(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article.)
The .223 Remington
I love the .223 Remington (.223 Rem). The rounds are relatively inexpensive and can be found anywhere. There is a plethora of bullet grain weights, designs and bullet tips. There is also an unlimited amount of firearm platforms to find that best fits you and your needs. I use a bolt action Ruger American Ranch rifle. Ruger makes an excellent, inexpensive and durable rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO. It has a detachable magazine and the comes in a 1:8 twist. My rifle has consistently and accurately shot a variety of manufacturers bullets, but it performs best with handloads. I consistently shoot sub-moa groups, under .5 inches at 100 yards with handloads. The .223 Rem/5.56 NATO has enough oomph to take down any small game and some predatory animals in the United States. The .223 Rem can also be used for some big game. I know people who hunt wild pigs and whitetail deer with it.
.30-06 Springfield and .308 Winchester
I am a huge fan of common calibers that have been proven either in the field, or on the battlefield. The .308 is very similar to the .30-06 in many ways. With the exception of the length of a loaded round, they have very similar range and impact. Both rounds use a .30 caliber (.308″) bullet. Both calibers can be found in nearly every store that sell ammunition in the US.
I love both the .30-06 Springfield (.30-06) and the .308 Winchester (.308) equally as a large caliber, centerfire rifle round. The .30-06 round was used in both World Wars, the Korean War, and multiple other conflicts. It has been proven time and time again to be a consistently good, accurate, and versatile round.
There are a variety of different grain bullets that can be used for a large variety of game. I know people who hunt coyotes for fur with a light grain .30 caliber bullet and a light powder load.
.30-30 Winchester
In modern history, this caliber has taken more deer in North America than any other. It is one of the best and most reliable rounds for all types of game. You’re not going to win any long-distance matches, but you will drive tacks at 100 yards all day long.
.357 Magnum
This coming hunting season I will be trying out a new caliber for small game hunting. I recently bought a new-to-me .357 Magnum (.357) Marlin lever action rifle. I love this caliber and this rifle. l appreciate it for multiple reasons, the primary being I can take two firearms in the field and only need to carry one box of ammunition. Along with the rifle, I carry my grandfather’s revolver, which is also chambered in .357. As most of you know, a firearm chambered in .357 can shoot .38 Special (.38), but not the other way around. Shooting a lead .38 out of the Marlin is relatively quiet and has very little recoil. It is an extremely versatile setup and a great firearm for the person learning to shoot.
12 Gauge and 20 Gauge
I absolutely love both the 12 gauge and 20 gauge shotgun. The 20 gauge has less recoil than the 12, but still packs a lot of punch on the receiving end. I have successfully harvested vast amounts of animals, mostly fowl, with a 12-gauge shotgun. I have also harvested wild pigs and several furbearing animals as a federal trapper. A shotgun offers so much versatility, you can harvest nearly anything with it. A shotgun allows you to shoot light loads for small birds like quail and doves, all the way up to geese and turkeys with heavy loads. There are also slugs and buckshot which allow you to hunt big game like pigs, deer, and bear. A shotgun is likely one of the most, if not the most, multipurpose firearms. I stack a lot of shotgun ammo in all shot, buckshot and slugs variations. (Note: If you have a standard smoothbore shotgun barrel, rifled slugs will be more accurate.) Another benefit to shotguns is the variety of chokes to choose from. Chokes control the constriction of the shot, which controls the distance the shot can travel. My home defense shotgun has a fixed improved cylinder choke, while my waterfowl hunting shotgun has a removable choke. Depending on how high the birds are flying, will depend I use a full or modified choke. Modified chokes are a great, all-around choke of nearly all fowl.
Eye Dominance
Eye dominance is a crucial step in accurately firing any firearm. A right-handed shooter should use their right eye while shooting and a left-handed shooter, their left eye. To figure out what eye dominant you are, touch your thumb tips together and touch your index fingers together making a triangle. Extend your arms all the way out in front of you. With both eyes open, look through the opening in your hands and focus on something stationary, like a picture, clock or tree, and slowly bring your hands towards your face, keeping the triangle made by your fingers. Never take your eyes off the object you choose to look at. The triangle made by your hand will naturally come to one of your eyes. The eye your hands come back to your dominant eye.
