Re: Federal gold match for hunting
No I don't take it as anythig like an attack, and I sincerely appreciate the thought you've given to your reply.
Part of my philosphy comes from my location, the Northeast, where long distance shots top out at around 300yd. Obviously none of this holds true for the Sothwest, and I should make it clear that I consider that a different case entirely.
Another part comes from my belief that the 'hunt' part of hunting involves being able to close the distance during the stalk. IMHO, LR marksmanship does not trump good stalking skills. Again, for the Southwest, such stalks could be nigh impossible, but that fact in itself does not make long range marksmanship any simpler or more effective.
Yet another part comes from encountering wounded deer in the woods. They are clearly suffering, and in at least half the instances I've encountered, too badly riddled with infection to be more then even partially edible.
Two examples, a deer I harvested which had a broad point stuck head on into its sternum. Too badly infected to eat without discarding a sizeable portion. Another deer found wandering aimleslessly, crashing into trees and such. It had been shot in the head, one eye destroyed, the other damaged beyond use. The infection was so bad the stench had me gagging 20 feet away.
There were more, but I don't wish to turn this topic into a gross-out. It can be amazing how resilient deer can be, and the sorts of injuries they can overcome long enough to escape and die slowly
I consider the deer harvest to be a humane alternative to having many deer die of slow starvation as Winter Kills. IMHO, it increases the rest of the herd's chances of survival. Taking a significant chance of increasing, rather than decreasing the misery factor runs counter to my intent.
As I've said, we owe the animals more than some of us are willing to devote on their behalf.
If one must handload hunting loads, Sierra makes very valid hunting bullet choices that are essentially interchangeable with their own similar weight match bullets, so load development needn't be an issue.
But even that's unnecessary, with all the reasonably priced, and surprisingly effective hunting loads that are commercially available.
For example, I'd suggest
this as a viable alternative to FGMM. ...And yes, I do notice it's Out-of-Stock. Maybe (after the close of deer season) that means it's a pretty popular choice.
Some may denigrate the commercial offerings, believing it's a slam dunk to produce a better hunting load themselves, but maybe that's just pride talking. Few have the resources to rival the commercial producers' ability to develop <span style="font-style: italic">proven</span> terminal performance, especially at extended distances, and not just the accuracy they consider paramount.
That's why I'm willing to buy several boxes of Hornady Superformance and Custom hunting loads at upwards of $2 a shot. They work, period, end of story. I trust them to be accurate and effective to distances well beyond what I consider to be my own reliable marksmanship limits. That's my contribution to ethical hunting.
I consider the price for all that, all of it just sitting there on the shelf in a neat box, to be a reasonable and wise investment. Spending some extra for the premium stiff allays many of the more conventional arguments. It's not just the cartrdges we're buying, its the develoment that went into them.
In the instances of dangerous game, I suspect some guides won't allow handloads. If something goes wrong, it's tough to obtain damage compensation from a dead client, or pay damages to one who survives, crippled for life and sueing everything in sight with a heartbeat because the guide agreed to allow ammunition what may or may not have contributed to the disaster.
I read the accounts of hunting mishaps and mentally visualize the subsequent court proceedings. It is at times like those that I relish not having to anticipate explaining why I eschewed the conventional approach to providing my hunting ammunition, and why my handloading skills had no bearing on a victim's plight.
Liability is out there, just waiting patiently for times we seldom think to regret in advance. I'd like to be able to say that's just the paranoia talking. I can't.
I'm not trying to dictate to others how they should hunt. I'm trying to enlighten them to the alternatives and some of their implications. I see a lot fo people come out of hunter education who clearly haven't thought out how a hunt can be ethical, or why it should.
My approval is the very last thing folks should be concerning themselves about. But I <span style="font-style: italic">do</span> want them to consider a few of the things I believe to be pretty important.
Greg