Shoot2Hunt University - Anyone Keep their Magnum?

mt terry d said:
Don't forget this hunting scenario:
I have a relaxed animal feeding at 950.
No wind. Rock solid rest.
Should i grab the 223 or 7PRC or my 300 win mag?
Doesn't matter in my case.
I'm not capable of ethically taking the shot.
Click to expand...
I completely agree. Unless it was the perfect situation and you had someone like Form, Chris, the Mikes, behind you calling wind and shots. At that point I would probable lose my self control lol
 
@Formidilosus asked the question in our class, and I’m assuming all the other classes, as to what the maximum distance a person would shoot a once in a lifetime animal. There was only one person who probably answered honestly, that there was really no distance they wouldn’t take it (within reason, they indicated that they would not shoot 1000 yards in 20 mile an hour winds).

I personally question where I would draw the line in such a scenario. It may be the most important question for somebody to ask themselves, and have a hard line that they will not pass.

1750775995140.jpeg
 
philcox said:
Format the question in our class, and I’m assuming all the other classes, as to what the maximum distance a person would shoot a once in a lifetime animal. There was only one person who probably answered honestly, that there was really no distance they wouldn’t take it (within reason, they indicated that they would not shoot 1000 yards in 20 mile an hour winds).

I personally question where I would draw the line in such a scenario. It may be the most important question for somebody to ask themselves, and I have a hard line that they will not pass.

View attachment 897675
Click to expand...
Fantastic reference! Sometimes it’s okay for a the animals to win, can’t lose sight of that. Typical our hunting is not life and death, eat or starve scenarios
 
Hunt #1 of 2025 observations, review and learning opportunities.​

First hunt this year was Colorado 1st rifle in an “OTC” unit that is way over pressured. Week started with a 4.7-mile pack in with a 1500-foot elevation gain in 1.9 miles. Weather was 40 and rainy. Throughout the week we got every single weather possible. Warm, single digits, snow, rain, freezing rain and very high winds. The following is my summary of things that worked, didn’t work and had no impact. I will keep this as related to the S2H class and topics frequently discussed on RS.

THE GOOD:

RSS Rifle in a fast 6mm, 115 Dtac. Verified zero upon arrival at 600 and was good to go. I keep my rifle (suppressor taped and scope caps on) and bino harness (Revic BLR10b) outside under a tree no matter what the weather is. After spending all night in freezing rain and then single digit temps the RSS action performed as it should and had zero issues dry firing. Another completely stock tikka performed the same. The Rem 700 clone action was stiff but could still be operated, failed to fire the first attempt and after some fiddling was slow/sticky to fire the second attempt and had to be thawed out and cleaned to fire. In 9 total field days the battery (factory original from December 2024) only dropped 1 bar on the Revics. The OG suppressor balance on the rifle was a pleasant surprise. Rifle has an 18-inch barrel and carries very compact and balanced on the pack, in the gun bearer but especially in the hand. I never really noticed how balanced it made the rifle until I hiked 6-10 hours a day with it in my hand. Pictures show the performance of the rifle and bullet, but in short it lived up to the expectations/ standards expected.

IMG_4043.jpg
IMG_0364.jpg
Shoulder removed.
IMG_0366.jpg
Revic BLR10b beenos. If I had not had range finding binos I would have missed my opportunity and not have been able to be ready on the opportunities I did not take for various reasons. During the heavy snow, the rain and freezing rain/sleet the Revics never failed to perform or get a range. I also checked the Revic output against Shooter app after manually inputting data collected from both the Kestrel and using a Density Altitude Chart, Temp and Elevation. EVERY SINGLE TIME all solutions came out almost identical. I took two spare batteries and as mentioned before, I still had plenty of original battery after leaving the binos in the harness out in the elements 100% of the time.

ZenBivy. I have been using Western Mountaineering bags for at least 12 years and considered them the standard. The 15-degree badger being my go-to. This was my first trip with the ZenBivy. Infinitely more comfortable (I’m a side sleeper). I have the 10-degree ZenBivy and slept way warmer than my 15-degree WM. At no point did I need anything more than the ZenBivy and my boxers. Same temps in the WM require me to wear socks, a base layer and toboggan. Only thing I have to say that is not 100% positive is that when you get out of the bag to pee at night instead of a zipper you have the hook n loop. Zipper is more convenient but not a big deal at all.

