catclaw

I have one and have had three. I think it is as close to perfect as you are going to find if you like shooting a far piece. I have killed more than 10 bulls with my Sako [rechambered 300 H&H]. I have killed quite a number of deer with it as well. I have used a 165 grain bullet almost to exclusion. A bear and a couple of elk to 200 grainers but that is it. I absolutely abhor muzzle brakes and would encourage you not to go that route. They are extremely loud and have a place on only two types of hunting rifles; a dedicated varmint rifle so you can see the varmints explode and a dedicated long range coues rifle where ALL shots will be carefully executed and plenty of time to put earplugs in. One rifle I had did have a muzzle brake and it was very effective. I deafened a guy on a hunt in Mexico with it who still has permanent hearing loss to this date. My longest shot has been 550 yds, another was right at 500 and all the rest have been under 400. All the elk have been under 100! Sorry, I have been gunned for the cross-canyon elk shots but always managed to stalk much closer. Elk are simple to hunt compared to deer!!! If I were to use it mostly for elk I would probably use a 180 grain bullet in lieu of the 165. I handload and this is really the best way to take advantage of it. Make sure you have a scope with lots of eye relief and you won't need a muzzle brake. I have Leupold VXIIIs for their very generous eye relief.

Derrick is a very good gunsmith but I don't know if he has reamers for a 30-378. I don't know about the other guy in his shop. If you don't mind driving to Prescott, Danny Pederson is excellent. Another choice would be to have Gary Schneider (now in Payson) make you a barrel and I am pretty sure he will install it. Dennis

I didn't say I was going to KILL 2 elk this year- only hunt twice. I can legally have 2 elk tags under this scenario and IF I don't fill the first tag, I can continue hunting on the later hunt. My son killed 2 elk in Unit 10- legally as he shot and killed a 340" 6x6 that had apparently already been wounded in the flank by another hunter. We tracked it down and finished it off after he whacked it at 300 yds. The other hunter met up with us and explained that he had hit it earlier. I called my buddies on our radio and asked them if they had seen blood on the bull before my son shot. They said it looked like it did. We had already taken photos and the whole works. We allowed the other hunter to tag it in the spirit of first blood doctrine- either boy could have legally tagged that bull. We went back to work with the 15s and found another. We made a 1 mile stalk to a tank and this time he didn't have to share the glory with anyone! That is how you kill 2 bulls in one day- legally! I am hoping to kill on my first hunt and donate my other tag to Hunt of a Lifetime. Dennis

My son got a Junior elk tag in 1 I got Antelope in 2A (which allows me to buy an any elk tag over the counter) I also got a bull tag in 23. And Phil- you thought you were lucky this year!!! Last year my oldest killed two 6x6 bulls in one day. Looks like this year I get to hunt elk twice!!

Yesterday was the first chance I have had to scout in 10 post-rut. We bumped one huge bull last night and glassed 14 more this morning, four of which were over 380 and one monster that was easy 400". I hope he isn't broken- it was hard to tell at the distance. I hear all the broken horn stories from unit 10, but none of the bulls we saw were obviously busted. If I can just get this digi-scoping thing down and get some photos of these monsters. Thanksgiving, hurry up!

And this one

We scored on a couple of nice bulls in 10, not the booners that we saw scouting, but a week hunt was suddenly shortened to a weekend and we couldn't be as picky- now if I could just get the photos to post...

NIce bucks- dang!

I found the Pronghorns just like any other Chinese made boot, too soft and not very durable. The only Danners that are worth a hoot are the ones that are made in Portand and they are not cheap. I have a pair of Santiams. I won't buy a boot with any nylon showing- the cactus just goes right through them. I have worn out a pair of Cabelas Canadas (Meindl) and now have their Alaskans. They are outstanding boots. I can also highly recommend the Lowa boots- Schnees sells one variety they call the sheep hunter. You can go UP from there depending on your crampon needs. I never had a pair of Rockys that lasted more than two or three trips without tearing a sole or splitting a seam. I am HARD on stuff- I even need to send back my Badlands pack as it is falling apart! Maybe I should order all titanium gear from hear on out!

