]

My, how this thread has wandered.

While I still hunt every year, I have long since given up the 9 day gun season here in WI. I take the longbow in early season, compound bow as the rut gets closer and of course the shotgun for birds. The longbow is more than adequate for small game and I enjoy the stalk more than the actual kill. Let’s see how close you can get to a squirrel before it realizes you may be a threat and scoots up a tree. I also use a Walther .22 pellet gun for squirrel and rabbit on occasion and though that pellet rifle is accurate to 75 yards, I doubt the kill power beyond 50 yards, even though the calculator says 2 ½ inches of penetration in flesh at 75 yards. I once would only use the longbow for birds but that is a recipe for loosing arrows and good carbon arrows tend to be pricey. Not to mention the time to test the spine, cut and fletch them. It is, however, a good way to not worry about taking the daily bag limit. I once hunted private land with a BIL, but once the landowner passed the land over to his kids, that ended. I now do the solo routine and hunt alone. I plan to hunt the late gun season this year with the .357 lever gun just because.
 
I have been lucky over the years to have only lost two deer to bad shots, one the coyotes took care of overnight before I found it and the other died in plain sight on land that the landowner would not give me permission to enter. Both were long, sparse blood trails to the animal. Both times I seriously considered not hunting anymore since it was a poor shot choice that wounded the creatures and both were shots that I was confident with at the time I took them. An unseen tree branch deflected the arrow in both cases.

In my case, the hunt is not about the kill (although I will never object to venison or other game in the freezer). The hunt is an opportunity to smell the leaves, the untended soil as you walk over it. To feel the breeze on your face, to hear the song birds rustling in the brush. To watch a chipmunk scurry back and forth as it stores acorns for the approaching winter. And the feel of the bark on the tree you are leaning against through your shirt as you pick the f__king  cockleburs off your pants.

[Gavin_Sons]

So much better here than with  the cry babies over on the political threads, no matter how far it wonders.

[solo1]

I totally agree about hunting.  The main thing for me was to sit long enough to see and hear what most people miss, undisturbed activity in the woods.  In fact, if my knees were a little better, i would like to just sit with a camera.

I, too, hunted squirrels with a pellet gun.  First it was a Sheridan Silver Streak, then a Beeman R1. For me, neither were reliably accurate to make them a total success beyond about 30 yards.  Later on, I acquired a RWS 6 handgun. THAT was accurate but I didn't take it hunting.

If I were still hunting deer today here in Indiana, I would use my Ruger New Vacquero in .357 or the HiPoint .40 carbine.  I haven't kept track of Indiana's laws but if they passed the centerfire high power rifle thing, I still wouldn't hunt with my .308 Savage. IMHO that shouldn't be in the high population density part of the state.

Just for info, in the '40's I made my own arrows using port orford cedar barreled shafts, turkey feathers, and Bodkin broadheads,  I made a feather burner, used a fluorescent light tube for dipping the shafts in aircraft grade lacquer, and even made a small lathe for cresting.  i checked my arrow shafts for spine and weight.  I used a Stuckey custom recurve and my first quiver was a custom 'over the back'. 

Just a bunch of needless information but more interesting than politics.

[Jess from VA]

My very first real weapon (other than a BB gun) was a Jr size full length fiberglass bow and target arrows.  It was about 30 dollars from Sears, so it took me about 60 weeks of saving up my 50 cent a week  allowance (if I did ALL my chores).  I took it down to the park and began practicing.  I then got the wild idea to shoot straight up in the air.  Just after launching the arrow, it occurred to me I was in danger of being skewered on the return flight, so I ran like a mad man kid out of the danger zone.  At 11 you have a lot to learn (I never did that again).  I also shot bows a lot in the Boy Scouts.  Once the firearm fever took over, no more interest in bows for me.

I did get a 4' blow gun with hunting darts a few years ago.  That thing would easily kill squirrels, if you could actually hit them square (or at all).  I did hit one once in the leg, then he wandered around the neighborhood with a dart in him for weeks and weeks with no apparent disability (I tried to put him down, but he was done coming around my yard anymore).  I can hit my 7" fence every time.  LOL 

Same deal with my wrist rocket slingshot.  It's more of a scare-them-away tool than a killer.  I could probably hit your car, but not a squirrel. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Jess, thanks for moving this thread on to Bows and such.  I had posted when I got it, but its still a riot.  I got a real nice crossbow built on an A/R platform.  accurate as all heck.  20 yrds it hits in the 1" red dot almost every time, and not far off when it misses.  Deadly for anything up to small bears like we have here in FL.  It has  185 lb pull and with (I believe 330 ft/sec) the mechanical broad heads should be pretty lethal







I took a shot at the snake, but only nicked it. Was using a field point only. Then we decapitated her with a machete.