S2H Teratorn. Man, I love this bag. Big enough to fit 10 days into and designed so well. Is just as convenient in “Day Hunt Mode.” The side pockets are big enough I could strap the tripod on one side and stick the ATC in the stretch pocket on the other side. Lid is perfect, and the sleeping bag compartment is handy!! I just stuffed my puffy/raingear in there for easy access. The K4 frame feels great. I packed out two front shoulders at the same time; zero issues and the pack/frame made it as easy as possible. Also makes a great shooting platform.
IMG_0367.jpg
(2 front shoulders)

S2H Class. If I had not taken the class, I would have missed most if not all the opportunities presented. By opportunity I mean from spotting elk to ready to fire. All but one opportunity did not get a trigger pull due to a number of factors from not a legal bull, cows in the way, normal huntin stuff. I was able to have a position build and ready to fire before the other two had their rangefinders back in the pocket. Bottom line is what is learned at the class goes far beyond shooting. When they say “on demand at 600” that is exactly what you are. I will leave it at this. If you have to choose between hunting for a year or going to the class. GO TO THE CLASS!



THE BAD:

The Rem 700 Clone. As mentioned before, the clone did not perform when exposed to the elements. Leupold Glass was in a chassis, bipod, all the elements that add up to sub-par weapons system. After getting home the shooter discovered a loose ring base screw.

Peax 4-man tent and Peax stove. The two guys I hunted with had a Peax 4 man and stove. (These are their comments and observations) I stayed in the ol bomb proof heavy AF Kifaru Sawtooth with SLX stove. The Peax was way smaller than I expected. Room for 2 guys, some firewood and a stove. It’s small. Tent held up well in all weather but as a single wall shelter it rained as hard inside of it as it did outside of it. Condensation was a big issue. The door is not user friendly in that small of a space. The drying rack was nice and somewhat handy. The stove was finicky at best. It’s very hard to keep lit/burning. Large door but small box. During the night of extreme wind, it appeared the overlap of the stove pipe appeared to catch wind, rotated the pipe out of the locking slots on the stove damper and then caught enough wind to knock the stove over. The stove was not staked down but I have never had this issue with my setup. The tent and stove are currently for sale if that gives insight into their experience with that setup.

Hunters. As usual I met a couple of awesome people. To ol’ man “Mouse” I know you are on here. The gift left at our camp was highly appreciated! And you are an absolute beast. Then there was the rest. Witnessed 1 illegal bull shot and left, 2 elk wounded neither of which were pursued with any effort. Hunters “glassing” with rifle scopes, trash left behind, just your typical OTC Colorado unit disappointments.

.

Lessons: 1. I started down the barefoot shoe path about a year ago. Throughout the summer I did a couple hikes in the boots I wore last two years. A stiffer “mountain hunting boot.” I did not have any issues and was worried I was not ready to wear barefoot boots and proceeded to wear the boots I have used for the last two years. The first day they were as comfortable as always, then it went south. The cramped toe box and stiffness caused noticeable pain and numbness after about 2 min of wearing them from that day on.

2. Got to compare the Swaro ATC, Swaro SLC’s and the SIG Image stabilization binoculars side by side. Swaro SLC’s win by a mile. The ATC on 40 power was “blue and fuzzy” compared to the SLC’s which were bright and clear. I could find no optical advantage to the ATC over the SLC’s. SIGs were cool for about 2 minutes then they gave me motion sickness. Maybe it’s just me but that is a pass from me.

3. While S2H has solved a lot of problems, we have one more. I need a light backpacking stove that will burn 6-8 hours without having to cram it full of wood every 3 hours. Dura Logs are heavy! Easy peasy.
LiIMG_0354.jpg
Little bears were still out and about.
IMG_3330.jpg
When you are in deadfall and use a downed log as a balance beam, feet slip, and you end up with the nickname "bloodnut."
 
Yo
Wprinkle said:
Hunt #1 of 2025 observations, review and learning opportunities.​

First hunt this year was Colorado 1st rifle in an “OTC” unit that is way over pressured. Week started with a 4.7-mile pack in with a 1500-foot elevation gain in 1.9 miles. Weather was 40 and rainy. Throughout the week we got every single weather possible. Warm, single digits, snow, rain, freezing rain and very high winds. The following is my summary of things that worked, didn’t work and had no impact. I will keep this as related to the S2H class and topics frequently discussed on RS.

