Pygmy

The standard choke tubes that come with modern shotguns are designed to be used with either lead or steel shot. I suspect you could shoot steel through them for a lifetime with no ill effects. What you should NOT do, is shoot steel through the xtra full chokes ( like turkey chokes) .Most of them have a warning printed on them to use lead shot only. Also, avoid using steel shot in older fixed choke shotguns. Many of them have thin walled barrels and can be deformed by steel shot. Most guns made after appx. 1970 were designed to shoot steel shot with no problems. Steel does pattern tighter than lead shot. In a single barrel gun I best results with IC for steel, for both ducks and geese. In my over/under I use IC/MOD.

Black squirrels are a color phase of grey squirrels. I have read that black squirrels can be born in the same litter as greys. However, there are places where the black phase is dominant. In the area where I hunt spring gobblers in Ontario, Canada, it is rare to see a grey.. Actually, I have seen damn few grey squirrels north of the St. Lawrence... I have hunted an area near Eldred, PA. where the ratio of greys to blacks was about 50/50.. Here in southern Steuben County, the number of blacks has seemed to increase over the last 40 years..Used to be, I would see a black about once every two years.. Nowadays, I see them frequently enough that I consider them just another squirrel.I have shot 33 squirrels this season so far. 3 of them have been black..

Once you have killed it, it's MEAT...Hang it anyway you want to.. RESPECT is involved before the deer dies.. It involves trying to make a clean kill and then making a responsible effort to recover the animal after the shot. The only way to disrespect a dead animal would be to wantonly waste the meat.

By the way, I ain't GREEK, but I love lamb,,, I only ate goat once, on a business trip to Monterrey, Mexico in 1977. I went to a restaurant with a few people from the plant I was working at. The menu offered a hind leg from a kid goat. I ordered it, and it was very good..I would compare the flavor to domestic rabbit.. I also remember that the cerveza frio was excellent, and the senoritas were BEAUTIFUL...

You say you want to "take it out"..... What do you want to do, SHOOT the critter, or DATE it ??.... As far as DEC is concerned, since it is a non-native species, I suspect it is a civil matter, rather than an Encon matter. It would be considered property, rather than a game animal. A few years ago a red stag escaped from a local preserve during deer season (poor timiing). A hunter shot it and the owner tried to collect the carcass from the guy who shot it, but he would not give it up. Since the beast was an unregulated game animal and was far from the property where it belonged, the owner did not have a leg to stand on, and the hunter kept the animal.

Just what I would expect from a guy with big, black knobby, parasite infected feet.... <<Private joke between me and Steve863>>

Larry...I'll try it as soon as I get some stew meat....All I have is half a dozen packages of burger left...Recently used up my last sirloin tip roast ( for stew) and my last package of steaks..

If you are going to have the snake mounted, you better shoot it with fine shot, preferably shot loads from a handgun...Thier skins are pretty fragile and even a .22 will mess them up.. Better yet, just whack the reptile behind the head with a stick. They die pretty easy..

That kitty won't bother you or the deer much.. He'll run like hell if he sees/smells you, and he's not much threat to an adult deer unless it is crippled or bogged down in heavy snow.. Feel lucky to have had a chance to observe one..Many folks haven't..

Sure, if you qualify the range of OVER 300 yards, the .270 WM DOES have advantages over many standard rounds, especially if you limit it to .270 cal. The OP wanted to know a good, accurate rifle and caliber for shots from 100-300 yards, and the fact IS that , within those parameters, there are many chamberings that will kill game just as efficiently as a .270 WM, and do it much cheaper, and with less noise , expense and recoil.

I have a CZ-550 American in 9.3 x62 and it is a great rifle. I get 3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 yards with 250 grain Barnes X bullets..A friend of mine has one in .308 and that is a one-holer. I have talked with many other guys on other forums that have them and every one is a tack driver. Even the full stock models shoot under an inch. I'd love to get a full stock model in 6.5 x 55....

