Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[MechanicMatt]

That .270 actually bounced off the deer. Uncle Mike shot it and when skinned found the hole where pops .270 hit and bounced off. For me life starts at .30 cal. That said I did just get a 6.5mm for $hit$ and giggles

 

[MechanicMatt]

Strongly considering a Ruger #3 in 45/70 price is right

 

[USMC615]

Strongly considering a Ruger #3 in 45/70 price is right

...good cartridge.

 

[hardpan]

I got me one of them, a DR Power Wagon, holds three whelbarow loads of wood.
Not that good empty going up hill, lots of wheel spin even with chains.
But you load it, it will go almost anywhere. Backing it up can be quite and adventure.
I use it mostly hauling firewood from the distant stacks to the cellar door. Sure beats manhandling a wheelbarrow. even one with both handels.
Wish this weather would settle down, do I keep the fire going or let it burn out and restart it later?
Still stacking wood in my new wood shed. 8x12x6= 4.5 cord, and right next to the cellar door.
If this warm weather keeps, I'll have enough for the winter, maybe even a surplus. The deck and the kitchen table will be safe for another year.
I don't understand the logic of deer hunting with magnum rifle. My first deer was bagged with a 270/150gr RN.
Just too much bloodshot meat for me, I like to eat right up to the hole.
So I switch to a lower power cartridge. 30-30, 44-40 hot load, 44Mag, Much better and min bloodshot meat.
And never lost an animal.
Durring ML season it was a 50cal RB, 100gr FFF, through and throughs and the blood trail starts when the chest fills, about 30yds. If it was a good shot, you'll find him within 100yrd.
Now I have plenty of rifles, 22 Hornet up to 375H&H, but for deer here in the NE, 30-30 is my choice.
I have shot Big Bore target for years and I can still call my shots, so thats why I can be confident with a 30-30.
I'm no slouch with a handgun, got a couple with one.
Shotgun with slugs, forget it, too much waste of meat for me. I like steaks and roasts, not hamburger and sausage.
I guess I got carried away again.

DR you say? I've been eyeballing their stuff for a long time, would have a garage full of it but it would take real money. Sure looks like quality to me.

A little deer hunting story. Many years ago I worked with a man, who worked like a mule, grew up in a big family, dirt poor, about 35 miles from me. Their family poached deer year around purely to put meat on the table. Their choice for the night time spot lighting deer hunt was the 22 magnum (WMR). I listened in fascination. He said you hit it once with a good shot and it went down, quickly got up, hit it again, down again, hit it again. He said the little 22 mag sound didn't travel as far as a more capable larger caliber and allowed them an easier get away. He stopped when he could afford to buy food.

 

[svk]

In a strong action like that #3 you can hop up a 45-70 considerably.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

In a strong action like that #3 you can hop up a 45-70 considerably.

Sounds painful to the shoulder.

 

[svk]

Sounds painful to the shoulder.

Yes it would be.

I had a #3 in .30-40 Krag. Someone had done some trigger work and it had a light, crisp pull. Despite the short barrel it was one of the most accurate hunting rifles I've ever owned.

 

[hardpan]

Sounds painful to the shoulder.

I had a #1 for almost 40 years in 6mm, great gun with beautiful wood but it was stolen along with 11 other long guns on 6-17-06. A friend of mine had a #1 in 458 mag. I shot it and I had no idea a rifle could kick so much. My son was 15 at that time and I wish I had a video of when he shot it. It whipped his head so violently he ended up with the headphone hearing protection rotated 90* from home position. My dad shot it also and he was mostly a handgun shooter. With that crazy round that rifle was very accurate. Great experience for all.

 

[stihly dan]

Have I got that right fellas...take the rakers down about every 3-4 sharpenings with this 2 in 1 file?...keep the chain from being so 'grabby'?

Why? Its meant for perfect rakers. Works great for me. Maybe if you have a small saw its different.

 

[nomad_archer]

Wudpirat I hunt with the 300 mag because I have it. I bought it thinking I wanted a gun to hunt any animal in North America. It's a bit overkill for deer with a 165gr nosler ballistic tip bullet. As for meat damage, I tend to shoot them in the lungs versus right behind the shoulder. I quit shooting right behind the shoulder when I took up archery because Arrow + shoulder = bad bad things. I didnt have any meat damage on this one. Like I said earlier my next rifle will be a 7mm-08 just so I have a lighter walking gun.

On a side note Bambi is all cut up and in the freezer. She was a big doe and yielded a lot of meat. It took me all day to get it processed but I took lots of breaks and wasn't in any hurry.

Good thing I got this deer yesterday since the tree service called today and I have some locust and walnut lined up for pick up tomorrow morning.

 

[Bullvi22]

Whats up with this weather? 70 degrees in the daytime and 50s at night, my scrounged wood is doing me nadda bit of good. I'm not complaining though, last years double 10" snows towards the end of winter is still fresh in my mind. Its funny how when the season to start burning wood comes around, people talk less about wood and more about shootin deers and drinkin beers. Not that theres anything wrong with that.



