Elmo

Time, travel, and money not a factor? Alaska.

You're missing my point by cutting my paragraph short. The second half of my paragraph is where I go on to explain that there are other factors outside of my control that would cause me to miss.

My reservations against taking a 75 yard shot isn't so much as my ability to hit the target. If I plan on taking such shots, I'm sure I will put in the practice time to be able to hit the target each and every time. That much I can control. My concern is more in what can change in the environment during the flight time of the arrow. A shift in the wind. Wind difference between me and the target. Deer decides to take a sudden step. I'm pretty sure we've already discussed my much distance a deer can move in a fraction of a second. The difference between a boiler room shot and a gut shot is only a few inches. These elements I cannot control.

It was the cheapest .25 caliber I could find that shot at legal speeds. Wanted more knock down power to use in shotgun only zones without having to pick shotgun pellets out of my harvests. I didn't like the fact that the trigger is so far in front of the handle. It's like I need Andre The Giant size hands to hold it comfortably. Will stick to the good old shotgun and 22LRs for now.

Picked up the same Hatsan .25 you got Stan since I wasn't thrilled with the Benjamin 397. Haven't really got much use out of it yet. Took it to the range over the summer but it was shooting all over the place. Not thrilled with the Hatsan either. Think I need to clean out the manufacturer's grease first. Guess I'm not that much of an airgun type of guy.

They sure are!!! Oh so I heard.

Not the best example Biz. Took 3 shots and then they were all in surprised that he actually got it. Granted a ground squirrel is smaller than a deer's boiler room.

Any "accidental discharge" if you and your spouse decide to ummmm....."rearrange furniture" in the middle of the night?

Might consider it.

That pretty much sums it up. Deer is considered by most to be a mid size game. Another way to look at it is that it generally takes around 800 ft/lbs (depending on who you ask) of energy to kill a deer. Some calibers can produce high amounts of energy at closer ranges but because of poor aerodynamics, the bullet loses a lot of energy while in flight and drops below 800 ft/lbs at certain ranges. While other may start out at a lower amount of energy, they are much more aerodynamic that a longer distances, they still retain enough energy to take a deer. Look at the ballistic data of each caliber and it'll help you determine what caliber suits you as well as what is the distance limit of that caliber. Bullet selection is very important as well. Don't use a bullet that is intended for varmints (breaks up easily) on larger game. Larger game requires bullets that holds together longer to allow deeper penetration.

Either a couple of people are not reading the OP original post carefully or they're comfortable shooting their bow out to 75 yards.

Broadside? Double lung shot.

You sure? I was at Gander a month ago and there was a pallet load of 223 50 grain FMJ selling for $7 a box (of 20 rounds). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That slimy stuff between the two meats is the fascia. It's a layer of collagen that holds muscle tissue together. It serves like a WD40 so when the two muscles move back and forth, there is no friction. Completely edible. Collagen is the main ingredient on gelatin (Jell-O). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How did that first one even eat?

As much as you have space and money for.

I believe according to the SAFE act you cannot sell it to another person in NY state. You can only sell it to someone living in one of the free states.

Are you sure Storm King is for deer only? First time I ever heard of that but I've only been to Storm King a couple of times and didn't like the place so I don't know that much about it. The one thing about Storm King is that you're only allowed to hunt one side of the road. The other side is for hiking only.

Nothing wrong with just having a gun just to go to the range with and shoot. I have guns that I don't hunt with. They're purely just for fun. Just want to clarify the true purpose. Some people like to hunt, some like to shoot. Nothing wrong with either one of them.

Status ally speaking, we got around 61" of snow 3 years ago and so far this year we got around 40 something so we've had a lot worst only a few years back. Of course winter is not over yet this year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If the OP is going to hunt in Dutchess and NJ which are shotgun only areas but he's still talking about 243s and 30-06, it makes me believe that his main priority is to have a center fire rifle to shoot with and hunting is really secondary. If that is the case, either 30-06 or 243 is fine for paper. 30-06 is the more popular round and you can find all kinds f variety and availability. The 243 is a much more flatter (thus more accurate) round at long distances. 30-06 can reach out there but the 243 will reach out there as well with less bullet drop and wind drift. It may not be as popular as the 30-06 but it is not an obscure round by any means. It is still very popular round as well. The 243 though, has less barrel life than the 30-06. means you have to replace the barrel on a 243 quicker than a 30-06. Stuff for you to consider. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do you need a choke to use a rifled slug out of a smooth bore? I shot a few rifled slugs out of my Mossberg 500 home defense barrel and the slugs were going every where. I gave up on them. Now I hunt with a muzzleloader in shotgun only areas. Plan on buying a rifled barrel for my H&R Handi-Rifle this summer to give me a rifled barrel to work with.

Very true. For got where I read it but the top factors in determine lethality ranked in order: 1. Shot placement. 2. Bullet type selection. 3. Caliber. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

243 maybe light but the right amount of practice and proper shot placement, you can take deer and even black bear in my opinion. A 30-06 of course will more than do the job but even with the lightest bullet, a 30-06 will still leave a pretty decent size hole in a coyote. Not sure if you're interested in saving the pelt when you're talking about being able to hunt a wide variety of game.

NJ is shotgun only as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk