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What do you use
- Thread starter Apex7
- Start date
I use a compound and for 1 week i use the shotgun but ironically have never harvested anything with it. Put a bow in my hands and all of a sudden deer pop out!!
I haven't taken one with a handgun from a saddle but have used one a lot from conventional stands. These ease of carrying is very appealing hiking around the woods.
ImThere
Well-Known Member
Thinking of pulling out the recurve and practicing for next year
Fred Ibbotson
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2017
- Messages
- 5
How long have you been using the saddle
Gr33n Arrow
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2015
- Messages
- 381
Compound bow most seasons but will pick up my 270 or shotgun if the freezer is low.
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Ken Ruppel
Active Member
Always prefer the compound but can carry any legal weapon with the bow when in season in Indiana( It's always archery season til the last day). It's a lot to deal with a long gun and bow during our firearms season so I'm looking at carrying a pistol instead. Curious as to what caliber you hunt with, most of my shots would be about 70 yards or less.
I don't know if you're a reloader or not but I mostly hunt with various wildcat rounds from a TC Contender. I really like the 10" barrels for carrying and the 357 Herrett is my favorite hunting round in the 10's. I don't know if anybody is currently making 357 Maximum ammo but that's another dandy in a 10" Contender. They're available in other good hunting rounds too, 41 mag, 44 mag, 45 Colt, etc The Encore's make a little larger heavier pistol but with 10" or 12" (12's balance better in the Encore IMO) barrels they're pretty nice and available in a much wider range of calibers.
The 14" barrels aren't quite as compact but still carry pretty easy compared to a rifle and have a wider range of suitable rounds cause the extra barrel length works better with "rifle" rounds. I really like the 7-30 Waters in a 14 but all the standard pistol rounds work well too and gain some extra velocity. The 35 Remington is excellent but recoil is stiff, 30-30's are great too. With TC's and other specialty pistols (XP-100's, MOA's, etc) that have rifle-like accuracy, the limiting factor to shot distance from tree stands is the quality of the rest.
I don't shoot revolvers too much but would really like to get a Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger or a Super Blackhwak Bisley hunter in 41 magnum but the latter are getting harder to find.
The 14" barrels aren't quite as compact but still carry pretty easy compared to a rifle and have a wider range of suitable rounds cause the extra barrel length works better with "rifle" rounds. I really like the 7-30 Waters in a 14 but all the standard pistol rounds work well too and gain some extra velocity. The 35 Remington is excellent but recoil is stiff, 30-30's are great too. With TC's and other specialty pistols (XP-100's, MOA's, etc) that have rifle-like accuracy, the limiting factor to shot distance from tree stands is the quality of the rest.
I don't shoot revolvers too much but would really like to get a Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger or a Super Blackhwak Bisley hunter in 41 magnum but the latter are getting harder to find.
Ken Ruppel
Active Member
Well you are definitely more knowledgeable on hand guns than I was expecting. I was looking at trying to get a contender in 35 rem, my son just picked one up. Maybe the recoil you speak of will be to much for him lol. My long gun of choice is actually an encore 50 cal ML, so I do have a lot of options there but I'm not a fan of its bulk. Was actually thinking if I was to change the encore to a pistol it would be in the 50 cal ML as we have a muzzleloader season a week after our firearms season goes out and I could still carry the bow. That's probably not the direction for me to go as I'm not a very good shot with any kind of weapon. You saying your preference of a 10in barrel makes me think that is the direction that would suit me best. I'm really not looking to have a long range gun just something compact,single shot with plenty of knockdown power. Im not into reloading but I know of some people that would help me out. It's our last day of archery season here with a high of 36 after having single digit temps with a lot of wind, one last comfortable hunt. Will be in a saddle next season, lots of prep work to do but I'm too old to not start. Hopefully with what I've said here you will be able to narrow down what my best choice would be. Thanks
I've never owned a 35 Rem barrel but the one I shot was loaded with maxed out handloads so the recoil was more than factory loads but I've never shot factory loads to compare. The TC "hunter" barrels are still commonly available in 35 rem and they have a built in brake on them (I don't shoot any guns w/o hearing protection but definitely wouldn't shoot a braked pistol w/o ear pro). If you're going to buy a Contender, consider buying a G2 Contender instead an original Contender. I love the original Contender for a variety of reasons but the G2's are nice for hunting because they're not striker fired like the originals. So the hammer can be cocked and recocked like an Encore. With an original Contender, I hunt thick woods and don't like having to trip the striker to let the hammer down then reset it before recocking. Those little metallic clicking sounds seem so loud in the woods.
For carrying, I like 10" for a Contender/G2 and 12" for an Encore. 10" on an Encore is too light in the muzzle for my liking. Muzzleloader pistols are doable in an Encore. They're not commonly available but they're around or a rifle barrel can be cut down. I used to have a 16" Gonic 209x45 Contender barrel that I used as a pistol. An Encore 12" 44 Mag barrel would do the trick pretty easily. Commonly available barrels and ammo and you already have an Encore frame
For carrying, I like 10" for a Contender/G2 and 12" for an Encore. 10" on an Encore is too light in the muzzle for my liking. Muzzleloader pistols are doable in an Encore. They're not commonly available but they're around or a rifle barrel can be cut down. I used to have a 16" Gonic 209x45 Contender barrel that I used as a pistol. An Encore 12" 44 Mag barrel would do the trick pretty easily. Commonly available barrels and ammo and you already have an Encore frame
I use both firearms and bow. It really depends on where I am. In southern MN for the firearms season we are restricted to shotgun or handgun. I started hunting with a G40 glock in 10mm. I haven't been able to shoot anything with it yet but my day is coming. Coincidentally, that's what I'm bringing to saddlepalooza.
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Compound Hoyt Carbon Element 90% of the time, then when orange army time comes I rotate between: omega muzzleloader, Browning BAR .30-06, Weatherby Mark V .30-06, Browning Auto 5 Sweet 16 slug barrel version, Ithaca DSIII, and lastly / the Desert Eagle .44!
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Ken Ruppel
Active Member
Thanks brydan, as of now I am thinking the G2 is the gun for me and in 44 mag. I'm going to try to get my hands around one before I order one, my son had showed me that you have to recock after letting the hammer down on his G1 and I said that is a deal breaker for me. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Now to get saddled up with a kestrel.