Paul

So, I just came back from one great pig hunting trip, and let's just say my shooting was absolutely terrible! I hadn't practiced at all off-hand (which didn't even occur to me until the guide had me take an off-hand shot) and completely missed my first shot at a very short distance. Thankfully the guide saved the day with getting me another shot opportunity, but my shooting was awful.

This comes days after being at the range bench shooting back-to-back 1.5 inch groups without problem.

So, my question is: how much off-hand shooting vs bench shooting is appropriate prior to a hunt? I went with all bench shooting and I know that was a complete mistake. What ratio is more appropriate? 50/50? 70/30?

I'd love to hear what some of you big game hunters would suggest on the matter!

I recently purchased a used Colt SAA 1873 replica in .44-40 made by ASM and I must admit that I have only basic knowledge of single action revolvers. I know to load only 5 rounds, with the round under the hammer being empty for carry. I know that the hammer needs to be c0cked for each round. Is there anything else I need to know prior to use?

Also, does anyone have any good links to cleaning such a revolver? I must admit that my knowledge on this subject is quite limited!

What's the cheapest way to acquire a CZ 550 in .416 Rem Mag? I know their custom line has it, but's over 3 grand and I think getting one in .375 H&H and having it re-barreled would be cheaper. Does anyone have experience with this? I see used ones on the market often in .375 H&H and .416 Rigby. Is it less a hassle to just go with a .416 Rigby? I know the ballistics between .416 Remington mag and .416 Rigby are close enough, but I prefer the ammo cost and asthetics of the .416 Rem Mag.

I will be making a purchase in January, so I have time to check all my options. Is there someone out there that does several customizations on the cheap that might combo with the re-barreling?

Your help is most appreciated!

I recently moved from one rental location to another and now have a dilemma. I own a stack-on that I previously had in my closet bolted to the wall. Now I'm in a location where I can't bolt it to the wall AND the closet has a divider half-way up meaning about 50 inches below and above the divider. I cannot remove the divider as it is not my place. For now I have the stack-on leaned up against a wall and it works okay even though it's not exactly sturdy when I open the door and would tip forward if not for a wedge I placed beneath it. I'm looking to upgrade to a decent safe, but everything I read says that it needs to be bolted to the ground. As I'm a renter, is there a safe which I can have freestanding that won't tip over and doesn't need to be bolted to anything?

I'm avid gun collector and shooter, and I have read a lot of literature and have shot many thousands and thousands of rounds in my lifetime in the various gun types. I cannot fathom what the big deal with .22LR is.

I know it's cheap ($25 for 500 is ridiculously so), I know it's a bit quieter, but I simply don't enjoy shooting the .22LR like I do other rounds. It doesn't feel like "real" shooting. The round is definitely dangerous and not a "toy" round, but it just doesn't give any response and doesn't make much of an impact when plinking for fun. I own a Ruger 10/22 and I have a little bit of fun messing around with it but when it comes down to it I'd much rather shoot any of my other guns. I definitely can't see myself having "fun shooting all day" with the thing.

Hunting-wise, for small game I'd rather have a shotgun for close in work and a more stable round for 100 yard plus work. The .22LR at ranges over 150 yards is a pretty terrible round accuracy-wise.

I know that I am very much in the minority opinion, but I simply don't see what all the hype and hooplah about having a .22 is all about. Could someone help me see the light on this one?

I've seen this ammo go for very low prices for lead-free and living in California I am very interested. Does anyone know how these rounds hold up? Are they good on game?

I'm probably going to buy a couple boxes and shoot them this weekend, but I'd love to know if they're good against game before I go and spend my time/money.

I'm shooting .300 Win Mag and would love to have a 180 grain bullet, but it appears that the ones in the ads are all 150 grain. Are there 180 grain .300 Win Mag boxes of this stuff readily available?

I have a 4 inch stainless Taurus Tracker in .44 mag that I absolutely love. I've cleaned it fairly well, to where it looks cleaner than when I bought it. I'm currently using good old Hoppes No. 9 to clean everything off.