They look pretty slick and handy, but they are obviously fair weather set-ups. They won't stand up to a heavy wind or snow load. I was able to deflect them pretty easily with my hand. I can prop and extra upright in the center of my wall tent and it will stand 16" of snow no problem- doesn't set up quite as fast as this one though. I don't see a spot for the stovepipe either! I guess it depends on your needs. I just built a small trailer with a torsion axle and throw my wall tent in with the 4 wheeler and away we go. It won't fit a Rhino, but then I don't have a Rhino.

No turkey tags this year- pigs in 22... I think it was my second choice. 22 is the closest unit for me to take my son to. Not my favorite pig unit. I hate the Tonto Nat Forest and try not to schedule hunts there. One never knows when you are going to find all the gates locked and every road in the Tonto has a dang gate!

That's what I like hearing. I hope those horns are 100% intact!

Way to go Scott and Rhonda!

I am going to guess around 109" gross.

I can't see his spread, I can't tell how good his bottom two points are. I guess he is in the 360 range I couldn't tell if there were any small portions broken off of mine, but the main beams were intact and I could count all the points. The royals and two of the bulls i saw were 24"+ and the 5th were 16+ on one, the other biggest one was 7 points on one side and I never could see the right side. I hope the right side was as good as the left. I have seen a LOT of bulls and very few of them are the "Oh my Gosh" bulls. I hope I can find them on Friday morning!

I see a several advocating the use of 22 caliber centerfires- I think this is a bad idea. I started out hunting them with a 22-250 and killed quite a few. Then one day I hit one a little too far back. I got lucky and broke his back with a running shot at 300 yds. He was still alive and fighting when I hiked over. The hole through his liver just wasn't big enough to put him down within reason. I never used it again. My buddy, who has killed far more of them than me and has two in B&C had a similar experience a couple of years later and gave it up too. They have no energy left once you get out beyond 200 yds or so. To some extent this is true with a 243. You shouldn't expect to kill them beyond 300-350 yds without an absolutely perfect him. I use a 300 Wby as does David Miller and a lot of other hard-core trophy hunters. Why, because they work and work well. If you need to take a long shot, you don't want a pee shooter- too many lost deer. I have seen a lot of deer and cow elk fall to a 243 ( mostly after about 75-100 yds) and have seen quite a few run off and have to be tracked down. The same hit with a good bullet in a 300 mag will greatly increase the likelyhood of one falling close to where you shot it. If you limit your shots to under 300 yds, you are probably fine. If you are one of these guys that likes to shoot across canyons, then get something bigger. The Army/marines etc doesn't send snipers out with 223s to snipe people off (a 223 is great in an urban setting) because they know that a 308 or 300 WM works a lot better! There is no such thing as overkill. Dead is dead.

I shot one in Mexico in 2000 at 366 yds - it's on the Coues is King video. First shot of the bipod and the second shot off-hand as it hobbled away. Both bullets were within 2" of each other. I shot one in 34A a number of years ago at 500+- yds that was trotting broadside. It took me 3 shots to figure out the lead and holdover- I was younger and dumber and wouldn't do that again now. Shot a lion of the bipod at 510 yds- probably my longest shot at anything bigger than a coyote!

He's not over 100, but could be 90-92" at most, I think he is mid 80's. Casey, lay off the kool-aid...

You could find and meet some new friends from this forum and then you wouldn't have to hunt alone!

Just returned from 4 days of elk hunting with some buddies in unit 8. We saw between 8-11 bulls each day. Passed on one whopper first morning and several other 300+ bulls each other day. Sure is an easy unit to get around in and my oh my are there a lot of elk. Saw a nice WT buck in the oaks one day to top it off. Saw at least 10 decent mulies and one that would got 185. Not a bad unit.

They suck, You are money ahead to buy a Timney or equivalent and just replace it. The Rugers are case hardened and if you grind more that a few thousanths off them, they will fail. Some guys have had success fixing them. I have seen a lot of them ruined by others trying- including a well reputed gunsmith.

WT, especially bucks, really seem to like the leaves. I have seen the rake the leaves with their antler, then lick them up. I find the leaves are especially good myself. Pick some on the last day before you head home and throw them in a salad. Adds a good flavor.

I talked to Don Martin last night at a meeting and he said that units 9 and 10 are still very dry with dry or nearly dry tanks- They must not be getting this rain.

Derrick is on active duty

Message sent- Good luck