If you hunt in heavy cover where short shots are the rule, buy a low-power scope or a peep sight with large aperture. You can aim either one quickly and accurately. Variable power scopes, about 1.5x-4.5x or 2x-7x, are ideal. Open sights, standard on most rifles, are hard to line up accurately and quickly. They are the most difficult to master.
Best Cartridges For Deer Hunting
For whitetails, a cartridge should deliver at least 900 foot-pounds of energy at the point of impact. Most states and provinces have minimum cartridge specifications for whitetail hunting. Medium-caliber, high-velocity cartridges are the best choice for deer-hunting. Common cartridges in this class are the.30-60 Springfield,.308 Winchester,.270 Winchester and 7mm Remington Magnum. Bullets should weigh at least 130 grains. Fine accuracy, plenty of power and flat trajectories make these cartridges suitable in any cover, and for shots as long as 300 yards. If you're sensitive to recoil, choose high-velocity cartridges in smaller calibers, such as the 6mm Remington,.243 Winchester,.257 Roberts and .25-06 Remington. These bullets should weigh a minimum of 100 grains. You can expect tack-driving accuracy, flat trajectory and adequate power for deer out to 250 yards.
Black Powder
When hunting with a muzzleloader, you'd better make your first shot count. Most muzzleloaders are capable of only one shot and all are slow to reload, but good ones are accurate out to 125 yards. Hunters can choose between caplocks and flintlocks. Although traditionalists often prefer flintlocks, caplocks are less likely to misfire. Most muzzleloader hunters prefer.50- or.54- caliber rifles for whitetails. Check regulations to find out which calibers are legal in your state.
Archery Equipment
Bowhunting for whitetails was once the province of a few highly skilled archers. But new designs have made the bow easier to shoot accurately and opened the door to any archer willing to put in time at the target range. Bowhunters enjoy longer seasons than gun hunters and, during archery-only seasons, face considerably less competition for prime hunting spots. Also, many hunters relish the challenge of hunting with a bow and arrow. Today, more than 80 percent of whitetail bowhunters use compound-bows. The draw weight must meet your state's legal minimum, usually 35 to 45 pounds. Despite the popularity of compounds, some hunters still prefer traditional bows. Longbows and recurve bows are lighter and quieter than compounds, but require more practice to shoot accurately.
Broadheads
Replaceable-blade type, in which the blades or entire cartridge is changes when the blades become dull; center-insert type, in which only the center blade is replaced; and nonreplaceable type, whose blades can be resharpened.
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