How many rounds do you carry during hunting.

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dd61999

Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
692
I know for each game it is different, so lets break it up by

Deer
Upland Birds
Small Game
Waterfowl
Turkey
 
Only hunted deer last year, but I took 1 box of 5 slugs and only used 1.


Going handgun this year, and plan to take 1 full load of 6.
 
Deer-rounds in magazine plus 4 in pocket case
upland birds-large hand full in vest pocket
small game-27 rounds in plastic Ammo Wallet
Waterfowl-don't hunt them
Turkey-Never hunted them either

The above assumes a day hunt from my house to destination and back in a day. If extended trip, up to 100rds for each (if you don't get anything, or if you bang your weapon around somehow, some target practice may be in order)
 
Deer- 4 rounds (the magazine of a remington 700). I figure if I can't hit one deer with 4 rounds then I have no business hunting them. It's been years since I've needed more than one. When I first got my 270 I took 4 shots a 1 buck and he never even flinched.

Upland Birds- Limits on quail and pheasant are pretty small and they are generally pretty easy to hit, so I take one box (25).

Doves- I've never been very good at shooting these speed demons. I generally keep two boxes on me, with a few more boxes in the vehicle. I shoot fewer shells since getting my over/under. That 3rd shot is generally a waste, at least for me.

Small game- Don't hunt them, but when I was a kid I would usually have a 50 round box of 22lr when out for squirrel or rabbit- mostly because they are so much easier to carry that way than loose.

Waterfowl- 6 ducks or 3 geese. A box of 25 is more than enough, assuming that they're coming to decoys. More shells may be needed for pass shooting where the shots can be significantly longer. I haven't hunted ducks in 4 years, but a box was more than enough.

Turkey- Limit 1 per day- two per season. I take 2 shells, one for each barrel of my o/u.
 
Deer/Hogs - About 10 on me, two boxes in jeep or quad.
Upland Birds - One box, 25 or so.
Small Game - N/A.
Waterfowl - 2-3 boxes, usualy 2 boxes of 3", 1 box of 3-1/2" for geese. I'm a terrible shot.
Turkey - N/A
 
Just a whitetail guy myself so far. I usually carry five rounds. 2 for the deer though I like to think I'd only need one. And three quick ones just in case I get into trouble out there.
 
I'm a reasonably good shot, but still, I always carry plenty bullets!

For ducks or quail, about 25-30 shotshells.
Handgun, slug gun or rifle hunting, about 10-15 cartridges.

I'd rather carry the extra weight than need a shell and not have one.
 
I'm currently just a deer hunter. I carry 3 rounds in the rifle. I also carry an extra 5 rounds on the stock of the rifle just because that is where I store extra rounds. I also carry my .45 and have on full mag for it.
 
Deer/Bear - 10 Rounds for my Browning M92 in 44 mag
Moose - 4 rounds ( mag and one in the pipe ) + 6 more for my Mark V in 338 Win Mag
Upland birds/small game - a box of 25 .410ga. for a Remington SPR 210. Up here you walk up to grouse and pull the trigger, every now and then a snowshoe hare pop out.
If I'm using a .22 , a handful in my pocket.
Waterfowl - a box of 12ga 3" for my Browning BPS , rare that I go though
Turkey - never tried

Like on poster said if I'm gone for a few days, for big game I'll have a full box in the truck along with what I carry.
 
Six but they aren't rounds so much as arrows. :D

20100911_ac_09.jpg
 
Deer-Mossberg 1500 308- 5 in rifle and 5 in my pack
Squirrel-Rem 870-20 rds
Squirrel CZ452 22lr usually around a box
 
(They don't call me batman because I can fly!)

I'm classicly over-prepared, or at least over-stocked, because, you-know, you never know what you might need once you get out there...

I guess I'm the guy that doesn't get out enough so doesn't really know what will get him by vs what he might actually need.

Deer: 3 four round mags and 9 on the stock. (Yea, I know, really only need two mags or one mag and the ones on the stock...)

Upland Birds: the one time I went chuckar hunting I showed up with a box of #6 and a box of #7 1/2 (or maybe #4). The guy that took me convinced me I only needed 10 or 15 #7 1/2 and by the time we got back I was wishing I'd only taken the three in the gun!

Everything else I've only hunted from the truck so I've probably never taken more than 5 rounds with me once I got out of the truck although I have at least a box of shells for whatever I' ve got. If I got invited duck hunting from a blind or something I'd have to ask the person inviting me how much ammo to take to the blind with me.
 
DEER: I generally carry whatever the magazine holds. But, depending upon the hunting situation, I might carry in addition at least two sets of three evenly spaced shots in case of an emergency situation.

DOVE: Four boxes. We now have a potential bonus with the invasion of the Eurasian Collared Doves in this area. You can shoot as many as you can without counting against your limit, and they are easy to differentiate from Mourning Doves.

UPLAND GAME : Haven't hunted in many years.

TURKEY, WATERFOWL: Have never hunted them.
 
Deer = 5 rounds, in home made "speed" loaders, 300 gr Hornady SST backed by a duplex load of 47 gr of H4227 and 10 gr of 777 but I hunt with my home made falling block muzzel stuffer

Upland Birds 25 rounds alternating #6 and #4 shot for long shots...

Small Game .22 50 rounds in a pouch

Jason
 
Deer -- Five or six in my Marlin and typically another 5 or 6 in the pocket or pack. If it takes me more than that to put down a deer it's time to quit!

Upland Birds -- Usually try to keep a box/25 on me at the start of a hunt. Depends on how we're hunting though. Many upland patches around here are very small, so we're in and out of pickups moving between them often, then I carry less, maybe ten rounds at a time.

Small Game -- For .22 I usually carry one 50 rd. box of extras, or just grab a handful out of a brick. Since I started hunting with a bolt action CZ 452 instead of my 10/22 I have cut down *greatly* on ammo consumption :0 When shotgun hunting small game I carry about ten rounds, plus five in the shotgun.

Waterfowl -- don't hunt

Turkey -- five in the gun and maybe another five in my pocket or pack. My first turkey hunt I spent about five rounds trying to get a bird, subsequent trips have all been one shot one kill. Still like to have extra though, never know when they're going to gang up on you!
 
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Most hunting is done within a mile of the road, and most of that is done within a few hundred yards of a vehicle. Not much reason to be a minimalist if you can drive to within a few hundred yards of where you are hunting. If your are hiking a long way then the story is a bit different, but even still 20 rounds doesn't weigh appreciably more than 1 when you figure all the other stuff you are carrying- like 8lbs of rifle.

And, carrying more than you may need is pretty minimalist when the alternative is hiking back to the pickup, or camp- or just going home- because you ran out of shells.

So dd61999, what do YOU carry?
 
Deer/moose/bears - 4 in the rifle & ~6 in my pack = 10
Upland birds - <500 I keep a brick of 22 in the pickup:)
Small game - (same as upland birds - lots of 22 ammo)
Waterfowl - N/A
Turkey - N/A
 
When I still hunted with a rifle, I would carry 3 & 1 in the rifle, and at least 6 in my pack. But the areas that we hunted were very remote and rugged.
However, I always had a pistol with me too. If I was carrying a 1911 instead of my Model 29, it always had a full magazine in, plus a spare loaded mag in my pack as well. The 29 would have a full cylinder plus 2 speed loaders in my pack.
Not that I thought I was going to need the speed loaders, but it is a simple way to carry extra ammo.

I've been archery hunting for years now, and I only carry 5 arrows with me.
Not that I wouldn't mind having more, its just harder to carry them :D
I do still carry a pistol . But then again, I take it every time I leave the house.
 
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