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I'd like to propose that we post in this thread the 'stuff' that we found very helpful/useful during our recent hunting season. For me the following items stood out: Primos Trigger Stick; very handy in the blind and aided in steady shooting on a couple deer. Lightweight, works great, takes up little room. Illuminated scopes; used two, a Trijicon 3x9 with a green dot crosshair and a Leupold VX-R with the German #4 and red dot. Used them on three deer, a cow elk, and two hogs. I'm a believer! Lighting; had good experience with a Fenix E01 LED flashlight. Runs on one AAA battery and produces a decent amount of 'right here' light. I have them attached to the zipper on my hunting coat. Optics Planet has them for $13. Also had a good experience with the Coast HL7 headlamp. Under $50, focuses, and adjustable for brightness. If you can't find your blind in the dark woods with this headlamp you probably should stay within reach of the pick-up! Another handy light I used was a Browning pocket light with a swivel head. Real handy inside the blind and could be clipped to the pocket or the bill of the hat. What good gear reports do you have? | ||
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Great thread idea! This season, however, showed me beyond any shadow of doubt, the one Axiom to which every sportsman(woman) must adhere: You can't shoot if you're not there! I shot the all-time best deer of my life, the best deer I've ever seen, this fall. And I was just plain lucky! But, I was in the right place, at the right time. I knew it was a good place, and I knew a good deer might come by. But you can't be lucky if you're not there! So, for all the gear I used to bring, I now am down to basically a knife, a flashlight, and a thermos of coffee. The rest of the stuff might improve your odds, but not nearly as much as just "being there" (and, funny as it is for all the time I spent practicing at 200 + yards, I shot this buck at about 30). Perhaps I should end with this thought: the best gear helps simplify my hunting experience while adding quality at a reasonable price.  friar Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain. | |||
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Also used a 'Rage' broadhead with a crossbow that I was very impressed with in taking only the second deer I've ever taken with archery equipment. The lighted nock was cool and the Rage broadhead put a 2 inch slash all the way through. The deer clumsly hopped about 40 yards then fell over. There was so much blood it looked like a crime scene. So what good gear reports do you have? | |||
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I decided I don't want to kill another whitetail so I got an extra job and saved to hunt Africa again. That works for me. | |||
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Great thread idea! | |||
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Hunted with a combination gun, 12ga/7x57R for the first time. Results: 6ft. square 350lb. bear while turkey hunting, 7x7 mule deer while also on the look out for sage grouse, two ducks while antelope hunting, a limit of pheasants spaced between a couple of whitetail does, lots of grouse I would not have gotten otherwise while looking for deer and elk, and a couple of more does while out looking for pheasants and huns. | |||
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A pre-war mod 70 30-06 with a 3-9x40 ziess, killed every deer I shot at. | |||
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Ruger Scout rifle. Handy in box blind and scoped with an illuminated reticle Leupold scope it worked great for whitetails this season. Perry | |||
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Same thought process on blacktail. Where are you looking to hunt? I hope to return to Tanzania, a lofty goal, but you need a plan. Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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I found on my elk hunt that the new Bog Pod was very steady and much better than any sticks I've used before. I also really tested the TSX bullet. I took a Texas heart shot on a big bull elk with a 180 TSX out of my '06. Bullet fully penetrated from the left hip into the chest and dumped the bull. I would not have taken the shot if the bull had not been already wounded but I was very impressed with the penetration. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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New toy, new adventures! I bought a Springfield M1A last summer, as I haven't bought a new long gun in 10 years. Worked up some good loads for it and shot a local blacktail, SD whitetail and a couple of CA hogs so far. Zinfandel and venison are GOOD! | |||
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Jboutfishin, My wife and I are hunting Masailand and Matetsi this year. Only "M" areas. I quit killing and catching the american competition game (deer, turkeys and bass) several years ago to free up extra work time to hunt and fish the unusual. This works for me. | |||
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Sorry I got an extra "i" in your code name. | |||
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 Have a great hunt, looking for a report. Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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The first thing that worked well this year was breakfast. My wife was along as camp cookie and fed us superbly every morning. Every day started right! The second thing that worked well was beer. We drank the last one at bed time on the last night in camp. The thing that didn't work well was hunting. Hunted eight days and never saw a buck. | |||
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I found this year that good things do happen to nice people. One weekend I saw a large buck which I thought was an 8 pointer, turned out to be a 9 pointer, but it was just too far off for a decent shot. I decided I was going to hunt this deer until he was taken. The next weekend rolls around and I have made my plans to hunt him but an older lady joins us that weekend to hunt and the tripod stand I spotted the big deer from was the easiest stand for her to climb into, so I let her have the stand. I went to another stand not too far away in the quail field and guess who comes walking into the field about 50 yards away from me? That's right the big 9 pointer and down he went. Good Hunting,  | |||
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My sons are starting to come hunting with me so I find myself hunting in a pop up blind quite a bit on the edges of green fields. Since some of the shots are longer than I like to shoot off hand, I bought a Caldwell Dead Shot Fieldpod. I look over several different brands and liked the Caldwell best. Pretty darn steady rest and very light! 30+ years experience tells me that perfection hit at .264. Others are adequate but anything before or after is wishful thinking. | |||
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an antique lever gun, a lucky clover, and a guardian angel on my shoulder. Didn't cost me a penny, couldn't be bought for any amount....  | |||
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150gr partitions out of a new 270 win on an elk. i've been blessed to kill a lot of elk, but never with a 270. 3 steps and tipped over. gonn use it this fall too. | |||
