Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Srebro
This must be our age of enlightenment …. well I'm so happy to learn that old time serious duck hunters like Buckingham, Sheldon and Askins got it all wrong, using 1-1/4 and 1-3/8-ounce heavy progressive loads when ducks wouldn't work the decoys and taking longish shots over the water and against the sky, both where it's so hard to estimate actual distance. How many can resist that temptation nowadays? Those I named and others of great experience must have just plain fell for the hype in all those long range tech articles by professional ballisticians and were duped by adverts by the likes of Western, Ajax and Peters.
Good to know that some of you have the skill to center punch ducks flying at different speeds, distances and varying angles with modern efficient loads. Great! Good shooting! Me, I often can't do that and might hit the bird with the fringe of the pattern. I always liked that saying about the difference between 1-ounce and 1-1/4-ounce ….. "when the gun goes bang that extra 1/4-ounce has to go somewhere".  |
Many of the old boys such as Elmer Keith talked of heavy loads and long shots. Elmer used his Ithaca 3 1/2 inch ten bore to take geese to 80 yards. I've read most of their stuff including Askins who was Elmer's mentor. But I never shoot over 50 yards, never ever. And I never let the opinions of others become my opinions, even the likes of Askins and Keith who I truly enjoy reading. My comments are based solely on my personaL experience. I read what they had to say and then find out for myself. I have shot countless patterns and extensively shot all types of game for 55 years. My opinions are my own based on my actual experiences and testing. I am careful to preface my statements with "in my opinion". It's just that, my opinion. Others are free to read my posts and disagree. Thats what it's all about. Nobody would question the experience of Jack O'Connor or Elmer Keith. But both of those gentlemen disagreed on most everything. Jack O'Connor touted the .270 for elk and moose. Elmer Keith said anyone who hunted elk or moose with a .270 was a damn fool. My own experience taking moose with the .270 convinced me that Jack was right and Elmer was wrong. But my opinion is based on my experience, not the words of either gentlemen.