rclouse79

Smart wool long underwear are one of the best hunting purchases I have made in the last few years.

Thanks for the replies. I am going to head out the first weekend I can to set it up. It helps that I left some gear up on the mountain I need to try and retrieve. I guess my main question is how high to build the blind. I was thinking high enough to block everything except for my eyes when sitting, but low enough I could shoot over when kneeling.

I thought I was being adventurous eating my elk heart. Good luck with the balls.

The title of this post would make for some famous last words.

A ballistic gel manufacturer might be able to give you some data on the average frictional force the gel will apply to different projectiles. If you are able to find this out and the bullet stops inside the block, the change in kinetic energy will be equal to the work done on the bullet by the block, or (average frictional force) x (stopping distance) = initial kinetic energy. If you are a really good shot, I think it would be easier to shoot your bullet through a chronograph 500 yards away and use k=1/2 m v^2. That could end up being an expensive experiment, but it would be fun.

kinetic energy = 1/2 m v^2. To have the units work out in ft lbs you would need to take the grains of your bullet, multiply it by (0.000143lbs/grain) to get the weight in lbs. Then use the equation mass equals weight/gravity. Divide the mass of your weight in lbs by 32ft/s^2 to get the mass with units of (lbs)(s^2) / ft. You then need to know the velocity of your bullet at the target in ft/s. Plug the mass and velocity into K = 1/2 mv^2 and all units cancel except for ft lbs.

I have read a lot of posts on this site and have enjoyed quite a few, but none have ever made me laugh like that. You deserve to pour yourself another drink after the telling of that tale.

Congrats on a real trophy.

I was fortunate to go on a Colorado elk hunt for five days with a good friend and two of his buddies. We got into elk and had close calls more days than not. We didn't get a lot of hunting in the second day due to a snow storm, but the tracks in the snow led us to the area where I ended up shooting my bull. At first light we were sitting on an open south facing slope about half way down glassing into the sparse timber on the north side of the draw. There was a huge amount of area to glass and we spent the first half hour scanning through the trees. I was glassing with one guy and the other two were straight across from us about one hundred yards. I looked over to see what they were doing and some movement caught my eye in the aspens and downed timber along the ridge. I was shocked to see a bull feeding along behind the trees directly above the other two hunters in our party. They were fifty yards away from the bull and they had no idea he was there. I got prone and waited for him to clear the tree. His head popped out and I sent a bullet from my 270 into his neck and through his spine. I saw hooves in the air through my scope and he never moved another inch. Based on his antlers it looked like the fights during the rut had done a number on him. I could not have been happier to harvest this bull. After packing him out I know I need to be in better shape the next time I go elk hunting. Despite my legs being shot I stuck around to help the other guys on the last day of the season and ended up having the pleasure of packing out part of another bull. Even though it was a tough hunt I would not have changed a thing about it.

That sucks, hopefully they accidentally shoot themselves with your gun. I am too paranoid to put my guns, pack or glass in my rig before I leave. I even scheduled all my big ticket items with my home owners insurance. It didn't add much to the yearly cost and if anything gets stolen or even lost it gets replaced with no deductible. I know this does not help your current situation, but maybe something to think about for the future.

I just dropped a bull with a 130 grain ttsx shot out of my 270. Go with the one that is most accurate that you have the most confidence in.

Still hunting at that age? You are greedy, I hope to still be breathing at his age.

Seems like 22lr is starting to pop up a little bit more. I even picked some up at Walmart this weekend. I have built up quite a reserve after buying everything I have come across since getting a 22 rifle for fathers day.

I have a triclawps. It works just fine when you have the time to get everything all set up.

I will not be following a wounded bear without a big gun any time soon.

My father in law gave me the press, which knocked out a lot of the expense. At the rate I shoot I will probably be dead before I break even on the money I have spent in reloading stuff. The value to me is the precision I gained after developing a load. I went from 1.4 inch groups with factory ammo to 0.6 inch groups with my hand loads after a bit of experimentation. I wouldn't sell the bullets I have reloaded for twice the price of store bought bullets, even though I loaded them for half the price. It is also nice to have enough materials to make more bullets than you would shoot when the stores are sold out.

Heck yes. To say I am jealous is an understatement.

I have been checking out tarptent quite a bit since I carry trekking poles anyway. The Squall 2 looks pretty awesome. Only 34 ounces and would have lots of gear room if solo hunting. The majority of all reviews I have read are positive.

Good news, thanks!

Does anybody know if all this rain has been hitting Arivaca? I was bummed when it was starting to dry up.

If they come I will be waiting on the side of a hill wearing full camouflage looking at them through the scope mounted on my high powered rifle. Thanks for this post though, now I will bring a few extra rounds.

If you judge a trophy by how hard they are to come by, that is a dandy. I figure I could shoot a 3x3 or better with a little work most rifle seasons. I have yet to harvest an archery deer after more time trying than I would like to admit. Congrats.

Congrats. I put in a wood floor for a buddy a couple years ago to pay for a pair and have never regretted it for a second.

The last one I saw was in my rear view mirror. I made a 90 turn on a country road and glanced back to see a blue heeler go bombing out of the back of a pickup who went straight. It rolled on the ground about 4 times and the truck stopped. The dog got up and looked around, jumped in the back of the truck, and the truck took off without the driver even getting out. I would not consider myself an expert but they seem smart, stubborn, tough and high energy. I wouldn't get one for a house dog.

The scary thing is not how dumb some people are. The scary thing is how MANY dumb people there are.