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In the field and out, use proper etiquette or go friendless

4 min read

I learned early in life that there are just some things one doesn’t do. When being introduced to a friend’s wife, does he admire her good looks? It’s a good way to lose a friend. Surely, you can’t say she is unattractive, either.

Be smart and nice to keep your friends. Another no-no involves the other love of a man’s life, his dog. You like basset hounds and he likes beagles. Keep your thoughts to yourself and praise his dog, even if it refuses to go into the briers and expects you to chase the rabbit to him. Just say, “Great dog. It is blessed with unending patience. Just look how he sleeps and waits while we tramp about.”

There is the third thing that will surely arouse your hunting partner’s temper, though this one can be fun and is tempting. While sitting in a field somewhere glassing for ground hogs, just hint that your shooting outfit is better than his. It groups better, keeping all its shots in a small cluster. It is faster, which gives it a flatter trajectory, and utilizes a bullet with a better co-efficiency.

Now, what’s wrong with saying that? This disagreement can even carry over to the scope on the rifle. This high priced Leupold is so clear, I can see the ticks on the hogs. I could even shoot one to prove how honest I am, but the evidence of a hit would then be destroyed by the overwhelming power of my rifle.

While many varmint hunters have years of shooting experience, they usually confine that experience to a single rifle and its chambering alone. On the other side of this matter, I seldom use the same caliber or cartridge year after year, preferring to see for myself how the other cartridges and rifles perform in the field.

As a young man trying to keep things together, I owned but two rifles chambered for center fire rounds. Of course, one had to be a .270 because I had hunted deer for the first time last year and met with success. The other was a Savage 340 in .222. These two served me for about 5 years, when I just had to try something else.

With a little haggling, I brought home a heavy barreled Sako in .243. It was a good shooter and ended the clover eating ways of many a hog. After a few years and many reloads, the bore on the .243 started to show some wear and it was time to change. I thought about it for awhile and leaned to an old wildcat, the .22-250. With that particular rifle I did some of my best chuck hunting. My best day was one when I hit 27 groundhogs out of 27 shots at various ranges. Believe me, some of the shots weren’t easy. My partner that day made sure of it when it was my turn to shoot. While I am not sure that this was the best varmint rifle of all, it does hold a soft spot in my memories.

It’s kind of sad but I do forget the exact order in which I used certain calibers. I know the 6mm entered the picture and I have always thought of it as an improved .243. Then there was the time tested and always reliable .25-06. I actually made one of my very best shots with the .25-06. We had been watching this groundhog eating and no one wanted to waste a shot on a feeding hog about 800 yards away.

Finally, I said I’ll try and go into a solid position. The rifle cracked and after a few seconds, the hog rolled over waving its tail in the air. My partners were flabbergasted and we had to walk over and retrieve the carcass. When my friend found the kaput hog, he told me I hit it in the eye. Which eye, I asked? He said the left and I said shucks I was aiming for the right.

While the prenamed rounds would rank high and it would be difficult to say one is superior to the other, I believe I have omitted the best of all the .220 Swift. Oh, I know the .22-250 isn’t far behind, but behind it is. There is no magic and while the .22-250 might offer slightly longer barrel life, it is just that, slightly. On the other hand, I will commit a sacrilege and state that the Swift is flatter shooting with the same bullet and on top of that is more accurate.

Some of the newer rounds might be acknowledged as better some days, but for now I would choose one of those I just named and the rounds that are bigger are just too much for a day of varmint hunting.

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