Pygmy

I'm back, friends and neighbors. I did NOT kill a moose, although my party took 5 moose for 7 hunters.. I'm very busy right now and can't take the time for a full report, but I promise one within the next few days. The hunt was a real adventure..

Thanks Single shot... For both the well wishes and the VISUAL...hehehehe...

Thanks, all.. Thanks to Jerry for the lobster tip.. I LOVE crustaceans and any thing else that swims or crawls on the bottom of the ocean. Lawdwaz...We'll definitely have to do dinner at Fran's..The quality of the food has remained excellent with the change of management. Ya don't go away HUNGRY either ! I intend to take lots of digital pictures...I might need a little help posting them, however. Wnybuckhunter has been a great help to me in the past, and I appreciate it. Damn... Amazing how excited a guy in his 60s can get...It's great... When this rush goes away I'll know it's time to stop hunting..

The motorhome is sold.

WELL, friends and neighbors, tomorrow is the day. My good hunting buddy Fungus Face and I are going to head his pickup northeast for our Newfoundland moose hunt. Being the old farts we are, we don't want to drive half the night, so we will overnight tomorrow near Bangor, Maine. Fungus has a favorite motel there, and knowing him, I suspect it's within walking distance of a strip joint. Friday we'll negotiate customs and drive up to New Brunswick, where we'll rendezvous with some Canadian friends. Then we'll convoy out to the eastern tip of Nova Scotia, where we'll board a ferry for an overnight crossing to Newfoundland. We arrive Saturday morning on The Rock, as the Newfies call it and then drive 5 hours north to Portland Creek, where we meet our outfitter. We overnight there, and then Sunday morning, Good Lord Willing and weather permitting, we will helicopter in to our hunting camp. The hunt is a week long, Sunday to Sunday. If I don't get lost in the muskeg or ET by a bear, I'll be home around Sept. 20th, and will post a full report on this forum. Of course I'm HUGELY excited about this trip. It will be my first trip to Newfoundland and my first ride in a helicopter.

Hmmmmm... Is this boy one fry short of a happy meal..?..

I agree with the previous posters regarding the 50 MM objective. If you plan to hunt at night, it might make a difference, but given quality optics, the large objective is of no real benefit during normal hunting hours and just adds extra bulk and the need for higher rings. My largest objective diameter on any of my scopes is 36 MM, and I have looked through them when it was WAAAY to dark to shoot big game legally, and was surprised at how well I could still see. You might be amazed at the light transmission of a Leupold 4X 33 fixed power. Years ago the Redfield scopes were considered excellent quality, but I have had no experience with the newer ones. I do have a Burris Fullfield on one of my rifles, a 2x7,and it has been an excellent scope.

Happy Birthday, Eddie !! I want to be just like YOU when I grow up... ...

There's nothing illegal about hunting with a 7 shot pump gun in NY unless you are hunting migratory game birds such as ducks, geese, woodcock, etc. A semiauto is limited to 6 shots unless it is a .17 or .22 rimfire, but there is no general regulation limiting magazine capacity of pumps, levers, or bolt actions.

Biggest one I ever killed is a 10 point that scores around 130.. Never had it scored. Biggest one I ever laid eyeballs on dead was a 10 that scored 168 and change net and took # 5 in NYS big buck club a few years ago. It was a real clean rack with very few deductions. I don't believe I have ever seen a buck that big on the hoof, in season or out.

Looks like nice work... What is the significance of the wound near the the pedicle of the left anter ?

You won't regret it, Moosemaple.. It's a sweetheart of a cartridge. Works great for deer, but it is capable of handling any North American game ( other than the big bears) with appropriate bullets. Performance is close to that of a 7MM mag, with considerably less muzzle blast and recoil.

Joe... Southern Ontario has excellent turkey hunting. However there is not a lot of quality public land, so you need to make some connections to hunt private land. I have a friend who lives there and secures permission for him and me to hunt, but I think that it would not be too difficult to get access by going door to door and asking permission. One issue concerning hunting turkeys in Ontario..In order to obtain a license you MUST first take an 8 hour training class..Doesn't matter how much previous experience you may have. That means taking the time and effort to learn when a course is scheduled, then going up and taking the course. If you don't have certification of successfully completing this training course, you will not be able to get a turkey license in Onatario.

The .280 is one of my pet calibers. Ballistically it is very similar to the .270 Win. basically the same case but uses a 7mm bullet ( .284") rather than a .277" bullet. Probably the most significant difference is that while the .280 is somewhat more versatile than the .270 when handloaded due to a wider range of available bullets. The .270 may be more practical to the non-handloader because there is a greater variety of factory loads available for the .270.. If the barrel is a good deal, go for it. I have used the round successfully for everything from woodchucks to Alaskan bull moose. It is one of the best medium game/deer cartridges available. There are enough different factory loads available so you should have no problem finding one that will shoot welll.

