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Hunting ‘23/‘24: Bag ‘em and Tag ‘em


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1 hour ago, huge said:

Strange bedfellows when we are complaining about rain after the summer we had.

Yes, however we can't all get out for long weekends very often so this has been on the books for quite a while.  We will still have fun, but if it is raining hard while I'm in the blind it is a guaranteed nap.  

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I’m packing up to head to Colorado in the morning. My elk season starts Saturday. Packing has been pretty hectic, since I was whitetail hunting all last weekend, didn’t get as much done on my Colorado prep, so it’s going to be a late night and an early morning tomorrow. I feel like my gear situation is probably ok, but I’m wishing I had some more time to shoot long range with the hand loads I’ve worked up. Still need to load some extras tonight. I’m bringing several boxes of factory ammo as well and need to spend some time shooting up at elevation Friday. It’s weird, when I started doing this trip a few years back I just threw some stuff in a bag and went, now I’m worried about every little gear detail. My partner is up there already and has seen a lot of cows and does but no bucks or bulls. It’s warmer and drier than usual where we’re hunting, which I don’t mind staying dry, but the snow does seem to help the hunting sometimes.

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300 Weatherby. I only was able to shoot 20 rounds of my final load work up, but I was getting over book velocity and ~MOA accuracy. My last 3 shot group was ~2” in spread, just off the bullseye at 300 yards. The 168gr TTSX is an interesting bullet. Looking forward to shooting it more and hopefully ascertaining some terminal performance soon.

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17 hours ago, 686 said:

I’m packing up to head to Colorado in the morning. My elk season starts Saturday. Packing has been pretty hectic, since I was whitetail hunting all last weekend, didn’t get as much done on my Colorado prep, so it’s going to be a late night and an early morning tomorrow. I feel like my gear situation is probably ok, but I’m wishing I had some more time to shoot long range with the hand loads I’ve worked up. Still need to load some extras tonight. I’m bringing several boxes of factory ammo as well and need to spend some time shooting up at elevation Friday. It’s weird, when I started doing this trip a few years back I just threw some stuff in a bag and went, now I’m worried about every little gear detail. My partner is up there already and has seen a lot of cows and does but no bucks or bulls. It’s warmer and drier than usual where we’re hunting, which I don’t mind staying dry, but the snow does seem to help the hunting sometimes.

Did you get drawn or going OTC? 

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300 Weatherby. I only was able to shoot 20 rounds of my final load work up, but I was getting over book velocity and ~MOA accuracy. My last 3 shot group was ~2” in spread, just off the bullseye at 300 yards. The 168gr TTSX is an interesting bullet. Looking forward to shooting it more and hopefully ascertaining some terminal performance soon.

Man, I have a WBY .300 mag, but haven’t shot it in years (no available ammo). Preferred to shoot 150 gr over 180, but gotdamn both are fast.
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19 hours ago, Matagorda said:

Picked up a little CZ Sharptail 28 gauge.  Its a fun little gun. 

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I inherited on of those shotguns from my old boss when he moved back to South Africa.  Gave me 3 cases of shells to boot.  Have yet to shoot it.
 

Need a reason.
 

Will find one.   

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Did you get drawn or going OTC? 

I put in for first rifle season, but wasn’t drawn, so I am OTC this year. My hunting partner drew a mule deer buck tag, so he’s looking for bucks and I’m looking for bulls.

The neighbors close to his cabin had an aggressive blackbear around earlier this year, so I’ll probably pick up an OTC bear tag as well. Colorado makes you buy a small game license to apply for a tag so I’ve got that and I usually add a furbearer tag as well. I’ve seen coyotes and foxes the last couple years, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on one. I’ll probably do that if I get the opportunity this year.
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On 11/9/2023 at 4:45 AM, 686 said:

168gr TTSX and 84 grains of 7828ssc was giving me 3390 feet per second at the range. Filling this box and hitting the hay.

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I used to have the RCBS Chargemaster Combo, predecessor to your RCBS Chargemaster. It worked fine but I found I preferred to use my Ohaus made Lyman M5 scale beside the RCBS below. Sold the RCBS since I wasn't using it. Someone got a deal on it, just like I did on the Lyman which I scored unused and mint in the box for cheap on craigslist.

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Under 20 degrees this morning. Hiked a little over 5 miles today. We saw two shooter mulie bucks, but didn’t get a shot opportunity. Packed up the spike camp and headed back to the cabin, watching the Texas game with our feet up now.

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On 11/8/2023 at 10:45 PM, 686 said:

168gr TTSX and 84 grains of 7828ssc was giving me 3390 feet per second at the range. Filling this box and hitting the hay.

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168 grain TTSX at 3400 fps is a young man's game.  That is a lot of bang.  I shoot a 110 grain TTSX at 3500+ fps and it is a lightning bolt without a lot of kick in my '06.  I have shot a lot of whitetail, elk and African plains game culls with this load and have found that speed is the name of the game with the Barnes bullets.  They are unmatched at ultra high velocities.  At middle range velocities, I have a lot better results with lead.  You will not be under gunned in Colorado.  Good luck!

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On 11/10/2023 at 8:07 PM, 686 said:

Hiked into a remote area and spike camped tonite. Saw a nice elk herd and tons of mulies all on private land on the way in. Hopefully some filter out in front of our glassing setup in the morning. Don’t have service on the road but have nice 5G up on top of the ridge at 7600’.

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What are you using for a sleeping bag?

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17 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

That’s a respectful way to pose the deer. Never seen that before. 

Always tuck in or cut off the tongue and tuck the legs under. Right the buck up. Kneel behind if you want to get in the frame with it.  
 

All sprawled out with a hanging tongue like the town sot  is a disrespectful look.  
 

The buck looks bad, too. 

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On 11/9/2023 at 10:51 PM, 686 said:

Made it up to the cabin, saw tons of mulie does, including several right on the shoulder of the road that make your heart stop for a second wondering if they are going to step out in front of you while you’re doing 70. Saw one bull late. Checking rifles and getting groceries tomorrow. We’re thinking about camping out tomorrow night in a new spot.

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I wish I wasn’t an old man.   Those were the days.  That picture is making my heart ache.   

1 minute ago, Herbie Hancock said:


I've found fat girls give off a lot of heat. They also typically have an ample snack selection on hand.

Warm in the winter 

Shady in the summer time. 

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What are you using for a sleeping bag?

A ~20 yr old Slumberjack. It has been in a stuff sack for probably 99.99% of the last 10 years, so not optimal, but it worked. It was cold that night, below 20F. I kept some wool thermals, socks, and a sock hat on and I was ok, but woke up a lot with my shoulders or hip bones hurting from not enough padding between me and the ground.
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9 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

A good sleeping pad with a high R value is probably more important than the bag in that situation.

That, and not draping something heavy over the bag that compresses the air pockets and essentially renders the bag useless like a big blanket.  Had a guy do that one year and he froze that first night.

Also learned that sleeping in damp clothes inside the bag will dry them overnight vs. setting them out and having them frozen that next morning.  

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