Zombie Cliche Lookout: Think About It
We take a lot for granted in our day to day lives. We just assume that we know what’s going on, and we’re generally right. Generally, but not always. Now, with our relatively comfortable lives, being wrong about things from time to time usually won’t be disastrous. It can hurt a lot (just ask me about buying a home in 2004 to renovate and sell in three years), but we can usually bounce back.
When it comes to the zombie apocalypse, it’s a bit of a different story. Making an incorrect assumption about something can be deadly. And not just to you. If you bring someone who’s infected back to camp, they could turn and kill a lot of people before the situation can be brought under control (see just about every zombie flick ever made). Your mistake need not involve zombies. Disasters bring out the extremes in people, good and bad. You bet on the wrong person, and you can end up – figuratively and/or literally – stabbed in the back.
About this Episode:
Brent fired that shotgun a couple of episodes ago now. If the zombie are coming, they should be showing up pretty soon. So what the heck are Murphy and Inez doing wasting all this time? Perhaps I’m being clever and trying to make a statement about how people react to stress and focus on the wrong things to their peril. Or maybe I’m just not great about managing time.
Discussion Question: Getting Into Hunting
This spring I went turkey hunting with my cousin, and even though we got skunked, I had a great time with it. I think I’ve been bitten by the hunting bug, and I’m thinking about getting a deer rifle for the 2014 season. I figure there’s got to be a few hunters out there – and I know we’ve got some firearms enthusiasts – so I’m looking for recommendations for a solid deer rifle that won’t break the bank. Right now, I’m looking at a Remington Model 700 in 30-06. From what I read, it’s a solid rifle at a reasonable price, and 30-06 is a reasonably easy round to get your hands on. What do you all think?
A Quick Update:
Tomorrow’s review of The Walking Dead will be posted a little later than usual. I’ll be watching the episode tonight and doing the review first thing tomorrow morning (I like to sleep on it).
First off, I just checked out the character bio to find out a bit about Inez Louis and what kind of reporter she was. Her status was listed as unknown! I think the character bio page is seriously in need of updating! 😀
Also, several other characters need updating! For one thing, the prisoners are zombies or dead by now! 😀
Status regarding whether she was dead/alive. 😉
Yeah, that page is painfully out of date. I need to set aside a few hours to get that thing updated.
Inez is a pretty good field reporter, I wonder if they’ll have more time to discuss this back at base? 😀
Assuming it still exists by the time they get back there! 😉
Indeed; there’s likely not going to be a lot of time for careful consideration and insightful discussion here.
Dave, you can kill anything in North America, including elk, moose, bear, and American Bison with a .30-06. The truth is many American hunters use too much gun, go for long shots they have no business taking, and want a magnum round to make up the difference.
Now the Remington 700/Winchester Model 70 is a Coke/Pepsi debate. I’t rather have a Winchester Model 70 in the pre-’64 configuration; but the truth is that there aren’t a lot of lemons on the turnbolt market right now. Even the Savages are great rifles.
Where you don’t want to cheap out is on the mount, rings, and glass. Figure doubling the amount you want to spend on the rifle, in sum. Half of the money for the rifle, half for the rings, mount, and optics. That’s conservative. You can go up from there. A good scope is an heirloom investment. You can easily pass a good one down to your kids (actually, make the kids buy their own. Pass it to your grand kids). You don’t want to top your first dear rifle with a piece of shit Tasco or Leapers.
So is a 30-06 too much gun? Also, is it true what I was told about it being a fairly easy round to find? Poking around ammo stores lately, it seems like I see a lot more 270 than anything else.
No, .30-06 is just the right amount of gun.
The .270 is a little flatter-shooting. The bullets are a little lighter; so it might not be enough for American bison or grizzly. .30-06/.270 is another Coke/Pepsi argument. I really like both of them; and you can’t go wrong with either for anything up to elk.
I had a great time with the .270 when I went hunting, but I’m always for something with a bit more power. I did get a chance to fire a .30-06 and I love the power and feel behind it, but not the most well taught behind it.
In my personal experience we also had a rather easy time finding ammo for the .270 I don’t know why that is.
It’s a bit less common in American gun safes and closets than the .30-06. Less rifles means less demand. It was never a military caliber, like the .30-06; so there aren’t military surplus rifles floating around chambered for it.
It’s a great little caliber, and a favorite of the late Jack O’Connor (now we’re naming icons in American hunting journalism in Bricks of the Dead?). For more on the subject, I recommend a book called The Hunting Rifle; but I am not sure if it’s even in print.
Ah, Inez is going to try and be Shane to Murphy’s Rick.
Hah, I hope she’s not that crazy.
