The Terrain Dictates...

[octagon]

Where I hunt, there is no "high" ground to be utilized, it is flat as a pancake and so thick you can stick your hand out and hardly see it. Mesquite and cactus of many varieties cover the ground and to get through it you pretty much need to follow a road or a game trail. For these and other reasons I have found the old 30-30 to do everything I need and do it well. Been using it my whole life and found it to suit the terrain and my purposes perfectly. I have other rifles to shoot across cultivated fields (.270, 22-250 etc) but they are VERY seldom ever used outside of targets.

We discuss calibers a lot here and I am interested in ALL of them. My question for you guys is what does YOUR terrain dictate and why?

[Blaine]

Around here, most of the public access land is in tree farms....so, you have a diverse area. I don't/can't walk around much, so I try to find a high spot and look down. I've always been satisfied with a 45-70, .444, or 30wcf......If I think of it, I'll throw the '06 in the back in case I see a long, clear cut shot. For the most part, I don't want to traverse, and try to pull a deer back across the slash of a clear cut. It's a bunch of waist-high hades to walk through. Next time I hunt, I think I'll use the Ruger Scout Rifle...... .308 with a 2.5X scout Leupold on it. That would cover all the bases.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Here (SW Wa. State) most of the hunting areas are covered with fairly to very thick cover. There are lots of logging clear cuts in many areas. For the thick covers a .30-30 carbine is all that is needed but for the clear cuts a long range flat shooting gun shines. I bet the most used gun in that category here would be the 7mm Rem. magnum if a pole was taken.

[BrentD]

I hunt all over the place and terrain doesn't dictate a thing to me. Whatever I feel like using is what I take. Sometimes it's a flintlock, sometimes it is a "super flat shooting" .38-72 (300 grs at 1450 fps ). Lots of times, it is just something in between.

[JerryB]

In my part of Arkansaw all my deer have been killed with a Kentucky .45 caliber black powder rifle or 30wcf and 38-55.

[Malamute]

I've shot deer and antelope between 25 and 450 yards. The last, I'm not proud of. It was open ground and no practical way to get closer. 250-300 yard shots arent that unusual. Sometimes theres antler point restrictions, and counting points is very difficult at times. I hunt for meat. I hope this doesnt come across wrong, but "sport" hunting isnt why I hunt (meaning for the enjoyment of it), its to make meat. I've mostly gone to hunting with scoped bolt actions. Levers are for off season carry and shooting enjoyment for me.

[Shasta]

I usually deer hunt along the logging roads of either Shasta County or Trinity County in the far north of California, where terrain is most often very steep and very brushy, with areas of heavy timber interspersed with clear cuts. My Browning 1895 in .30-40 Krag serves me well as most shots don't exceed 100 yards. Many other hunters I know that hunt the same area carry scoped bolt action rifles in the .270 Winchester to .300 Magnum class, so they are prepared for just about any shot presented.

I use a scoped bolt action rifle if I am in an area where a long shot is likely to be required. For example, this past season I drew a tag for the high open sagebrush country of Lassen County. The levergun stayed in the truck, and I packed my new Savage Predator rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. Good thing, as the buck I shot from a sitting position using cross-sticks was just over 300 yards away on a rather steep downhill. I would not have attempted such a long shot with my levergun.

SHASTA

[Griff]

Either a 7mmRemMag when I hunted in CA for both deer and coyotes... But in TX, it's mostly been a Winchester 94 in .30-30.

[rjohns94]

I just follow the seasons, all shots here are short. Archery, early muzzleloader, regular season, late season.

For archery, my longbow. Early season, flintlock smoothbore 16 gauge. Regular season, double 12 bore rifle, late season, bow or .54 caliber flintlock.

[octagon]

Malamute I concur with your statements about the Rockies. I used to travel there quite a bit, and bagged two real nice mulies and some not so nice. The nice ones (30 in) were killed on the last day of a week long hunt at 350 yards with a .270 bronze tips, the biggest of the two was a heart shot and he took 10 steps, the smaller (27in) was shot just under his chin as all I could see was the head and he was DRT. Hunted hard all week to get a chance at a whopper and proud I was to get em. They were not far from Paonia Co. The gun was Savage 110 and was dialed in at 300.

