Coach

A couple of years ago my buddy and I were hunting unit 23. We glassed up a decent buck on a little shelf and he chased a couple of does over the ridge. When we got to that ridge, he spooked out of tall grass and my friend with the tag shot at and missed him. The next morning we found him again on the same bench. This time he didn't get away.

azpackhorse, can you give me a link to the toad on Monster Muleys? I can't seem to find it. Thanks Jason

I had what I believe to be one of Nikon's top-of-the-line spotting scopes, the fieldscope III (non-ED glass) and found that while it was a good scope, I didn't gain enough over swaro 15's with a doubler to justify carrying it around. If you are going to get a Nikon, look for the Fieldscope III and you may even find one with ED glass for near that price range used on Ebay.

There is a lot of excellent advice here. One thing I would add, is that nothing can take the place of actually going out shooting at longer ranges to see exactly where your bullet drops. It takes a lot of time, I know, and it's not always easy to find a place to practice at 500 yards, but the more you do this, the more confident you'll be in a real long range hunting situation. You'll also get an idea of how consistent you are at 500 yards. It's amazing how big a 4 inch group at 200 yards can get out at 500. Jason

Very nice bucks! Good luck this weekend.

I've heard of a huge (130's) buck taken in the Whetstones (34B), but haven't seen a picture or gotten any solid details.

Interesting story about the blaze orange from last year. I was sitting on a rock outcropping and saw a Grandfather/Father/Son group heading my direction. To be safe, I took a blaze orange vest from my pack and placed it on a bush next to me so they would know I was not a deer. When the group stopped below me I swung my bino's toward them just in time to see the young boy say, "Hey dad, what's that?" and proceed to "glass me up" with his riflescope. I of course hit the deck immediately, but the father quickly pushed the gun down, and gave him a stern lecture, but it scared the bejeezers out of me. Back to the main subject - my hunting partner and I have been discussing this for some time now. Out of say 400 permits for a given area, one has to wonder how many are die-hards. Each year I only see a handful of guys who seem really well prepared and know what they're doing. One thing for sure is the VAST majority don't practice shooting enough.

I can recommend the Cabela's Alaskan Guide scopes. I put 2 on my rifles this summer and they are very bright and clear. I have one on a heavy magnum and it takes the recoil witout a problem.

You guys are doing a heck of a lot better than I am. A couple of weekends ago went out and saw 12 does and no bucks. This weekend was out and saw 9 does and 3 small bucks. Are you guys in the Southern or Central units?

I shoot a .300 Wby Mag. with relatively hot handloads for the ballistics. My longest shot is 319 yards so far, but I'm comfortable out to 400 yards with a good rest, plenty of time, and little wind. Been practicing out further, but it would have to be a "now or never" shot at a huge buck to consider it - for me at least. Some people can shoot very well out to long ranges, and some can't hit a barn from up close. I always laugh when I hear people trying to tell everyone the max range they should shoot based on their OWN abilities.