THE GOOD:

RSS Rifle in a fast 6mm, 115 Dtac. Verified zero upon arrival at 600 and was good to go. I keep my rifle (suppressor taped and scope caps on) and bino harness (Revic BLR10b) outside under a tree no matter what the weather is. After spending all night in freezing rain and then single digit temps the RSS action performed as it should and had zero issues dry firing. Another completely stock tikka performed the same. The Rem 700 clone action was stiff but could still be operated, failed to fire the first attempt and after some fiddling was slow/sticky to fire the second attempt and had to be thawed out and cleaned to fire. In 9 total field days the battery (factory original from December 2024) only dropped 1 bar on the Revics. The OG suppressor balance on the rifle was a pleasant surprise. Rifle has an 18-inch barrel and carries very compact and balanced on the pack, in the gun bearer but especially in the hand. I never really noticed how balanced it made the rifle until I hiked 6-10 hours a day with it in my hand. Pictures show the performance of the rifle and bullet, but in short it lived up to the expectations/ standards expected.

View attachment 954151
View attachment 954152
Shoulder removed.
View attachment 954153
Revic BLR10b beenos. If I had not had range finding binos I would have missed my opportunity and not have been able to be ready on the opportunities I did not take for various reasons. During the heavy snow, the rain and freezing rain/sleet the Revics never failed to perform or get a range. I also checked the Revic output against Shooter app after manually inputting data collected from both the Kestrel and using a Density Altitude Chart, Temp and Elevation. EVERY SINGLE TIME all solutions came out almost identical. I took two spare batteries and as mentioned before, I still had plenty of original battery after leaving the binos in the harness out in the elements 100% of the time.

ZenBivy. I have been using Western Mountaineering bags for at least 12 years and considered them the standard. The 15-degree badger being my go-to. This was my first trip with the ZenBivy. Infinitely more comfortable (I’m a side sleeper). I have the 10-degree ZenBivy and slept way warmer than my 15-degree WM. At no point did I need anything more than the ZenBivy and my boxers. Same temps in the WM require me to wear socks, a base layer and toboggan. Only thing I have to say that is not 100% positive is that when you get out of the bag to pee at night instead of a zipper you have the hook n loop. Zipper is more convenient but not a big deal at all.

S2H Teratorn. Man, I love this bag. Big enough to fit 10 days into and designed so well. Is just as convenient in “Day Hunt Mode.” The side pockets are big enough I could strap the tripod on one side and stick the ATC in the stretch pocket on the other side. Lid is perfect, and the sleeping bag compartment is handy!! I just stuffed my puffy/raingear in there for easy access. The K4 frame feels great. I packed out two front shoulders at the same time; zero issues and the pack/frame made it as easy as possible. Also makes a great shooting platform.
View attachment 954154
(2 front shoulders)

S2H Class. If I had not taken the class, I would have missed most if not all the opportunities presented. By opportunity I mean from spotting elk to ready to fire. All but one opportunity did not get a trigger pull due to a number of factors from not a legal bull, cows in the way, normal huntin stuff. I was able to have a position build and ready to fire before the other two had their rangefinders back in the pocket. Bottom line is what is learned at the class goes far beyond shooting. When they say “on demand at 600” that is exactly what you are. I will leave it at this. If you have to choose between hunting for a year or going to the class. GO TO THE CLASS!



THE BAD:

The Rem 700 Clone. As mentioned before, the clone did not perform when exposed to the elements. Leupold Glass was in a chassis, bipod, all the elements that add up to sub-par weapons system. After getting home the shooter discovered a loose ring base screw.

Peax 4-man tent and Peax stove. The two guys I hunted with had a Peax 4 man and stove. (These are their comments and observations) I stayed in the ol bomb proof heavy AF Kifaru Sawtooth with SLX stove. The Peax was way smaller than I expected. Room for 2 guys, some firewood and a stove. It’s small. Tent held up well in all weather but as a single wall shelter it rained as hard inside of it as it did outside of it. Condensation was a big issue. The door is not user friendly in that small of a space. The drying rack was nice and somewhat handy. The stove was finicky at best. It’s very hard to keep lit/burning. Large door but small box. During the night of extreme wind, it appeared the overlap of the stove pipe appeared to catch wind, rotated the pipe out of the locking slots on the stove damper and then caught enough wind to knock the stove over. The stove was not staked down but I have never had this issue with my setup. The tent and stove are currently for sale if that gives insight into their experience with that setup.

