Shrek
WKR
Congratulations ! Your son is a trooper ! Way to get it done under tough circumstances !
2020 Hunting Season Live Hunt!
- Thread starter TheCougar
- Start date
Pretty awesome. It's always stressful trying to make your kids hunts successful. Congratulations his smile says it all!
That misfire wasn't on a Tikka was it?
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That misfire wasn't on a Tikka was it?
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
- Thread Starter
- #64
Yes it was. I’ve got two Tikkas and probably 1,000 rounds through them combined, and never had a misfire. The “click” sounded a little softer than normal dry fire. There was no mark on the primer. No idea what happened.
Glad it worked out for your boy it's extremely frustrating when the rifle fails to fire when the moment is perfect.
Here's a similar situation I saw first hand a couple weeks ago. My buddy has a new Tikka, in just the last couple months he has put a couple hundred though it preparing for a sheep hunt. Thing was shooting lights out, confidence at an all time high for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
He grinds up the tallest peak in the unit, patiently waits for the biggest ram to turn broadside, click- I was like is it on safety on? Runs the bolt and it just clicks again. From the panicked look on his face I can tell it's time to regroup for a minute while the sheep don't know we are here. I'm like we should take a deep breath and reload. He hands me the mag to reload since he's still in the prone position. I go to dig the new box of shells out of the pack. Sheep start to move, out of the corner of my eye i see both ftf shells (Hornady super performance) quickly pick them up, look and see no trace of primer strikes on either shell. I quickly jam both FTF shells back into the mag and hand it back to him. Bang, Bang they both go off the second go around.
Still not sure what happened since I doubt it was cold enough for the pin to be frozen. Little doubt that gun will be for sale soon.
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- Thread Starter
- #67
Sounds similar to my experience.
A season of memories, bet you and your family will remember 2020 for many years.
- Thread Starter
- #69
Here’s some gear feedback from my season. Some of these pieces are new, some of them aren’t.
The good:
Western Edge Bullion Butte: This is a GREAT kids pack and worth the price if you have a kid that is serious about hunting.
Crispi Nevadas. This is my second season with these boots and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them. Durable and dry. The Vibram sole can get slick in the snow when the rubber gets cold. I’m a Crispi fan now… This is my first pair of boots to have met my expectations after two seasons.
Kifaru LPP: I’m not a fan boy or anything. I sold my Uncompaghre and tried the LPP after I was not too happy with the fit and durability of the FL jacket. I’ve got to say that the LPP lives up to its hype. It’s durable as hell, the fit is good, and it’s warm. It’s not as warm as a heavy down jacket like the Chamberlain, but it’s plenty warm. I was wearing a wool shirt, FL Chama, and FL Klamath fleece under the LPP and that got me down into the negatives, both moving and stationary. I was really impressed with the durability. I did a fair amount of brush busting and it is unscathed. It’s bulky and heavy compared to down, and I wish it came in a different camo pattern. Regardless, this is now my go-to jacket.
OR Foray pants and Under Armor Ridge reaper down pants. The OR Forays are stellar for the $90 I paid for them. They outperformed my expectations. The UA RR down pants are heavy and have a very delicate face fabric, but they will keep you warm into the negatives.
ELDX bullets: We killed 3 elk with 7mm 162gr ELDX bullets and they worked perfectly, dropping all three elk within 20 yards. All the elk soaked up 2 bullets, but the bulls were mortally wounded on the first shots. The 6.5 143gr ELDX and Match bullets killed 2 deer and 5 antelope, all were DRT. Shots on the bulls were 70 yards, 300 yards, and 650 yards. The shots on the deer and antelope were between 150 and 450, depending.
Tikka Rifle/Browning HC Speed, Bushnell LRHS, and Tally rings: 3 states, over 30 days in the field, almost never in a gun case. Usually bouncing around the backseat or on my backpack – held zero the entire time. My buddies with their Vortex scopes did not fare as well.
Vortex CS: I’ve purged nearly all my Vortex gear except for the 65mm Razor spotter, and I only still have that because I can’t afford the upgrade. The focus wheel broke after Wyoming and I didn’t expect to have it back for Montana, but Vortex received it and sent it back out the same day. Good CS, especially during hunting season.
WM Megalite: dang its expensive, but man it’s nice and light!!!