My only issue with cleaning are the chambers in the cylinder. I have fired .44 specials through it on occassion and actually prefer how they shoot and would shoot them more often if ammo was more readily available out where I live. The problem is that I have a black line in each of the chambers where the .44 special brass ends. I have used the brush and jag to try and get the lines out and even though the patches are coming through spotless, the lines are still there. Is there a good way to get rid of them? Or am I concerning myself too much with what is essentially a cosmetic thing? The .44 mag rounds still chamber just fine and the gun has had close to 200 rounds through it without issue.

Any help is most appreciated!

I've always loved the look of the Masterkey shotgun, but haven't found if it's legal in my home state of California (or anywhere in the U.S., for that matter). For those that don't know it's an Ithaca shotgun attached to the bottom of an M-16, which for my purposes I'd use a California legal AR-style rifle (10 round fixed mag, no "evil" features, etc).

Would it be legal to do? The shotgun would be permanently attached without using tools to take the thing apart, so the gun would meet overall length requirements. I know rifle over shotgun configurations are legal in the two calibers in question (Savage 24f with .223 over 12 gauge, for example). However, I've never seen one in person or online so I don't know if there are laws against it.

Assuming it's legal, what would be the best way to create one? just hack job a shotgun from the used racks at a local gun shop? I would probably need some sort of bracketing and bracing system... and enough money to get it all done.

Your help is appreciated!

Have any of you shot a group just a bit shy of what you were hoping for? I just came back from shooting at Angeles where I was hoping to shoot some groups under an inch at 100 yards. Instead, I measured my best group just that tiny bit longer than an inch and it makes me chuckle but at the same time irks me that it was soooo close but just not there. I know the gun can do it, but I guess I'll just need some more time and practice!

Anybody else have this close-but-not-quite-there dilemma shooting at the range? The "almost good enough" moments?

I'm shooting .300 Win Mag out of a 24" barrel Stevens 200 sighted in at 200 yards. Using Remington Core-Lokts 180 gr, what would be the bullet drop at 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 yards?

Rough estimates are just as welcome as precise estimations!

I have a lifelong dream to go cape buffalo hunting, and I know they do various bison hunts in the 2 grand range. How are these hunts? Are they fair chase? How close are the shots and would they be a prime target for an african game caliber? I'm assuming they're mostly guided hunts? (which I prefer)

I have a Stevens 200 in .300 Win Mag which would probably suffice, but I want to buy something .375H&H Magnum on up and would love to get hunting experience before spending mega bucks in Africa. This of course is all long term thinking as I have nowhere near enough funds at the moment, but I'm thinking a bison hunt may be right up my allie. Would a bison be a good candidate for use of one of the big, heavy magnums with open sights?

This is for way down the line (speaking years here) but it's a dream of mine and I figure I might as well start planning now.

I've researched that the hunt itself is $20k-$30k USD with flight and everything included, plus I'd need a powerful rifle and time/money spent learning to shoot said rifle. Figuring the rifle and ammo is going to be $4k-$5k itself, am I correct to say I'll need to save up $35k? There are things I can buy leading up to the hunt (the rifle, gear, etc) but a lot of it is at the end (flight, guide fees, African country game fees, etc), so I know I'll have to save up for quite some time.

Also, what caliber and make of rifle would you suggest? I'm looking at the Ruger M77 Safari in .458 Lott or the A-Square Hannibal in .577 Tyrannosaur. For starters, I've never even fired a heavy duty magnum. Any suggestions on where to fire one? None of my friends have anything even close to the big game rounds (no .416s or .458s or even .375H&H for me to try) so I don't know how I'd handle the immense recoil. I'm a large, strong guy at 6'4", 270 lbs but I'd love to actually shoot something of power before buying one, and if I can handle it I'd prefer the A-Square in .577. Where and how can I find a way to start shooting some of the big african cartridges?