Great f@cking post!

Thanks for smacking down some stupidity. My grandpa went shotgun deer hunting in Texas for a number of seasons and loved it.
Soupie Johnson | Email | Homepage | 07.28.04 - 2:39 pm | #

I still think the best use of shotguns has always been at weddings...
Sebastian Haff | Email | Homepage | 07.28.04 - 4:07 pm | #

Mark Steyn admitted on the Corner that hunting deer with shotguns was possible. But crawling on his belly in the mud? C'mon.
Dylan | Email | Homepage | 07.28.04 - 6:47 pm | #

In Illinois it's a felony to hunt deer with a rifle. You must use a 12-gauge shotgun. In fact, when you buy a shotgun in Illinois, it comes with two barrels - a long one for bird hunting and a shorter rifled one for deer hunting. The short one is called a "slug barrel." You shoot deer with .75 to 1-ounce lead "slugs."

A double-barrel isn't crazy to hunt with either. It's illegal to hunt with a shotgun that carries more than 3 shells - including the shell in the chamber. So you only lose one shell in theory. In practice, you don't get more than one shot at the deer.

Normally you don't hunt deer by crawling in the mud. Instead, you sit in a "deer stand," which is a piece of wood nailed high to a tree. However, you could hunt deer in the prone position. This would be much harder than sitting in a stand waiting for bambi to look down for a sip of water before killing her.

You know, when I'm wrong, I freely admit it. I'm a bit disappointed that they are saying, "Well, maybe he did use a shotgun, but he can't shoot from the prone." Why can't they just admit being wrong?
Fed. No. 84 | Email | Homepage | 07.28.04 - 8:24 pm | #

Yeah, I did not address the crawling in the mud part, but I don't see how that is implausible either. I've crawled on my belly plenty of times in the search for deer. And if he shot from the prone position that's not weird either.

Stand hunting is one way to hunt, but stalking is another method. It requires lots of walking and it could very well require crawling on your belly, especially in heavily wooded areas with lots of thick underbrush.
Fitz-Hume | Email | Homepage | 07.29.04 - 7:55 am | #

I hunted deer growing up, both out on the plains and in the mountains and we never used deer stands. The stalking involved lots of tracking, and frequently crouching or crawling down ditches and fence lines. We only hunted with rifles, but that was because we were out in the open and would never get close enough to use a shotgun.
Sebastian Haff | Email | Homepage | 07.29.04 - 9:32 am | #

What kind of gun did Milbarge use to shoot Bambi?
Scott | Email | Homepage | 07.29.04 - 4:10 pm | #

Blunderbus, maybe?

Scott, how's the bar exam treating you?
Fitz-Hume | Email | Homepage | 07.29.04 - 4:41 pm | #

Dude, did you freakin diss SA again?!
feddie | Email | Homepage | 07.29.04 - 8:20 pm | #

Strikes me as fair.

Isn't the larger kind of shot pellet found in shotgun shells referred to as buck shot?

One Q for you, F-H: is it a pain in the butt to get shotgun pellets out of a deer? Seems to me a rifle would be a better way to get some venison. Offer void where prohibited.
Plainsman | Email | Homepage | 07.30.04 - 4:55 am | #

Yes, it's 4:55 in the morning. Long story.
Plainsman | Email | Homepage | 07.30.04 - 4:57 am | #

Strikes me as fair too because the criticisms of Kerry are flat out wrong.

Plainsman, the most widely used shotgun loads for deer hunting are not shot loads, but slugs. Thus, no pellets to remove. I'll post an update with links.
Fitz-Hume | Email | Homepage | 07.30.04 - 8:12 am | #

Bar is over, Fitz. Thank God. Now I'm off to Ireland for two weeks before I start my clerkship. Good times. I'll post pictures.
Scott | Email | Homepage | 07.30.04 - 12:09 pm | #

Ah, but see the quote in full: Kerry also says he enjoys trying to outsmart the deer, using decoys. Decoys for deer are way illegal in Mass.

Cordially,
Kevin
Kevin | Email | Homepage | 08.03.04 - 2:25 pm | #

Hunting deer is (somewhat rarely) done with a shotgun. I have never seen a double barrel used for such hunting though. Most double barrel shotguns are designed for shooting clays and real fowl, not slugs. One shot or pump single barrel shotguns are preferred since these have sights that are more suitable to longer shots. I'm talking about iron sights vs. front bead. I'm not saying it's impossible to hunt with a double barrel, but anyone who is serious about killing a deer, not crippling or missing altogether uses a firearm with a decent sight. Not a double barrell shotgun.

Regarding belly crawling. No way. Poll a million actual hunters. Maybe 5 will say that they crawl on their bellys to hunt deer. Going prone to shoot is not the same thing. Shifting position to shoot while prone is not the same either. He's talking about stalking deer by crawling on his belly.

This is pure pandering.

Regards,

Buck....Yes that's my name.
Buck | Email | Homepage | 08.03.04 - 6:25 pm | #

I too have, and know of, people who hunt deer w/shotguns (here in GA)...using slugs, of course.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 08.03.04 - 10:55 pm | #

I live on the south Oregon coast, which is basically a rain forest, except wetter and the brush is thicker.

Any range or condition where you can effectively shoot game with a pistol or revolver will work even better with a slug loaded shotgun.

Don't believe it? Look at the ballistics and then get some slugs and range them. They carry up a lot better than most people would imagine.
Mitch Lewis | Email | Homepage | 09.05.09 - 11:24 pm | #

I would also add that I have killed 2 black bears with a 12 ga. loaded with number 6 birdshot.

The range was close, within 40 feet on both occassions, and I did not have a choice in the matter either time. No choice in firearm selection and no choice except to shoot.

A 12 ga. shotgun has a tremendous chopping affect at close range, and is nothing I would want to face.

Both bears died a sudden and violent death.

And, no, I managed not to mess my pants.

A brown bear or a grizzly may bluff and not charge. He may charge a short distance just to scare away whatever he thinks is a threat. A black bear, if he charges, will, generally speaking, charge all the way in. In most cases.
Mitch Lewis | Email | Homepage | 09.05.09 - 11:30 pm | #