Texas Star
US Veteran
How much ammo do you carry on a typical hunt for deer, elk, etc.?
This is ammo on your person, not back in camp, a vehicle, etc.
I like to have at least 20 rounds plus a fully loaded rifle.
You may get lost and need to signal, have to deal with feral dogs, pigs, etc. And there's simple peace of mind, about knowing that you have enough for reasonable needs, short of getting into a shootout with pot growers, etc.
Many years ago, I read books by J.A. Hunter and John Alfred Jordan in which the authors had gotten down to just a couple of rounds while lost in the African bush. I recall them counting just the two rounds left, in Hunter's case because he'd had to shoot a bunch of rhinos. He was also half out of his head from thirst and heat.
In one of Jim Corbett's books, he shot off all FIVE (!) rounds of his .275 ammo while killing game for local villagers, despite the known presence of a man-eating tiger nearby! He wounded a bear with his last round and got involved in a foot chase in which he borrowed a native axe to kill a sloth bear! (The Rigby ammo went to shoot a couple of goral or serow.)
In another instance, Corbett mentioned being superstitious about carrying just five rounds. He also felt that he needed to kill a venomous snake before he'd have real hunting luck. Danged nearly got bitten by a king cobra/hymadryad that he started chucking rocks at!
Now, I admire Jim Corbett enormously. I think the man should have been knighted for his repeatedly undertaking great personal risks, time after time, to help poor Indians being ravaged by man-eaing cats. He had an abundance of raw courage and was a master of the jungle and its ways. He was a very modest man, who did things that would terrify most of us. Scared him, too!
But taking just five rounds of rifle ammo, and not carrying a handgun for emergencies was just shortsighted, to be polite. He did sometimes carry a long Afridi knife. (To throw rocks at Ophiophagus hannah was just unwise, to be blunt. No wonder some natives thought him to be a sadhu, a holy man, watched over by Lord Krishna. The Christian God must have assigned an angel to look out for him, too.)
Anyway, how many rounds of rifle ammo do you wear on you or in a coat pocket? What 's the most you ever fired on one trip? Did you ever fire more than you'd expected? If so, why?
Shotgun hunters are excused. Their needs are different, especially if they hunt doves and shoot like I do.
This is ammo on your person, not back in camp, a vehicle, etc.
I like to have at least 20 rounds plus a fully loaded rifle.
You may get lost and need to signal, have to deal with feral dogs, pigs, etc. And there's simple peace of mind, about knowing that you have enough for reasonable needs, short of getting into a shootout with pot growers, etc.
Many years ago, I read books by J.A. Hunter and John Alfred Jordan in which the authors had gotten down to just a couple of rounds while lost in the African bush. I recall them counting just the two rounds left, in Hunter's case because he'd had to shoot a bunch of rhinos. He was also half out of his head from thirst and heat.
In one of Jim Corbett's books, he shot off all FIVE (!) rounds of his .275 ammo while killing game for local villagers, despite the known presence of a man-eating tiger nearby! He wounded a bear with his last round and got involved in a foot chase in which he borrowed a native axe to kill a sloth bear! (The Rigby ammo went to shoot a couple of goral or serow.)
In another instance, Corbett mentioned being superstitious about carrying just five rounds. He also felt that he needed to kill a venomous snake before he'd have real hunting luck. Danged nearly got bitten by a king cobra/hymadryad that he started chucking rocks at!
Now, I admire Jim Corbett enormously. I think the man should have been knighted for his repeatedly undertaking great personal risks, time after time, to help poor Indians being ravaged by man-eaing cats. He had an abundance of raw courage and was a master of the jungle and its ways. He was a very modest man, who did things that would terrify most of us. Scared him, too!
But taking just five rounds of rifle ammo, and not carrying a handgun for emergencies was just shortsighted, to be polite. He did sometimes carry a long Afridi knife. (To throw rocks at Ophiophagus hannah was just unwise, to be blunt. No wonder some natives thought him to be a sadhu, a holy man, watched over by Lord Krishna. The Christian God must have assigned an angel to look out for him, too.)
Anyway, how many rounds of rifle ammo do you wear on you or in a coat pocket? What 's the most you ever fired on one trip? Did you ever fire more than you'd expected? If so, why?
Shotgun hunters are excused. Their needs are different, especially if they hunt doves and shoot like I do.
