Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
I’ve liked old school traditional hunting gear for a very long time. The type of stuff I’d read about growing up in the Outdoor Life and Sports Afield magazines. Stories where the latest cutting edge technology was 4x scopes and where receiver sights, double barrels, and lever actions were still popular. I’ve pretty much gone full circle in the gear I’ve used.
When I shot competition archery, I started with compound bows and using sights, but ended with traditional instinctive gear. My firearms usage has pretty much been the same. I started shooting iron sight guns because that’s what came on the lever actions I started with. Slowly, as I grew up and could afford to put scopes on my guns, I did. I’ve competed in long-range rifle competitions, making shots out to beyond 1000 yards. Now I find much more enjoyment in closing the distance and using “old school cool” gear.
Table of contents
Old School Wood and Blued Steel
I want to use my older guns with receiver sights and 4x scopes. I do still enjoy technology with fiber optic sights, low magnification optics, or a laser range finder. Those things just allow me to be more precise or lengthen my hunting time. Using iron sights in practical rifle competitions has shown me just how versatile and accurate they can be. They have always been more than adequate for hunting at the distances that I choose to hunt at. That brings us to what I want to share in this article, honest to goodness hunts using old school type guns. The guns of the 40s to 70s from our last century, the ones of wood and blued steel.
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Old School Winchester 71
One of my favorite old school firearms is a Winchester 71, in 348win. a 1936 Deluxe rifle. I acquired this rifle from a friend whose father had collected 71s for years. This 71 is proving to be very accurate with 150gr., 180gr., and 200gr. bullets. I’m still unsure what weights I’ll use to hunt with, but I’m leaning towards the 180gr. bullets at 2580fps. The 180gr. The load is hitting at the top of the front bead at 100 yards, it’s 2 inches low at 150, and just 6 inches low at 200 yards. The 150gr. Silvertips are going 2800fps but shed velocity pretty quickly. They are delivering excellent accuracy and should do the trick for medium game. Historically, the 150gr. bullets have not received the best write-up from hunters or gun writers. Whether this is based on terminal performance or exterior ballistics, I cannot find any reference.
The 348win. is no slouch when it comes to big game power. It is suitable for bears, elk, moose- everything North America has to offer and more. If you use some of the modern bullets, its performance is raised to Worldwide suitability, except perhaps a couple of the Big 6. My use will be strictly North American, black bear and elk size game or smaller.
First Strike
I have owned the old school rifle for several years. Every time in the past that I’ve gone hunting with it, circumstances have kept me from closing the deal. My first real attempt was on a western hunt for mule deer. The broken terrain was perfect for sneaking and getting within range of the rifle. On this first attempt, I had a nice buck bedded down, but could not get closer than 350ish yards. So we used a different rifle from a modern manufacturer that was more suitable for the shot.
Strike Two
Another occasion had me taking the 71 on a hunt along with another old-school rifle. When a Nilgai cow came into range, the other rifle was in hand. It was this way for several different hunts. It seemed that if I wanted to get my first kill with the 71, I would need to leave all other guns behind. Since I am not one to travel on a hunt with only one gun, I would have to take my chances with its use. Another western hunt was planned for antelope and mule deer, and the 71 made the trip. The friend I got my 71 from took along his father’s favorite 71, and we both decided to try for pronghorn. He had a doe tag he intended to use his Win.71 to fill. I had a buck pronghorn tag to try and fill with mine.
Strike Three
The ranch we hunt is surrounded by public land, and county roads run through it. I hunted the first day with my Winchester and had stalks spoiled by other hunters. Some were driving through, and one pair actually trespassed while getting to a landlocked portion of public land. My best chance came at the end of day one when a trio of antelope came trotting into range. Unfortunately, they never stopped running while they were in range, and when they did, they were over 350 yards away.
Ironically, I started day two with another old school rifle. After watching a fine buck for hours from long distance, the buck would close the distance and provide a shot at less than 100 yards. The ironic part was that had I chosen to carry the 71, the shot would have been perfect for it. My 71 would have to wait a bit longer for its first kill. My friend however, was able to take a nice pronghorn doe with his father’s favorite 71.
Dad’s Old School Gun
The factory loaded Winchester 200gr. Silvertip provided complete penetration on the quartering shot from 70-80 yards. The bullet did not encounter any bones except perhaps a single rib as the doe faced him, slipping through lungs, major blood vessels, and exiting in front of the rear leg. This may have led to the lack of reaction from the doe as it calmly walked another 75 yards before falling over. His spotter watched through binoculars, halting him from shooting again, claiming the doe was hit hard and dead on its feet. This was the first time he had used his dad’s rifle, his father gone some twenty years. The memory will live with him forever, I’m sure.
A Deadly Old School Combination
The “old school cool” rifle I took my pronghorn with is one that was carried frequently by the German hunters who worked the fields and forests where I grew up. A late 60s vintage combination gun, a 16ga. over 7x65r, Merkel Combination gun. Wearing a Meopta 1-4x and zeroes the 7x65r at 250 yards, it fires 16ga. slugs with more than adequate accuracy out to 75 yards. It also has what is called an “einstecklauf”, a sub-caliber barrel insert in 22wmr. The insert, a Kreighoff product, is amazingly accurate, providing 1” groups at 50 yards and allowing small game to be taken without using the larger rifle caliber. The Einstecklauf slips into the shotgun barrel and can adjust its bullet placement to coincide with the scope’s reticle. I chose to adjust the point of impact to 1” high at 50 yards.
Best Laid Plans
It was a frustrating first day of carrying my Win. 71 on my annual antelope trip. Hunters either drove through my stalk or trespassed onto the private land I hunted on. I decided my Merkel Combination gun may fare better with its extended shooting ability.
The next morning I spent glassing and spotted a very nice antelope and waited for midday for him to bed down, now 1500 yards away. I made a plan to move on him when he got up and started walking away. I decided to cut him off and moved to get in front of him. Once I got into position, he reappeared 350 yards away, but never stopped moving. He continued walking away from me. I decided again to cut him off. The draws available for him to come up were limited. I moved back in the direction I’d just come, but only about half the distance.
Right Place, Right Time
As I got to where I wanted to be, I was breathing heavily. I needed to move to be at the rim of the drop off when he suddenly topped the edge. An offhand shot with him walking at this distance was not an issue. My heavy breathing was the issue. My first shot was at about 70 yards. He gave a slight reaction and kept calmly walking. I quickly opened the action, grabbed another round from my gunstock cuff, and reloaded. Reacquiring a good sight picture, I fired again. At the shot, he folded. My first shot had hit low and just barely cleared the sternum. The second landed a bit high, but hit the tops of both lungs and shocked the spine. It was obvious to me that my heavy breathing from all the moving had played a part in my inability to deliver an accurate offhand shot.
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Old School Combination Gun Success!
Despite all my plans to intercept him, it ended up with just being at the right place at the right time that made for a terrific hunt. This was my first kill with the old school combination gun and proved to be my best pronghorn to date. His horns measured 15+ inches. Stay with me and I’ll share more “old school cool” hunts in the coming months. Maybe I’ll finally get my first successful hunt done with my Win.71.
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Trapr Swonson,…hunter, trainer, competitor, owner operator Trapr Ltd., retired firefighter/first responder, and Hunt365 writer.
I’d be called a traditionalist. I like and appreciate the latest tech, but really enjoy doing things the old ways.
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