Red Rabbit

Nice buck, with a dropper too! I can tell the youngest hunter was glad to be there. Good job, along with your two sons, William.

Very nice! He carries his mass well. Congratulations on such a great trophy; dedication and effort have their rewards. Utah sure has some fine animals in many species. Doug/RedRabbit

Since I succumbed to temptation Monday and gave Ruff's,the local gun shop, some profit $$$, I was wondering if anyone else is going to head to the hills with a new rifle or try a new chambering on coues. Earlier this spring, I was told the gun shop had a Kimber 8400 with French walnut and ebony forend, chambered in 300 WSM, on order from the custom shop. They called Monday afternoon and I was drawn in by sins of the woody flesh . I'm a sucker for curvaceous wood. I'll head to the range Saturday and give ya'll a report and let ya know if she's more than a looker. Doug/RedRabbit

Your cousin Kurt has reason to smile. Great mass and nice browtines. All of the big bucks were behind you, cuz ya know the coues aren't down on the flats with the carp . Doug/RedRabbit

I had a general rifle tag in southern Utah. Went up and hunted the weekend of Oct 23rd. Got up there on Friday to scout and had about 2' snow around Duck Lake, and saw few tracks. Don't think we could have gotten into the area I hunted two years ago up by Panguitch Lake. So decided to head lower outside of Mt. Carmel Jct. Opening morning I saw only hunters where we cut some big tracks in the mud on Thursday, so went to a new spot. Saturday evening I saw a parade of quads and trucks riding the roads below (guess the snow pushed the hunters lower too), and two does. Sunday morning I saw a doe and fawn. Sunday night, I went to a different glassing hill and saw about 30 deer. A friend shot about a 155" 4x4 buck that he jumped in the cedars. Got to see his stalk through the 15x binos. Right at dusk, I glassed a 4x4 coming round the mountain at 301 yards. One 180 Accubond through the top of the heart had him down in 15 yards. He's a uniform buck that scores 157" This is only my second muley out of 6 hunts for mule deer in 24 years of hunting. Doug/Red Rabbit

I was told that Weatherby is redesigning the stocks on the Vanguards , going to the Monte Carlo again, and that is why the current models are being discounted (good, cheap, opportunity knocks). You might consider a walmart special in this rifle, or a Winchester Shadow in 300 WSM (also cheap at Wally-World). The WSM will be real similar to the Win Mag in performance/velocity. The selection of factory ammo in 300 WSM keeps getting better, and the 300 win mags selection is fantastic. Can't go wrong with either chambering. I would also consider having a Sims recoil pad put on before deciding to install a muzzle break. The extra muzzle blast and flash will also contribute to flinching like the recoil will.

Casey, I'd use the 270 (Lark would agree). And maybe put a Sims slip-on pad over that steel butt plate, although you won't feel the recoil when shooting that rifle at a coues, just when practicing. I thought the 140 Accubonds shot better than both the TBBC and Accubonds out of the 30-06 You could also remove that hard rubber pad off the Remington and use the slipon. We also have next weekend to shoot/practice. I don't think the Aetec is going south, considering the last group we got. A lot is how the rifle is held and the stock pressured by our body. If it was the scope, it'd be like the 30-06 with the loose screws.

From what I understand, tissue from the brain or spinal cord is used to test for CWD. If you have your meat butchered, it's suggested not to cut through the backbone and hence spinal cord. If you butcher your own, its easy to avoid cutting through the spine/backbone. I have not heard of any cases of CWD in AZ among the wild deer and elk.

Couesstalker, The 260 Rem has 129 grain Hornady SST's loaded atop IMR 4350 @ 2770 fps. It penetrated completely through the rib/lung area on an antelope. Other game-unproven loads are 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips atop H4350 @2920 fps, and 95 grain Hornady V-max's atop IMR 4064 @3060 fps (real accurate) for yotee-dogs. Doug/RedRabbit

Now there are going to be so many elk hunters north of Winslow, that the duck hunting on the LCR will be sorry. See what you've gone and done ?

I was able to take the French lady out for a romp in the woods Saturday morning . I had fed her about ten break-in shots with cleaning in between rounds, then tried out Federal factory loadings with 180 grain Accubonds. I got three consecutive 3-shot groups that measured 1.25" with an average velocity of 3070 fps. I did not try any other loadings. One thing I did notice is that the recoil is noticeably higher in the lighter Kimber rifle (total weight with scope and mounts of 8 lbs even on the fish scale). Last night, I reloaded some different 150 grainers on top of some H4350. Bullets are the Hornady SST Interbonds, Swift Sciroccos, and Barnes TSX's. Wanted to shoot again this morning, but it's windy and raining on-n-off . Doug/Red Rabbit

Photos bien sehr gut!. Good exposure on that sunset and getting the flash to not wash out your son. Those lions must have made for a good days hunt, eveen though no trigger was squeezed. It was windy here in Flag also. Vielen gluck auf morgen, und danke for taking the time to share with us. Doug/RedRabbit

Just a reminder that Tuesday 10/12/04 at 7 pm is the deadline to apply for the spring hunts.