Marsupial Enclosed harness: I’ve found the perfect bino harness. If you’re using a compass, the magnets will cause an issue unless you are cognizant of it. The design works great to keep your binos clean and dry.
Ford Raptor: Honey Raptor don’t care. Honey Raptor goes where it wants. I can’t afford one, but if I had $70,000 laying around I’d get one. Every time I stepped on the accelerator, I grew a chest hair. Those things are WICKED!
MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe: Great piece of equipment. The igniter actually works, too.
The "Meh":
Tikka makes this list too. My son had a misfire on the first shot on his bull. Gun gave a small “click”, no indentation or mark on the primer. I cycled the bolt and chambered the round about 5 minutes prior. Never happened before and I have no idea what caused the misfire. The rifle functioned properly on the next shots. I’ve got over 1000 rounds between two Tikka rifles and this is the first failure I’ve had.
Garmin Inreach Mini: Worked just fine, I’m just pissed that Garmin is jacking up the price to keep the damn thing in suspended mode for 10 months of the year. Like all Garmin equipment, I’ll ditch it the second that someone comes up with a better tool.
GAIA: love the Apple Carplay interface – makes driving a hell of a lot easier without having to check my phone maps. Don’t love the fact that my layers weren’t displaying properly and the layers would fade in and out as I zoomed in. Way more layers than OnX for half the price, but they could use some lessons in user interface from OnX.
Eddie Bauer Guides: I got a great deal and bought two pair. I like them so far, but the pockets only work if you have child hands. For those of us with man-paws, I’m pretty sure we are going to rip out the pocket stitching trying to get a hand in the pockets. The stitching is already coming loose on one of the bottom pockets.
Vortex: Also makes both lists. My buddies scope didn't hold zero and my Razor 65mm focus knob broke. Shocker, I know...
The Ugly:
Steripen and Sawyer Squeeze: Jeff’s Steripen needed to be hooked up to my battery cell to function. He had it fully charged, but it died immediately in the cold weather. My Sawyer Squeeze worked fine last season, but this season it failed miserably, even after an exceptionally thorough cleaning to restore flow.
Hand Warmers and Toe Warmers specifically. How can 30% of the handwarmers not work at all?!? How can “Toe Warmers” not do a damn thing to actually warm your toes?!? Complete fail.
FENIX HL60R: I use a Zebralight. I gave my son the Fenix. I fully charged both batteries. My ZL worked flawlessly, as normal. I left my son with the bull while I shuttled meat to the trail, and came back 15 minutes later. His light had died shortly after I left, and he was terrified in my absence, standing next to a dead bull in the pitch black and surrounded by coyote howls. Damn Fenix. One second it was fine, the next second it was D-E-A-D, and wouldn’t turn on at all.
The good:
Western Edge Bullion Butte: This is a GREAT kids pack and worth the price if you have a kid that is serious about hunting.
Crispi Nevadas. This is my second season with these boots and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them. Durable and dry. The Vibram sole can get slick in the snow when the rubber gets cold. I’m a Crispi fan now… This is my first pair of boots to have met my expectations after two seasons.
Kifaru LPP: I’m not a fan boy or anything. I sold my Uncompaghre and tried the LPP after I was not too happy with the fit and durability of the FL jacket. I’ve got to say that the LPP lives up to its hype. It’s durable as hell, the fit is good, and it’s warm. It’s not as warm as a heavy down jacket like the Chamberlain, but it’s plenty warm. I was wearing a wool shirt, FL Chama, and FL Klamath fleece under the LPP and that got me down into the negatives, both moving and stationary. I was really impressed with the durability. I did a fair amount of brush busting and it is unscathed. It’s bulky and heavy compared to down, and I wish it came in a different camo pattern. Regardless, this is now my go-to jacket.
OR Foray pants and Under Armor Ridge reaper down pants. The OR Forays are stellar for the $90 I paid for them. They outperformed my expectations. The UA RR down pants are heavy and have a very delicate face fabric, but they will keep you warm into the negatives.
ELDX bullets: We killed 3 elk with 7mm 162gr ELDX bullets and they worked perfectly, dropping all three elk within 20 yards. All the elk soaked up 2 bullets, but the bulls were mortally wounded on the first shots. The 6.5 143gr ELDX and Match bullets killed 2 deer and 5 antelope, all were DRT. Shots on the bulls were 70 yards, 300 yards, and 650 yards. The shots on the deer and antelope were between 150 and 450, depending.