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Friends.... Snellstrom, graybird, taylorce1, Strangers just years ago.....friends now, I owe them and I am blessed ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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The Accubond bullet. First time tried and the 225 gr from my 338-06 worked great on both black and grizzly bear and the 140 gr out of my 7x57 as well on a pretty healthy oryx. Accurate little buggers too. | |||
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Time practicing at 400yd. Even though I shot less than that, it was nice knowing that under 400yds was no problem | |||
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I shot 6 animals this year with a .300 RUM. I shot a deer at 410 yards with a 180 gr AB, a Grant's gazelle at 211 with a 180 BT, an impala at 90 yards with a 180 BT, a Coke's hartebeeste at 165 with a 180 BT, a Thompson's gazelle at 250, and a warthog at 80 yards with a 180 BT. I was very impressed with the BTs; they passed thru all animals except the hartebeest. I was not intending to use them on anything bigger than an impala, but after seeing it dump the first two, I decided to use it on the hartebeest. | |||
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Making smart decisions. Brother Bill (my son-in-law) and I were hunting Brown Bear and were geared-up to trundle into an area when the wind was dicey, risking blowing the bears out of there. Even though we wanted in there pretty bad, we decided to back out and try another area. Good thing we did. The alternate produced a very nice bear for him. | |||
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This archery season I changed from a compound bow to a crossbow (Excalibur Equinox). The shoulder injury is just making it too difficult to pull back the bow. I also tried a expandable broadhead for the first time (G5 T3). The Equinox worked extremly well and is easy to maintain. The G5 T3 broadhead did what it was suppose to do. The doe went no more than 50 yrs. I did take notice that the far lung was shattered as if hit by a bullet. I also took a buck but used one of the remaining Muzzy broadheads for him. No problems with the Muzzy either but, I'm making the switch to expandables due to better flight characteristics. MSG, USA (Ret.) Armor NRA Life Memeber | |||
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Five White tails, Blue box Federal 7mm RM 150 gr bullets, Blaser R-93. Five Shots five deer, four shots to check zero two before the season start and two more to make sure mid season. Result plenty of venison to last the winter and then some. Venison Slow cooker pot roast tonight with some red skin potatoes. | |||
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I finally picked up my single action 41mag revolver and took my first animal with a handgun. I also made time to hunt with some old friends and family, that was long overdue. | |||
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A savage model 99 in .308 Win, shooting 150 grain Speer Hot Cores. Works just about the same every year. One shot, dead deer. I didn't use anything new or fancy this year. | |||
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A .30/06 Encore Pistol. ****************************** There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor polite, nor popular -- but one must ask, "Is it right?" Martin Luther King, Jr. | |||
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Here's mine in 270 Win  think twice, shoot once | |||
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I finally broke down and spent some real money on a good hunting scope. one of my other 2 main hunting rifles will now get the same scope package applied. | |||
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Had two 150+ whiteys on trail camera ( Idaho and Montana ) and struck out, passed on smaller elks Got one 6’ plus bear in MT and 7’ plus in ID so good season besides couple of European hunts Cant complain, life is good gentlemen " Until the day breaks and the nights shadows flee away " Big ivory for my pillow and 2.5% of Neanderthal DNA flowing thru my veins. When I'm ready to go, pack a bag of gunpowder up my ass and strike a fire to my pecker, until I squeal like a boar. Yours truly , Milan The Boarkiller - World according to Milan PS I have big boar on my floor...but it ain't dead, just scared to move... Man should be happy and in good humor until the day he dies... Only fools hope to live forever “ Hávamál” | |||
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For me just being in the right place at the right time. I normally hunt one of my hay fields at the top of my property. Bucks always run a scrape line in some woodland at the west edge and I sit at the east edge. This season a neighbor had several hunters in the field next to mine. They were flinging bullets at everything that moved including my way as I exited my popup blind one evening. I was uncomfortable with that and I was seeing nothing. After that situation I decided to hunt from the house and sho'nuff that worked. Took a buck with a rest off the front porch rail that I had been seeing on camera prior to the season. He had been trolling the area I usually hunt but moved his base to the east side of my property. ~Ann   | |||
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1. Patience kills. A good spot is a good spot. If you keep moving you just start the probability clock over. 2. Lightweight camo netting and trekking poles are a great ground blind. 3. An oversized daypack is a great rear rest for the sitting position. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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My Ruger African in 9.3x62 in Zambia. Andrew found a great hunt for me in the Luangwa Valley, which I had not hunted yet. Did (4) previous safaris with Andrew on the Kafue Plateau. The hunt was in Nov. and I felt we may run into the rainy season (did not), so I decided to take two of my rifles that I had never hunted; the 9.3x 62 and a Ruger RSM in 458 Lott, both ceracoated to help with the rain. The 9.3 is very accurate and I brained two Hippos, and took a warthog, Kudu and Hyena, all with the 9.3 and 300 gr. SAFs. So, new rifles, new load, new area, and a 9.3 that worked very well! | |||
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Tried out my new 15x56 binoculars & tripod for glassing this year instead of spotting scope. They worked fantastic. Scott | |||
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Spartan cellular trail cams work wonders. Ranch King shooting houses are great in bad weather and when taking a 7 year old grandson. Fox Trot ammo loaded with TSS is deadly on turkeys. Millennium turkey hunting seats are by far the best I have ever used. There is a small light that has a small solar panel and pops out to be a flood light. Can't remember the brand but it in incredibly useful. Inexpensive as well. | |||
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A new great load for young son's .300 BLK. 20.5 g of WW 296 under a 100 gr Cutting Edge Bullet flatbase Raptor -- 2600 fps at the muzzle, MOA accuracy to 150 yds, and devastating terminal ballistics. Thank you Michael McCourry. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. Lane Easter, DVM A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991. | |||
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Wow A 10 year resurrection ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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