woodchuckc
Well-Known Member
I agree that everyone's goal should be to never lose an animal, no matter what the weapon, and they should do all in their power to prevent it. Realistically, it does happen however and there has to be some level that a hunter deems to be "acceptable". If you have killed 100 deer and lost one, than that must be an acceptable level to you or else you would not still be a hunter.
Back to the topic of this thread; for a youngster or someone who is very recoil-shy, you have a few choices:
1. Make them use a larger caliber weapon than they are comfortable with because it is more "deadly" and risk them taking a bad shot because they close their eyes before shooting or flinch.
2. Let them use a smaller but legal caliber that they are comfortable shooting and have proven themselves to be proficient with on the range.
3. Don't let them hunt until they are old enough / big enough to shoot a larger caliber.
I think most everyone can agree that choice 1 is not acceptable and while choice 3 is a viable option, it is not a very good one especially if you have daughters who want to hunt as they may never be ready for anything larger than a 22 caliber centerfire or 243. That leaves choice 2, and when my daughter is old enough (she's only 2 right now), proves herself capable on the range of shooting accurately and we use the appropriate bullet design and limit shot selection to broadside heart/lung shots, I would have no problem with her using a 223.
Back to the topic of this thread; for a youngster or someone who is very recoil-shy, you have a few choices:
1. Make them use a larger caliber weapon than they are comfortable with because it is more "deadly" and risk them taking a bad shot because they close their eyes before shooting or flinch.
2. Let them use a smaller but legal caliber that they are comfortable shooting and have proven themselves to be proficient with on the range.
3. Don't let them hunt until they are old enough / big enough to shoot a larger caliber.
I think most everyone can agree that choice 1 is not acceptable and while choice 3 is a viable option, it is not a very good one especially if you have daughters who want to hunt as they may never be ready for anything larger than a 22 caliber centerfire or 243. That leaves choice 2, and when my daughter is old enough (she's only 2 right now), proves herself capable on the range of shooting accurately and we use the appropriate bullet design and limit shot selection to broadside heart/lung shots, I would have no problem with her using a 223.