catclaw

They don't have neighborhoods like that in Helena MT. Those are from a suburb of Denver.

I got home about an hour ago. I am only 2 hours away and I have to hand it to those who came from afar! It was a good time by all-especially the kids. We broke way too many arrows though! Next year I am bringing titanium arrows! To those who missed, you really missed out. Plan now for next year (I hope Lance is hosting it again) Dennis

I brought the Kaibabs to the rendezvous at Marshall Lake (shame on all you who missed this event). I set up three tripods and we compared the Kaibabs, the 15x56 SLCs and Doug's 10-15x50 Duovids. Until I put the Vortex resolution target out, we really couldn't find any difference between them, the Kaibabs that that good. With the resolution target out, the nod went to the Swarovskis, the Leicas second and a very close third to the Kaibabs. I doubt many people would be able to tell a difference between them. The best part is the the Kaibabs are able to accommodate more people as they adjust closer together than the Swarovskis by about 3/16" inch. We also compared the 8x42 ZenRay to the 8.5x42 Swarovski EL. The main difference was in the color projected by each; the ELs having a bluish cast and the ZenRays were more yellowish. They were very comparable. Again, the Vortex resolution target was used to make the final decision. The ELs resolved one block smaller than the ZenRays but theoretically are 8.5X vs 8X so who knows how much that came into play. The focus knob on the Swaros is a little smoother. My impressions are that the glass is very similar and the mechanics are better in the ELs Amazing that it takes an extra $1500 to get there! The Kaibabs were just as good in low light as the SLCs- again the slightest edge going to the SLCs. You can't go wrong with the Kaibabs. Jay's Bird Barn in Prescott has them in stock as well as the Swarovskis.

I spent most of the day yesterday shooting prairie dogs- when it wasn't raining and blowing too hard. I had different claws set up on 3 different tripods. We used 4 different heads to see how it reacted. We used a bogen ball head, a 3031 fluid head (big) a 701 HDV fluid head and a Velbon fluid head. We shot standing, sitting in lawn chairs, sitting on the ground and prone. Only the Velbon tripods would go low enough to shoot prone. With the 701 HDV head, the Claw was very stable, with any of the other heads, there was just too much movement for my liking. It sure is nice to have the 15s set up on a tripod and the rifle set up on one next to it and switch back and forth with the rifle still pointed down range. The Claw worked better with sporter weight rifles than it did with a 13 lb BR rifle. I think with an even heavy head it would be fine. To eliminate the movement more, one could simple bed a plate to the bottom of the rifle and snap it in and out of the head. I'm not sure I want this plate permanently mounted to my rifle though. It was fun to watch my son blowing rodents up at 300 yds with a Rem 600 in .222 while STANDING next to the truck. He could instantly switch to a mound in a different direction in a second or two. It was quite a handy gadget all in all. I want to get it out and shoot a little further with bigger rifles without trying to accomplish so much in a short time. The weather was terrible so we shot like crazy when the rain stopped long enough to bring the towns back to life. The 40 grain Vmaxs were impressive! Bottom line- The Claw is a much better tool when used in conjunction wtih the 501 or 701HDV head as the long dovetailed plates are far more stable than the little plates on the other heads. I wouldn't want to have to use it without one, now that I have tried it with.

Never heard of them???

I am planning on being there Friday night and part of Saturday. My wife isn't into this stuff and has to work anyway, so I will bring my son. Do we need directions, or is this easy to find. I have no idea where Marshall lake is but I have maps! Is it AT the lake? Dispersed camping or a campground? Any help is appreciated. Dennis EDIT: I just found out this morning that I have a potential conflict with a church outing. I will not know until tomorrow night now! Even the best laid plans can go awry. Thanks for the maps though.

Years ago, I was tracking a wounded buck ( mulie) and he took me through some nasty stuff- way back and gone. I ran across 3 huge whitetail sheds, one of which was the twin of these two. It was in bad shape and the buck I was trailing was a 185+ buck so I just looked at them for a sec and kept on pushing- A storm was moving in and the rain and snow finally came and ended that trail. Never have made it all the back to this spot since! I have hunted near it several times and glassed it, only to find a bear and a lion on the same mtn. I sure wish I had thrown them in my pack! I didn't even know there were whitetail on this mountain. Those are some dang nice sheds for sure-especially considering he found both of them!

I have seen literally dozens of them. Not all of them in Arizona either. I have seen about 5 or 6 in one area. This one here was in the road and wouldn't move so I moved him off the side and into the bushes so he wouldn't get run over. I found one in the Superstition Mtns one time that was between 28" and 30" long. He is the biggest I have yet seen. I have found them clinging to rocks in raging whitewater where they got stranded when the water rose too. They seem to pop up just about anywhere, but about 3000' elevation seems to be the favorite haunt.

Well??? You take her out yet? I picked up 3 claws and a 701 from Cade tonight. Will give them a whirl on PDs next week. I really think the bigger plate is important if you want to use the CLAW.