When I was teaching people to shoot, I would occasionally have someone who shot right-handed but was left-eye dominant or vice versa. There are several ways to “fix” this, but the easiest is to have the shooter close their “dominant” eye and train the brain to use the other eye. Surprisingly, eye dominance correction never took very long.
Ammunition
There are countless weights, bullet types, calibers and platforms. If you are interested in learning to shoot, try out several different types of firearms, actions, calibers/gauges and get what feels and works best for you. When it comes to ammunition, you will need to do some homework and see what works best in your specific firearm(s). Most ammunition of the proper caliber for your firearm will shoot and likely hit a target once your scope/sights are dialed in. To get the ultimate accuracy, you will need to figure out the exact variety of ammunition, whether it is factory-loaded or handloaded, your firearm prefers.
I am not a fan of the non-toxic, “green” ammunition that is required in some states. I have used a variety of non-toxic ammunition and am not impressed with some of the performance. Lead is dense and malleable, making it ideal for hunting and penetration. The government and biologists don’t see it that way.
In Conclusion
There are countless ways to fill your freezer with fresh, nutrient-dense food. Not everyone has the ability, or want, to raise animals and/or to hunt or to grow a garden. These people should recognize that the day may come when their life, and possibly the survival of their loved ones, will depend on leaving their comfort zone. For as long as I am mentally and physically able to, I will feed my family with what we grow and raise or what we gather through hunting, fishing and trapping. The older I get, and the more I research what goes into the food we buy, the more I try and distance my family from storebought foods. I recently heard a McDonald’s hamburger bun has fifty-two ingredients! WHY? There is a reason that “food” doesn’t rot. It’s no wonder why our society is so sick, overweight and depressed. Imagine what a meal from a fast-food joint does to your stomach if it is full of preservatives and other ingredients most of us have never heard of.
The biggest obstacle I witness with the modern homesteading movement, are people setting unrealistic expectations and/or, willingly or unknowingly, setting limitations. Get out of your comfort zone but do so in a realistic fashion. Set yourself up for success, not exhaustion. Homesteading fatigue is real, which is why a lot of “homesteaders” quit after a short time. Most of us “homesteaders” want to grow and raise all our own food and live off the land in every facet. Most of us who try to live this lifestyle also have full-time jobs, children, aging family members who need care, etc. There is no rule requiring us to grow or raise all the food we consume in the first year of homesteading. That is an unrealistic expectation, especially if you work forty hours a week for an employer. Do what you can to be as self-reliant as possible, within reason.
Gather and read books, magazines, and articles on the topic(s) you’re interested in, then put those ideas into practice. Expand your knowledge and capability each year. If all you can do is grow a single tomato plant or tend to a small patio garden because you’re in an apartment, do it! Don’t let fear, a lack of knowledge, square footage or the outside opinion of others dictate how to take care of yourself. You do not need a lot of property to have some sort of self-reliance. I know a lot of people who have summer patio gardens at their apartment in a city, or who hunt and never purchase meat at the store. I also know several families, who live in very populated cities, that keep three or four chickens in their backyard for egg production. It doesn’t take much room to keep a couple of birds. Urban chickens have more ferocious predators than those on farms or in the country.
The biggest threat is the nosey neighbor or a member of the HOA. Those critters scare me more than the meanest grizzly bear! Grow what you can, raise what you can, and if possible, become a member of the hunting. This might not be for everyone but consider experimenting with it and evaluate your experience(s). Your life may depend on it at some point. If you have zero desire to hunt, think about joining a shooting club. This will help familiarize yourself with firearms, refine skills and create confidence in your ability to protect yourself and possibly bag some food.
John Wayne said it best. “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” Don’t live in fear of the unknown or live vicariously through someone on YouTube who you think is living the life you want. It is okay to be nervous about taking the leap to become self-reliant, but do not let that fear hinder your ability to venture out into the unknown. Think about our pioneer ancestors in the 19th century. They came West for the chance at a better life. They had no idea what awaited them, but they set out nonetheless for the opportunity to live free and make their fortune. Channel their grit and their determination and make them proud!