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Everything posted by azsugarbear
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Looking for an additional used Jim White head plate. I know Outdoorsman's has them ($25 new), but not sure just how well they will fit on the original head. I can always use them as a last result. Just looking for a used one that a member might have kicking around and no longer needs. Let me know what you got and how much you want for it.
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Found some. Big thanks to SpotNStock.
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What Scope and power do you like?
azsugarbear replied to tontotom's topic in Rifle hunting for Coues Deer
I'm a big fan of the Sightron SIII 6-24x50. Great glass and components for the budget minded. -
270 WSM sizing issues
azsugarbear replied to BeardownAZ's topic in Rifles, Reloading and Gunsmithing
Most of the time when I have experienced this issue, it has come down to one of two areas: 1) the brass just above the web has expanded too much; or 2) the shoulder has been bumped back too much causing the shoulder bottom to bump/buldge out. A small base die or thinner shellholder will solve the first problem. Simply backing off the die a quarter to half turn should solve the second problem. -
What Scope and power do you like?
azsugarbear replied to tontotom's topic in Rifle hunting for Coues Deer
As far as magnification goes, I have gravitated to the 6-20/24 range. On the lower end, I have never found I needed less than 6X to find my target in the scope. On the higher 20/24X end of things, the extra power provides me with the things I value: such as better trophy identification; better target acquisition; better reading of wind through mirage or watching vegetation downrange. Regarding optics in general, when I was first getting into serious hunting, the two axioms I heard over and over about scopes were: 1) you get what you pay for; and 2) spend at least as much on your scope as you did on your rifle. I didn't really take either of those to heart. Besides, it wasn't in my budget at the time. Now some thirty years later, I smile at my own naivety. I also lament the money I spent on inferior optics, often falling for the line "they are nearly as good as..(fill in the blank). They simply are not. A new $700 scope is not, and cannot be, nearly as good as a new $1500 scope. I have left name brands out of the equation as everyone has their favorites (but everyone knows the names of top shelf manufacturers). The simple fact is: the more expensive scopes come with better glass and much better components. If I had to do it all over again, I would selectively buy a used quality scope rather than pay the same price for a new scope to put on my rifle. -
WTS Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56 w/MOAR Reticle
azsugarbear replied to azsugarbear's topic in Classified Ads
SOLD -
Gently used Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56mm scope with the popular MOAR reticle. This model has the high-speed turret (20 MOA in single revolution) and the Zero Stop features. Glass is pristine. Scope is in near new condition and has no problems. Everything functions as it should. Typical bulletproof NXS construction - always returns to your set zero after dialing up and then back down. Body is near flawless. One very small safe ding near ocular eyepiece (shown in last pic) that does not detract from looks or function. Price is $1,325 for local pick-up. Shipping would extra. Scope is located in N Phx area near Tatum & 101 Loop. I believe in transperancy when selling things on line. PM/DM's should be used for asking questions or getting additional clarification. Regardless of what is agreed to in a PM/DM, it is an "I'll take this" or a "Sold per private agreement" posted in the thread itself that will trump anything else. Earliest time stamp in thread on purchase gets the nod. This way, nobody has to wonder what deals are being negotiated behind close doors after their commitment to purchase has been made. Not interested in trades at this time, unless you have a Nightforce NX8 4-32X50 F1 in MOA (model #C624), plus cash on my end.
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WTS Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56 w/MOAR Reticle
azsugarbear replied to azsugarbear's topic in Classified Ads
SPF to huntitup. -
WTS Nightforce NXS 5.5-22X56 w/MOAR Reticle
azsugarbear replied to azsugarbear's topic in Classified Ads
weekend bump -
44ron85 was easy to deal with. He bought some brass from me. Smooth transaction.
