king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated Magazine Dec/Jan 2008 - Coyote Crazy! - Index

semi-automatic fi rearm. It appears
to me that some people are guilty
of visual racism. In regards to Mr.
Zumbo, I saw him on a program with
Ted Nugent. While Mr. Zumbo was
handling the alleged assault fi rearm
he looked like a fi sh out of water. I
felt sorry and embarrassed for him.
Sometimes it is necessary to discipline
or chastise one of our own, but that
does not mean you eliminate him from
the industry. I am sure he has learned
this as we all have. I have enjoyed Mr.
Zumbo’s writings and programs in the
past and expect to in the future. We
stand together as legal fi rearm owners
regardless of appearance or function.
We benefi t from the technology be it
civilian or military. Do we want to go
back to the Model T?
Wm. Gordon Poggensee—Buckley,
WA
Bash the 30.06...How Dare You!
Carl Hermansen’s article, “THE
BEST RIFLE FOR YOUR HUNT:
Is there life beyond the .30-06?”
is ballistic scatology. Carl begins
by trashing the venerable .30-06
cartridge, discrediting its reputed “doall”
popularity and wide variety of
bullet weights, and bad-mouthing the
110-grain “varmint” bullet (“more of
a plinker”) while disregarding the .30-
06 Accelerator ammunition designed
expressly for varmint shooting. He
goes on to say that the .25-06, a
stepchild of the .30-06, is “the perfect
choice” for “antelope-sized” Western
game. Meanwhile Hermansen ignores
the .257 Weatherby which is a great
cartridge that has been in production
for six decades, and will do anything
the .25-06 will do in spades. His choice
for “the ideal deer cartridge” is the
excellent .270 Winchester, another .30-
06 descendant, a worthy competitor for
your ultimate whitetail or mule deer
outfi t. His “ideal mountain cartridge”
is the .300 Winchester Magnum for
goats, sheep, and elk – although the
.300 Weatherby preceded that .300
Winchester, and outperforms it. His
“man gun” for moose, buffalo, and
bear is the .338 Winchester Magnum.
He claims that his chosen cartridges
Bret Henrie with his bull elk that is
missing the fi fth point on the left side.
Using the proper scoring method, you can
still get a 4th circumference measurement.
have been around the block- “no wham
bam super magnums,” “no need to
reinvent the wheel” – although the elderly
.375 H&H Magnum already occupies that
niche. His choice of a “multi-purpose
rifl e” is the .300 Winchester Magnum - a
.30-06 on steroids, as “perfectly capable of
taking any North American game animal”
- but so is the 7mm Remington Magnum.
Jack O’Connor once personally advised
me to get a .270 Winchester for ninetypercent
of my North American hunting,
plus a .375 H&H Magnum for the heavier
game. In a letter dated November 3, 1973,
he stated, “When my wife and I were in
Zambia in 1969, I took along a .338 as my
‘light’ rifl e. Much to my surprise, I didn’t
think it killed any better than a .30-06. It
was not nearly as effective as a .375, or
at least that is the way it seemed to me.”
And I’m inclined to agree with such an
authority. In addition to my .270 and .375,
I bought a .30-06 and have never regretted
my decision. Gun writers Jack O’Connor
and Doctor J.Y. Jones – authors/hunting
experts – have shot the entire gamut of
North American game with their .30-
06 sporting rifl es, with nary a qualm.
Professional choices. Besides which, I
tend to look askance at advice from any
would-be gun guru who can’t sign his
own name legibly. That’s my opinion.
TSgt Joe Ferrier—Lompoc, California
Mr. Ferrier, thanks for the great comments.
Very well put together. I did notice on your
5SOUND OFF5
letter your clear and legible signature.
Editor
Mr. Hermansen, I think you are a punk.
I killed my fi rst deer at age eleven with
a 22. I’ve killed many more with a
22-250 at 700 yards. Yeah, I pointed
up. I watched my dad kill deer as the
master archer who ever lived with
a recurve at distances you wouldn’t
understand. It isn’t the cartridge; it’s
the eye and mind behind it. If you
can’t trust yourself, then shoot the big
diameter. Look at the old Hawken and
Sharps. And best of all, the old 30-30
Win. You are perpetuating the money
buys game myth. Go ahead, get the
money guys to buy what you think
they should have. I’ll keep killing
what I need to eat, as well the trophies
that I don’t want the publicity for,
with what works best for me. I guess
I’m just a better shot when it counts.
Close doesn’t feed the family. And the
old Page 240 was the best all-around
cartridge ever - and it was based on
the 30.06. Versatile? Not everyone
can afford a dozen rifl es. Use what
you have to its best. You guys are
only about money. My dad bought the
subscription before he passed on to the
hunting ground in the sky. Otherwise,
I wouldn’t have known what a bunch
of greedy morons you guys are.
Chris Carling—via email
Chris,
Everyone is passionate about their
guns. That’s the way we like it and the
reason for this article. It’s all about
preference, dialing in your loads,
and shooting accuracy. However,
I will probably get more negative
comments back about me publishing
your comment that you are shooting
700 yards at a deer with your 22-250
and whacking a deer with a .22 than
someone bashing on the 30.06. No,
not everyone can afford a dozen rifl es,
but our surveys tell us that 63 percent
of our readers own eight or more guns.
That’s plenty of guns to go around, so
fi nd the one that you like for the type of
hunt you are going on.
Editor
December/January 9