scoutm

Yes it is. I'm watching it out my window.

Chris - happy birthday! Hope you have a great one. I would suggest buying your super raffle ticket today - may bring you a great gift in a couple months. Larry

I have a pistol grip head and it isn't as smooth as it once was. It has accumulated some dust and dirt that I need to clean out. I really like it so I'm not looking for recommendations on what to change to. Just looking for ideas on how to clean mine. I was thinking of spraying with brake cleaner and then oiling but I don't know what kind of oil to use. I don't want to use an oil thats going to attract more dirt. Any thoughts? How do you clean yours?

Thanks for the ideas. I was also thinking of cleaning with some alcohol swabs - what's you thoughts on that?

Here's a section that really distrubed me when I read it... "Critics say the problems presented by the bill are compounded by a second Grijalva bill, HR 2593, which has the stated purpose of conserving public lands and natural resources on our border. But a close reading suggests the congressman believes the problem on the border isn't those who cross illegally and flood our country with drugs. The problem is the Border Patrol. The bill would require agents to receive training in minimizing the damage they do to public land and cultural resources; force Homeland Security to pay to repair such damage; repeal Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff's authority to waive environmental laws in construction of border fencing, all but guaranteeing none will be built; and require creation of a fund to protect habitat and wildlife protection, and to minimize the impacts of border enforcement, smuggling and illegal immigration. This conservation fund, by the way, would be multinational, with a requirement that at least 30 percent of its money be spent in Mexico." I don't know about you all but I just can't see how BP is the problem and I really can't see why my tax $ should go to Mexico.

No, that gun will always have a secure spot in my gun safe. It's the reason I'm selling this one.

Tikka M695 25-06 (replaced by the T3) Extremely clean rifle fired approximately 50 rounds - has only been in the field once on an antelope hunt – no scratches or dings and Shoots very well. Has a medium contour barrel so it’s heavier than I wanted so I upgraded to a lighter rifle. Selling with Weaver style scope mounts. $465.00 to a good home.

bump

I agree with the 25-06 and the 243. I also agree with the Tikka and wouldn't you know it I just happen to have a Tikka 25-06 I've been wanting to sell. I will bump the post.

Received my annual notice from the Utah's game and fish department. Anyone else fortunate enough to draw? 54750 12-836, 25-847 PRONGHORN BUCK UNSUCCESSFUL 637194 17-911 BULL MOOSE UNSUCCESSFUL

Sun Devil and I went out last weekend looking for deer and had a great time. In two days we saw close to 100 deer and to our surprise several were still wearing their head gear. We saw 2 - 2x2 with eye guards, 2 forked horns and 3 different spikes. We couldn’t believe they were still packing. Early Saturday morning, we had a chance to so some deer conservation work….Chris did me the courtesy of finding a pair of lions. Since I was the only one with a tag and therefore a gun I was up for some shooting. The rifle I had with me was new to the field as it had only been shot at the range to get her sited in. It’s topped a conquest scope with target turrets. Having missed an opportunity at a big buck last January, I wasn’t going to miss this chance. I adjusted the turrets to the specified range and had Chris setup to spot for me – I shot high. The Cats took cover under a thick tree. Chris kept watch on them and I took off down the canyon to get across from them. I was able to get positioned 240 yards across canyon from them and took her out. She’s younger than I thought but it took 16 years of carrying a tag to get this chance so I’m pleased and the deer herd said thank you as we packed her out. Not to mention what a great way to break-in a new rifle. I had her inspected by Game and Fish Today and they aged her at about a year and a half. I would have liked my first to have been bigger but grateful none the less.

If I recall the letter I recieved from the IRS not everyone will get the payment. I believe it said something to the affect that if your household income is greater than $75,000.00 the payment will be "deminished or eliminated" If you get the payment I would suggest a fine american made bow, fly rod or rifle.

I don't know about the "Quiet Muzzle Break" but I have had Harry Lawson in Tucson put a break on two of my rifles. Rather than venting the gasses at a 90 degree angle it vents the gas/noise at about a 40% angle. It doesn't reduce the recoil to the level a traditional break does but it's a nice balance between reduced noise and comforatable recoil.

I didn’t have anything to do this weekend so I stopped by the local archery pro shop and started the process of evaluating bows. I then came home and started to review the many requests to advice on bows in this forum as well as others. I apologize if I ask questions that have already been answered but I have not found them: 1. Warranties: At the pro shop they indicated that Matthews has the best warranty – an expressly stated no-fault fix them all warranty. Bowtech although not expressly stated in their warranty is treating their warranty the same as Matthews – I guess a case of trying to “catch us if you can”. They also told me that the shops in southern Arizona stopped selling Hoyt because of warranty issues – mainly on split limbs. Any problems with warranty work on you bows? 2. Bowtech’s “harsh” draw. I know many of you have stated this as a problem but their literature says they can set their bows up for speed or for smooth – the smooth takes away 20-30 FPS but still rates the bow at 315+. Does the smooth setup improve the harsh draw enough? I know that question is subjective just wanted others thoughts? 3. All the bows I looked at had let offs that could be set from 65%-80%. I have to assume there is a trade off some where in there but none of the literature stated what it was… does anyone know? 4. PSE x-force – I’ve read a lot of good things about these bows but I did see the thread about them stretching strings. Is that a common problem or was it an issue unique to the one CW member? Thanks for the feedback.