[Gavin_Sons]

cool bow, PSE makes one on an AR platform also. I have been shooting compounds since i was old enough to walk. 6 arrows in a 1" circle at 20 yards is normal. I keep looking at cross bows but can't convince myself i need one yet. I'll be upgrading my compound next year as the one i have now is 5 years old. 340 FPS the new one i really want shoots close to 400 with a 70 pound pull weight. And they once said a bow would never shoot over 300.

[Chrisj CMA]

cool bow, PSE makes one on an AR platform also. I have been shooting compounds since i was old enough to walk. 6 arrows in a 1" circle at 20 yards is normal. I keep looking at cross bows but can't convince myself i need one yet. I'll be upgrading my compound next year as the one i have now is 5 years old. 340 FPS the new one i really want shoots close to 400 with a 70 pound pull weight. And they once said a bow would never shoot over 300.

For Cross bows I recommend recurve  instead of compound.  Safer and you can change your own strings in the field even.

[Jess from VA]

Jeff, if I didn't live in urban hell and had some nearby woods I could use (I cannot use ANY local woods), I would get one of those crossbows.   

[solo1]

ChrisJ that's a mighty fine cross bow.  The cross bow opened up hunting for also those who wanted to bowhunt but couldn't manage a recurve, long bow, or compound.

I'm attacihing a photo that I just took showing the recurve that I hunted with. It was custom built for me using purple heart (amaranth), walnut, and maple.  There was a short time in the early Fifties that the Pistol grip recurve was "In'  Being a dumbarse I had the craftsman spray my bow a flat black epoxy for hunting. Covered up the beautiful workmanship of Charles Stuckey. a local crafttman.  Unfortunately I tried to remove the epoxy, too hard and the bow is destroyed. Since it's 66 years old it couldn't be shot any way.

[Chrisj CMA]

ChrisJ that's a mighty fine cross bow.  The cross bow opened up hunting for also those who wanted to bowhunt but couldn't manage a recurve, long bow, or compound.

I'm attacihing a photo that I just took showing the recurve that I hunted with. It was custom built for me using purple heart (amaranth), walnut, and maple.  There was a short time in the early Fifties that the Pistol grip recurve was "In'  Being a dumbarse I had the craftsman spray my bow a flat black epoxy for hunting. Covered up the beautiful workmanship of Charles Stuckey. a local crafttman.  Unfortunately I tried to remove the epoxy, too hard and the bow is destroyed. Since it's 66 years old it couldn't be shot any way.

Yes that's exactly right.  I shot a bit of recurve bow in High School, wasn't bad, pretty good with a slingshot too, but to achieve the accuracy I get with the crossbow, Id have to love archery way more than I do.  That being said, I was not brought up a hunter.  Was always interested in it and I (for some reason) always felt if I went hunting it would be with a  pistol or a bow.  Now I have both capabilities so Im really happy with my arsenal. And its really just pigs Im after, not killed one yet, but then again I have not spent the time required I guess.  It will happen, the pig population around here is growing, it wont be long!

[Chrisj CMA]

OK, since were on bows.  I have a piece of history hanging on my fireplace.  I took it down to get some pics for you.  In the 1960's this dude that was an inventor and also a bow hunter wanted his arrows to fly faster.  So he Invented the Compound Bow.  His name was Holless Wilbur Allen.  This particular model has adjustable wings so the draw strength can be changed and the timing has adjusters as well.  I have never seen a compound bow with these adjustments before.

So I have a later version of his invention its dated early 1975 but its still way cool.  Here are the pics, and no I wont shoot it, the all metal cables look brittle as heck, who knows what would happen!!

[solo1]

So that's who came up with it.
 I switched over to a compound later.  It was a two wheel Browning Nomad and adjustable for weight from 45-60 pounds.  It had a wood riser much better in cold weather.  I liked it a lot. I started using Microflight arrows shafts, then aluminum, wasn't shooting any more when carbon fiber started.

 You're hunting for pigs with  the .500 will do the job. I looked into it online. Smith did themselves proud. They tested a .500 Smith with an over load of 90,000psi.  It bulged the cylinder but didn't blow, amazing!

