moosemike

Bryce Towsley told me he has tested two 750's in .35 Whelen and had jamming and feeding issues with both. It's a shame because that is the Caliber I wanted in the 750 but it may be a problem round for this gun. As far as .30-06 bullets for deer I like the 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. They kill them dead, fast.

I prefer the 200 grain bullets for the .35 Whelen and .358 Win, and .350 Rem. mag. They give all the penetration you can use on deer. I mean when a bullet is already exiting what more can a 250 offer you? They're just deer, Moose are another story.....

Factory ammo is loaded to SAAMI specs. While the .30-06 and .45-70 to cite just two examples are loaded below what they could be due to old military rifles being about, most cartridges are loaded to the max especially the .25-06 which is factory loaded to 53,000 CUP which is magnum territory. Just try going hotter than factory for most cartridges and you'll have enlarged primer pockets and spent primers may even fall out. These are things that are actually occuring with the new, hotter Hornady Superformance ammo. And do you know if you have a tight bore on your rifle? If you do you will be acheiving higher velocities than normal and also higher pressures. If you load a rifle with a tight bore hotter than SAAMI you will risk a case rupture. If you've never experienced one of those believe me they are no fun. The .30-06 is factory loaded to 50,000 CUP and it can be safely loaded to 52,000. But other than that most cartridges are factory loaded to the maximum safest pressures in all guns.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission did extensive testing on the safety differences between Shotgun slugs and rifles several years ago. They determined that Shotguns were no safer than rifles for congested areas.

Yes indeed, the greatest generation is almost gone. My Grandfather died two months ago at age 86. He served from '43 to '45 on a battleship in the Navy. He was on Japan for the surrender.

I know AR here in PA has led to an awful lot of ground checking. Some of those bucks weren't big enough and were left to rot in the woods. Others were drug out after dark untagged. Either way there has been an awful lot of it. Now we have a three point minimum per antler so commonly the difference between an illegal buck and a legal buck is a browtine which can't be seen on a broadside buck. that's where the shoot first ground check later stories generally come from.

Being from PA myself I haven't found that to be the case. I do see more 80-120" B&C class bucks but as far as top end bucks I see less now than ever. My theory is that the hunter who would gladly take a spike or forkhorn has to pass it up and he is still in the woods to take that 2 1/2 year old 8 point. In doing so that 2 1/2 year old buck is prevented from becoming a 3 1/2 year old buck and that Spike or Forkhorn he passed up is free to breed Doe.

10 years old is probably pushing it. The only reason I started my boy out at 10 is because from the time he was three he would tag along with me on deer, bear, moose,pronghorn, and turkey hunts so I knew he was ready at ten. And he proved me right.

Anyone under 12 years old is allowed to hunt as a mentored youth. The mentor must be by their side at all times. Anyone from age 12 to 16 is a junior hunter and must have a parent or guardian within shouting distance of them at all times. My son shot a 6 point buck when he was 10 years old. That was a great experience for him and hooked him on hunting.

Here in PA we dropped our hunter age from twelve to whenever the parent feels the child is ready. It's hard getting the younger generation into the woods and your best chance of course is if you get them started young.

Problem is he's been deer hunting in PA since he was 10 years old. I don't know how he'd take to being demoted to just a spectator.

So he's out of luck huh. That's a shame.

How old does a kid need to be to hunt deer? I'm from PA and I'm invited to hunt the Adirondacks this year but I'm wondering if I can take my 13 year old along? I seem to get conflicting answers on this depending who I ask so I figured I'll ask you guys who live in NY. Thanks.