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How many bullets do you bring in the field when you hunt


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32 minutes ago, grampy said:

In 43 hunting seasons, I've never ran out of ammo!

But have gone to my pocket a time or two.

Been in a couple of goat ropes, not with deer, but all the same.....always 10 anytime I start hunting even out the back door.

Gun without ammo is nothing but a club.

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4 in the gun and whatever is left in the wallet/shell holder.after those 4 are taken from it.

 

I have 2 folding wallets that hold 14 rounds but usually have 8-10 in them. I also use the red plastic shell holders from Federal boxes that hold 10 rounds.

 

In 16 years hunting deer in NY with a CF rifle and close to 30 whitetails taken, I've only had to use a 2nd round once.

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I always bring 10 and once I needed almost all of them.   There has not been many times that I used more than one and most of those have been when the first deer was down, and another gave me a nice shot (lots of button bucks have got to stay with their mothers that way). 

Many years ago, I fired 8 or 9 shots at a big buck.  To this day, that remains the largest antlered deer that I have seen while hunting, and there is no doubt that "buck-fever" contributed to some of those misses.  That was the only time I used more than 3 shots on a hunt.  My first shot him high on a front leg, with a 16 gauge foster slug, from a range of approximately 120 yards.  The antlers did not look that big at that range, especially thru my 1-1/2 power Weaver scope.   My gun held a decent group at 100 yards, but I underestimated the yardage a bit, so the hit was low.    

That shot knocked him down, but he got back up and headed right towards my stand.   I must have breathed on my scope when I lifted my head away.   When I tried to find the cross-hairs as he got closer, it was all gray.  I just pointed the muzzle down at him as he stumbled by, almost under my stand, but missed clean with the other 4 shots from that first salvo.   

He went into some thick brush, but was obviously in very rough shape, falling down every few steps and making relatively slow progress.   I was a lot younger and faster then, and I thought I could catch him.   His wide rack was slowing him down in the thick brush, and it did not take me too long to start closing the gap.  Struggling to reload, I may have dropped a round or two.  A few times, when he got into an opening, I got off another shot.   When I knew I was on my last shot, I held my fire until I caught up to him, and put that last slug into his neck from point blank range.

Some would call it luck that I was able to kill that buck, but I don't believe in that.   As it turned out, he must have been struck low by another hunter a few days prior (my shots were on Thanksgiving morning).  I noted as I was gutting him that a rear hoof was severed and hanging by some hide.  The opposite diagonal front leg that I hit with my first shot was completely useless to him.   He was running on two good legs and the rear stump. A deer on three legs looses very little speed, but I was faster on two.        

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One in the muzzleloader, and 2 speed loads.

If I need more than that, I'm going home anyhow!

I always reload before approaching a downed animal just to be safe. On more than one occasion I've dropped a primer or powder pellet in the process and was glad to have the extra components.

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Whatever gun holds and depending on where I'm going I might have some in the pack. Hunting at camp or behind the house just whatever the gun will hold. Long hikes into the mountains I'll bring 5 or 6 extra. More for survival in emergency situations than for animals. Ya never know what you might need extra rounds for but they don't weigh that much so they tag along.

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My days of carrying a box full of 12ga slugs on each SZ hunt as a kid are long gone. Anyone remember the shotgun slug bandelarios? Like Wooly, if using the ML it's loaded and a couple spare speedloaders. Maybe one of those 209 primer holders with a few spares. Damned things are hard to handle with cold hands, so dropping one is pretty common practice for me.  New to rifle hunting this year, so a couple of 4rnd mags will be toted. If I can't get 'er done with that, a trip back to the range or an appt w/an optometrist is in order.

Edited by nyslowhand
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20 minutes ago, Doc said:

I'll have the last 8 factory built (Winchester) rounds for my .207. That should get me through this year with some left over. Next year I'll be using my reloads for target and deer season.

Doc , a .207 is kinda small , isn't it !  :taunt:   I realize you meant .270 . Good luck !

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