youngbuck

Bum deal for sure... I hate theives

get a job son. And a girl. haha I have a full time job and take night classes. I also have 3 day weekends for the hills. I gotta eye out for a good full time girl.

A lot of work went into that. Congrats! Had to feel good to do it with all your own home made gear.

I spend 1.5hrs a day 4-5 days a weeks in the gym and stick to a pretty strict diet. Before hunting season I usually work in a lot more cardio. Best thing to get into shape for hunting season is to get an early archery bull tag and be a bad shot I usually lose 10+ lbs in a month if I'm helpin on early archery hunts. While I was living in Flag (high elevation) I played raquetball for a few months before hunting season. That was the best aerobic shape I've ever been in, and it helped me get a bull. On leg days before hunting season we work in a lot more "step ups". Not sure what the machine is called, but weighted cables in your hands and an adjustable height step to "step up on". Its like having a heavy pack and taking big steps uphill. Any cardio before hunting season is a help, or even getting acclimated to higher elevations helps. As far as nutrition I eat maximum amout of calories with minimum carbs and bad fats. Maybe different than others, but its hard for me to keep weight on during hunting season. The best advice about nutrition I've heard is to treat your body as a machine and food as fuel. Oatmeal cream pies taste great but have no nutritional value, just empty calories. I eat a lot of nuts and peanut butter all the time, especially while hunting.

Its working. Ive had the black pics pop up lately, but when I click on them i can see them. Looks like you guys are having a good time.

I grew up hunting with a .243, a 25-06, and 7mag. I bought a 300RUM about 5 years ago. I'm confident with my RUM, but there are some limitations. Its not a gun to put a few hundred rounds a year through. I shoot it enough to be proficient with it, but I'm not trying to burn out the barrel any time soon. In the past I've shot 180g and am going to try 210gr this summer. With heavy bullets, you will want a brake. With a brake it is loud, I never shoot it without ear protection, even while hunting. In AZ there are many good options; 25-06, most quarter bores, 270, 270wsm, 7mag, and the short, and most any 30 cal. In my opinion a 338 edge is en entirely differntly animal. That will be my next rifle build as soon as I can convince my wallet. I wont be hauling it on long trips. It would be a "truck" gun, never venturing very far my wheels I have a 300RUm thats plenty heavy to be haulin all over the hills. A lot of people say big calibers are over kill, but I have never seen anything too dead. I can put my bullets from my RUM where I want them to go, at further distances, than with any of my other rifles. This is probably more to due with the time I've put in at the reloading bench and shooting those distances, many times. My dad also practices with my gun and uses it hunting. He has an older 700 in 7mag that he wants to switch to. He has used this rifle for a long time, but wants to put the time in with his rifle and become profecient using it at longer ranges than in the past. It may turn out to be a better shooter than my RUM. It has always been a shooter, but neither of us put in the hours to make it a "long baller". Just cuz theres a ton of powder behind a high BC bullet, doesnt make a rifel an automatic long ranger. All of the calibers callibers mentioned ar capable of being great rifles here in AZ. A lot of guys get caught up in the caliber choice. I know I do, I like hot rods, but I also know I can't go out and put a dozen round down range ever few days, if I want the barrel to last any length of time. What ever you decide on, get comfortable and confident using it. Put the time in so you know exactly where that bullet is going to go at waht ever distance you are profecient at. For a comparison I put a lot of time in with my rifles and practice often enough to know where my bullet will go. I archery hunt as often as I rifle hunt. I, however, put far more time into shooting distance with a rifle than flinging arrows. My furthest pin on my bow is 60. I'm not that great of an archery shooter. I've never put in the time to shoot the distances a lot of guys do with their archery equipment. I also know if I go out and buy the newest fast bow, it wont do me any good.

If they keep this up, its gonna get rough on em. Most of the guys that I've read about this happening to seem like decent, stand up guys. Sounds like the G&F is making enemies outa normal guys for no reason at all. Pretty soon they will be lucky to have the rest of the normal guys on their side.

Anytime somebody mentions night hunting, I picture Jeff Foxworthy's bit on it. Thats the one where they shoot momma's propane tank. I dont have a problem with the proposal. I dont know the slightest thing about hunting dogs at night, but I'd give it a try if it was legal. AZGFD is pretty strict now about spotlighting; no weapons of any kind in the vehicle. It could be hard to enforce the new laws if passed. I'm for it, but don't know too much about it. Ive never done any night hunting. In the article it also talked about night hunting for racoons. Isn't that already legal?

96 3/8

Those tall bucks are always tough for me. He's a definate shooter. His MBs go pretty far forward, and go way up, before coming forward. Great g-2s. Id say over 100, but not sure by how much. I am really curios to know what the MBs would measure. I like the last pic too. Its always like pics with different animals in them. I knew where, but not what untill I zoomed in.