How about one of these

I've been thinking about a 7mm of some kind or if I would ever get drawn for elk maybe a 325 WSM. I don't have a Weatherby, Browning, Kimber or maybe even the soon to be released M70.

I recently ordered replacements for mine directly from swarovski. I just called the number on their website. I also had to order replacement eye cups which were warranty items. If I remember correctly they were $14.00 + shipping.

Done

I've never seen it but Best of the West advertises a long range shooting "system" Here's the link. http://www.thebestofthewest.net/mambo/inde...1&Itemid=45

It is very easy to pick out one component of a system and point out its inequities. Is it fair that Non-resident get a disproportionate share of the antelope tags? Probably not. But is it fair that Non-residents have to pay 4 figures while residents only pay 3 figures for that Oryx hunt when the majority of the hunts are conducted on a federal missile ranges which are financed equally by residents of NM and residents of other states? Probably not. Is it fair for non-residents of any state to have to pay non-resident fees to hunt game on federal land? We all pay our share of taxes so why should there be non-resident fees when we’re citizens of the country that owns that land. Is it fair that the same land owners who benefit from the land owner tag system block access to public lands? Is it fair that certain states mandate non-residents use outfitters to hunt specific species? I applaud your efforts to get people involved to correct an inequity but please recognize many of the inequities are created by the residents not the Non-residents and if you’re concerned about this sport becoming a “rich man’s sport” please don’t lose site of all the areas that make hunting price prohibitive for many.

