Articles by Larry J. LeBlanc/ Country Line Magazine

Deer Rifle

I set out this week to identify the best deer hunting rifle available in the market. The rifle in the best caliber, that you could pick up and head to the woods, with absolute confidence that the deer you selected would be in the bag.

I opened my first reference book and discovered that Remington alone lists 51 different center fire rifle calibers. I then pored over numerous ballistics tables studying velocity, energy (foot-pounds), Short Range Trajectories and Long Range Trajectories. I studied different manufacturers bullet characteristics and suggested uses. I created tables and charts that would have impressed the most exacting physicists and became so confused I began to wonder if my Husqvarna, .308 Winchester, that I have hunted with for 33 years and has taken many deer with at ranges from 40 yards up to 300 plus yards, was adequate for deer hunting.

Then the realization hit me that the Indians took buffalo with bows and arrows and spears, and the American buffalo is far more difficult to kill than our Texas White Tail Deer. Fact is, deer are not at all difficult to stop. They are thin skinned, slight of build and if you can hit them right you can bring them down with a .22 long rifle, which I must add is now illegal. My father always contended that if a man had but one weapon, his choice was a 12 gauge shotgun. A 12 gauge will take deer down quite well with slugs, the current legal projectile for deer hunting with a shotgun. Another item came to mind to further clarify the situation, and that was an article I once read on weapons for self defense. It proclaimed that one hit with a .22 long rifle is better than six misses with a .45.

Now for a practical look at the right deer rifle for you. First you need a rifle you are comfortable shooting. They all make noise and kick. Some worse than others. Let me add here that on the shooting range, always wear suitable hearing protectors when shooting firearms of any kind. If every time you pull the trigger it hurts your ears or startles you, you will flinch, jerk the trigger, not hit what you are shooting at and eventually damage your hearing. In the field deer hunting, I never bother with hearing protectors because I seldom ever get more than one shot at a time at a deer anyway, and I can assure you when you see that deer in your sights and squeeze the trigger you will never hear the shot. Next we have what can be a biggy and that is recoil. You can bet if you wake up the morning after a session at the shooting range and your shoulder shows light red and blue marks where your rifle pounded you and is sore to the touch, you are not going to shoot that rifle enough to keep in practice. No practice, no deer.

Affordability of ammunition. If you cannot afford to purchase ammunition, you aren’t going to shoot enough to keep your hand in. No practice, no deer.

So now let’s make a composite of what we know and see what comes out. We want a rifle with a manageable noise level with light to moderate recoil in a caliber that is economical enough to facilitate regular practice and will still do the job.

We can probably eliminate any rifle chambered for any caliber that has “Magnum” in its description. Unless you have a specific need for a lot of punch for dangerous game, like the big bears, or extremely flat shooting, long range requirements, let’s pass on these. These will normally have a rather notable report when fired and also a recoil that could parallel trying to stop a small running bull with your shoulder. On top of that if you hit one of our White Tailed Deer in a good shoulder shot, you can bet your ringing ear drums that you have completely lost the meat in both shoulders due to damage by the high impact, high velocity bullet. Never doubt also, even at 300 yards, a 7mm Remington Magnum, for example, will go completely through a deer, break both shoulders and destroy the meat in both shoulders.

The difference in actions such as bolt action, single shot, lever action, semi-automatic, pump or slide action are all personal preference. I truly believe you will find that almost any American or European made rifle will shoot straighter and more consistant than the average hunter can hold and will do the job for you. You can pay a lot for checkering, jeweled bolts, engraving, special metal finishes, fancy wood and on and on, but in today’s market you can get into a brand new, very adequate deer rifle for $300 or less, and in $500 range I doubt if you could see them all in a day.

So the bottom line is this. In Texas you don’t have to be concerned about dangerous game like the big bears. You need a rifle you can carry or hold all day, that you enjoy shooting and you can afford to shoot on a regular basis. If you only go out once a year to sight in your rifle and then hunt from November to January to get your deer, you are missing 10 months of fun shooting, relaxation and fellowship at the range. You will never be as consistent a shot or as experienced with your rifle as the man who shoots all year long. The best rifle for hunting the Texas White Tail Deer is the one you practice with often and can consistently keep your bullets in the bullseye of the target on a one hundred yard range.

Ammunition

We folks who like to shoot a lot have learned quickly that we can run through a lot of ammunition, which can be synonymous with running through a lot of money.

One excellent solution is to load your own. If you are a serious shooter, I can wholeheartedly recommend this approach. You can create a custom load for each shooting circumstance for a specific firearm and get the maximum results. It will also save you a considerable amount of money per shot, and the more you shoot, the lower the cost per round because you can buy components in volume, reducing the cost.

Now the downside to reloading. It takes time. It takes patience. It requires accurate record keeping. You will also shoot more thereby nullifying the gross cost savings gained over using factory ammunition, but you will be shooting and enjoying it more. Do not mention this last sentence when trying to sell the cost efficiency to your spouse.

