Ruark on gauge for quail.....

[6pt-Sika]

I’ve gone the gamut with shotguns killing game birds with everything from an 8 down to a 410 . While I don’t consider myself the end all expert I feel I have a pretty decent grasp of most situations . To me it’s more a matter of the individual knowing their own limitations with a specific gauge and shot size for a specific bird . As to the rifle or whatever versus the whitetail deer . Again I don’t think myself the end all authority but I do believe I’ve got a pretty decent amount of practical application experience . And again the cartridge is kind of a moot point to me , I’m pretty picky about my shots and rarely do I shoot at running deer . So a head shot at a doe during damage control with a 222 , 223 or 220 Swift at 200 yards is no big deal . Now to the other end of the spectrum a person can use some of the so called African cartridges I see no issue with that as well . As Elmer Keith who I’m no great fan of said “you can eat right up to the bullet hole” and I’ve found that to be true with 375 H&H , 416 Rem Mag , 416 Rigby and of all things the 505 Gibbs . FWIW the 505 belongs to a friend and I plunked a deer with it one day during damage control while he was sitting beside me . No great feat in itself . Birds or deer to me it’s all a matter of knowing your own limitations with whatever happens to be in your hands at the time .