Sound off: Letters to the Editor

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Props to the Forecast Issue

I would like to comment on the reader that had the complaint on the May-June issue concerning giving exact hunting unit numbers away. That issue is what makes this magazine what it is. People subscribe to this magazine because of the respectable information that it prints. I’m sorry, Dan, that you live in a state where you can put in for several different units other than that one. Some people, such as myself, live in states where hunting land is in short supply. Also, due to doctors and lawyers from out of state leasing all the hunting rights, it makes it difficult for the average hunter to hunt. So, we put in for hunts in other states such as New Mexico, Colorado, etc. Hunters such as myself and many, many others rely on information given by this magazine to find quality areas to put in for. Thank you Hunting Illustrated for all the great input on good areas to hunt.

J.W.—via email

How to Score My 5×5

I just had a question about an article in your latest issue of Hunting Illustrated. I don’t have my magazine with me, so I can’t remember the name of the article, but it was the one named, “The Promise” or something like that. The father takes his little girl with him and harvests a monster 5×6 bull elk. It was basically just a five-point, but it had a 1-inch sixth point on one side. The question I had was with the scoring of the bull. I was wondering how you get a fourth circumference measurement on the side with only five points. I’m just curious because I shot a bull last year that had only five typical points on one side with a 10-inch abnormal point in between the third and fourth points. I didn’t think that I could even count a fourth circumference measurement on that side the way that the Boone and Crockett scoring instructions explain it.
If you could help me out on the proper way to score a bull, I would appreciate it. I would love to find out that I could add some points to the score of my bull. My bull could possibly score 375 Pope and Young points (gross that is, he wouldn’t net well because he is so non-typical).

Bret Henrie—via email

Bret,
Thanks for your email and your very good question. You can still get your fourth circumference measurement from a five-point elk. Since it is missing the fifth point, you don’t know where to make the measurement since you would normally make the measurement in between the fourth and fifth point at the smallest circumference. However, if the fifth point is missing, you obtain the fourth measurement by measuring the distance between the fourth point and the tip of the main beam. Then, cut that measurement in half. That half-way point is where you make your fourth circumference measurement. I hope this helps and, if you have a photo of your great bull, send it in.

Editor

Snow Shadow All the Way

I live in Ontario, Canada and hunt coyotes in the winter. I need white camo that is very good in cool weather. I like your pattern for winter, but it needs to be warm in -15 to -20 degrees Celsius. Is your camo for me?

Kyle Davey – via email

Kyle, you are one of many who are eying our amazing King’s Snow Shadow pattern and wondering how our clothing stacks up. We have some great products that I think will fit perfect with the conditions you are describing. I would advise you turn to page 70 in this magazine and you will find our Gear for Predators mini HI Catalog. A few products I would suggest would be our TX Super Quad 4-in-1 Parka or the TX Weather Pro Extreme Insulated Parka. Both have great water and wind protection with hoods. Also a great match would be our TX Pro Extreme Insulated Bibs. To top off your complete package, go with the TX High Mountain Insulated Gloves and the Fleece Hood Mask and you are going to ready for bear. Not only have we created the most amazing snow pattern on the market, we have combined it with performance enhanced clothing to match the extreme conditions of late season hunting. Good luck chasing those coyotes and let us know how you do.

Editor

The Debate Continues

I am writing concerning the opinion expressed by Horst R. from Saskatchewan, Canada. True assault weapons are not legal to hunt with. Alleged assault weapons are legal and lawful to hunt with. The alleged assault weapons function just as any other semi-automatic firearm. 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 firearm he looked like a fish 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 firearm owners regardless of appearance or function. We benefit 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 “do-all” 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 outfit. 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 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 rifle” 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 ninety-percent 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’ rifle. 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 rifles, 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 letter your clear and legible signature.

Editor

Mr. Hermansen, I think you are a punk. I killed my first 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 rifles. 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 rifles, 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 find the one that you like for the type of hunt you are going on.

Editor

Tags: HI33, Sound off

Related articles

• The King Blacktail (0)
• The Dueling Duo: The War on Coyotes (0)
• Sound Off: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (0)
• Sound Off: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (0)
• Shooting: The Mighty .500 S&W (0)