Tikka Rifle/Browning HC Speed, Bushnell LRHS, and Tally rings: 3 states, over 30 days in the field, almost never in a gun case. Usually bouncing around the backseat or on my backpack – held zero the entire time. My buddies with their Vortex scopes did not fare as well.
Vortex CS: I’ve purged nearly all my Vortex gear except for the 65mm Razor spotter, and I only still have that because I can’t afford the upgrade. The focus wheel broke after Wyoming and I didn’t expect to have it back for Montana, but Vortex received it and sent it back out the same day. Good CS, especially during hunting season.
WM Megalite: dang its expensive, but man it’s nice and light!!!
Marsupial Enclosed harness: I’ve found the perfect bino harness. If you’re using a compass, the magnets will cause an issue unless you are cognizant of it. The design works great to keep your binos clean and dry.
Ford Raptor: Honey Raptor don’t care. Honey Raptor goes where it wants. I can’t afford one, but if I had $70,000 laying around I’d get one. Every time I stepped on the accelerator, I grew a chest hair. Those things are WICKED!
MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe: Great piece of equipment. The igniter actually works, too.
The "Meh":
Tikka makes this list too. My son had a misfire on the first shot on his bull. Gun gave a small “click”, no indentation or mark on the primer. I cycled the bolt and chambered the round about 5 minutes prior. Never happened before and I have no idea what caused the misfire. The rifle functioned properly on the next shots. I’ve got over 1000 rounds between two Tikka rifles and this is the first failure I’ve had.
Garmin Inreach Mini: Worked just fine, I’m just pissed that Garmin is jacking up the price to keep the damn thing in suspended mode for 10 months of the year. Like all Garmin equipment, I’ll ditch it the second that someone comes up with a better tool.
GAIA: love the Apple Carplay interface – makes driving a hell of a lot easier without having to check my phone maps. Don’t love the fact that my layers weren’t displaying properly and the layers would fade in and out as I zoomed in. Way more layers than OnX for half the price, but they could use some lessons in user interface from OnX.
Eddie Bauer Guides: I got a great deal and bought two pair. I like them so far, but the pockets only work if you have child hands. For those of us with man-paws, I’m pretty sure we are going to rip out the pocket stitching trying to get a hand in the pockets. The stitching is already coming loose on one of the bottom pockets.
Vortex: Also makes both lists. My buddies scope didn't hold zero and my Razor 65mm focus knob broke. Shocker, I know...
The Ugly:
Steripen and Sawyer Squeeze: Jeff’s Steripen needed to be hooked up to my battery cell to function. He had it fully charged, but it died immediately in the cold weather. My Sawyer Squeeze worked fine last season, but this season it failed miserably, even after an exceptionally thorough cleaning to restore flow.
Hand Warmers and Toe Warmers specifically. How can 30% of the handwarmers not work at all?!? How can “Toe Warmers” not do a damn thing to actually warm your toes?!? Complete fail.
FENIX HL60R: I use a Zebralight. I gave my son the Fenix. I fully charged both batteries. My ZL worked flawlessly, as normal. I left my son with the bull while I shuttled meat to the trail, and came back 15 minutes later. His light had died shortly after I left, and he was terrified in my absence, standing next to a dead bull in the pitch black and surrounded by coyote howls. Damn Fenix. One second it was fine, the next second it was D-E-A-D, and wouldn’t turn on at all.
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You had a great year thanks for the gear review.
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
- Thread Starter
- #71
Still not over! If I get back from TDY in time, there might be some deer hunting left. And if I don’t have to go TDY in January, I might make it out to AZ for a quick deer hunt or come help on your Aoudad hunt! I won’t know until the last minute, with my schedule!
- Thread Starter
- #72
- Thread Starter
- #73
- Thread Starter
- #74
Pretty sure I was little too zealous getting back after it in the gym. I think I gave myself a stress fracture in my foot from the stairmaster. Boooooo.