Personally I like spitting and stacking in cold weather, anybody think of it as primarily a warm weather pursuit?

 

[Brewz]

I used a Marlin lever action 45-70 for years.
Loaded with 300gn HP's it will drop game if it has to go through a 4" tree first.
Yeah they kick, leave a bruise if you fire it enough in a day but DAMN it's fun!

Factory Ammo is downloaded and you may as well get a 44 mag.
If you want to use a 45-70 properly, reload for it

 

[dancan]

Why? Its meant for perfect rakers. Works great for me. Maybe if you have a small saw its different.

Yup , rakers every time you file .
No issues with a grabby chain on the ms241 .
I agree , it's a great tool

 

[USMC615]

Yup , rakers every time you file .
No issues with a grabby chain on the ms241 .
I agree , it's a great tool

I'll keep the flat file in then, and hit the rakers with each filing...like you and Stihly suggest.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

Yes it would be.

I had a #3 in .30-40 Krag. Someone had done some trigger work and it had a light, crisp pull. Despite the short barrel it was one of the most accurate hunting rifles I've ever owned.

I've got a 1896 Krag rifle that I picked up about 30 years ago for $100. My dad had a cavalry Krag carbine (with saddle ring) that he traded away for a 1911 pistol that was subsequently stolen from his car. The carbine seemed nicely balanced, and any Krag action has a very smooth bolt action (single lug, though, so not meant for super hot loads).

 

[svk]

I've got a 1896 Krag rifle that I picked up about 30 years ago for $100. My dad had a cavalry Krag carbine (with saddle ring) that he traded away for a 1911 pistol that was subsequently stolen from his car. The carbine seemed nicely balanced, and any Krag action has a very smooth bolt action (single lug, though, so not meant for super hot loads).

I've looked at Krag rifles several times at pawn and gun shops. Just might pick one up one day.

 

[hardpan]

Whats up with this weather? 70 degrees in the daytime and 50s at night, my scrounged wood is doing me nadda bit of good. I'm not complaining though, last years double 10" snows towards the end of winter is still fresh in my mind. Its funny how when the season to start burning wood comes around, people talk less about wood and more about shootin deers and drinkin beers. Not that theres anything wrong with that.



Personally I like spitting and stacking in cold weather, anybody think of it as primarily a warm weather pursuit?

I have mixed feelings. The mild weather makes living easier but in the industry I am in, coal mining, it puts people out of work. 2 more local mines have shut down in the last 2 weeks due to a surplus and dropping prices and other things I'm not going to get started here.

For now I am enjoying it and plan on digging out a stump today. I don't like doing that in the summer. I also don't like processing firewood in the summer which is what I did all summer, first time in over 30 years. WTF

I am sure of one thing, tis the season to be jolly. Some years we just have to work a little harder at it.

Cheers

 

[MustangMike]

My Uncle hunted with a Mdl 95 Winchester in 30-40 Krag. Had a 28" barrel, and would handle hotter loads than a bolt action Krag. (Mdl 95s were even chambered in 30-06).

That gun really made a bang when it went off, and he took a lot of deer with it.

With the hot loads (a friend of his made them) and the 28" barrel, had to be close to 308 performance.

While a Mdl 95 will handle pointed bullets, my Uncle always used 180 gr round nose.

 

[zogger]

My Uncle hunted with a Mdl 95 Winchester in 30-40 Krag. Had a 28" barrel, and would handle hotter loads than a bolt action Krag. (Mdl 95s were even chambered in 30-06).

That gun really made a bang when it went off, and he took a lot of deer with it.

With the hot loads (a friend of his made them) and the 28" barrel, had to be close to 308 performance.

While a Mdl 95 will handle pointed bullets, my Uncle always used 180 gr round nose.

When I worked in a shop, we had a test bunker to try out the repairs. The two calibers that really stood out for shock and awe, shook the ceiling panels, etc, were 45-70 goobermint and 7mm rem mag. And that is also why when in the axe threads I have used that bit of past experience as an analogy and comparison between a fiskars and a traditional maul, they will do a similar job, just in a different way.

 

[wudpirat]

We could argue the merits of all the deer cartridges 'till the cows come home.
Great topic over a splash of Wild Turkey over ice.
If the truth be know, more deer have been killed with the lowley .22LR than any other cartridge.
All it takes is a single shot 22 rifle a flashlite and a handfull of 22LR cartridges, meat on the table.

Handloads in a 45-70 Ruger#3 ? better be wearing welding mits, the torque and recoil will wreck your hand.
I loaded some 405gr slugs with the max load, it killed on both ends. The factory ***** loads are for Trap door Springfields.
You talk penatration ? My 375 H&H, with 350 gr solids will shoot through your Mustang end to end.
I like all my rifles, if I didn't, I would not have bought them, but my fav is my Win 92, 44-40 handloaded to 44Mag level, well almost, that load has no case life, two reloads and the bass is toast.

This discusion will continue at a latter date, that's a given.