Also, the price of ammunition should be considered, too, since a hunter can take a great number shots in one day.
Under these conditions, a rim-fire rifle would be perfect weapon to use in the small game hunting category. When selecting a rifle, you must consider the following - its fit, sights, weight, its action and caliber. A gun that fits properly will help assure you of getting more accurate shots.
When using a rifle with a stock that is too short, the scope might hit your eyebrow, giving you "scope bite," while one that is too long could get caught in your armpit if you are wearing a heavy jacket.
A full size stock is better for adult hunters because of its perfect fit. Good balance and stock design is vital for a small game rifle so that it can be handled quickly and readily. When you are small game hunting, most shots are done from a short distance where the animal can possibly detect the hunter, and small animals do not sit still for very long once they sense danger.
It is better to get a light rifle rather than an ultra light one, because ultra light rifles are difficult to keep the balance and make accurate shots. An ideal weight should be about 6 pounds. The rifle's action can be either repeater or single shot as long as it gives you a more accurate shot. Barrel length also needs to be considered - mostly for balance more than for ballistics. A medium weight barrel of about 20-22 inches in length is ideal.
A perfect small game rifle should have a small action to match its cartridge and a good, solid feel. A rifle with a smooth action is always best with a clean and light trigger pull, which is needed for accuracy. Given the standards of production today, a trigger revamp might be needed for every new rifle.
It is much more important for a small game rifle to be accurate, rather than fancy. There are various different types to choose from: auto-loading, lever, pump, and bolt action repeaters. Among the widely known calibers are the .22 WMR, .17 HMR and .22 LR, from manufacturers such as Anschutz, Ruger, Browning, Kimber, CZ, Winchester, Henry, and Savage, among others.
A quality rim fire rifle deserves to have a quality scope. A fixed power scope of around 4 times or a variable one in the 2 to 7 times range can serve a small game rifle well. Good rim fire scopes are not inexpensive, but are not overly costly either.
A first-rate small game rifle should be:
- as accurate as possible, but not necessarily too powerful. It can be as powerful as .22LR, but no more powerful than .30 Carbine - light: for carrying ease and fast handling, but not ultra light - well balanced and able to swing properly - with a smooth action and a stock that perfectly fits the hunter - with light and terse trigger pull - with a scope of good quality and medium power
A superior rifle may be a little too high priced for a amateur hunter but its quality will prove to be rewarding in the long haul.
The trail lead through a frost-touched multicolored forest, the oak and maple trees a riot of crimsons, deep reds and browns. A golden autumn haze filled the valleys, and if you listened you could hear quail calling lonesomely for the lost summer. Grant Hartwell and I were walking this ridge trail, as men should be doing each autumn, our minds on deer, light overnight packs on our backs, wholly content with the world.
While deer was the prime objective, a couple of grey squirrels for a stew wouldn't be amiss, or for that matter a blue grouse.
Swinging around a bend we flushed a big old buster of a blue grouse. It angled up through the trees with a frantic beating of wings and perched on an oak limb about thirty yards away, neck outstretched, its nervousness reflected in its constant stepping about as it watched our every move. We remained perfectly quiet for a space of a few moments, knowing that the least untoward movement would touch off our hair triggered game at once. When it quieted down a bit, Grant eased over a few steps toward the huge mossy bole of an oak, rested his forearm against it for the shot.
I waited intently, my pulse surging just as strongly as if he had a big buck under his sights. The silence was shattered by the roar of his .30/30 Model 99 Savage. The grouse tumbled from its lofty perch into the deep mast under the trees, drummed frantically for a moment then lay still. I walked over and picked up our quarry. Its head had been neatly severed by that 170 grain slug, an excellent bit of small game field shooting.
Small game field shooting has problems of positions which merit a lot of study and practice by hunters. Fortunately there is no essential difference between small and large game shooting, and what is learned in the small game fields is directly applicable to big game coverts. Each places emphasis on the time element, practical accuracy and range picture.
Quite often the decision as to shooting position is made by the game itself. A squirrel alerted by your careful stalking, waiting for a tip-off from you before taking to the security of its den tree, has so compressed the time element you have in which to get off the shot, you must take it from the position in which you find yourself more often than not a snapshot off-hand.
When Art Richardson and I were hunting ground squirrel that early June morning, taking them "field run" each shot was governed by the game itself, to a great extent. Squirrels scurrying toward the protection of their burrows had snap shooting written all over them. Those which stood up momentarily to inspect their surroundings had the same urgency in their attitude.
Essentially, there are three basic field shooting positions which are practical, and used for more than ninety-eight per cent of all field shooting. These three positions are: standing, sitting and kneeling. The prone position can sometimes also be used in long range woodchuck sniping and in mountain hunting. But a too slavish use of the prone position tends to deliberateness wholly at odds with field accuracy because of the time element usually interjected by the game itself. Modifications of the three prime field shooting positions: sitting, standing and kneeling, are almost infinite in number.
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