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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2020 11:41:46 GMT -5
I had a pretty slow hunt over Thanksgiving week in Montana this year. I saw an average of probably 10-12 deer per day on public land, down from probably 40-50 per day last year. Also saw only one elk this year, on the last morning which was already being stalked by another group of hunters.  Still, I was able to pass a few small mule deer bucks. I also saw two nice whitetail bucks this year, one of which I failed on the stalk and the other I failed on the shot.  My dad rode along for this trip. He would nap in the tent or read in the car while I was out hunting, since he can't get around real well anymore. We also spotted from the road a few mornings, so he was able to get in on that.   I hunted for six days. On the final evening, I took a doe off of some private block management land after my eight-year old told me over the phone that "I had better" bring home some steaks! It was a little over 300 yards, and although she had a buck with her she had the bigger body of the two. She had almost no fat though, which concerns me for the deer trying to make it through this winter.  I think the difference between this year and last just came down to warmer weather and increased hunting pressure. The final week of November might be peak rut out there, but there were probably ten-fold the number of hunters out as last year, when I went early/mid-November.  I certainly haven't given up on this area, and I'll be back in a year or two I'm sure. I'll probably go earlier in the season again next time though. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2020 11:43:31 GMT -5
 Some of my finds from the trip. The hubcap matches the ones on my pick-up! I'll have a spare now. I leaned it against a tree for several days, but nobody came back for it. |
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Dec 2, 2020 13:13:40 GMT -5
Congrats on another great trip and as always thanks for sharing.
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Post by featherduster on Dec 2, 2020 14:13:23 GMT -5
Always a pleasure reading your hunting posts, I keep saying write a book I'll buy the first copy.
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Post by ukwil on Dec 2, 2020 14:19:48 GMT -5
Congrats buddy. Looks like another nice trip
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Post by scrub-buster on Dec 2, 2020 14:28:00 GMT -5
Great pictures. Glad you got to share the experience with your dad.
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Dec 2, 2020 14:30:23 GMT -5
Really cool!
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Post by esshup on Dec 2, 2020 19:09:54 GMT -5
Great pictures, I'm glad to see you still going out there. I need to start doing that again, I have a cousin that lives in Casper, Wy.
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Post by mstr2175 on Dec 2, 2020 19:37:34 GMT -5
Looks like it was a great time, congrats on your harvest!
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Post by SFC (R) B on Dec 2, 2020 19:55:51 GMT -5
MEAT!!!  |
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Post by marshallco on Dec 2, 2020 22:49:04 GMT -5
Good for you LCH, even better that your dad got to tag along. That looks like some beautiful country, way different than Indiana.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2020 8:15:28 GMT -5
Congrats our your great adventure west. I look forward every year to see your pictures. Good thing your 8 year old gives orders. LOL Nice doe and bummer on the elk with hunters already. Welcome back.
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Post by bullseye69 on Dec 3, 2020 21:23:37 GMT -5
Good shooting.
Nice write up!
Always love going out there.
What county were you hunting? Looked like the East side.
I hunt Petroleum County where my property is.
I've found 2nd week of firearms in Montana is the best.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 3, 2020 21:36:12 GMT -5
Good shooting. Nice write up! Always love going out there. What county were you hunting? Looked like the East side. I hunt Petroleum County where my property is. I've found 2nd week of firearms in Montana is the best. Powder River county mostly, we bounced around a little bit though. |
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Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 24, 2020 3:00:12 GMT -5
Very cool I've shot paper from a rest at 200 yds. Never tried 300 nice shot! What size scope are you using?
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 24, 2020 8:09:53 GMT -5
Very cool I've shot paper from a rest at 200 yds. Never tried 300 nice shot! What size scope are you using? That one is a VX3i, max magnification is 10x. 300 is a long poke for me, but a chip shot to many who hunt that open country regularly! |
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Post by esshup on Dec 24, 2020 9:19:19 GMT -5
Very cool I've shot paper from a rest at 200 yds. Never tried 300 nice shot! What size scope are you using? That one is a VX3i, max magnification is 10x. 300 is a long poke for me, but a chip shot to many who hunt that open country regularly! The gun I use out West is zero'd at 300..... If you can find a place to shoot 300 yds and further, and practice at that distance, after a while it seems no different than 100 yds. |
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 28, 2020 9:53:52 GMT -5
That one is a VX3i, max magnification is 10x. 300 is a long poke for me, but a chip shot to many who hunt that open country regularly! The gun I use out West is zero'd at 300..... If you can find a place to shoot 300 yds and further, and practice at that distance, after a while it seems no different than 100 yds. , what's the zoom on the scope that's sighted in for 300? I need to buy something for my .308 and can't decide between 3-9 or 4.5-14. |
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Post by deadeer on Jan 5, 2021 14:11:24 GMT -5
The gun I use out West is zero'd at 300..... If you can find a place to shoot 300 yds and further, and practice at that distance, after a while it seems no different than 100 yds. , what's the zoom on the scope that's sighted in for 300? I need to buy something for my .308 and can't decide between 3-9 or 4.5-14. Pretty sure its a 5x25 Nightforce. |
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Post by esshup on Jan 5, 2021 23:35:37 GMT -5
The gun I use out West is zero'd at 300..... If you can find a place to shoot 300 yds and further, and practice at that distance, after a while it seems no different than 100 yds. , what's the zoom on the scope that's sighted in for 300? I need to buy something for my .308 and can't decide between 3-9 or 4.5-14. Sorry I didn't see this before. Deadeer is close. It's a Nightforce NSX 5.5-22x50 with zero stop NP-R1 reticle. (1 moa vertical between hash marks, 2 moa between the horizontal hash marks. It's on a 7mm Allen Magnum, shooting a 195g Berger EOL 7mm bullet at 3225 fps. With a 300 yd zero it takes 15.8 moa to get to 1,000 yds., and it's still going 2,096 fps at that distance. I was shooting 175g SMK's at 3495 fps but they started going *poof* at 50 yds after the barrel had 200 rounds through it, so I switched to 180g Berger VLD Hunting bullets at 3350 fps. But the 195's have a hair less drift, and the load that I have only varies 6 fps over the 3 shots that I checked. (3225, 3219. 3222) The scope magnification all depends (to me) on the distance that I am going to shoot. For me, 10x is a wee bit underpowered for 880 yds. If I'm shooting in broad daylight where mirage might be an issue, I don't normally crank it up past 18x. With Kirby Allen's Painkiller muzzle brake on it I can usually spot my own shots at distances over 600 yds. if I keep the magnification down around 16x-20x. The time of flight on this round to the target at 1,000 yds is right at half the time of flight of a 175g SMK fired at 2,800 fps. in a .308 Winchester. (yes, that's a little "hot") |
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