I wasn't serious about hunting until the late 90's. Before that most of my outdoor activity was hiking/backpacking. In the 80's and most of the 90's I lived in SC and hiked often in the Mt Rogers NRA in southwest Va where I now live and hunt. Back then deer firearm season was Thanksgiving...
I have a .280AI and I like it, but I don't like the sharp shoulder and the way it hangs up loading out of the mag. It's a Cooper and shoots very well but just doesn't load smoothly. I don't know if others have the same issue.
I have found the 2 AA LED Maglights throw a great beam. The problem is the reliability of the LED is total crap so I have given up on using them. Hopefully someone knows of something with a comparable beam that is reliable.
A bit more info here in a statement from Idaho F&G. The hunter's injuries were non-life threatening and both hunters fired sidearms killing the bear.
https://idfg.idaho.gov/article/archery-hunter-survives-bear-attack-island-park
I think Laramie is right on track. Bears with little or no fear of humans teach their young to have no fear of humans. Bears that don't avoid humans are easier to hunt and kill. Over time this would remove those fearless bears from the overall population and prevent teaching young bears the...
Freeze it. Cool it down as much as possible before folding up. Cool to freezing with ice than add dry ice to freeze. I brought bear hides back to Va from Idaho and they were fine. No need to freeze the meat, just the hide, so use separate coolers. You can freeze the meat if you want, but...
I've tanned deer hides hair on that were put in the freezer immediately after skinning. It's not a problem to scrape as it thaws and scraping off partially thawed meat and fat is actually easier. You can't let it get freezer burn though.
An orthopedist recently told me that when you are working to build strength the muscle tissue responds (strengthens) faster than the tendons. If you are pushing too fast a tendon issue is almost guaranteed. If that is what is going on the only solution is to back off to let the tendon heal and...
It is sort of true. You can't just skin an animal and rub on brain matter. The hide needs to be scraped clean to remove everything that is not hide and there are other steps that have to be taken in the brain tan process to get a supple end result. Research brain tanning. Most of what you...
Not much info provided. Did you dial or hold over? I use BDC reticles to hold over and failed to use the subtension thereby missing low on a mulie at 400yds. Not only on the initial shot but on the 2 follow attempts I got. For all 3 shots the crosshairs were on the kill zone when the shot...
The only freeze dried foodstuff I eat is meat (Chicken mostly). For carbs it is dried food like pasta, rice, and dehydrated onion, pepper, carrots, and tomato. For additional protein, fat, and flavor I will augment meals with cashews or peanuts. If you cut the veggies up small before...
I think it is commonly called "bear oil" for a reason. There is a bunch of discussion about bear grease/oil that might help on https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/making-bear-grease.124146/
I think that's a great answer if your partner will let you use the rifle if you want to take advantage of an opportunity beyond what you are comfortable with using the .444. I love my .444 Marlin but it drops like a rock beyond 200 yds and holdover is tough with irons. Have you considered...
Check your state trapping regs before putting traps out. Some states specify a minimum spacing between traps.
Unfortunately, coons in the round have not brought $15-20 for many years. The prices Zap mentioned are more like it. They bring so little that many trappers don't bother with them...
There is certainly validity to this viewpoint, but I think it is more applicable to higher end equipment rather than the average $800-1200 hunting rifle. That average hunting rifle will do the job needed by accurately shooting 1,2, or 3 shots in succession. Barrel heating never becomes a...
I'll echo the above with a couple of points unmentioned so far.
Your 10 shot "group" can be done in two 5 shot groups at different bulls on your target and provide the same data (as long as the bulls are identical).
You don't mention how fast you shot or whether you allowed the barrel to cool...
A magazine article several years back had info on the effect of tape vs just a tiny bit of water at the muzzle end. The water caused a large deviation on POI whereas the effect of tape was insignificant.
I have learned to always keep the muzzle taped when hunting, even in dry conditions...
Since you have said in other posts that you have a 12 y/o son, and you are not locked into any particular location in Idaho, I assume you work remotely. With that in mind why don't you make a list of priorities like essential services (internet perhaps) and educational opportunities for your...
OnX no longer supports the chips so updates are not available. The phone screen is so much larger than on a GPS that I don't use my GPS anymore, just the phone with OnX. Plus color detail is available on the phone (maybe new GPS units have larger screens with color than my old unit). With OnX...