I'm leaving for Newfoundland for a moose hunt a week from today. I'll be hunting NY and PA this year as always for deer, small game, waterfowl and turkeys. I often go to Georgia in February to hunt wild hogs..That trip is a definite maybe. I also hunt Ontario, Canada every spring for gobblers. Good luck on your western hunts.

I am fairly recently divorced after 35 years of marriage. I would be lying if I said that my passion for hunting , plus the time and money I spent doing it were not a factor in my separation from my wife. However, when I consider the places I have been, and the things I have done, and the wonderful experiences I have had pursuing game animals in some of the most wild and beautiful places on this continent, I am not sorry.. If I had it to do over again, I'd do it the same. We only get one to go around this old world one time.

Last time I toured the flea markets there were older single shots available for well under $100. Most of them aren't real pretty, but many are solid, functional guns, some being as much as 100 years old.

Yeah, those rifled slugs make a NASTY buzz as they go by. You can even hear them COMING... Actually, the scariest thing that ever happened to me was when I fell asleep in my stand and dreamed that I was still married to my ex-wife. I woke up and was about slash my wrists with my Buck knife when I realized it was just a dream. Horrifying experience...I'll tell you, that was the last time that I'll eat a double order of marshmallow cream corn willie fritters before I climb into my stand !

I have had good luck by canning venison very simply. Make sure you have good, clean meat...Trim away all fat ,gristle, bloodshot meat, hair etc. Cut meat into 1" to 2" cubes. Pack meat raw into clean jars...If you want, put 1/2 TSP salt to a pint or 1 TSP to a quart of salt. I add a slice of garlic to each jar. Put COLD water in the pressure canner and process 75 minutes per pint or 90 minutes per quart. Set canner off heat and wait until pressure returns to zero. Set jars on a towel and wait to hear them "DING" when they seal

Thanks, Larry.... It wasn't too long ago that a DIY moose trip to Alaska could be done door to door for about 3K. Those days are gone ! It has also become MUCH more expensive to get your antlers, capes, and meat home. The hunts I did 20-25 years ago kicked my butt physically, and I was in good shape then. I could no longer do the unguided thing, and guided moose hunts in AK are around 10K and up now. I am so glad I did it while I could. They were adventures that I will never forget.

The guys that I am going with have hunted with this outfitter several times. From what I understand it is not uncommon for it to rain every day on a September hunt.. Good rain gear is right at the top of my clothing list. I'm used to that on my north country hunts. On my 1989 float trip in AK it rained EVERY DAY enough to soak me for 14 days... Often SEVERAL times a day...If you don't like the weather, just wait half an hour..It will change.. Never saw so many rainbows in my life. I also learned not to take any COTTON hunting clothes. Damn stuff never dries out.

Solon..here is where I'll be hunting. www.samandsonshuntingandfishing.com. It's on the northern peninsula. A good hunting buddy of mine has shot two moose with his .270 and 150 grain federal premium loads. He was very satisfied with thier performance. Both bull moose were very dead in short order. Thanks for the info.. I will be taking pictures with my digital cam and hopefully, with the help of my lovely significant other and possibly somebody on this forum, I'll manage to get them posted, providing I am successful.

Gotcha covered, Moosie.. I understand what you are saying, and have no doubt that has been your experience. However, in my experience, most lung shot and heart shot deer have run a distance regardless of the projectile..I have shot quite a few critters including deer/caribou /antelope with my .280 and 140 ballistic tips @ 3000fps. They basically ran as far as any critters I have shot with other projectiles, including shotgun slugs, with similar hits. Regardless of bullets or velocity, the only time that my animals seem to fall down right where they stand is when I hit OR PASS CLOSE TO the CNS or shoulders.

Moosie... I may have confused things here by discussing working up loads for my .280. But , when I go to Newfoundland in two weeks, my 9.3 x 62 is going with me. I did shoot a big Alaska bull with my .280, back in '89. Using 160 Nosler partitions, it worked fine. However, considering how well the 9.3 x 62 shoots and performs out to 300 yards with a much heavier bullet, taking it rather than the .280 is a no brainer.

Well, if you are scared of something to the point that you can't enjoy a hunt, you are better off staying home.. One night in Alaska 3 of us were butchering a moose by lantern light. One of the fellows ( who was holding the lantern) kept saying .. " What if a grizzly comes in..?? What if we can't find our way back to camp tonite..??" I finally got tired of listening to him and said " For Pete's sake...Hunting in Alaska isn't for PUSSIES".. Same deal..If you are paranoid about snakes and bugs, don't go to Africa...If you are paranoid about rifles being made legal for deer hunting, make yourself a concrete bunker to hide in during deer season.