 I was amazed to see that the Hogue grips are the same size as the ones for the K frames, if I read that right.  However, more state of the art padding which cuts down on the 'sting' but can cause doubles for some.  Wow!

[Serk]

I was amazed to see that the Hogue grips are the same size as the ones for the K frames, if I read that right.  However, more state of the art padding which cuts down on the 'sting' but can cause doubles for some.  Wow!

Yup, happened to my dad when he shot my 500... He didn't believe it until I opened the cylinder and showed him 2 spent cartridges, the two shots were so close together it sounded like one single shot.

Basically if you've got meaty hands the recoil will compress the grip far enough into your hand to reset the double action trigger, then it will bounce back, pulling the trigger a 2nd time.

Anyone shooting the 500 for the first time should really have a single cartridge only loaded to see how they handle it.

[Gavin_Sons]

I was amazed to see that the Hogue grips are the same size as the ones for the K frames, if I read that right.  However, more state of the art padding which cuts down on the 'sting' but can cause doubles for some.  Wow!

Yup, happened to my dad when he shot my 500... He didn't believe it until I opened the cylinder and showed him 2 spent cartridges, the two shots were so close together it sounded like one single shot.

Basically if you've got meaty hands the recoil will compress the grip far enough into your hand to reset the double action trigger, then it will bounce back, pulling the trigger a 2nd time.

Anyone shooting the 500 for the first time should really have a single cartridge only loaded to see how they handle it.

  that is great advice Serk. The 500 is a handful and not for beginners at all. Really any revolver 357 or bigger is more than a lot of folks can handle.

[Chrisj CMA]

I was amazed to see that the Hogue grips are the same size as the ones for the K frames, if I read that right.  However, more state of the art padding which cuts down on the 'sting' but can cause doubles for some.  Wow!

Yup, happened to my dad when he shot my 500... He didn't believe it until I opened the cylinder and showed him 2 spent cartridges, the two shots were so close together it sounded like one single shot.

Basically if you've got meaty hands the recoil will compress the grip far enough into your hand to reset the double action trigger, then it will bounce back, pulling the trigger a 2nd time.

Anyone shooting the 500 for the first time should really have a single cartridge only loaded to see how they handle it.

Serk, I have heard that any .500 can double tap like that, but it's usually due to poor shooting mechanics

So, when mine did it and I knew I had good technique, I sent it back to S&W.  They found that they had inadvertently put a cylinder stop spring from a lighter model in my .500.  Yes, they had to develop a more stout spring for the X-Frames.  It has never double shot or skipped a round since I got it back.

If the double tap or skipped round persists I would consider sending it back to get fixed.

[Crackerborn]

Any large caliber revolver will magnify poor technique, just as high power rifle rounds will. When I let someone shoot the .300 Win Mag for the first time there will only be a single round in the rifle even though it is a Browning A bolt.

As far as crossbows, I have not gotten the itch. To me it is too much like a long gun. I only moved into wheel bows when my faithfull recurve decided to snap a week before Turkey season opened about 8 years ago and I was desperate for something to fling arrows at big birds.

[Serk]

If the double tap or skipped round persists I would consider sending it back to get fixed.

Yup, would definitely have taken it up with S&W if it'd happened regularly or to other people, but it's only happened the single time, and to my dad (Who admittedly isn't the world's greatest shooter, but don't tell him I said that)...

And after that happened to him (Several years ago now, when I first got my 500) is when I implemented my "1 cartridge only" for first time shooter's rule...

...with great power comes great responsibility:

http://www.wgem.com/story/23864457/2013/11/03/woman-dead-in-accidental-shooting

[Chrisj CMA]

If the double tap or skipped round persists I would consider sending it back to get fixed.

Yup, would definitely have taken it up with S&W if it'd happened regularly or to other people, but it's only happened the single time, and to my dad (Who admittedly isn't the world's greatest shooter, but don't tell him I said that)...

And after that happened to him (Several years ago now, when I first got my 500) is when I implemented my "1 cartridge only" for first time shooter's rule...

...with great power comes great responsibility:

http://www.wgem.com/story/23864457/2013/11/03/woman-dead-in-accidental-shooting

 

[solo1]

I would be really concerned where that second round goes.

In our club an uncontrolled double tap where the bullet leaves the range property is immediate cause for getting thrown out of the range AND the club.  "Always be sure of your target and beyond"

I am concerned enough to contact our safety range officer about first time shooters of the .500. 

We have a .50 cal prohibition due to destroying back stops but I think that only applies to the .50 cal machine gun cartridge which includes Barretts.