My son and I had unit 10 tags last September and we both drew tags the year before- we had only our hunter ed point. I personally saw 5 bulls over 400" DURING the hunt. I called one in for my son that hung up at 50 yds that was well over 420. I saw more than 20 bulls over 370. i don't think unit 10 is overrated. I saw all these bulls within a 5 sq mile area with the exception of one, which was on the other side of the unit. There were more BIG bulls in 10 last year than 9- fact. Where unit 10 lets you down is that it is very open in most of it without your typical cover for making setups and blinds. There is NO permanent water in the north half of the unit except that which the ranches provide. It is quite different than any other unit in the state. There are really no "bad" units in the state except possibly 6A, which is a slaughter unit with few bulls reaching maturity. I would prefer 1,7, 8, 9, 10, 23, and 27 over 5A or 5B. You can draw any archery tag in the state with 9 points with the possible exception of 9 due to the % cap on non-residents. Apply accordingly. Not everyone in 9 kills a huge bull. I saw a lot of 320 and under bulls killed in 9 last year.

I was on a hunt 2 years ago with a guy who pro-staffs for Montec. He went through 4 packages to find 3 broadheads that would shoot to his satisfaction! They are very good but very overrated. I use 85 grain Thunderheads as does my son, they fly better than any other fixed blade head I have tried and penetrate all the way through elk. My point is that we way over think this stuff- that's why there are so many broadhead makers though! I would love to find a better sight, but have no desire to change broadheads!

You might try something different in the way you put it away. I have found that if I patch it out with Kroil and then one dry patch, on most of my rifles, the first shot is "in the group." Also, a hot barrel my shoot different than a cold barrel. Take you fouled barrel, at least 2 shots, and when it is dead cold (hunting temps are better) take on very careful shot at say 200 yds, let it cool for 60 seconds and take one more. Move to a different target and shoot a 3-shot group with only a 30 second wait or so between shots. See if the first two shots are in the same spot as the last 3. The first shot is obviously the most important. If they ARE in the same place, repeat with a clean barrel another day and see where that first one hits. Good luck.

Unit 12 deer, only thing I applied for.

I have used the 30X Doctors and they are amazing. We found a 2 pt buck at 4.7 miles away. We could tell it was a buck but not a shooter. Drove over in the truck and used the GPS to check the distance. It was a 2 pt! The Highlanders are better yet, but they are really too big to carry beyond the truck.

I have not had time to get them in the field yet. I am going out of the country for a couple of weeks and will test them when I get back. It's been a long week.

The 701 head is the one to get if you have a claw. I have a Velbon El Carmagne tripod that I really like. There are other good ones, this one is just light enough, tall enough and collapses way short for the pack. I am going to get a Claw and 701 head from Jay this summer. You can actually use the 701 with the handle removed they are so smooth Jay tells me. Played with them a lot at the NRA show this weekend.

Used a bunch of lead bullets and left some dead coyotes- at least their carcasses. I have never seen ANYTHING eat a coyote except flies. This whole copper thing is crap. They work fine, but are expensive and don't always shoot well in all rifles, besides, they limit your choices when working up loads etc. I generally don't use them anymore. Last elk tag in unit 10 we used factory W-W ammo with Fail-safes- mostly copper but with a smidgen of lead and steel. I see this lead-ban stuff going no where good. Everyone that jumps on this wagon is just helping it to gain momentum with the next ban. Just say NO to copper! In fact, copper is toxic as heck!

Wait until I do some more comparing and we'll see.

I tried the harness system but did not like it. If you are rifle hunting and always standing up they are great. Where I ran into trouble is crawling. I found it much better to flip my 8x30s onto my back when crawling for a stalk then to keep smashing my binocs into the ground! I can't imagine carrying 15s on my chest??? Who uses them without a tripod? When I carry 15s on a strap, I make it long enough that they are under my arm and out of the way. I usually only do this if I don't have a pack with me.

I sold him a few to tide him over until things break loose again. He is set for a while.

Tim, I have looked at everything made prior to what may have been released in the past 9 months or so. The absolute best, is the Kowa Prominar 88mm. It kills anything else out there. Period. Another fantastic one is the newest Vortex. You can look at them at the NRA show in Phx next weekend. Also, some makers add Flouride to the glass of high end scopes. Some are made with pure Flourite crystals, (Kowa). Each company chooses how to identify their product. Flourite crystal is not as hard or durable as glass but renders a nearly perfect image. Swarovski calls theirs HD. They are arguably tougher than the pure flourite crystal lenses but not as sharp. I have compared pretty much everything there was side-by-side and the Kowa TSN-883 and 884 are heads and shoulders better than the rest. I couldn't even pick a second place but the Vortex were right there. Dennis

There is no practical advantage to a short action these days unless you are trying to shave every gram of weight. Not only are the long VLD bullets infringing on the powder space, but in some cases, (pun, of course, intended) you can't seat them deep enough to use the magazine without getting past the bearing surface of the bullet. They won't work that way- a perfect example is a 284 Win and 180 Bergers or a 6.5-284 and 140 bergers.

There are some nice mulies in 10, but there are few deer period. I spent 18 days last september hunting and saw less than 10 the entire hunt. Most of what I did see was from the truck- driving to new areas. Did have 4 nice ones cross in front of me one day, the nicest of which might go 180. I wouldn't put in for 10 unless I lived in Williams or Seligman myself. I have seen more and better deer in 19 than 10.

Any of you guys been out on the spring bear hunt? I spent two days in 27 and glassed up 3 bears. I saw 70 mulies, 3 whitetails, 20 turkeys and 18 sheep. I saw upwards of 500 elk! None of the bears were shooters so I passed.

Have you not heard of snow machines??? Wow that's a lot of work for a stinking robe!