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For years I had been saving points for an archery AZ Strip hunt. I already had a decent mule deer on my wall, but I wanted a true monster. In early 2023, I began to hear stories of how much more difficult the hunts were becoming without the use of trail cams on the strip. Additionally, I also heard that the Kaibab had seen some great antler growth in 2022. Although the forecast for 2023 was slight lower, antler growth was still expected to be well above average. I ultimately decided to bail on the Strip (which was still a few years away for me with point creep) and go all-in on an early Kaibab rifle hunt. After finding out that I had indeed drawn a tag for the hunt, I spent four days up on the west side of the Kaibab in July just to re-familiarize myself with the roads, watering sources, etc. I didn't see many deer, but still considered the scouting trip well worth the effort. By the end of my second scouting trip, I was gradually coming to realize that finding bucks would not be a problem. But finding a true 180+" trophy was going to be more about luck than preparation. After some late nights and serious soul-searching, I decided to raid my Big Horn Sheep fund and hire a outfitter. It was a tough decision to make, but even with 32 points I knew that statistically I was still several years away from drawing a sheep tag in a 'second tier' unit. On the other hand, the Kaibab tag was in my hand and the prospect of a giant was very real. I did a lot of searching on line and asking questions of everyone I new about some of the better-known outfitters on the Kaibab plateau. Although I was able to narrow it down to four outfitters, the name "Shadow Valley Outfitters" (SVO) kept floating to the top. I ended up having a great six-week-long dialog with Pat McCarty, one of the owners of SVO. Their focus on the client and depth of bench when it came to guides finally tipped the scales in their favor. I could spend pages describing the hunt, but that is best left for another time. The hunt itself was an epic adventure filled with emotional highs and lows. Travis Lyons was assigned to be my guide for the week-long hunt. What I learned from him alone about deer behavior and migration movement on the Kaibab was worth the price of the hunt. By the end of day two, I had become convinced that had forgotten more knowledge about finding and hunting deer than I had accumulated in my lifetime. He could spot deer so much more quickly than I could and his ability to judge racks was incredible. We had several close encounters with some 180+" bucks, but we either couldn't get a shot opportunity or mother nature was working against us. On the second morning of the hunt, I had a 180+" buck in my scope at about 410 yds. How Travis ever spotted this guy in a dense stand of jack pines was beyond me. The problems I encounted with the shot were: 1) the sun was just peaking over the hill and was directly in my eyes, so I could only make out his head and top line of his back through my scope; 2) there was a tree trunk covering his vitals; and 3) there was a full value wind gusting from right to left at 15-20 mph. We elected to pass on that shot, thinking we could move around and get better position on the buck's vitals. The buck didn't care for that plan and took off at a dead run away from us. That one will haunt me for the rest of my life. On the final day of my hunt, I told Travis that my expectations for a buck had dimished considerably. I told him I would take any buck with a gross score of 160 or better. We had planned on going back to the same valley where we had seen that 180+" buck, but didn't even get to the spot. As we were driving in, Travis spotted some does with a buck hiding out way in the back. I could only catch glimpses of him, while Travis was describing his rack in great detail. Travis felt very confident he would go at least 160". After some discussion and agonizing decision making on my part, I went with the old "bird in th hand' analogy and the stalk was on. The buck gave us the slip and did a large buttonhook run to reunite with his does. It was thick forest, but Travis found him back with his does in the opposite direction from where we were first looking. He was standing broadside at a mere 80 yds, but once again - an obstruction was covering his vitals. All I had was a neck shot, but unike last time, there was no hesitation. He dropped at the shot from the 160 gr. Matrix bullet out of my 6.5 PRC. As we hiked over to him, Travis smiled at me a said "I think you're gonna like this buck". After skinning and quartering the buck, Travis again told me that the buck was definitely going to score in the mid 160's. When several of the guides finally put a tape to him, he ended up with a gross green score of 170 & 3/8". Not bad for a last day consolation buck. I couldn't be happier with the hunt, the trophy and with SVO.
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I've got a lot of points (33 next draw), so I think I'm am getting close to getting drawn in the next several years.
