duckhunter175

Had a great hunt, great success, back home now and ready for next season!!! Posted the whole story in the rifle section!

Hello all, been on the site a little while, mainly trying to learn about Coues, tactics to hunt them and long range hunting. I'm a southerner, in the Army, currently in KY and my goal is to draw and fill a Coues tag in Arizona. I've got my choices in for the draw this year, focused on the October hunt options because it seems the draw rate is higher and quite frankly I don't know when I'll get another fall where I have a predictable schedule and can take leave to go on a backpacking hunt across the country. Hope it goes well, I've already started my range work and weeding out what will and won't be in my kit for this fall. I've read several good posts on rifles and kit and feel good about what is on the list right now. I've done a good bit of hiking and backpacking (recreation and on 7 deployments) so basics are covered. Would def like recommendations on "don't leave home without it for southern Arizona". Gun: Savage LRH 6.5x284 with Vortex HSLR 4-16x50 scope... and G23 .40 for sidearm Binos: Vortex Viper HD 10x42, had these already but not opposed to going higher magnification Spotter: Haven't picked one up, looking at the lower magnification range Viper HD or Razor HD 16-48, thoughts? Or would it be better for just one set of 15x binos and no spotter? -I have some great Asolo and Salomon boots for hiking and but the early hunt has me concerned about rattlesnakes, thoughts on gaiters/snakeboots? -My pack is a normal ALICE frame with Tactical Tailor custom sewn bag and straps but looking for ideas on slightly smaller/lighter... eberlestock x2 or similar? -Water-- no resupply obviously so carry in what you can and filter the rest? Recommendations on these for a week long hunt? Thanks in advance and best of luck to you all, hope to meet some of yall next fall!!

36 hours until I hit the gas from Kentucky to 34A!!! First time hunting in Arizona, first time hunting Coues Deer, first hunt with this rifle, first road trip in the new truck, etc etc! Plan to make camp Wednesday night and then scout my opening day 'plan'. Best of luck to all headed out this week!!! Got my backs packed up, boots tied tight, hope to get a Grey Ghost in my sights!!!

Briant--- Awesome offer, thank you for putting it out there! Things worked out very well and fortunately a great guy I worked with in the past linked me up with his dad who drew a tag also and knows the area. We are going to link up, hunt and camp so I do have some much needed assistance in climbing up that learning curve. Lamrith-- I'll be in touch, best of luck to you guys out there, should be a blast!! To all the CWT members who have responded to posts, PMs, emails, etc: You have provided an immeasurable amount of knowledge and helped get this hunt off the ground when I was really starting from scratch. This forum has quickly become my favorite spot to learn and post just based off the helpfulnees and attitude of the members and the quality of the content. Best of luck to everyone this season and I already can't wait to see the pics and hear the stories!

Awesome and congrats!!!

Recommend layering with a durable outerlayer and then down/synthetic underneath. You can find great deals on North Face, etc online for 50-75% off. The colors are strange but if you are wearing it as a layer who cares. North Face ThermoBall for $76 online--- probably the most packable as well.

Should be fine for ignition. I use the winchester 209s made for muzzleloading and have had zero issues in a CVA Accura... I do use the specially designed BH209 breech plug. Not sure if the Omega requires a new breech plug or not but that would be your biggest hangup.

Monday work out with the wife--- hill sprints 1 mile jog to our hill 10x 30 sec hill sprints, 30 sec recovery for first 5 then 90 sec break then 30 sec recovery for remainder 1 mile cool down home 3.2 miles total distance... legs. are. smoked.

Thanks for the advice guys!!! I can't wait to get on the road to AZ!! I have access to a small FoxPro Spitfire... is it worth it to bring along for fox, yote, lion? And are setups in 34a a long range game or should I have a 12ga and some buckshot?

