A Kimber Montana Story

[ianpadron]

My shorty 308 Montana will be the last gun I ever sell. Lately it's been slaying white tails but I think this year it will get back in the mountains for elk. It's a great shooter with 175 Terminal ascents.
View attachment 933931View attachment 933932

Fantastic....call me a Fudd but I think Kimbers are the most aesthetic rifles ever built. So svelte, but utilitarian. Never gets old seeing one laid on top of the latest critter(s) it's stacked.

 

[Antares]

Just for you @ianpadron

 

[Antares]

Looks like a great time. The 6CM is saying, “Why’d you spend an hour hiking around a bowl when I coulda done the job perfectly fine from 500 yards”

I mean… I had the same thought at the time, but I was going to have to walk over there either way…

I took the 6CM out for the next one and let it get in on the fun.

 

[wildmek]

awesome hunt with some cool rifles

What bag is that on your seek frame?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

awesome hunt with some cool rifles

What bag is that on your seek frame?

that's a molinator.....rokslide edition.

THE MOLINATOR SHOOTING BAG - Rokslide

Our newest soft product, the Molinator shooting bag, is inspired by the tooth fairy. This shooting bag checks all the hunting boxes at 4.5 ounces. Reflective paneling is sewn into the handles so you can see it after you drop an animal. Sets up on the ground sloped or flat, on a fence, on a...

www.rokslide.com

 

[Antares]

awesome hunt with some cool rifles

What bag is that on your seek frame?

Kuiu Pro LT 4000.

I have a 2200 and 5500 also. I just pick the one that’s the right size for the trip I’m doing. Works good for me.

 

[hydroyeti]

Nice rifle! Why do sitka deer always look like baby deer? Every harvest picture I've seen looks like a two year old deer at best to my untrained eyes. Do the grizzley bears keep them from growing old or something?

 

[Couescrazy33]

Just the size of the deer. Coues deer are the same way. They are just smaller deer.

 

[BreechFace]

Nice rifle! Why do sitka deer always look like baby deer? Every harvest picture I've seen looks like a two year old deer at best to my untrained eyes. Do the grizzley bears keep them from growing old or something?

Genetics

 

[Antares]

Nice rifle! Why do sitka deer always look like baby deer? Every harvest picture I've seen looks like a two year old deer at best to my untrained eyes. Do the grizzley bears keep them from growing old or something?

That’s just how they are. They have small, stocky bodies and compact antlers. Google “record Sitka blacktail” or similar and when looking at those pics keep in mind that those are the biggest examples of the species. Not very big…

Yes, bears eat a lot blacktails, but only newborn fawns, not mature deer.

Further, It’s not uncommon for old deer to regress to forked antler configuration and aging coastal deer by tooth wear is unreliable due to teeth being prematurely worn from eating sandy kelp on the beaches during big snow winters. All that to say, aging Sitka blacktail can be tricky.

For me, looking at the width of a bucks antlers compared to his ears is the easiest way to field judge. In my opinion, a “good” buck will be well outside the ears, the farther the better.

Here’s a few examples of young blacktail bucks from this year.

1 yo bucks will generally be a spike or a very weak fork and will keep their velvet longer than older bucks. Like this:



2 yo bucks will generally be forks or weak 3x3s, with very little mass. Like these:



Here’s an older deer from two seasons ago. He’s “good” by my standards, but not very impressive unless you’re a Sitka blacktail enthusiast. Well outside the ears, gray muzzle, blind in one eye.