I own several Rem Model 700s in various calibers and configurations. I agree with Bo on this one, its hard to go wrong with either the Rem 700 or the Win 70. I personally prefer the Rem 700, but only because that is what I was brought up on. Its kinda like the whole Chevy/Ford thing. As Ive said previously on this forum, Ive been an avid hunter form age 12 but ironically Ive never hunted deer with a rifle. All of my deer hunting has been in Zone 3 and restricted to Slug-guns and muzzeloaders. I have hunted numerous other big game animals in other states and Canada and I also agree that the 30-06 is the best all around big game cartridge on this planet. .PERIOD. That being said, I do feel its a little heavy for whitetail deer(about 150lbs on average). Normally (and heres where I diverge from Bo on this) Im an advocate of using what a lot of people would consider to be too much gun. There are literally thousands of variables that you cant control in any given hunting situation. Shot placement is key in any hunting scenario, but your primary goal is the quick and humane harvest of the animal. Using a more powerful round wont turn a lousy shot into a better one, but the ugly truth is that your margin of error gets a little bigger with the added shock and knockdown power of the larger round. The downside of this is the added recoil of the larger round will affect your ability to practice with the rifle and your “flinch factor” The .270 is an excellent deer cartridge (within 200yrds) and will be a lot more comfortable to shoot then the 30-06. The 30-06 wont do you any good if you are intimidated by shooting it. Be honest with yourself about your recoil tolerance and practice with whatever gun you choose.
Bo is also dead-on regarding optics. Buy a good scope and good mounting rings. Don’t overdo the magnification either. An adjustable 2x-7x or 3x-9x tops will do nicely. The following link http://www.cabelas.com/product/Riflescope-Buyers-Guide-and-Glossary/533100.uts
Has some really great information and will give you a good basic guideline on choosing a scope.
Finally, give some thought to clothing. Novembers have been pretty mild for the last few years but you never know. Typically I wear
Insulated rubber boots with heavy socks. (on really cold days I can add chemical foot warming pads. )
An insulated and water repellent outer layer with a hood. (I only use the hood if it rains or snows because it affects my vision and hearing)
Wool hat.
Base layer (fancy name for thermal underwear) I like the Underarmor Coldgear, but there is good generic stuff out there at Cabelas or Dunams.
Polartec mid layer for really cold days, fleece pants and light jacket work well too. Worn under the outer layer.
I HATE heavy gloves so I typically wear light ones and a hand muff with a couple of chemical warming packs inside.
Plenty of good stuff out there at the box stores to get you started. You dont need to spend a ton in the beginning. But also know that nohting ruins a day in the woods like being cold and wet.
I’ve got nothing against larger, heavier bullets. It’s the folks that use .30/7mm magnums for 200 yard shots that get me.
I’ll definitely second Damage regarding optics. Get good glass, not more powerful glass. Greater magnification does not not equal greater quality.
Excellent stuff.
On the subject of optics, is the scope that comes with the rifle okay to start with?
???? Are you talking about buying a package? A lot of stores offer rifle/scope packages this time of year.
Yeah, something like this: http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Remington-Model-700-ADL-Centerfire-Rifle-Package&i=GM442168
Odds are I would not want any kind of scope that “came with” a rifle. I’d tell the shopkeeper to remove it and deduct it from the cost. I guarandamntee that’s a Chinese-made piece of shit.
Some of the newer Nikons are getting good reviews, as are the Burris scopes, for my bottom-of-the-barrel options.
If it’s going to be your do everything rifle, bite the bullet and get something with a thirty millimeter diameter tube and good rings and mounts. I’d probably go with Smith Enterprise rings and a scope with German glass.
The thing is I mostly shoot iron sights; so I might not be the best help. I have a Shepherd P2 that I am saving to put on another M14S build, with a Smith Enterprise mount. It only has a one-inch tube (unfortunately); but I really like the Shepherd reticle (which folks either love or hate).
Hey I’m a bit late to post (I won’t expect any replies to this) but I uploaded my new YouTube video. It’s short, but I thought you guys might like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbPQvKn42pE&feature=youtube_gdata
I haven’t been able to connect to this website since the Google started throwing up some ‘Default Parallels Plesk Page’ whenever I tried to visit.
I will be honest, the generic scope offered with this package would not be my first choice. However the reviews look pretty good so I might be willing to go with it as a short-term option. I would, however, replace the scope and rings after the first season. You might want to call around and see if you can get close to that price with a better scope or if the store will swap in a better scope for the price difference. Remember to get the price with the scope mounted and boresighted. (A process where the crosshairs of the scope are aligned with the projected impact point of the bullet) This will allow you to sight in the rifle much more easily and quickly. If you do go with a package make certain that is has been boresighted. \
Ooh, thanks for that Damage. I’ll be sure to verify that.