kazpilot25

I heard on the radio this morning it grew over 5,000 acres overnight! Holy moly that's a fast fire!

Nice. Glad it's got a fiberglas floor. I don't know what boat makers are thinking with these wood floors?

I had a 1996 Bayliner Capri 1750 and I learned that you need to be VERY careful when buying a boat. Every older Bayliner I've seen has had the floor rot out (including mine). My advice to you is to check if the boat has a wood floor, if so, RUN as fast as you can away from the deal. If you really like it, just make sure there are no soft spots in the floor by stepping literally everywhere. I ended up ripping out the entire floor and fiberglassing a whole new floor in myself and it still cost around $1500 and a couple full weekends of time. Lowest quote I got to do it was $3500. Just want to share my experience with you so you don't suffer like I did. Also, I'm not bagging on Bayliner specifically, but really any boat with a wood/plywood floor. My Bayliner was a great boat otherwise.

I've got a BCG if you're interested.

I have a question regarding tagging game. Say you kill an animal (we'll use javelina for this example), and decide to butcher it right there in the field and bring the meat back to camp. So you approach the game, tag it, and get to work. Once complete, do you leave the tag on the carcass (assuming you're not taking anything for a trophy) or remove it? What about if you take the animal back to camp, butcher it, then drag the carcass out a ways to let nature take it's course? Just curious what your thoughts are.

That's exactly what I did this year but it just felt weird. Thanks for the info.

What action did you end you using?I'm using a Stiller TAC338 action, Krieger #10MTU barrel, American precision arms muzzle brake, Mcmillian A5 stock, Seekins extended box magazine, Jewell trigger, Seekins rings, stiller 20MOA base, and nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56 NPR1 scope. Holy smokes... That's going to be one BA rig!!

Price Lowered.

I'm in the middle of building a custom 280 AI for a long range rig. I'd recommend it.

ttt

Pictures Posted.

Ah very good. I got me a lion tag this year... Hoping to fill it.

Well my wife and I just recently found out that we have child number 2 on the way. We can't wait! God is Great!

We rented a cabin in Greer this winter through molly butler lodge. It was extremely reasonable pricing and awesome service! I'd highly recommend it. We stayed at the whispering pines cabin, just FYI.

Are these the made in Germany model, or the made in China model?

Ben Avery possibly?

Nothing yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Funny you mention it, I've been putting together the foundation for a group similar to this for a while now. When I saw coach's post, it just confirmed to me what I was doing was the right thing. The way I have planned it, is that it's more of a moral/outdoor education/accountability group for men based on Christian principles. It's my firm belief that the male leader of a family or even a friend group has huge influential power. If we could have a group of moral, righteous men, they would positively impact their families and friends, and their children would more than likely follow those same principles as they grow up and become fathers and leaders themselves. Also, there are plenty of youth hunter education groups out there, but I feel that if we train men to hunt, they can then teach their children and take them out as well. It will have a trickle down effect, whereas a youth hunter taught how to hunt cannot necessarily take themselves out hunting. It's a lot of work to put together the foundation for the group, the mission, the focus, and to keep the message consistent while spreading it around the state and the country. But that's my plan. I'm in the process of securing non-profit status, logo development, website design, and making sure I have all my ducks in a row before I unveil it and start promoting the cause. The name of the group is Leaders of Men. Sorry to hijack your thread, just thought it was the perfect place to share.

I'll take 'em. They have the tripod adapter with them?

If anybody has a pair of Minox 15x58 binoculars they're willing to part with, let me know. I have a friend who's just getting into hunting and wants to get a good pair of 15's. I've heard really good things about the Minox so I recommended them to him. He hasn't been able to find any anywhere. Let me know.

