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How many rounds do you need to hunt?

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
Not that there was any doubt for anyone who's actually ever hunted outside of a concerted/guided fashion, and not that it being "necessary" for hunting is itself necessary to justify higher-than-almost-empty magazine sizes, but every time I hear someone say "you don't need more than X rounds to hunt" or "you don't need a simi-automatic rifle to hunt" or etc., hog hunting immediately comes to mind.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=613603512042151

Of course, he did just fine in this case with not that many rounds, but, IMO he got kinda lucky with that shot. He was just about a step and a half away from the fetal position when the hog started flopping back.
 
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MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
I took two deer legally in Texas within seconds of each other because I had a semiautomatic. The .308 hit the "off switch" of the first deer and it collapsed without a single twitch. Because of that, the second buck standing only a few feet away from the first one was not startled except to look up because he heard a gunshot. There was not a single sound after that (i.e. loading another round), so all I had to do was adjust my aim and take the second deer. I have no doubt that working the action of a repeater would have startled that deer.

I hunt with a lever-action (deer, .308) or bolt-action (elk, .30-06) in Nevada, where I can only take one animal anyway. But for the spot that I have access to in Texas, when the deer do come around, there's often more than one of them, and you get up to five tags for whitetail, depending on sex and county. I'll always use a semi-automatic unless I'm down to my last tag.
 
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notalawyer

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
1,061
Location
Florida
Depends.

Hog: Zero; or Zero divided by two; or Zero times Five; or Five times one.
When using a cross bow: One day, one bolt = one hog; Another day one bolt = two hogs (one directly behind the other); Yet another day five bolts = five hogs (they were climbing over their expired brethren to get back to the corn.). Same day (on the way back to camp with the other five): Five rounds of .40 = one hog (When using a handgun from a moving UTV in the rain, in the dark.)
And about eighteen other occasions of one = one this hunting season using various rifle/shotgun.

Deer: Two = two. When shooting both within 30 seconds.
And one = one for the other twelve kills this hunting season using various shotgun/rifle.

Turkey: One = one (bag limits and all) using shotgun.
This spring I plan on using a .22 cal looking to make a headshot. Shotgun is too easy!

Coyote: One = one (they are mostly loners around here) using rifle.

Bobcat: One = one (they are mostly loners around here) using rifle.

Of course we always carry two handguns while doing any hunting here in Florida. One for snakes, one for self-defense.

Dove: A couple hundred rounds of 12 gauge = 10 or 12 birds. I suck at dove hunting!
 

DrakeZ07

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
1,080
Location
Lexington, Ky
When deer hunting, if I'm using my .30-06, I'll keep 4+1 in the rifle, and thirty rounds in various pockets, and one of my pistols with six full mags in reserve in a leg pocket. IF I'm hunting with my Saiga, I'll just put three to four 5rnd mags in my mag pouch on a sling, and stuff my satchel with extra shells, and back-up mags for my sidearm, as well as scented cotton balls if it's deer hunting. Does it count if I usually keep about 300rnds of .30-06, 12GA, 20GA, .45ACP, .40SW each, in a 'tool box' in my vehicle when it's hunting season?

How many rounds should anyone have in general? Depends from person to person, but I'd say 50rnds for each caliber/firearm someone brings hunting, and for defense while hunting. Never know when you might get lost, or hurt, and out in the woods for a couple days and have to use ammo as a signal for rescuers, and to remove any threats you face... Or when you accidentally stumble across a meadow filled to the brim with mary jane plants, and you have to fire and retreat to keep form being just another victim of a local cartel.

Pertaining to Kentucky, I hear, and read, from different sources, and sites, that you can use max of 10rnds on detacheable, and non-detacheable semi-auto rifles and shotguns, but I've also read and seen places that cited only 5rnds; so I always just keep 7 rnds in my mags for my hunting rifle/shotgun, and since my pistol is strictly self defense, its kept full on mags.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
Normally big game hunting some where around 10 for my rifle another 6 to 15 for my handgun. Depending what one I have with me.

I hunted hogs where the limit was unlimted then around 20 for the rifle and 15 or so for the hand gun.. The closest hog I shot was 4 feet off the muzzle of my 5 inch Red Hawk a 300 lb sow.

Small game hunting a box of 22.

Bird shooting depends I have shot hundreds in one shoot.

Prairie dog shooting thousands.

2 seconds from the time he saw it to the shot. good reactions well placed shot I most likely would have gave him the second a bit faster.
 

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
Normally big game hunting some where around 10 for my rifle another 6 to 15 for my handgun. Depending what one I have with me.

I hunted hogs where the limit was unlimted then around 20 for the rifle and 15 or so for the hand gun.. The closest hog I shot was 4 feet off the muzzle of my 5 inch Red Hawk a 300 lb sow.

Small game hunting a box of 22.

Bird shooting depends I have shot hundreds in one shoot.

Prairie dog shooting thousands.

2 seconds from the time he saw it to the shot. good reactions well placed shot I most likely would have gave him the second a bit faster.

I agree, I would have made a second shot faster as well. I'm curious, is it odd that he was wearing ear protection? I am assuming he was actually hunting and not something else. I would have though you'd want unimpaired hearing. Or perhaps he has the electronic hearing protection, whatever it is called.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
It look like a driven hunt in Europe did you notice the stand number plenty of time to wear hearing protection.

I try and wear some type of electronic hearing protection when I hunt any more, to many years of shooting every little bit helps save what hearing I have left.
 

caoxinfinity

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2012
Messages
16
Location
the south
I deer hunt in bear country and also have seen some predatory big cats. I have no interest in hunting bear, as I have no interest in eating bear. That being said, while walking into the woods to get setup I carry an AK with 40rnd mag just in case I run into something that isn't too keen on my presence. That's just for my safety.

The taking of game is done by the AK as well, but I switch to a 10rnd mag while in the stand for maneuverability reasons. No magazine capacity restrictions in my neck of the woods.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
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