How about that 'new' 6.5-300 wby mag??!! http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gun-shots/how-65-300-weatherby-magnum-stacks

Coues N Sheep- I went almost 10 years ago. My best friend and I saved up through high school and went one summer in college. It was more sightseeing than anything and we spent a majority of time in Australia and then 10 days in NZ. Time of year: Jun/Jul Rights: We planned with travel books, AAA, etc but booked our own airfare at rock bottom prices as they fluctuated. We flew from NC through LAX to Australia and flew to Ayers Rock, Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and then to South Island NZ. Booking it all ourselves saved a ton. Same with lodging. We stayed in hostels or cheaper hotels but we booked ourselves on our own itinerary. This included rental vehicles. We made those reservations in advance, had our international drivers licenses already and were good to go. I recommend getting the extra insurance. It helped us immensely. We totaled our Ford Escape on an icy patch in South NZ and got a new vehicle brought to us... paid NOTHING (other than a $50 failure to yield ticket). Adventures: If you go to NZ you are close to Australia so I would go there as well. Ayers Rock was amazing, we went to Melbourne and drove the Great Ocean Road, Philips Island is amazing and we watch the penguins land on shore and nest at night. Scuba dove the great barrier reef out of Port Douglas. For NZ-- We started in Christchurch, drove west then south, hiked several of the glaciers (Fox, Franz Josef, etc) and then got to Queenstown. We took a boat tour through Fjorland. Outdoors: I went on a chartered fishing boat out of Port Douglas, Australia and had a blast in the saltwater. For hunting: I hunted with Doctari Safaris in Central Otago (2hr from Queenstown). I only had the time and money to hunt for one day. There was some snow on the ground, it was a little chilly. We hunted turkeys, pigs and ducks/swans. In one day I killed a record book Merriams turkey, we chanced on some wild boars and shot them. And for the evening it was the duck season so we set up on a pond and killed Paradise Ducks (BEAUTIFUL, MUST HUNT) and a number of other ducks, geese, etc. Had a blast, very reasonable and definitely money well spent for one day. Packing: I had all civilian clothes (no camo) but it was adequate for the temps. It was just starting to get cooled off, they hadn't opened the ski resorts yet but I would be ready for temps from 70 to 30 or lower. Wrongs: I wish I had planned more time for NZ but I'm glad I got to both countries. We also didn't budget as much for food as we should have. Things are slightly more expensive than the US. Gas especially. Great trip and I plan to get back in the future!!!!

Late check-in--- Was away from home this weekend at Notre Dame football game. Indulged on Saturday.... then ran 8 miles on campus with the wife on Sunday. Monday was recovery, Tuesday we did 30/30 sprints and today I was in the treestand. Great work guys!

Alright guys--- The plan is coming together nicely. I would like recommendations for bonus critters to be prepared for. I plan to have a OTC Lion tag, what about birds or other animals available in 34A in late OCT???

That's a big variation, did you ID the cause? I've been using RL19 powder which people have said is not as temp stable so I loaded up H4831SC. The temps here are in the 70s to 80 and should be similar to conditions in AZ next month. Exceptions being the humidity and elevation.

Mike- That Mauser looks great!!! I'm a big fan of the wood stocked rifles. I'm new to the custom game, I would hesitate to say any of my rifles are 'custom'... maybe tinkered with or 'semi-custom'? 1. Winchester Model 70, .338WM, PAC-NOR #4 stainless, 24", prone brake, barreled and timed by PAC-NOR, DEVCON bedded by myself, topped with Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6x42 2. Remington 700 Stainless 25/06, factory barrel that I crowned, replaced synthetic stock with a 1970s gloss finish wood stock, DEVCON bedded by myself, Timney Trigger, talley rings, Leupold VX3 4.5-14 CDS 3. Browning Abolt 7mm/08, cerakoted barrel/action, factory barrel that I crowned, bell and Carlson stock, DEVCON bedded, 3# rifle basix spring, no scope mounted right now

All-- Things are coming together. The kit is complete and packing list is finalized (for now). Rifle is now shooting .4 and .5 groups off the bipod with a variable tail wind. I will load up 40 rounds this weekend to tweak the zero and checking my drop at 200 and 250m (max range at my club). I am using the Vortex LRBC and will download and try Shooter to check drops before finalizing a table. 4 weeks!!!

Barnes-- -Depends on which 6.5 you decide to go with and what you do with that 30/06. I have a 6.5x284 and I bought two boxes of Nosler ammo to break in the barrel and get good brass and then I found 6.5x284 lapua brass on the shelf and picked up those as well. Take a look at Pac-Nor barrels. Great customer service, called them up and talked through exactly what I was looking for with my .338wm and we worked barrel contour, rate of twist, brake (I wanted a bench brake, no porting on bottom) etc. They have a simple website of each barrel they can make, the measurements of the different contours and the rates of twist available for each bore diameter. If you have a smith who will do your work locally then I would look at Stocky's Stocks-- they run package deals for stocks and barrels. Last stop would be long range hunting dot com. They have a great classifieds section with lots of established sellers offering up quality barrels. As for scopes-- I got a steal on the front focal plane Vortex HSLR (4-16x50 XLR) and snatched it up. Couldn't be happier. I own several Vortex optics, red dot, binos, rifle scopes and a spotter. No issues and they've even exchanged products for me when I bought a new item from a retailer and it was not what I actually needed. Buy the best you can with your budget!

