lancetkenyon

10 is a tough age to start on a primo tag. Hate to say it. Taylor had a 12AE tag when she was 13, and even then, it was tough. We saw plenty of deer, and some real toads even. But getting in a good position, with a good rest, and cooperation from the bucks was very difficult. Had some opportunities, but nothing we could actually call a legitimate realistic chance. Thought we had it in the bag a few times, but one little thing would mess it up. The buck played cat and mouse, behind a tree, would not stop, turned the wrong way, doe in front or behind, never stopped walking, stopped facing away, etc. After 9 grueling days, she was spent. No buck in the truck, but lots of lessons learned. It was not the distance of the shots, but the conditions. Get her out NOW, and start practicing in all positions, off a stump, off a bag, prone, sitting, kneeling, tripod, bipod, pra rice setting up quickly, practice turning turrets, practice follow up shots, etc. Shoot a comfortable rifle. Work up a great load. And get her shooting farther than you will actually let her take a shot on real game. We practiced out to 1000 routinely. But shooting at a stationary target is only half the battle. Getting a buck to stop in a good position at a reasonable distance and getting in a stable position quickly is the other half. Then again, you might get super lucky and glass up a bedded road at 200 yards where he doesn't even see you. Play games in the field. We played a lot of "hot lava", where the ground is off limits. Rocks, logs, etc. Also helps with the noise of walking. Stop to look at sign and teach her. Look at the squirrels. Looks at the birds. Find some sheds. Take a nap on a ridge. Bring tons of junk food and snacks. Let them nap in the truck. Teach them about nature and geology and the game animals. Be patient. Most of all, let THEM choose what to shoot. I learned this the hard way. Put MY expectations on Taylor. We could have shot 100 different bucks, but I, ME, wanted a big boy. Talked he or out of 20 bucks that were 3.5 year old 4x4s or better. Talk about frustrating to both myself, my ego, my patience, and most of all, to Taylor. The following year, Taylor killed a great first buck. And I was not real thrilled with her choice at first to take him. Again, visions of grandeur. But she was thrilled, and the buck ended up being bigger than I thought. 171". This year, she is down with the quest for a biggun'. But I will let her decide when to pull the trigger without a comment.

Hate to say this....actually, I LOVE getting to say this....Taylor drew ANOTHER 12AE late rifle tag this year. Luckiest kid ever. 3 Kaibab tags in 5 years. Unbelievable. 1 early, two late tags.

Congrats. Could be a great hunt. Had a buddy who drew this tag 2 years ago. Scarce the first half, then the deer started moving through. Killed a big, really old 30"+ heavy beautiful 3x3 on day 8 I think.

If this thing shoots anywhere near as well as the last rifle this guy built, it will be a tack driver. .215 MOA @ 200 during load development. Yes, .451" @ 200.

Who built it?

What I use too. And a Q Tip.

I think it is pretty cool. I don't drink, but if I can find a 4 pack, I will buy it for my son-in-law who is a beer connoisseur. And I mean connoisseur, not a drunk.

Looks like still a lot of real estate to hunt in 11m. Just put some boot leather down.

And your address.....and is currently watching you.

Personally, I would say buy a lightly used semi-custom as well. You will get WAY more for your money. A top end barrel, trued up action, usually bolt upgrades, higher quality stock that is usually bedded already, trigger upgrade. There are usually no less than 20 on either www.longrangehunting.com or www.snipershide.com to choose from. You will most likely not get a top end carbon barrel in that price range, but a top end steel will suit you fine. If you want factory, look at the Christensen Arms Ridgeline series. I have shot 8 or 9 of them, and they are great rifles. Light, accurate, and high quality. I think Axisworks has a 6.5CM already built using an R700 trued SA, Brux barrel, McM stock, Trigger Tech, for about $2800. Well worth saving an additional $800 for if I were in your shoes.

May 1965 Australian Outdoors Magazine.

Man, beautiful dog. If I didn't have 4 already, I would be all over thos little guy.

Someone in my family drew a 12AE tag. Not sure who, or early/late yet.

Photos of the t-shirt?

In another thread, the discussion of "Oops" came up. Probably a great topic on what NOT to do when reloading. I will start.

I named it the 7mm Foreskin.

No annual pass any more. Been going there for years. There have definitely been some less than friendly RSOs, but most are great.

You should be VERY happy with the new Exos.

Gee, thanks. Make me feel like an idiot.....

I have a buddy who should be getting one of the first runs. Can't wait to hear his opinion on it. He has/had other good glass to compare to as well. The 2.5-20x50 is a really appealing hunting optic for the sub-$2000 range if it has decent glass and good mechanics. "Decent glass" is subjective. I am sure it will be DECENT. For $2k, it better be. But, I am not a real fan of the NXS glass. Even some ATACR glass is not what I call "alpha level". The ATACR F1 seems to be a big step up from the many NXS/ATACR scopes I have shot behind. If it is better than NXS, these should be a huge success.

I get a CC hit every weekend from AZGFD....for $7 @ Ben Avery.

Double post

I FL size every rifle, and every time I load brass. I only neck sized once....by accident. I purchased a set of Redding 6CM FL dies with bushing FL, and micrometer seating die. Never even checked the dies. Got 300 pieces of Lapua 6.5CM brass and ran them through to neck size (before Lapua 6CM was available). After shooting them, ran them through the FL die and bumped shoulders .0015". I did a huge no-no at this point. Loaded them up without checking fit of resized brass in the rifle. Did 250 pieces like this. Well, I took 50 of the FL sized brass and decided to try some 115 Bergers in the rifle. Seated one long to check CBTO to lands, and bolt was very stiff to close. I figured bullet must be jammed hard into the lands. Opened the bolt, and the brass had a nice shiny ring around the body just below the shoulder. Measured the area on the FL sized brass, a piece of fired, and a virgin brass..... FL sized .463" Fired .463" Virgin .4615" WTH? Checked the dies.....my "FL" die is stamped "neck". Argh! Bought a new body die and a new FL die. Ran the loaded rounds through the body die. .4615". Smooth like butter. Moral of the story (X2, maybe 3): 1. Check your sized brass in your rifle before you load it. I have never, EVER, done this before. Don't rush the process. Double check everything. 2. Check your dies. Manufacturers can make mistakes. 3. Don't neck size.

Does anyone in town have one of these? I am on the fence about buying one for my new build, but not sure it will fit. Going on a Lone Peak Fuzion TI SA with 2 piece integrated rail. I have another one that I can test fit it on. Has to be in rings, not a Spuhr type 1 piece mount. I will bring the tools to retorque after the test fit. Should take 10 minutes or less.