Hunters. As usual I met a couple of awesome people. To ol’ man “Mouse” I know you are on here. The gift left at our camp was highly appreciated! And you are an absolute beast. Then there was the rest. Witnessed 1 illegal bull shot and left, 2 elk wounded neither of which were pursued with any effort. Hunters “glassing” with rifle scopes, trash left behind, just your typical OTC Colorado unit disappointments.

.

Lessons: 1. I started down the barefoot shoe path about a year ago. Throughout the summer I did a couple hikes in the boots I wore last two years. A stiffer “mountain hunting boot.” I did not have any issues and was worried I was not ready to wear barefoot boots and proceeded to wear the boots I have used for the last two years. The first day they were as comfortable as always, then it went south. The cramped toe box and stiffness caused noticeable pain and numbness after about 2 min of wearing them from that day on.

2. Got to compare the Swaro ATC, Swaro SLC’s and the SIG Image stabilization binoculars side by side. Swaro SLC’s win by a mile. The ATC on 40 power was “blue and fuzzy” compared to the SLC’s which were bright and clear. I could find no optical advantage to the ATC over the SLC’s. SIGs were cool for about 2 minutes then they gave me motion sickness. Maybe it’s just me but that is a pass from me.

3. While S2H has solved a lot of problems, we have one more. I need a light backpacking stove that will burn 6-8 hours without having to cram it full of wood every 3 hours. Dura Logs are heavy! Easy peasy.
LiView attachment 954155
Little bears were still out and about.
View attachment 954156
When you are in deadfall and use a downed log as a balance beam, feet slip, and you end up with the nickname "bloodnut."
Click to expand...
You should check out @renagde stove.
 
“bloodnut”…damn.

Congratulations on your hunt and thrilled you filled your tag!

Appreciate you sharing your experience.
 
Wprinkle said:
Hunt #1 of 2025 observations, review and learning opportunities.​

First hunt this year was Colorado 1st rifle in an “OTC” unit that is way over pressured. Week started with a 4.7-mile pack in with a 1500-foot elevation gain in 1.9 miles. Weather was 40 and rainy. Throughout the week we got every single weather possible. Warm, single digits, snow, rain, freezing rain and very high winds. The following is my summary of things that worked, didn’t work and had no impact. I will keep this as related to the S2H class and topics frequently discussed on RS.

THE GOOD:

RSS Rifle in a fast 6mm, 115 Dtac. Verified zero upon arrival at 600 and was good to go. I keep my rifle (suppressor taped and scope caps on) and bino harness (Revic BLR10b) outside under a tree no matter what the weather is. After spending all night in freezing rain and then single digit temps the RSS action performed as it should and had zero issues dry firing. Another completely stock tikka performed the same. The Rem 700 clone action was stiff but could still be operated, failed to fire the first attempt and after some fiddling was slow/sticky to fire the second attempt and had to be thawed out and cleaned to fire. In 9 total field days the battery (factory original from December 2024) only dropped 1 bar on the Revics. The OG suppressor balance on the rifle was a pleasant surprise. Rifle has an 18-inch barrel and carries very compact and balanced on the pack, in the gun bearer but especially in the hand. I never really noticed how balanced it made the rifle until I hiked 6-10 hours a day with it in my hand. Pictures show the performance of the rifle and bullet, but in short it lived up to the expectations/ standards expected.

View attachment 954151
View attachment 954152
Shoulder removed.
View attachment 954153
Revic BLR10b beenos. If I had not had range finding binos I would have missed my opportunity and not have been able to be ready on the opportunities I did not take for various reasons. During the heavy snow, the rain and freezing rain/sleet the Revics never failed to perform or get a range. I also checked the Revic output against Shooter app after manually inputting data collected from both the Kestrel and using a Density Altitude Chart, Temp and Elevation. EVERY SINGLE TIME all solutions came out almost identical. I took two spare batteries and as mentioned before, I still had plenty of original battery after leaving the binos in the harness out in the elements 100% of the time.