Congrats! Thats on my bucket list, to chase bison with a bow or an old smooth bore. That looks like a LOT of work. One big bodied elk is plenty of work. I cant imagine having something twice the size down, in the middle of no where.

I have contacts and my eye doctor has been saying I'm a perfect canidate for lasik. I worried about my eyes changing, even though they haven't in 6-8 years or so. I know places offer plans that include adjustments. How much down time after did you have? Ive been kicking the idea around for a few years. Ive got 30 day continuous wear contacts. My eye doc now says not to wear them over night, but I do any ways. They don't bother me or slow me down in any way. My vision is pretty terrible too. I think my PWR is 5.0 or 5.5. From these posts, it looks like it turned out well. My parents both had RK and that whole deal kinda scared me away from the lasik, even though its different. Their eyes changed and they say their duck/night vision is "starred" out.

The furthest shot with my RUM and my 180AB loads was 729 yards on a coues. The bullet performed flawlessly. There was a wound channel about 2" in diameter. Everything between entrance and exit was jello. It was on par with every AB Ive seen in action. I dont know if it was one faulty bullet or if I hit a magical window with no bone, cartilidge, or much of anything at all. If I can't get the VLDs to fly out of my rifle, I will still continue to use the AB.

This spring I'm gonna try some VLDs in my 300RUM in 210gr and my dad's 7mag in 186gr. Anybody have any powder for either one that shoot good for you and have low velocity spreads? Right now I have some Retumbo and IMR4350, I'm probably gonna pick up some H1000 too. If you have any pet loads, they would be helpfull also. I'll eventually get over to reloadersnest to do some lookin around too.

Thanks guys, I got an email back from Berger with load info. I got a line on some H-1000 too. I should be mounting scopes and starting to work on the load in the next month or so. Both rifles are rem 700s. The 7mag shot 140 ABs, really well over 4350. My dad wants something with a little more range, and he wanted to try using his gun instead if mine. My RUM was shooting 180AB real well too. I wanted to try something different. I lost the biggest buck Ive ever had a chance at this year @ 250 yards with my RUM. The shot was a little high and far forward. I looked for him for 2 days and couldn't find him. I watched him run off with a red shoulder. I was really bummed out. I don't see how he didnt drop. but he didn't, he ran off. The lood ran out, and I looked over the mountain for two days. A more volatile bullet wouldn't have hurt. This was the first animal I've seen out of 11, hit with my 180AB loads, that I didn't see drop. I'm sure it was a one in a million shot, to not hit anything, but that must have happened. I'm also trying to prolong the build of a 338edge to save my wallet. Ive been looking at building one for a few years.

Man I missed out on some good stuff while I was I away. I'll have to agree with Lark (mostly his previos posts about his view on "ethics") and CnS. It took me a long time to "used" to my gun. It took my dad awhile too. We both practice shooting long distance stuff. . I have guys ask me how far some of my shots have been (non-hunters). I tell them and some ask me why dont I just shoot em from my house or get a laser guided rocket. Haters are gonna hate. I explain that I am usually looking for one particular animal and want the best chance to take that animal when the oppurtunity presents its self. People have said that LR hunting is the cheap and easy way out. I have put on more miles with my LR rig in my pack than with my old 25-06 or 243. I go after animals I would have let walk before. Bill brought up some good point about different points of view. I'm always interested in seeing how other cultures, or even regions of the US, do things and the reason behind it. I'm not familar with the traditions or "ethics" in Africa. It is interesting to read about, Bill.

Thanks Doug, I forgot about the guys from Montana. I was going to try their magnum powder for my 300RUM with 180ABs but never got around to it.

They are good dead because they aren't killin off all the other critters. Ive seen guys keep tails though. Winter yote pelts look cool if you have em tanned too.

I sell aluminum flashing by the foot and by the roll Jermery. 20" wide 50' long rolls are around 70$ and by the foot is less than 2$. How much do you need? I might be able to work somethin out, trade or what ever.

Thats crazy! Looking forward to the rest of the pics.

Happy bday Doug. Hope you have a good one. Its a nice day to warm up in the valley.

Do it in multiple layers. I was told dark walnut for dark elk antlers. Early american should be about right in color for deer. Have a rag a little damp w/ paint thinner to wipe down the burs and tips rift after aplying the stain to get the light colors looking right.

A taxidermist told me any wood stain (make sure it doesnt have the polyurethane in it). He used different colors mixed with dirt to get the color he wanted. Elk vs deer and even elk from different spots. I'm sure you could use dirt, mud, and brush to do it too. Ive always wanted to try a dirt/wax mixture, but never have.

Before shooting light UNLESS it requires me to go stompin through a bunch of country that holds critters. Some spots I start glassin from the road, then continue on to the next spot, after I glass what I'll have to walk through.

One of my hunting buddies saw a piebald or albino cow elk near alpine about a year ago. Some one here had pictures I thought. Ive heard rumors of an albino desert ram. I have never seen any albino or piebald critters here.