So back in October, I was hunting these two particular bucks on a friend’s place. One was a really nice 10 point with long tines and the other was a wide 8 point with a bent over tine. Neither looked particularly old, but they were the best bucks I had seen on his farm. I got a couple of glimpses of them while I was in the woods, but couldn’t seal the deal. On my last day archery hunting, before I hit the road for my western hunts, I was still hunting with my bow, on my way to check a camera, when out of a little ravine 35 yards in front of me pops a forkie that I recognized as running with the Bent Tine buck. A few seconds later, here comes the shooter. They were really close, 30 yards, and I choose my spots to nock and draw. I managed to get to full draw without getting busted and I got a good opportunity at the Bent Tine buck. I don’t know if I used the wrong pin, hit a branch, or he was closer than I thought, but my arrow caught him right below the backstrap. I tracked him for hours until the blood petered out. I assumed he was dead, thinking I had caught the top of the lungs. A month later he shows up on camera again, looking perfectly fine! I played cat and mouse with him for the last month. He would show up on camera any time I wasn’t there, and he would never be around when I was in the stand. He had been showing up about every other day, sometimes in the AM and sometimes in the PM, and never approaching from the same direction. My son and I spent a lot of time in the blind, waiting and waiting and waiting! I really wanted to shoot him, but after my son passed up a pretty nice buck to hold out for this buck, I figured he earned the chance to hunt the Bent Tine buck, so he had been the shooter all this month. We set out yesterday early on a trip to the doctor, trying to get to the stand early, since the day before we had busted deer on the way in at 3:45. The doctors office took way longer than it should have, and we didn’t get to the farm until 4:30. At this point, I decided that we couldn’t make it to the stand without busting the entire place, so I told him we were going to still hunt and sneak through the woods and hopefully see the deer before they saw us. I also prepped him for how difficult this was going to be (the ground is covered with two inches of crunchy leaves and the wind was a bit inconsistent with a front approaching), and our chances were nil. He was much more optimistic than I was, since he got his biggest buck last year still hunting in the rain in the exact area these deer were in.
We crept through the woods with the winds generally in our favor, easing our way through the crunchy leaves and glassing every few steps. We were moving so slowly and quietly that we got to within 20 yards of does before we bumped them. After 100 yards I glimpsed two tiny bucks through the trees, about 150 yards away. At that point, our slow creep turned into an even slower pace, easing another 30 yards closer over the course of the next 30 minutes. I could see the small bucks and didn’t have a shot, with branches in the way and a small rise that I could see over but my son could not. After 30 minutes I caught a glimpse of an antler through the trees and froze. It was the Bent Tine buck munching on acorns. He was 50 yards to the west of the other bucks, and slowly moving their direction. My son couldn’t see over the rise, so I decided that I would have to be the shooter. I crept another 5 yards, in plain view of two small bucks, but I moved in slow motion and they never saw me. I got to a point with a small shooting lane where I thought I might get a crack at the buck if he continued feeding to the east. I just didn’t know if I would get opportunity before I ran out of shooting light.
I had my tripod fully extended already since I knew I would have to take the shot standing. I set up the tripod on maximum height and waited. After a few minutes he fed out and I got my shot. It broke clean, but I didn’t see the hit. I saw deer running and then saw the two small bucks milling around, but didn’t see the big buck. A few minutes later we found him piled up 40 yards from the shot.
He was beat to hell... he had a compound fracture in at the bottom of a rear leg, and a large gash on his belly, probably from not quite clearing a barbed wire fence.
In addition, during the quartering process, I investigated my arrow impact and found the wound completely healed. The arrow hit right at the top of the ribs/bottom of the backstrap. It was an over the top WASP expandable. The entrance wound was at the boom of the near side backstrap and the exit wound was showed the top blade cutting into the offside backstrap and the two bottom blades going into the body cavity nd exiting between the top of the ribs. People talk about the “void”, and if it exists. I’m here to tell you that two bottom blades went into the “void” area immediately under the spine and may have caught the top of the lungs (or hit nothing). Void or not, it isn’t a lethal shot. Even more remarkably, I found one of my fletchings protruding from the offside of the wound, sticking out from between two ribs and encased in scar tissue!!!
He’s a small bodied young buck, like all the bucks in this area. Still, with the history and story behind this buck, he’s got a place on the wall!
