What Worked and What Didn't?

[kwp]

Like Dodger2 said the Modern Call Coues Deer call works good. I got one the beginning of January and have experimented with it a little. Within 125 yards or so it really seems to get the deer's attention. Hopefully I can see how it works in real close quarters this weekend.

My Cabelas pack was a real bust. I got the Cabelas bow and rifle pack XL and after preseason scouting, my october hunt, and archery hunting in december and january it is falling apart. I got it because it looked like a nice design at a moderate price. It has a light internal frame but no matter how you adjust it the weight is centered too far back and it pulls on the shoulders. Cabelas claims that the material it is made of will not grab clingy vegetation, well they didn't test it in Arizona's clingy vegetation. It is now the best camo possible with so many grass seeds and twigs stuck to it. The worst part is that when I hooked my bow to it a few weeks ago (this is what the pack was made for) half of the zipper for the main compartment ripped out. Now I have to baby it because if the other half rips I'd be screwed. It just has to last one more weekend, I'll be getting the Just-One for next season.

Still love my bogen tripod and head that I got last year. I don't know what I would do with a tripod that didn't have the adjustable leg angles.

[bchoitz]

Worked -

Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets (Sorry Deerslam, I like them for Coues deer)

Ruger M77 .280 Rem with 2-7X burris scope. Alot of miles and alot of hard knocks on this gun in the past, but it still works well.

Water bladder in Cabela's scout? pack - I've used this for three years. The water bladder is quiet unlike bottles, and the ability to get a drink easily makes this a great idea for still hunting. Just get a bladder with a shutoff valve, or remember not to set the pack on the bite valve. Also make sure the fill cap does not leak! Cabela's new bladder was disappointing in this area as it is difficult to get the cap on and sealed properly.

Nikon 10x50's on a tripod. I borrowed a pair of Pentax 20x60's but the magnification was too much for me, and they required me to be too close to the eyepieces while glassing that it was difficult to keep it steady, and hence caused a lot of eye strain.

Knives of Alaska - I borrowed these as well, and they are awesome! Gutted and skinned my deer and they are still as sharp as new.

 

Patience - This worked again and I will try to bring it on my next hunt as well

 

Didn't work - My wife's Winchester M70 .308 Win. It sat at home the second half of the December hunt while my battled the flu

My strategy for the December hunt - Knowing my wife could not go opening weekend I went for my deer and filled my tag before coming home so I would not be distracted from her hunt during the week after Christmas by my desire for a big buck. I wanted to focus on her hunt only during that week, and because of the flu I sat home in a funk the whole week

Also didn't work - Modern call products Coues deeer call. I'll try it again if I ever get a rut hunt, but I did not get the opportunity this year.

Rangefinder - I borrowed this as well, and it helped me get a better perspective on judging distance to coues deer, but it was a bit too much to carry for the amount of use it got. I stopped carrying it after the first day as I could accurately judge the distances to 300 yds without it.

 

Bret C.

[SunDevil]

Doug - the dutch oven isn't new. We've been using that thing and that recipe for years.

 

DEERSLAM - are you carrying your ballistics in your pocket? If you are, you need to be real careful the tips are not getting dinged up. Those plastic tips are pretty sensitive and any knick or dent in them will throw there accuracy off. I have used these for several years now and really like them. You just have to be careful with them.

 

KWP - that is the same pack I have. I will have to remember to never put a bow or rifle on the back of it. Thanks. CB

[billrquimby]

DEERSLAM - are you carrying your ballistics in your pocket?  If you are, you need to be real careful the tips are not getting dinged up.  Those plastic tips are pretty sensitive and any knick or dent in them will throw there accuracy off.  I have used these for several years now and really like them.  You just have to be careful with them.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

SunDevil:

 

I've experienced tip problems with Nosler Partitiions but never with the plastic Ballistic Tips. The lead on the tips of the Partitions is so soft the recoil from my 7 mag flattens the rounds in the rifle's magazine. I once did some serious shooting to see how much this affected hunting accuracy. My preliminary research indicated I need to find another excuse for my misses on game.

 

BillQ

[DEERSLAM]

DEERSLAM - are you carrying your ballistics in your pocket? If you are, you need to be real careful the tips are not getting dinged up. Those plastic tips are pretty sensitive and any knick or dent in them will throw there accuracy off. I have used these for several years now and really like them. You just have to be careful with them.

 

It has nothin to do with their accuracy as I have found them to be quite accurate. It's their performance. Example- Shot a mulie with a 130gr ballistic tip out of my 270 (Lark ) at 125yds. Buck was shot right behind the shoulder. The entrance and exit hole were the same size. The deer did not bleed one drop, there was no blood coming out of the holes and none on the ground( I back tracked the buck the 80yds he ran after being shot. Had it not been for the fact that I saw the deer go down I would of had a tough time finding him in the tall sage (I actually set my pack and rifle down near the deer while I back tracked his death run and got side track when I spotted another buck and had a heck of a time finding my deer and gear in the tall sage). And talk about blood shot I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT! This deer had blood shot on and inside both shoulders, it went up to his backstraps, covered both inside and outside of his ribs on both sides of the deer a full foot away from the entrance and exit holes.

I ordered some of the new Barnes MRX bullets and will be trying them.

[ghost hunter]

Hum...seems that several of us had the same problem with the water bladder leaking all over. Another thing that didn't work well was my Eberlestock pack. Of course I figured out had to adjust the straps correctly AFTER the hunt was over.

