Just wanted to know what firearms ya'll carried during your teddy hunt?

Oh, that's gonna leave a mark.

I was carrying my new Katahdin 18" .444 Marlin w/ brake - a Encore.

Tim was carrying a 14" .45-70 w/ brake. He was also shooting bullets of his own design and manufacture. I think they were 350 grn soft point. Very cool.

Mike, well, Mike will have to answer that one. I will say he kept saying that there is a gun for every purpose, but this time wasn't a TC...

Speaking of sayings - I'm trying to pen some of the ones thrown around this weekend. Will get them on the web soon. The guys had me laughin' a lot.

Oh yeah - we, Tim and I, dubbed Mike "The Heretic." Will be looking for a sign to put over his shop door.

I'm sure anxious to hear from 'em. Hate to call - but will tomorrow if I haven't heard yet.

take care,
steve

Due to the tactics and cover we were in and the fact that for all intents and purposes, I was the bait station since it is illegal to put out bait stations, but legal to use scents, I went prepared for up close and personal encounters on the one hand and multiple shots for more open cover.

The forend was breaking on the old Rem. M11 I cut back to about 19 1/2" for slugs and buckshot, so I pulled out the old Savage 720, both of which are clones to the Browning Auto-5 shotguns. At 50 yards, the Savage's skeet barrel put slugs close enough using the shotgun bead front sight, and I did not plan on shooting farther than that.

It was Tim and Steve's role to get the critter first if possible and for me to cover my own butt if they couldn't.

One stand we made had a berm with a trail coming through it that was a perfect spot for a bruin to pop his nose through. Distance was about 30 feet or less, and even if Tim DID get a shot off in time, I would be the first thing handy that a bear would want to take his anger out on if he had life left after Tim's beautiful .458 bullet got planted. Get the picture? I like single shots and do crazy things, but when I deliberately put myself in such a situation, I'll take 3 fast slugs followed with 2-12 pellet 00 magnum buck loads, thank you.

For the more open areas, I carried a Springfield O3-A3 I rebarrelled with a barrel I had rebored to .277" many years ago and chambered for .270 Ackley Imp., which btw, shoots 140's at the same 3160 fps as the one and only 7mm Rem. Mag I had some years back. Don't see any need for the mag. Barrelled action is matte blued and just dropped into a Ramline wood grain stock.

For this occasion, I had loads left from both two years ago and standard .270s from September 1976 loaded with the long discontinued 170 gr. round nose Speer bullets, which I have a cache of. Excellent bone crushers that penetrate very well. Haven't chronographed them, but they are supposed to be doing about 2800 fps according to the books of old.

For some as yet discovered reason, since dropping this barrelled action into the new Ramline stock, it suddenly decided not to feed from the right feed rail, and I did not find this out until we started hunting since I single loaded when rechecking the zero. The standard .270 loads from 1976 grouped tighter but at the same point as the .270 Imp. loads with the same bullet from two years ago. Alternating the standard .270s with the Imps. helped the feeding, but I still need to do some feedrail work on it before putting my hide in harms way again.

Take heart though, since Jules has my last carbine big game barrel, and putting it to good use, I trust, I intend to include a barrel for myself in the upcoming batch of new barrels. I also have one tapered 7mm barrel unchambered hanging on the wall that may end up chambered for 7mm Bellm since I have nothing else handy to put together as a carbine other than one 16 1/2" .45/70 that needs bluing yet.

For this trip, I was more concerned about Tim and Steve getting an opportunity than I was about being a TC purist. The season runs through Dec. 31 and I will be able to get out easier than they will.

We had a great time together and learned a lot of new country, which should help us a lot when they come again later in the season.

I cannot say enough good about these two gentlemen. TC's have been the medium through which I have met some of the most outstanding people on this earth. It is truely a privilege to know and spend time with such great people as Tim and Steve. Great guys, both of them.

They do both have faults though. Tim brings more good fruit & veggies to eat than Dee and I can consume, and Steve follows through on some of my wild notions, for example by going out and buying a turkey call after I postponed trying the notion on bear, then he left it at the gate before leaving town. (I've been told bear and lion will come into a turkey call.) What do you do with a guy like that, except say thank you, and try the call to see if bear will come in to it? Tried it, turkeys answered it Tim said, but no bear appeared.

The north end of the big forest fire here in SW Oregon was just a few miles west of where we were hunting, and it is possible the bear had moved out of the area ahead of the fire, since they are probably smarter than we are about such things. Lots of sign, but no really fresh scat seen during the three days there. Makes me wonder.

I promise to come up with something TC to hunt with during the next few months, meanwhile, I remain as dubbed by Tim and Steve,

The TC Heretic,
Mike Bellm

Rereading what I wrote above, minor detail, but it is the left feed rail, not the right, that does not feed.

Brain flatulence.

TC Heretic.

Good idea with the slug-buckshot combo Mike.
That 308Bellm is a shooter indeed buddy. Heck, I don't even have to shoot it. Just knowing I have a barrel you made that shoots that well makes me tingle all over
All you had to do was ask , I'll send you the 308 barrel with scope and some 165gr barnes loads that will put a bear on his ass quick.

I guess I won't ask you for your Hornet then.

I was going to post something about Mikes choices in hunting armament but looks like I got beat to it! I kept telling Mike that I was covering him but he must have heard me snoring when I dozed off on the first stand as he never left without the shotgun again, lol.

What?

No "Flying Beer Keg" cast bullet loads?

Tsk, tsk, Mike.