It's actually the preferred method.

I wouldn't say it's hunting, more like combat. Trust me, sane/sober people really don't want to be that close to a pissed off deer without being well armed and separated by some type of protective structure.

If you hit one, its yours to claim. Its why most of the deer hunters around here have grill guards on their trucks.

Is it hunting sitting in a tree stand all day? Hunt is a verb that does not mean waiting in a tree stand. That's waiting. If you sit in a tree stand and shoot a deer, you are a waiter.

I get a kick out of these people who shoot from a house, after they've picked a monster buck feeding from a feed plot, and the owner of the farm has to tell them how much that particular deer costs to shoot. And then they get the thing mounted as if they actually hunted the damn thing.

Mugato: I dunno. is it really hunting if you shoot a deer with an assault rifle from a mile away whilst hiding behind a bush?

The irony of this statement is that traditional deer hunting rifle calibers, like the .30'06, the .308 Winchester, etc., have a greater effective range than many so-called "assault rifle" calibers, and the typical deer rifle, say, a Remington 700, is likely to be more accurate. I've got a 700 ADL that will put 165 grain Sierra GameKings inside of an inch at 100 yards up until the barrel heats up. Extrapolate that out, and I should be able to (if I were so inclined to try it) hit a deer's vitals at 400 to 500 yards, assuming I knew where to hold, or I was sighted in at that distance.

In fact, in many states it's illegal to hunt with a .223, not because it's too powerful, but because it's not powerful enough*. As for the other major "assault rifle" caliber, the 7.62x39mm, it's just a tad below the venerable .30-30 Winchester power wise, and I've gradually seen the SKS (and in some instances, the AK)** replace the lever action "thuddy-thuddy" as the go-to brush, swamp, and thick woods deer gun. Not because of increased power, or even quicker follow-up shots, but largely because the guns are cheap, reliable, accurate enough for a 50 or 100 yard shot, and their shorter length makes them handy to carry in thick brush.

*There is some debate as to whether a .223 is adequate for deer or not, but nobody contends that it's so powerful as to be unsportsmanlike.

**With magazines blocked to 5 rounds, to comply with game regulations.

SuburbanCowboy: Is it hunting sitting in a tree stand all day? Hunt is a verb that does not mean waiting in a tree stand. That's waiting. If you sit in a tree stand and shoot a deer, you are a waiter.

Well, I don't do that. My preferred method is to still-hunt: Walk very slowly with the wind in my face, observing places where deer might be. Having said that, I still "wait" (on the ground) when I know an area is likely to be used, like a choke point between a feeding area and a bedding area. Usually I'll wait until they are likely not active, then still-hunt into suspected bedding areas.

Last time I went out, on Sunday, I still-hunted the entire afternoon, and it took me about 4 hours to go less than 700 yards.

orclover: /got two freezers to fill, i'd use a howitzer into a herd if I could get away with it and it didnt taint the meat.



Wanna borrow my mortar? If you screw the elevation down to minimum, and use a tin can full of, say, half-inch lead balls instead of a single projectile, you could take out a whole herd.

Mugato: I dunno. is it really hunting if you shoot a deer with an assault rifle from a mile away whilst hiding behind a bush?

Given the average accuracy of an assault rifle? I'd be giving the dude a prize. Heck, I'd give him a prize for spotting the deer at a mile.

Consider this: In the past when we didn't hunt with firearms, we generally hunted year round, in groups, and often with dogs. Today, in some areas we get 2 weeks. Native Americans didn't even use bows all the time- they'd set fires and drive herds off cliffs, then have a party at the bottom processing everything.

Flragnararch: If you hit one, its yours to claim. Its why most of the deer hunters around here have grill guards on their trucks.

Didn't have a deer guard, lived in the country, ended up hitting 2 deer within a year. 2nd totaled my car. Hitting a deer is expensive - grill guards are about 1 strike from paying for themselves, and they last years.

SuburbanCowboy: Is it hunting sitting in a tree stand all day? Hunt is a verb that does not mean waiting in a tree stand. That's waiting. If you sit in a tree stand and shoot a deer, you are a waiter.

They still consider ambush predators such as Cougars 'hunters'. The trick for a tree stand is that you have to scout the area, recognize the deer sign, pick the proper spot, set up early enough and keep quiet enough to not spook the deer. Baiting is a biatcheap though.