 

What worked well was a walking stick. Got the idea from Doug. Also tried an MRE one night and that was surprisingly good. Might eat a few more.

[Dodger2]

My water bladder leaked on my elk hunt, so for my deer hunts I put it in a large freezer bag...no more leaks, at least in my backpack.

[.270]

my bladder leaked a few times durin' deer season too. my ol' man tried to make me ride in the back, but i was drivin'. told him to deal with it. if i wear them depends deals, i can't get my pants on. ya look real ignernt out huntin' with just a big diaper on. if ya don't b'lieve me, ax bullwidgeon. Lark.

[Kevin]

25-06 are you trying to bait BP agents with those 1 gal jugs?

 

My best piece of new equipment this year was the Bino-sheild from Crooked Horn Outfitters! They do a great job of protecting both the glass and exterior of my Swarovski's--much better than the caps that came on the binoculars. Crooked Horn's website has a video of the system. It was a great investment and I highly recommend them. My glasses still look new and I didn't spend any time this year backtracking in the brush to find the eye piece covers that had been snagged and come off!

 

Also, Badlands packs are worth the money!

 

Kevin

[Kilimanjaro]

My new Swarovski 15's did the job on my Coues hunt. I was spotting way more deer than my buddys. They are well worth the price in the long run. Shot my first coues from off the top of them off the tripod!!

 

As far as bird hunting goes, my new pup, Virgil, was DYNOMITE for his first season! He far exceeded any of my expectations.

I also bought a new Beretta O/U 20 ga. that is a sweeeet shooting gun, and a new vest from a company in MT called Quilomene. It has a 160oz. hydration system built in that works wonders here in hot and dry AZ for those long hikes in with the pups.

[BASS]

Worked

 

Badlands 2200 pack. I love this pack! It is the first real hunting backpack I have ever used. You see, each year for as long as I can remember I would hit up Wal-Mart when all of their hunting stuff goes on clearance and would buy the "Hunting Backpack" for $5. It never failed to happen, the next year I would need to buy another one because something would rip, snap, or magically weld the zippers shut. I'm sold on their packs.

 

 

Super Carbon "Hunter" arrows. This is the first time I have used the new carbon arrows. I tried to use carbons a long time ago, and hated them. So this year I decided to try them again. I noticed tighter groups the first time I went out to shoot them. I am sold on carbons now.

 

Yamaha Rhino. Sunday night on my dad's Elk hunt after dark we ran into an older guy with a downed Elk with no way to get it back to his camp. We helped feild dress it, then tossed it into the bed of the Rhino. Going up hill with a gutted Elk in the bed didn't bother it at all. That was cool, so cool I sold my quad, and we picked up another one.

 

Did not work

 

Wal-Mart water bladder. I bought one for my dad because it was cheap, and he needed one for his pack. Huge mistake. The hose screws into the bottom, see where this is going? After any kind of movment the hose will unscrew and leak bad. Go with a true Camel-Bak water system and you will be much happier!

 

Trying to pull off two hunts in the same week. My dad's Elk hunt up in 6A fell on the same weekend as my Coues hunt in 32. Trying to switch off each weekend to scout each unit hurt both of us bad, we both struck out. The only plus was that since we were hunting in the middle of the week, there wasn't the large crowd I was so use to; although we ran into Redman out in the middle of nowhere.

[azhuntnut]

I got to try alot of new things within this past year.

WORKED GREAT

 

Badlands 2800 pack- This is a great pack. I had no problem carrying 40-50lbs of gear upto 10 miles a day on some of my hunts. I even ripped it while it was in the rack of my quad (my fault) and they fixed it with no questions.

 

Danner Pronghorn boots- By far the best boots I have ever owned. They are light and can take a beating. Right towards the end of there warranty period, one of them developed a leak and they sent me a new pair. I am sure mine had at least 60 miles on them.

 

Swarovski ATS 80 spotting scope- This sucker is unbelievable. I have been able to spot more game in the last year than I did in the last five years.

 

Stinger Broadheads- I used these on my elk hunt in September. I wasn't for sure how they would work on a big animal, but I was very happy with the results. They flew like a field point once I got them tuned. Plus I got great penetratiion and a fast humane kill.

 

Hunter Specialties cow elk urine wafers- They smell just like, well you know and cover up human scent very well. I would highly recommend these.

 

And I can't forget my trusty mule my sportsman 500. With almost 3000 miles on the odometer, it carryed almost my entire elk out of the forest and never leaves me stranded.

 

I really can't think of anything that didn't work.

[COOSEFAN]

What worked: My classic featherweight Win. 270 with the B+C VXIII scope

 

What didn't work: My ability to hold out for " Muy Grande"

 

Result: Three coues bucks to the taxidermist in 3 months and a outrageous bill! JIM

[azhuntnut]

What worked:  My classic featherweight Win. 270 with the B+C VXIII scope

 

What didn't work:  My ability to hold out for " Muy Grande"

 

Result:  Three coues bucks to the taxidermist in 3 months and a outrageous bill!       JIM

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey Jim, Stop taking all those deer over to Bret. I want to get my elk back sometime this year. David

[Guest Ernesto C]

What work......Danny(coueselk).............what did not work:...the weather

what work......My old truck....................what did not wrok....the weather again

What work......Dannys Spoting Scope.....what did not work....my Spoting Scope cause I dont have one

What work......The prayers to my Lord to let me have a safe and succesfull hunt.

 

God bless.

 

Ernesto C

 

Aim for the vitals