I’ve read many Mexico whitetail hunting stories and have enjoyed the many pictures of deer people have taken in Mexico. So, for the last few years, I have wanted to do a trip of my own but things never came together like I had hoped until this year. Chris (Sun Devil) and I were able to find a couple of tags on a ranch about 30 miles south of the boarder. We knew the area had low deer density and was primarily a Mule deer ranch so we arranged to see the ranch before we committed our money. A visit was set and we enjoyed the hospitality of the ranchers for 2 days. Due to high wind and high temperatures we did not see any deer but enjoyed talking about the many outstanding sheds the ranchers had collected over the years. On the drive home we decided that purchasing two tags did not make sense given the low deer density so we decided to purchase only one tag and use this as a learning experience giving me the opportunity to hunt and both of us the experience of going to Mexico, getting gun permits and crossing the boarder. All these things ran very smoothly. After much discussion with the person the ranchers were using to coordinate the tags and hunts, the dates were set. The dates were not ideal and not the dates preferred but since the different hunting parties were not supposed to over lap the dates had to due. Unfortunately, this didn’t occur as the hunting party that preceded me extended their trip and overlapped my hunt by two days. Not entirely pleased by this we made the best of it. Again, knowing the deer density was low we expected a difficult hunt but nothing like what we experienced. The first day we didn’t see a single deer. The other party reported seeing two different shooters so we went back into that canyon with them the next day. We saw several does but no bucks until late in the day when we heard a shot ring out. One of the other hunters knowing it was his last day took a small 2x3. The other hunting party left Sunday morning so we once again decided to give the canyon where they saw the two nice bucks another chance. We saw only two does and one small buck that Chris located feeding away from us almost a mile away. Back at the ranch house for lunch and trying to come up with a plan for the rest of the trip, we went over a map of the ranch with the rancher and found an area we thought looked pretty good to us – a long wide canyon with two glassing points just about a half mile apart. Between Chris and me, we would cover the entire canyon. The rancher said no one has ever really hunted it before because it’s hard to get to – so we were sold. We rode the quads up the wash that came out of the canyon as far as we could and hiked the rest of the way to the first glassing point. Chris setup there and I took off for the farther point. No sooner had I arrived at my glassing spot when Chris calls on the radio – “I’ve got a doe.” Feeling optimistic I sit down to start glassing and Chris calls on the radio again “GET OVER HERE NOW!!!” I could tell he was serious so I responded - on my way. While putting everything in my pack Chris calls on the radio yet again “I’M NOT JOKING...GET OVER HERE NOW!!” I asked if I needed to be careful he replied “no…just get to the fence line and bring it straight to where I’m setup.” Well after my heart pumping sprint to where Chris was he had the spotting scope setup for me to take a look… I was greeted by the view of a legitimate 115 class 4x5 plus eye guards buck. Now the heart was really going. I pulled out the range finder 580 yards -too far of shot to take for a buck of this caliber. We planned a stock we believed would cut the distance to about 380 and still allow me to see him – we were wrong. I lost too much elevation and it was far too thick. While trying desperately to locate the buck in all the trees, fifteen minutes before dark the doe got the Big Buck up and took him with her. Hoping he would walk into an opening that would allow me to take the shot, Chris guided me to where the buck was. “See the ocotillo patch?” Yes, “See the big white rock in the middle?” Yes, “9:00 from the rock is a saguaro with no arms” Got it, “The buck is just to the left of the saguaro” I can’t see him there’s a tree in the way. Growing increasingly anxious, I move around to different locations trying to find a lane that would allow me to see the Big Buck and take the shot but the days light fades and we had to pack it up for the day. So after a great dinner and a surprisingly good night sleep, we were back up on the mountain trying to relocate the Big Buck. After glassing for two hours without seeing anything and with hope fading, I located what I believed was a doe. I put Chris on her too so we could hopefully find the Big Buck bedded near by. This is when a small two point buck walked in and started to spar with our “doe” which of course turned out to not be a doe but rather a very small spike buck. Hope started to fade again. Chris and I started to discuss the different markers we were using the previous evening to locate the Big Buck when in a split second I saw a deer stand and bed – I HAD HIM!! I told Chris and he greeted it with some skepticism but I assured him I was positive it was a deer and it was a buck. He was behind several trees and bushes so we were unable see him through our binoculars. In hopes of being able to pick some part of him up through all the trees, I pulled out my spotting scope and zoomed in. Sure enough there was his eye and part of his antler not 10 yards from where we left him the night before. Chris came over to take a look at him through the spotting scope just in time to see the rut kick into high gear. Apparently, the Big Buck’s doe got up and started to move away which of course got the Big Buck up which in turn sparked the interest of our little two point and spike bucks. What happened next was pure rut chaos. With one doe and three suitors, the doe took to running. It was like trying to track four pin balls all being played at the same time – they were going all over the place at full speed and in thick brush. Final, after what seemed like an eternity, the pursuit gained some order, first the doe over the hill into the next cut then the small two point followed by the spike buck with his nose glued to the ground but no Big Buck. Did we miss him? Did he go over the hill where we couldn’t see him? Then about ten minutes later out of the corner of my eye I see movement not 15 yards in front of me. Is it him? No it’s another two point buck. So close to us I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to take a picture so I reach for my camera and while watching the small buck I opened the wrong pocket of my camera case – it was Velcro - RIPPPP which sent the little buck over the hill. We sat back down and started to glass to see if we could find the Big Buck but found nothing. There was surely no way that Big Buck would have let that little buck take his doe. He had to have gone over the hill too and we just missed it in all the chaos. After discussing this at length, we decided to make a big loop to see if we could get in front of where we saw the doe and smaller bucks go. This proved to be a big mistake. On our way over we busted out one of the small bucks that had gone over the hill. We didn’t see the Big Buck so we continued with our plan to loop around. Now at our destination we started to glass for the Big Buck and found nothing. Beginning to wonder if we made the right decision, to Chris’ surprise he finds the Big Buck coming over the hill in no big hurry. We were sure he had already come over. This showed us the mistake we had made. Had we stayed put and waited, trusting that if we didn’t see him go over the hill then he was still there. He crossed at a point that would have offered a shot anywhere from 250 to 350 yards, instead we once again had the Big Buck bedded in extremely thick brush at over 800 yards away. After kicking ourselves we discussed our options and decided on two that were viable. There was one my legs favored and one my gut favored – I went with my gut. I started another big loop to try to get behind and above where the Big Buck was bedded. Almost to my destination, Chris calls me on the radio to inform me that the little two point buck had gotten the doe back up for a shorter replay of the earlier rutting event. Apparently bored with these activities, the Big Buck, now named Alberto for were we located him, jumped the fence onto the neighboring ranch and walked off like the King of the Mountain that he most definitely IS. Hunt over!! Thanks goes out to Chris for joining me and helping me on this hunt. Picture courtesy of Chris.

Went out to enjoy the nice weather yesterday and had a great afternoon. In a little over 3 hours I saw over 20 does and one small buck. Here's a couple of pics. On the way home I also helped a guy back on to the road. He said he went off the road trying to avoid a deer but I think he was just driving too fast. Anyway, had a great afternoon.

What about the old classic?…”Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges – we’ve got 270’s”

I've been seeing these on more guns recently (in photo's and on TV) and have been curious as to whether they really work as advertised? Anyone have any first hand experience? Their theory seems sound but does it really work when put into practice? Thanks.

Sounds like there's more of a mental effect than a physical one. Thanks for the feedback.