So after a long week waiting to head out and hunt some stink pigs, Thursday finally came. I left work around 10:30 to meet a buddy, pack up, and head out. After a couple delays, we finally got on the road around 1:00pm. Drove up to the Northern portion of 17B to set up camp, experiencing snow almost the entire way after turning off the 69. Upon arrival of our camp site, the wind started picking up and the snow became heavier. I was expecting much more snow on the ground, but luckily, there were only small patches here and there. So we set up camp and headed off into the hills for an evening scout and to check out the situation. That night I came up with a plan and opening morning we executed that plan. We were up and heading into the hills around 7:00am. The temperature at our camp site was 14 degrees. It was FREEZING! We hiked up to our glassing spot and let the fun begin. About 30 minutes in, around 8:00am, I glassed up a large javelina at 350 yards. I guided my hunting buddies into the him until they also had him in their binos, it wasn't long before we got the herd of 4 in our glass. Almost immediately, they worked down into a valley where we had lost sight of them, so we moved along the ridge of boulders we were on to get a better angle at the valley. After about a 10 minute hike, we got set back up to glass. Not 1 minute later we had them back in sight. They were cruising between thick bushes and pinyon trees and we only had a visual on 1 at a time. The largest of the herd came out in the open and my buddy had sights on him while we waited for another to show itself. We were dead set on taking 2 at the same time. For 2 minutes he had his rifle sights set on that large javelina, yet the other didn't ever show itself. Finally, the large guy went back into the tree, and immediately the other one showed himself for about 30 seconds. After he went back into the thick stuff, we lost them for a couple minutes. Then the big one popped out and was walking quickly over the next hill and out of sight. The other 3 quickly followed. I had my sights on the trailing javelina and just waited for a slight pause, which never came. I got a little anxious and let one fly in fear that we wouldn't be able to track them over the next hill. Needless to say, I spooked them and off they went. We spent the rest of the day trying to locate them, with no luck. After the debacle opening morning, we had decided if one of us gets a shot, take it. Don't wait around and don't waste an opportunity. The next morning we figured we would hit the same spot we first glassed them up in hopes they would come back. Sure enough just like clockwork, I glassed them up about a hundred yards from where they were the morning before, right at 8:00am. I got my buddy JM on to them in the binos and grabbed my new Tikka. I immediately put the largest visible javelina in the crosshairs of my Vortex Viper scope, and got into position. Just as he turned broadside, the largest of the herd popped out from the bush behind him and I switched my aim to him. Not 3 seconds later I pulled the trigger, and he dropped. The other 2 that were with him trotted off and my buddy Mike chased them over the hill, only to find another hunter sitting there by his truck taking aim as they ran. He let off a shot that had no chance, and the javelina ran off into the sunrise. As I got to the downed javelina, I was surprised by his weight. I didn't have a scale but he felt heavy! After getting skunked for the past 2 years, and not even seeing a dang thing, this was a gratifying hunt to say the least! I feel that my glassing skills and overall hunting skills have increased greatly since taking the glassing class that Duwane Adams offers. I would highly recommend it.

Ok, so after buying the Kaibabs and trying them out on my javelina hunt this past weekend side by side with the Vipers, I am very pleased with my purchase. Side by side, the Kaibab HD 15x56s are hands down a much better optic than the Viper HD 15x50. Wider field of view, much brighter, much higher resolution, and much more vibrant and accurate colors. I really didn't think there would be too much of a difference, but after I emailed Vortex and was told they're completely different from the ground up, I took the leap. I also happened to have a pair of the Diamondback 10x50s sitting around for comparison, and holy crap! There is a huge difference from one to the next on up the line. Just in case anyone else is ever wondering, the Kaibabs are much better and well worth the extra dough.

In case anyone was wondering, the shot was ranged at 256 yards.

Ok, it's about that time of year where we're all getting into a little lull, no big bucks being posted (not often enough at least), no scouting going on, nothing. I figured it's a perfect time to pull out a couple of your digiscoping pictures and share them here on a common thread. I love looking at the "through the binos" pictures and practicing my glassing skills on the computer. Anyways, figured it'd help get us through the "lull". Here's a couple I got this year.

That is awesome!