I get a kick out of these people who shoot from a house, after they've picked a monster buck feeding from a feed plot, and the owner of the farm has to tell them how much that particular deer costs to shoot. And then they get the thing mounted as if they actually hunted the damn thing.

Illegal in many areas, but yeah, I don't consider it hunting at that point.

whew. I thought this article was going to feature my redneck brother.......

see "Ice Spiders 2" shoot all you want the only way to kill one is to hit it with a snomobile.

I hunt deer with my car. Haven't gotten one yet this year.

Is it illegal to hunt deer with a motorcycle? Bastards! Nearly killed me,,,

Baz the Spaz: I hunt deer with my car. Haven't gotten one yet this year.

That's not sporting:

"Michael, I detect the presence of a 6 point whitetail buck approximately 70 yards to the south-west".

"Thanks KITT".

*BLAM*

I went to school with those guys. Not the sharpest tools in the shed, as if you didn't know by now.

Obligatory

Why am I not surprised that this happened in my state?

You deer to kill a king's dare?!

dittybopper: *There is some debate as to whether a .223 is adequate for deer or not, but nobody contends that it's so powerful as to be unsportsmanlike.

Texas law is anything that isn't rimfire. I've taken plenty of whitetail with .30-30, .17 Zipper, .243 and .222 in the old days, before .223 ammo got so cheap that it's sort of a no-brainer if you shoot a lot unless you like clunky commy guns. SKS and AK variants are quite popular deer rifles around here, as are Mini-14s and Mini-30s. Ranch manager friend of mine has been filling all his tags and doing all his culling with a Mini-14 since he bought it around 1979. Shot it so much he actually managed to break it due to wear and tear (cracked the bolt) about two years ago.

Matter of shot placement. .458WinMag isn't adequate to take a deer if you use poor shot placement. I help out some friends on exotic cull hunts on game ranches around me, and on those most people I'm friends with either use .17HMR or .223 (no-rimfires rule doesn't apply to management on exotic game ranches). I use .223 as often as anything if I'm not using a bow, mostly because the ammo is cheap. Got a decent 6pt last week with .223. He didn't go ten feet after the 55 grain SP hit him in the boiler room. There really isn't anything other than grizzly, elk, bison, and moose in North America that can't be hunted with a .223 with proper shot placement, as long as you stay within the cartridges performance envelope. When I was a kid, pretty much everybody hunted deer with .30-30 or .32-20 unless their dad had a sporterized Krag/Mauser/Enfield/Springfield or they were a rich kid. Rich kids sometimes had Savage 99s in .300 Savages or bolt rifles in .270. You can hunt everything in North America with a .300 Savage or .270.

I have DG rifles. Deer aren't DG. I also have a really nice Savage 99 in .300 Savage because I always wanted one when I was a kid because a kid at school's dad had one. Still never shot a deer with it. I have a pile of guns, but at the end of the day, the .223 is the go-to because it's cheap, accurate, and works. I've shot antelope with .375 on another continent with more animals that might kill you, as in those places you may as well carry the biggest you might need instead of the smallest that might be adequate. I would have rather shot them with .223, as .375 does a hell of a number on little quadrupeds.

You can wound and lose a deer with anything. The trick is making the shot. Was funny, guitar picker friend was over yesterday afternoon and he hunts deer with a .300RUM. We were shooting cans with .22s just to pass the time. I hit every one I shot at and he hit about 50%. He's more likely to wound and lose a deer with his .300RUM than I am with a .17 zipper because he doesn't shoot much.

If you don't shoot a lot and don't practice much, maybe going larger bore helps, but not that much. Their are an infinite number of trajectories that will cause you to miss or lose a deer and basically a finite number of trajectories that will drop it in it's tracks, or very close to where you shot it.

orclover: I dont hunt deer and hogs, I assasinate them. My best kills are the ones where they dont even know that they died. I would take em out with a silencer up close while they slept in a bed if I could get away with it.

One of the more civilized things about most of the rest of the world, other than the US, is if you are allowed to buy a firearm there's no extra qualification for suppressors. It's actually considered bad manners in places like the UK to hunt without one. It's also pretty handy for doing a lot of culling in a short period of time, as if you use a lower power quiet rifle and a suppressor, you confuse herds of animals, as their friends die. You spook them to an extent, but they don't quite know what direction to run. Spent a really enjoyable afternoon once sniping francolins for dinner with a buddy using suppressed .22 bolt rifles. We got a dozen of them in about 3 hours.