Hevi-Shot: old vs. new

[fabsroman]

Originally Posted by skeet

Sorry I kinda POd ya fabs. At the current time you really don't get what i was saying. You will some day. Nice to stay in the groove we are in when it makes us comfortable.. Understanding sometimes comes with age more so than anything..

As far as the technology thing.. I wonder sometimes how we ever bagged a deer without camo scentlock decoys climbing treestands sabot slugs scopes rifled bores or ducks and geese without a mojo or decoys so realistic they look like a real duck camo again 3inch mags much less 3 1/2 inchers patternmaster chokes etc etc etc. Was talking with a friend yesterday about this same thing. I figured roughly that the majority of the geese I killed over the years were mostly shot with 2 3/4 heavy loads and 2 3/4 inch mags...the old 3 3/4 1 1/4 loads and the later 1 1/2 ounce mags. I must admit that shooting the birds did teach me how far was killable. But then again most of the geese I killed were easily inside of 40 yds. Many if not most 30 yds or less. But I did learn how to pass shoot the darn things for when i had to. But lots of shooting cured my ills with that.

Now i must admit that some of the newer technology is a BIG help. Guns fit better making people better shots Ammo is better than it ever was in the 50's and 60's Steel sent things backwards for a bit but even it is better now. We can't even match the better steel by reloading now. Lead ammo is much better today too. The ultra expensive Hevi shot and it's ilk are in some cases even better than the best lead loads like Fed Premiums and the Win Supremes. Bullets and powders are way better than they were in the 60's and 70s even. And metallic ammo is usually as good as the best reloads of a few years ago. My muzzleloader uses smokeless powder but Pyrodex and triple 7 is also nowhere related to black powder either...so even the traditionalists that shoot front stuffers with those powders enjoy the benefits of technology. Trail cams are kinda my pet peeve. Most put out some kind of bait to get the best use out of 'em but I guess it really doesn't kill 'em. Just seems to be taking advantage of the critters. You are right Mr 16..technology doesn't make the marginal people real hunters... But it does make the ones who understand the sport pretty hard to beat out in the field. Makes it a little easier for us old times too. That 4 wheeler sure is a lot easier on me than a horse. LOL!!

Skeet,

I do get it at 39 years of age. If my parents weren't alive and I was single at this point, you can bet I would be living somewhere else with a lot more open space. It was all I could do to talk my wife into getting a place with 3+ acres and a lot of room between us and the neighbors. I wanted to buy a 30 acre lot with a POS house on it in Woodbine for $549,000, but my wife didn't give me the green light on that one. There was a place for sale with 98 acres for $899,000, and if I had the money I would have bought it. Again, it had a POS old farm house on it and it was preservation land, but it was a nice place out in Lisbon/Mt. Airy. Hence, the reason for the purchase of a farm elsewhere where I can just up and "retire" to once the kids are off to college, and at least spend weekends and some extended periods of time there in the meantime. Things aren't always black and white. You should have seen my wife's expression when I told her I need a serious tractor to maintain 6+ acres and that it would run somewhere around $25,000 brand new.

I agree with you 100% about the technology. If a person cannot shoot, the best brand new wizbang with the new fangled choke and Hevi-Shot isn't going to help him. Same goes for calling. Buy the new $150 kill em deader call and it is going to sound like crap without some serious practice.

I still have not bought a set of scent-lok clothes. Ironic story, but I had a friend invite me to his farm to kill a doe 7 or 8 years ago, and he was surprised I didn't have a scent-lok suit. I was even borrowing his muzzleloader because I didn't have mine on me. Anyway, had 8 or 9 does walk within 20 yards of the treestand I was on, and the muzzleloader didn't BANG and after that I didn't feel like messing with it. Oh well, it was a fun evening anyway.

It is just like anything, fundamentals. A Ferrari isn't going to make somebody into a race car driver, but if you have the skills it sure does make you a faster driver.