Just an FYI, my pair of Walkers enhanced electronic ear buds were only like $60 and work so good I want them in if for no other reason than to just to be able to hear the deer (or turkeys.) There's a couple other brands as well that do the job but I wish I'd start wearing mine a long time ago.
….or a 270 Win with a proven bonded bullet which shoots flatter thus more accurately in hunting situations.
I have 2 pairs of the walkers. They work fine, except I cannot tell from direction something is coming, and that makes them useless for myself.
I need to try something else, but hopefully one more season and I'll have a suppressor
Useless? I know there's much more expensive alternatives but why does that make them useless for you? A suppressor will dampen noise down to safe levels but makes a brush gun too long to be a brush gun and obviously doesn't offer enhancement. Hearing aids might be directional but they amplify muzzle blast….just thinking out loud so why do you consider the Walkers useless? In all seriousness is your neck fused where you can't keep your head on a swivel when you hear game? I turn mine way up and just chill, often even closing my eyes when the leaves are wet since the sound of a deer in the leaves is unmistakable. So what kind of hearing enhancement are you using?
I can turn my head just fine. Magnifying sound is fine, but if you can't tell distance or direction you run the risk of getting busted trying to figure out where it's coming from. I rarely hunt turkeys anymore but take turkey that rarely gobbles. Those headphones are fine to hear one, but when you can't tell what direction you need to head it doesn't do a lot of good. A suppressor is slowly in the works, but it probably wouldn't be here before the next deer season. Everything is a trade off. I'm not sure what you might consider a brush gun, but it's a trade off. I personally don't hunt in brush country.
Haven't worn headphones so I don't know what that would be like, directional or not. All I know is that the cheap little Walkers help me out and protect my ears from further damage. My hunting buddy has the more expensive Walker ear buds with Bluetooth and he's both turkey and deer hunted with them with no complaints that I know of. We both hunt big woods and thickets on public ground so for us barrel length absolutely is an issue. I didn't buy my Walkers until my buddy commented how loud my Ruger 308 Win with its 18" barrel was lol. Anyhow, thanks for the reply! I was really curious why they didn't seem to help you.
Thing is, those bonded bullets make for nice pretty recovered bullets "deadly mushrooms", but that's the extent of the wound channel. Stretching of tissue may expand that wound channel a little more, but it is what it is. A fragmenting bullet, "match type " bullets, have larger wound channels and are extremely effective on everything from coyotes up through elk and moose. Even bears, which are light skinned no matter what most people want to think. There's a reason that there are a ton of 6.5s in use now, low recoil, high BCs, better sectional densities than most 30 cal projectiles until you get super heavy. 143 and 147 match bullets have killed a ton of elk and are easier on the wallet and shoulder than the magnums. It's a proven fact that people shoot lighter recoiling rifles better. There's just zero need for a high recoiling rifle for elk these days. This coming from an Idaho resident, although I grew up in Tennessee. I don't know anyone personally that hunts elk with a magnum these days. 270, 308, 7-08, 6.5CM, 6.5PRC, 243, 22-250. Those are by far the most common calibers I see locals using. It's good for a laugh when someone rolls in with a 300 Wby Mag. We don't even have to ask where they're from lol.
That's a deadly load in that 280AI. I've killed bulls with that exact setup. 155 Terminal Ascents work well also. I've switched away from the bonded and monos. There's other bullets that kill quicker and leave better wound channels.Back in the 80's the .338 win mag was considered the ultimate elk caliber by the magazine folks. Bought a Model 77 Ruger and can attest with 250gr bullets it kills on both ends. Shot another with a 7mm STW with 140gr TTSX at 3400 fps right behind shoulder. Folded in his tracks but had to shoot him again to keep him down. Killed one in 1979 with .270 and 150gr partitions. Wasn't any of those 3 any deader than the other. @Robtattoo nailed it regarding modern bullets. Have a 280AI with 145gr LRX that I intend to use in 2025.
You're asking your Fudd friends then. You're right, they may not say 243, but if you ask them about 6 Creedmoor you'll lose that bet
803 yards was the longest. Elk went less than 10 yards. 14.5in barrel AR.I'm sure there are, but at what distances? As Daniel said earlier, the larger caliber gives you an edge with the heavier bullets stabilizing at longer distances, and you also have the added benefit of the shock still at those distances. I'd just rather be prepared for a longer shot if it presented, and not worry at all about having enough ummph to reach out there and maintain the terminal performance.To each their own I suppose.
I have guide friends who have told me of multiple bulls shot under 50 yards with 300 win mags that were never found. If you want to keep taking that abuse on your shoulder and pocketbook, then by all means, carry on.
I will, I've never been accused of being a sissy besides that breaks are awesome and not all magnums kick that bad. I've shot several 30-06's and 270's and such that have more recoil than some of the magnums I've shot. Now I've shot some that will absolutely loosen your teeth but doesn't bother me at all.