ZenBivy. I have been using Western Mountaineering bags for at least 12 years and considered them the standard. The 15-degree badger being my go-to. This was my first trip with the ZenBivy. Infinitely more comfortable (I’m a side sleeper). I have the 10-degree ZenBivy and slept way warmer than my 15-degree WM. At no point did I need anything more than the ZenBivy and my boxers. Same temps in the WM require me to wear socks, a base layer and toboggan. Only thing I have to say that is not 100% positive is that when you get out of the bag to pee at night instead of a zipper you have the hook n loop. Zipper is more convenient but not a big deal at all.

S2H Teratorn. Man, I love this bag. Big enough to fit 10 days into and designed so well. Is just as convenient in “Day Hunt Mode.” The side pockets are big enough I could strap the tripod on one side and stick the ATC in the stretch pocket on the other side. Lid is perfect, and the sleeping bag compartment is handy!! I just stuffed my puffy/raingear in there for easy access. The K4 frame feels great. I packed out two front shoulders at the same time; zero issues and the pack/frame made it as easy as possible. Also makes a great shooting platform.
View attachment 954154
(2 front shoulders)

S2H Class. If I had not taken the class, I would have missed most if not all the opportunities presented. By opportunity I mean from spotting elk to ready to fire. All but one opportunity did not get a trigger pull due to a number of factors from not a legal bull, cows in the way, normal huntin stuff. I was able to have a position build and ready to fire before the other two had their rangefinders back in the pocket. Bottom line is what is learned at the class goes far beyond shooting. When they say “on demand at 600” that is exactly what you are. I will leave it at this. If you have to choose between hunting for a year or going to the class. GO TO THE CLASS!



THE BAD:

The Rem 700 Clone. As mentioned before, the clone did not perform when exposed to the elements. Leupold Glass was in a chassis, bipod, all the elements that add up to sub-par weapons system. After getting home the shooter discovered a loose ring base screw.

Peax 4-man tent and Peax stove. The two guys I hunted with had a Peax 4 man and stove. (These are their comments and observations) I stayed in the ol bomb proof heavy AF Kifaru Sawtooth with SLX stove. The Peax was way smaller than I expected. Room for 2 guys, some firewood and a stove. It’s small. Tent held up well in all weather but as a single wall shelter it rained as hard inside of it as it did outside of it. Condensation was a big issue. The door is not user friendly in that small of a space. The drying rack was nice and somewhat handy. The stove was finicky at best. It’s very hard to keep lit/burning. Large door but small box. During the night of extreme wind, it appeared the overlap of the stove pipe appeared to catch wind, rotated the pipe out of the locking slots on the stove damper and then caught enough wind to knock the stove over. The stove was not staked down but I have never had this issue with my setup. The tent and stove are currently for sale if that gives insight into their experience with that setup.

Hunters. As usual I met a couple of awesome people. To ol’ man “Mouse” I know you are on here. The gift left at our camp was highly appreciated! And you are an absolute beast. Then there was the rest. Witnessed 1 illegal bull shot and left, 2 elk wounded neither of which were pursued with any effort. Hunters “glassing” with rifle scopes, trash left behind, just your typical OTC Colorado unit disappointments.

.

Lessons: 1. I started down the barefoot shoe path about a year ago. Throughout the summer I did a couple hikes in the boots I wore last two years. A stiffer “mountain hunting boot.” I did not have any issues and was worried I was not ready to wear barefoot boots and proceeded to wear the boots I have used for the last two years. The first day they were as comfortable as always, then it went south. The cramped toe box and stiffness caused noticeable pain and numbness after about 2 min of wearing them from that day on.

2. Got to compare the Swaro ATC, Swaro SLC’s and the SIG Image stabilization binoculars side by side. Swaro SLC’s win by a mile. The ATC on 40 power was “blue and fuzzy” compared to the SLC’s which were bright and clear. I could find no optical advantage to the ATC over the SLC’s. SIGs were cool for about 2 minutes then they gave me motion sickness. Maybe it’s just me but that is a pass from me.

3. While S2H has solved a lot of problems, we have one more. I need a light backpacking stove that will burn 6-8 hours without having to cram it full of wood every 3 hours. Dura Logs are heavy! Easy peasy.
LiView attachment 954155
Little bears were still out and about.
View attachment 954156
When you are in deadfall and use a downed log as a balance beam, feet slip, and you end up with the nickname "bloodnut."
Click to expand...
Great write up!
 
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