Another source of potentially low-cost ammunition can be found at gun shows. This is especially true with the more international, military size ammunition like the .223 Remington and the .308 Winchester (7.62 NATO). There is also the ammunition for the SKSs, which is usually the short 7.62, as well as some handgun ammunition.

Most of the cheaper ammunition is foreign-made, surplus lots of military ammunition from God only knows what country in what part of the world. Foreign-made ammunition at gun shows is not all necessarily bad ammunition-- bad by meaning unsafe-- but let me tell you of some of the things you can run into.

Inconsistencies in shot placement on the target is one of the things that can drive you up a wall if you are after anything more than making the gun go “bang.” Many things can cause this problem, and old ammunition is not the least of them. Some foreign manufacturers are not as picky about the consistency of their military ammunition, as are the American manufacturers.

Then there is the choice of bullets. On surplus, military ammunition you usually get full-metal, jacketed “Ball” bullets. They are good for punching small holes into paper, and that’s about it. As a hunting round, they are about the last pick. Even if you find some good U.S.-built “Match Ammunition,” they’re target loads not fit for hunting.

Corrosive primers can cause you problems from one end of the metal work of your firearm to the other if you are not timely, thorough and meticulous in cleaning your equipment. Shooting this type of ammunition in a gas-operated, semi-automatic action will require a complete tear down and cleaning of the gas system as well as the rest of the metal. If you fail to do that, the gun could become permanently damaged. At best it will corrode and lockup, refusing to open much less load and fire.

Another possible problem with purchasing “no name” ammunition is you really don’t know what you are getting. There is always the question of safety. I am by no means proclaiming ammunition is unsafe because it does not have a major manufacturer’s name on it, but you have to admit it is more warm and fuzzy to have a name like Winchester or Remington on the ammo box.

An example of not knowing what you’re getting was shown to me up close and personal when my son had some “No Name” ammunition that we took out to shoot in his new .38 Super Automatic. We went to the range and couldn’t get the bullets on the paper at 40 feet. In disgust he went and bought a box of name brand ammunition and began putting all shots in a nice group at 25 yards.

So when it comes to buying ammunition, the lowest price may not be the best way to go.

Deer Hunting

Here it is October again and I am really getting mentally geared up for hunting and fishing because they are historically both good this month. There is that feel in the morning air that makes the outdoorsman want to get out in the woods or out on the water.

Archery seasons for white-tailed deer is in full bloom and going strong, but do not forget another very important special season that occurs in October. That is the October Special Youth Only Season for white-tailed deer. Those dates are Saturday, Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 26. This is the ideal time for a father and son to hit the woods and provide the kids an opportunity to get a jump on the regular season.

Young hunters under the age of 16, holding a valid license and accompanied by an adult can really get an opportunity to bag their deer and also spend some very instructive and quality time with one of the most important people in their lives. To miss this opportunity is to shortchange yourself, and your child and everybody loses. Check out your TPWD Outdoor Annual for county listings and bag limits. It is not complicated and the young folks that I know who have taken a deer during the Special Youth Season are almost as proud as their parents are when it comes to bragging time.

Keep in mind that only the child may posses a firearm during this hunt, so parents do not be tempted to bring a backup along. It could get expensive. The child must be in control of the firearm and the parents are there for instruction and advice, but do not forget the most important ingredient, which is love.

Another special season to take a look at is for muzzleloaders. There are 23 counties involved, so check the county listings in your TPWD Outdoor Annual. Every year more and more counties are being added to the list. Three that have been added this year to the list of counties offering anterless and spike buck season are Walker, San Jacinto and Trinity counties. This special muzzleloader season runs from Jan. 10 through Jan. 18. If you happen to be one of the folks who have an Annual Hunting Permit and hunt on public land, check the listing closely for updates over last year. For instance in the Sam Houston National Forest you can hunt during the muzzleloader season in January. If you have a doe permit from the Forestry Service, you can take a doe during that time also.

When you hunt during one of the special muzzleloader seasons, remember that muzzleloaders are exactly that-- any firearm that is loaded from the muzzle only. If you have a Sharp’s rifle that uses percussion caps and can be loaded by lowering the block and inserting a ball or bullet and the powder behind it, that is not a muzzleloader. If you can load it by any other means than down the bore, do not even consider it to be used in a muzzleloader-only season.

While on muzzleloaders and black powder burners I own a number of cap and ball revolvers and I love them. To load one of these handguns the cylinder is loaded by pouring in the powder then seating a ball on top of the powder from the front of each chamber. Then a percussion cap is placed on a nipple at the back of each chamber before you can shoot it. A cap and ball revolver is not considered a muzzleloader by the TPWD.

We are all up for archery and regular seasons for white-tailed deer, but do not forget the special seasons that can add days to your hunting.