It happens to everyone that hunts sooner or later.How many deer have y'all shot at from stands with those lite rifles that rund oft?You thought you were on them but yet there was no blood,hair,nothing. MAybe you punched a hole in it's belly but you'll never know for sure.
Not one, not yet. I have seen more deer shot and never recovered with a .30-06 than any of the other calibers combined. I am in no way saying there is anything wrong with the 06. More people have them. There are many folks out there that do not practice enough, and irresponsible shots are taken, because they think their wonder caliber will somehow make up for marginal shot placement. A bad shot taken with a .358 will result in the same outcome.
At this point I alternate hunting with each of my sons. The deer/hogs we take are feeding along, relaxed and generally broadside. Usually, I will not let them take shots over 100 yds. Most are taken at less than that.
I take my boys to the range 2-3 times a month year round. I would agree that the range is not the field and is vastly different. You cannot adequately duplicate the heart pounding in your chest or the low light conditions, rain, angles etc. But, it helps confidence immensely. I am hoping that the foundation being built will help them when they are eventually hunting alone. So they will make good decisions no matter what caliber they eventaully choose to shoot. If you ask them, they will tell you the most important consideration other than safety is shot placement.
You have never missed a shot at an animal?
youre doing a good job teaching them right and a low recoiling round is the best teacher, but when hunting sooner or later evrything does not go exactly as planned : sweat gts in your eyes, a bug bites you , you cough or sneeze, or the deer just moves at exactly the wrong moment, and a bit of a larger caliber/bullet wt can give you a little more wiggle room, don't have to go crazy a 243, 7-30 waters,260 rem, all low recoiling and accurate. personaly i think you need at least 100 gr of wt, but thats just me and I rarely use anything under 120. I know I could drop a deer with my 22 mag between the eye and ear but why?
You have never missed a shot at an animal?
I guess I could have been more specific, I was mainly speaking of my boys and the .223. Of the critters I have hunted with it, I have not missed, I have only had this rifle for about 12 years. But, since 1982, I have almost exclusively hunted with the .243, and yes I have missed. The misses are the reason I spend so much time with my boys working on their skills.
great comments by everyone,, glad to see every ones opinion and no arguing and fighting, but constructive points of view. Will start looking, and down to 2 choices 7mm-08 or .243 unless a super deal on 1 comes my way.