This has been some useful information. I was surprized at the dawn/dusk waterings. Has anyone noted any seasonal variations? Differences in times and/or frequency between August and January? Doug/RedRabbit

Doc, The 180 grain loads have chronoed from 2980-3000 fps out of a 26" tube. The 200 is not maxed, about 2800 fps, but great accuracy. Yes, l was surprised at the advantages of the 180's over the 150's after looking at a ballistics program. CouesStalker, I also have that rifle in 260. Took it loaded with 129 Hornady SST's the last hunt in 36C, but saw nothing to pull the trigger on. Nice rifle-light, handles well, looks good-enjoy yours on the hunt. Doug/RedRabbit

Doc, For bullets, I have been pretty impressed with Nosler's new Accubond for accuracy and performance. In regard to bullet weight, I decided to stick with the 180 grainers over the faster 150's. The 150's will drop a few inches less, but will also drift in the wind a few inches more than the 180's. I think judging wind is harder than distance (especially with rangefinders) and wanted the advantage fighting the wind. These are the loads I found my 300 WSM prefers. It did not like loads with the 150 or 165 SST's nor Interbonds, nor Winchester factory 150 BST. 1) 180 Swift Scirocco, 65.0 IMR 4350, 215M, 2.850" 2) 180 Nosler Accubond, 68.0 H4831SC, 215M, 2.850" 3) 200 Nosler Accubond, 61.0 H4350, 215M, 2.846" 4) 180 Sierra SPBT, 69.1 RL 19, 210M, 2.790" The col was limited by the length of the magazine box to a max of 2.850" in my rifle. The above loads are safe in my gun, and should be approached with caution-reduce the loads and work up,SOP. I am going to try Federal factory ammo with 180 Accubonds in the above rifle and also in the new French Madamoiselle this weekend. Maybe the French gal will like the 150 grain Hornady SST Interbonds. Doug/RedRabbit

Awesome find Josh!!! There certainly was a drastic change in growth from one year to the next. A lot of people wanted to find Grandpa's shed head gear, but whooda thunk. How many miles did you wear off your boots searching? I'm surprized that with all the deer, elk, tukey and shed hunters, that noone found them before. You must be a Trekkie-boldly going where no man has gone before Congrats Doug/RedRabbit

Too Good!

Stan- Glad you had success. You should have some tender and prime eating. Amanda- It's been a lot cooler here in Flag since the storm. Got a little over an inch of rain at the house. Those bulls outa have it crankin when you get back up to 6A, considering the cooler temps. Supposed to be 29 tonight and 60 tomorrow but warming a little through the week. Thanks for sharing the pics. Good luck. Doug/RedRabbit

Dang Mike, Get back up there and get that 350" bull. With this cooler weather and wind dying down, they outa be horse from screaming so much. Good luck and keep us posted. Doug/RedRabbit

Lark, I'm under the impression that the $10 fee is for covering the conservation bonus point's paperwork. The fees noted are the max amount/cap, and hopefully will be lower. I do not want to see hunting become an avocation for the financially well-to-do. I would like to know why the 90/10 nonC/Commercial tag split was not pursued by G&F. There has been speculation that it was due to personal liability that could be cast upon the commissioners. Doug/RedRabbit

I was in my taxidermist/friend's place here in Flag last weekend, and a hunter came in checking prices. Said he had taken a 403 incher out of 7E. Could this be your friends bull? fantastic bull either way. Doug/RedRabbit

According to the schedule, it should be aired 3 more times. The show is called "Here's Why It's Hunting." http://www.olntv.com/showviewer.asp?sid=186 Watch out for the time zones. Josh didn't get the buck, but then again the desert also had ponderosas. Jessica is still light headed, but the sun will rise another day. Josh, can you give some more details about the hunt shown? Doug/Red Rabbit

Just a friendly reminder that this will be the opening weekend for archery elk. Be careful around tanks during the prime times. Two years ago I had a scouter mess up a calling setup when a bull got to 50 yards out. The guy on an atv saw the bull and chased after him. When I caught up with him, he said he was scouting for his November tag and I "thanked" him for messing up our opportunity. I walked away before my anger said too much.

I had a Remington 700 BDL in .280 (called a 7mm express back then) and used it the take a couple of coues, several Texas whitetail and some peccaries. I chose that cartridge back in the early 80's after John Wooters wrote an article on it. This was my first rifle. It was traded it towards a Browning Stainless Stalker in 7 mag, which was sold to get a HS precision in 300 WSM. Also have a Win 70 Featherweight in Lark's favorite chambering, which has been used on coues a couple of times. I really have not gotten a "favorite" rifle , yet. But I'm working on it. Doug/RedRabbit