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Looking for Trophy Photos from 2023
azsugarbear replied to HuntingGearDeals's topic in Mule Deer Hunting
I did a write-up on the hunt on this site, There were bigger bucks taken on that early Kaibab, but at 173" gross - this was a trophy for me.- 1 reply
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I'll take this. PM inbound.
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The middle one has a medallion on the pistol grip that looks a lot like the Beretta logo.
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Boy do I feel stupid. That's what I get for responding to an ad at 6 AM before my morning coffee. Free bump.
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I can't identify any hub motors from the pics, so I assume it is a mid-drive motor. What brand and model is the motor? Peak watt output? Top speed on level ground? Same for battery: What brand and model? Does it have throttle or just pedal assist? Max range in miles at highest level of pedal assist?
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deercrazy is good seller. Item as described with great communication.
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Several years ago, I started buying WY antelope points for myself and my son. I was able to draw back in 2019, but my son couldn't make the trip so I just kept buying points for him. Fast forward to earlier this year when I learned that WY would be instituting some changes to their non-resident draw program which would have a substantial negative impact on all non-resident point holders beginning in 2024. Even though the WY antelope heard had a substantial winter die-off the previous year. it just made sense to cash in his points and then get out of Dodge. My son drew a buck antelope tag for Unit 75, which is located roughly in the center of WY. We arrived late Thursday night after a 17 hour drive. Friday was spent scouting the unit as best we could. There were planty of buck antelope, but none came close to the trophy we were looking for. We finally located two bucks in different locations later Friday afternoon/evening. Although all the bucks we were seeing had short tops, these two had the most to offer in length above the prong. Buck A was located on leased land that did not allow hunting. Still, he was a decent prospect and we thought we might be able to pressure him off the oil lease land. Buck B was mostly on BLM land and tended to hang near a well-traveled dirt road. My son elected to go after Buck A as we both felt Buck B was an easy target and would be pursued by most other hunters at first light. Opening morning found ourselves glassing the heard of antelope on the oil lease. As it turned out, a couple of other hunters had the same idea. We used each other to try and pressure Buck A into moving off the lease, but that old buck seemed to know the score and hung tight in the middle of the valley. After an hour or so, we left him to go try our luck in an area we had not been able to visit the night before. We found another decent buck, but as soon as he would see our truck, he would leave his does and run like a bolt of lightning in the opposite direction. After three failed attempts on him, we decided to see what had become of Buck B near the dirt roadway. We looked high and low for any sign of him, but he was nowhere to be found. After driving back and forth on the road a couple of times and seeing no gut pile or scavenger birds, we felt he must still be alive and had moved up into one of several arroyos that came down to intersect with the road. We drove to a drilling site / gravel pit that had some elevation and began to glass. After 20 minutes or so of glassing without success, we decided to park the truck and start still hunting each arroyo until we located him. I pulled a quick u-turn to park the truck and just happened to look up. There across the gravel pit stood my son's target buck at 175 yds. He had found this gravel pit and was using it as his hidey-hole. He was by himself and was somewhat startled to see us. My son made a great shot and the rest was history. Although his tops were weak, he is still a great first antelope trophy for my son.
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Most smoothbores tend to be custom jobs as opposed to production rifles. Is this for re-enacting or hunting?
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I have an unopened box of 50 count 180 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets in 30 cal. $55 shipped priority mail.
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I'll take a tan case. PM me what time works for you.
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Tikka's have just one size of action. The 270 WSM would have been built with a short action bolt stop and short action magazine. You would need to change out those two items to make it a long action.
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Short action has been sold. Long action is still available. Blue, right hand, standard bolt face. I have one long action and one short action. Sale includes the action, bolt, trigger, 1" rings, composite bottom metal and magazine. All are OEM parts. Price is $625 each, plus an additional $10 if you want it shipped to FFL (or direct to you if AZ resident). No trades at this time. I live in N Phx area near 101 Loop and 56th Street. Cross posted with other forums.
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WTS - Tikka T3 Long Action STD Bolt Face (Take-Off)
azsugarbear replied to azsugarbear's topic in Classified Ads
Sold and gone