So back in October, I was hunting these two particular bucks on a friend’s place. One was a really nice 10 point with long tines and the other was a wide 8 point with a bent over tine. Neither looked particularly old, but they were the best bucks I had seen on his farm. I got a couple of glimpses of them while I was in the woods, but couldn’t seal the deal. On my last day archery hunting, before I hit the road for my western hunts, I was still hunting with my bow, on my way to check a camera, when out of a little ravine 35 yards in front of me pops a forkie that I recognized as running with the Bent Tine buck. A few seconds later, here comes the shooter. They were really close, 30 yards, and I choose my spots to nock and draw. I managed to get to full draw without getting busted and I got a good opportunity at the Bent Tine buck. I don’t know if I used the wrong pin, hit a branch, or he was closer than I thought, but my arrow caught him right below the backstrap. I tracked him for hours until the blood petered out. I assumed he was dead, thinking I had caught the top of the lungs. A month later he shows up on camera again, looking perfectly fine! I played cat and mouse with him for the last month. He would show up on camera any time I wasn’t there, and he would never be around when I was in the stand. He had been showing up about every other day, sometimes in the AM and sometimes in the PM, and never approaching from the same direction. My son and I spent a lot of time in the blind, waiting and waiting and waiting! I really wanted to shoot him, but after my son passed up a pretty nice buck to hold out for this buck, I figured he earned the chance to hunt the Bent Tine buck, so he had been the shooter all this month. We set out yesterday early on a trip to the doctor, trying to get to the stand early, since the day before we had busted deer on the way in at 3:45. The doctors office took way longer than it should have, and we didn’t get to the farm until 4:30. At this point, I decided that we couldn’t make it to the stand without busting the entire place, so I told him we were going to still hunt and sneak through the woods and hopefully see the deer before they saw us. I also prepped him for how difficult this was going to be (the ground is covered with two inches of crunchy leaves and the wind was a bit inconsistent with a front approaching), and our chances were nil. He was much more optimistic than I was, since he got his biggest buck last year still hunting in the rain in the exact area these deer were in.
We crept through the woods with the winds generally in our favor, easing our way through the crunchy leaves and glassing every few steps. We were moving so slowly and quietly that we got to within 20 yards of does before we bumped them. After 100 yards I glimpsed two tiny bucks through the trees, about 150 yards away. At that point, our slow creep turned into an even slower pace, easing another 30 yards closer over the course of the next 30 minutes. I could see the small bucks and didn’t have a shot, with branches in the way and a small rise that I could see over but my son could not. After 30 minutes I caught a glimpse of an antler through the trees and froze. It was the Bent Tine buck munching on acorns. He was 50 yards to the west of the other bucks, and slowly moving their direction. My son couldn’t see over the rise, so I decided that I would have to be the shooter. I crept another 5 yards, in plain view of two small bucks, but I moved in slow motion and they never saw me. I got to a point with a small shooting lane where I thought I might get a crack at the buck if he continued feeding to the east. I just didn’t know if I would get opportunity before I ran out of shooting light.
I had my tripod fully extended already since I knew I would have to take the shot standing. I set up the tripod on maximum height and waited. After a few minutes he fed out and I got my shot. It broke clean, but I didn’t see the hit. I saw deer running and then saw the two small bucks milling around, but didn’t see the big buck. A few minutes later we found him piled up 40 yards from the shot.
He was beat to hell... he had a compound fracture in at the bottom of a rear leg, and a large gash on his belly, probably from not quite clearing a barbed wire fence.
In addition, during the quartering process, I investigated my arrow impact and found the wound completely healed. The arrow hit right at the top of the ribs/bottom of the backstrap. It was an over the top WASP expandable. The entrance wound was at the boom of the near side backstrap and the exit wound was showed the top blade cutting into the offside backstrap and the two bottom blades going into the body cavity nd exiting between the top of the ribs. People talk about the “void”, and if it exists. I’m here to tell you that two bottom blades went into the “void” area immediately under the spine and may have caught the top of the lungs (or hit nothing). Void or not, it isn’t a lethal shot. Even more remarkably, I found one of my fletchings protruding from the offside of the wound, sticking out from between two ribs and encased in scar tissue!!!
He’s a small bodied young buck, like all the bucks in this area. Still, with the history and story behind this buck, he’s got a place on the wall!
Last edited:
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