It can also hammer your shoulder harder and blast out your eardrums quicker... My 7mm08 will kill game just as quick within 300 yards as your belted magnum, with much less expense and commotion. As per accuracy..The 7mm08 groups sub MOA at 100 yards. How much more accuracy do you need ? Then there are asthetics involved...I consider the Mark Vs GAUDY...If a PIMP were to hunt, he'd use a Weatherby Mark V.

Bubba...Medical terms aside, I can't believe that a deer that is badly injured and in fear for it's life is responding to thirst, or anything other than an instinctive urge to escape and hide.. I know where you live...Anywhere up there where there is water, there is likely dense escape cover..

Negative...southern zone...

You are entitled to your opinion..I'm just commenting on my observations over a few years...Well....QUITE a few years..

Back when I was young, dumb, and full of piss and vinegar ( I am no longer young, nor full of P/V) I used to enjoy following blood trails... Then, over the years, I followed a number that did not result in a recovered deer, due to weather, clotting, or whatever reason. A few were deer that I had hit, and many times I was helping friends and hunting partners track thier deer. Nowadays, I only like to follow ONE kind of blood trail.. Wide, short, and with a dead deer at the end !

Here's a couple that don't involve the weather.. A badly wounded deer will go to water... A badly wounded deer will not go uphill.... Based on following dozens of blood trails over the last 45 years, I have never seen any indication that either one is true. One thing a wounded deer WILL do is head into thick escape cover, whether it's uphill, downhill or sidehill...

I have never been asked to show ID for any ammo purchase, but I am in my 60s and have to show ID in many places to buy beer...

You are probably right, Paulie... No offense..The last time I was on Park Ave was in the early 1970s, and I vowed never to go there again, nor anywhere else in the city.. Spent two years there from 1971-1973 on a destroyer tied up first at Brooklyn Navy Yard and then at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx. The only time I ever went back to NYC was in 1977, briefly, to get a Mexican work visa for my job.. I haven't missed it a bit..

Just making conversation ,Elmo...Short barrels are fine with me.. I have a 28" barrel for my 11-87 and the only thing I use it for is ducks and geese.. My main small game gun is a S/S 20 gauge with 25" barrels.. It is probably near the same OAL as your pump with the 20" barrel..Very handy in brush and other upland cover. I have a 21" barrel for the 11-87 that I use for turkeys, but I have used it several times for waterfowl..Made my one and only triple on ducks with the short barrel and several doubles and triples on geese.. Short barrels are fine with me..

Hmmmmm... Sounds like walking around with a chip on your shoulder.. Might better display your trophy to people that will appreciate it.. I am as PRO hunting as anyone could be, but if I saw somebody walking around Park Ave. with a deer mount, my first thought would be... What an a**hole...

I'll definitely give that a try, Early..Thanks for the tip. Fall smallie fishing is really heating up here in the Chemung River drainage..I went walleye fishing this morning..No 'eyes" (lost a nice one) but couldn't keep the smallmouths off the hook, which is not a BAD thing..lol..

Your apology is not necessary, Hounds... I was pulling your chain a little ( pun intended) and I do respect your opinion. I can also understand why some trappers don't want to take the time and effort to skin, flesh, and stretch low value furs.

Congrats, Elmo...Pretty impressive birds, eh ?... They are among my favorite birds to eat, also.. I prefer them to grouse, but my all time favorite upland bird is quail, which I seldom get to hunt. Hey, don't look now, but SOMEBODY sawed off the barrel of your SHOTGUN...hehehehe....

You got a good gun and a quality scope. The older Redfields were good quality. Drilling and tapping generally reduces the resale value of a gun, even though it might increase the UTILITY of said forearm. Used guns sell better in their original, unaltered condition. Just try to sell a classic shotgun like a Win Model 12 or a Belgian Browning A-5 that has been drilled and tapped.. It will sell as shooter, the value will be considerably less than an unaltered specimen.. Aftermarket adjustable chokes like Poly Chokes are a real kiss of death. They are perfectly functional ( the forerunner of screw in choke tubes), but they cut the value of the firearm about in half.