Lowa- Renegade or Zephyr for a lighter weight boot. Had one pair of each and they made it through 7 trips to the sandbox. Right now I'm wearing Salomon Quest 4D--- and might be making a permanent switch!

I think what you will get should be almost an exact replica of an ascent ambush. The range adjustment dial, lockdown, housing, etc are all the same between the two. Hope it works well for ya!

Wampus- Just double checked-- I have a MBG Ascent Ambush it is single vertical pin, I ordered a custom build with .010 green pin, 4" dovetail and the yardage tape that faces the shooter (this is now standard I believe) best of luck, you'll love it!

Stomp-- Great call on the 6.5-06!!! Left that one off the list.

Barnes-- I've been working on a couple project rifles lately and hopefully can share some thoughts and ideas. Great questions btw. 1. The 30/06 shares a bolt face diameter with a bunch of cartridges from that family and the long action gives you lots of flexibility. Will you be handloading for your rifle or shooting factory loads? ---- Here is an excellent resource: http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f37/bolt-face-diameters-36661/ If you want deer AND elk but will better range/ballistics than your current 30/06 you might look at a .280AI for flatter trajectory and great choices available for strong 7mm bullets if you are handloading and Nosler makes factory loads for the .280AI as well. Another choice for a bigger bullet might be the 338/06. And lastly--- you could keep the 30/06 and rebarrel for accuracy. 2. Cost: This will depend on your gunsmith and where you buy your barrel from. You can buy an ER Shaw barrel (quality debate aside) and have a gunsmith rebarrel and you'll keep costs down. When I rebarreled from 7mmRM to .338WM and got a stainless barrel, removable brake, and the barrel was installed all from PAC-NOR it cost me as much as a new Savage 110 would have run. It's def cheaper to buy the barrel you want and have a smith install it instead of shipping your gun off to be installed. I wanted a particular brake and wanted it timed on the threads so I mailed my action off. 3. See #1--- Keeping your bolt face the same I would go .280AI, 338-06 or keep 30/06 and handload it. If you get a new rifle I'd look at 7mm Rem Mag or .300WM or WSM--- great bullet selections for both, great ballistics and great commercially available rounds. 4. Depends on what you want to do with the rifle. If you love your m77 and the barrel/caliber is the only thing you want to change then go for it, rebarrel, bed the action and let er rip. Otherwise I would say do a build from the ground up and make exactly the rifle you want built for the job you intend to accomplish. You can build a great set up in a more commercially available caliber with a Savage Long Range Hunter or Rem 700 (tons of aftermarket accessories). It certainly is a ton of fun to come up with an idea and make it happen so best of luck!!

Early check-in--- Monday will be a run but over the weekend the Whitetail Archery season opened on our base in KY. I went to the hills (everyone else went to the food plots), I walked about 4.5 miles with my hunting buddy. I carried my X2 with my Coues Deer load plan to test out my kit (minus the rifle of course) and had a blast. We saw a good number of deer, got a great leg workout and busted out the new digi-scope set up with no hiccups. Today I'll be in a treestand but I'm still packing that in about 1.5 miles for the evening hunt.

Hey guys, way less than 60 days before my OCT Rifle Coues hunt but I've been adding to my normal Army PT with some extra rucks and hitting the hills around the house here in KY. On the 15th I'm cutting out all cheese and refined bread products up through the hunt. Excited about this to say the least! Great thread and best of luck to everyone on their fitness goals and hunts!

I keep a list of anything with a serial number, guns, scopes, bows, etc. Not only for the purpose of recovery in the event of theft but for insurance purposes. CHECK WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!! Many homeowners and renters policies only cover a certain amount for firearms! In my case it is $4000 of firearms/related optics.... That doesn't add up to much. I had to purchase a valuable personal property policy for the remainder. I put every weapon and serial on the policy but I have the peace of mind if anything happens.... oh and the VPP policy covers accidents as well (gun falls off the truck, falls out of the boat etc)