Shasta I used to work and fish up in your country and still work up there semi annually. You are a lucky fella to live in such parts. Did a boat trip 40 miles up the Klamath to the Rez and back to the mouth- fantastic - felt like Marlin Perkins!

[bdhold]

great photo, Brent, and any shot that downs an antelope is a good one.

[M. M. Wright]

BrentD,
Gorgeous rifle! Must have been great satisfaction in downing an antelope with a flinter.

[M. M. Wright]

Forgot to address the question. I own 115 acres here in northeast Oklahoma that if ironed flat would be nearly twice that most of it in heavy timber. I can elect to hunt brushy hollows or I have a couple of bean fields that can give shots at 350 yards. Usually I hunt the bigger field and limit myself to 200 yards or maybe 25 more while using my 1886 Winchester in 45-90. If I get hungry I break out a BLR in 308 with a 2.5X Redfield on it.

[Blaine]

Forgot to address the question. I own 115 acres here in northeast Oklahoma that if ironed flat would be nearly twice that most of it in heavy timber. I can elect to hunt brushy hollows or I have a couple of bean fields that can give shots at 350 yards. Usually I hunt the bigger field and limit myself to 200 yards or maybe 25 more while using my 1886 Winchester in 45-90. If I get hungry I break out a BLR in 308 with a 2.5X Redfield on it.

A slice of heaven, I'll wager.

[yooper2]

I hunt the cedar swamps around my farm. It's thick as can be in there and the main requirement is that the rifle or handgun is quick handling which usually means a levergun or singleshot carbine. For poking things far away in the hay fields I have my 22 Hi Power which smacks coyotes with authority.


Eric

[7.62 Precision]

If you think about how the terrain varies across the continental US, that is at least how much the terrain varies across Alaska. From the rainforest of southeast to the grassy Aleutians, up to the open tundra, willow and alder brush, alpine tundra and rocky mountains, interior birch forests and boreal black spruce; I have seen people hunting the ice floes in 16 foot skiffs, the shoreline in Prince Williams sound, islands in Southeast, tundra and willow brush on the west coast, the interior rivers and forests, the mountains for sheep and goats, and the firearms I have seen are a cross section of the firearms that are available. Levers, bolts, semi-autos, old and new, surplus military and custom rifles. People hunt with .45-70s on the tundra and .25-06's in the heavy brush.

While it would be nice if everyone could afford a light, flat-shooting custom sheep rifle, the reality is that most are better served with their well-used '06 that they have shot enough to be able to hit with at any reasonable range.

Up here it seems that what you have and what you like and what game you are after is what really dictates what you hunt with, more than the terrain.

It does make a difference though. I have been in some eastern parts of the country where the word rifle has been replaced with "thirty-thirty." Up here, because the terrain does vary and the bears are big, you don't see nearly the numbers of .30-30s that you doe in the eastern US. You also see a lot more .348s, .45-70s, etc. Lots of '06s.

[Malamute]

...the reality is that most are better served with their well-used '06 that they have shot enough to be able to hit with at any reasonable range.

...Up here, because the terrain does vary and the bears are big, you don't see nearly the numbers of .30-30s that you doe in the eastern US. You also see a lot more .348s, .45-70s, etc. Lots of '06s.

The bears arent quite as large here, but they are the unpleasant type. I feel better with a little more gun than a 30-30 when out tooling around in the hills. Funny, the 3 chamberings you mentioned are the ones I carry most.

[Tycer]

We max out around 300 here with all my deer taken at less than 150. Normally I carry the 358 Win BLR., but the 360 Dan Wesson Joe's kids use now used to get all my attention. But I'll take the '86 45-70 out some too. Someday I'll get good enough with my 32-20 to take a deer with it.

[carbluesnake]

In east Texas one can get a shot anywhere from close to far. I have killed deer ranging from 15 yards to 270 yards, all with one shot. The furthest was with a 257 Ackley Improved, and the others with .270, .250 Savage (bolt and lever), 35 Rem (Mod , 375 JDJ (Contender with 14" bbl), 45/70 (Marlin 1895). All have killed extremely well. However, as I mentioned on another topic, I am thinking AR 300 Blackout.

[BigSky56]

the only way terrain is involved is some is easier to transverse than others, game moves whether its migration or to bedding, water or food on the prairie or alder thickets a hunter figures out how to intercept that movement. I dont limit anyone to what I think they should or shouldnt use its like horses ride the one that works for you. danny