pitweiler

Are you actually able to glass, spot animals and stalk them or is it too thick?

I haven’t hunted ADK yet. I want to but that’s planning, camping, days off work and $$. Really stinks that DMPs are not issued up there. I hunt 6K, 6N, 7F, 7J and I might try 7R this year. I have DMPs for 7F and 7R. I need to get on the ball next year and hit the shop Aug 1 so I can apply for 6K and start getting preference points.

Where in ADK are you spot / stalking? I spent a lot of time up there as a kid and don’ t remember areas like that. ADK is about two to four hours away from me so it’s just far enough to be difficult to get to. It’s also hard to justify taking a trip up there with no DMP when I can get a DMP down in 7 with ease.

I hope you lay it down tomorrow. I wish we had more areas to spot and stalk in NY.

Typically all I do is still hunt. I have a hard time sitting still. I only hunt public land right now and finding a spot to set up a stand / blind is nigh impossible because I’m afraid it won’t be there the next time I come back and typically the area is too thick. I’ve been able to get out three times so far ( I don’t bow hunt) for a total of about 22 hours. Still hunted most of it. So far I’ve encountered three deer (does, although i never got a good look at one of them, that I don’t have a DMP for). I stalked them for practice and never could catch up to them. I snuck up on all of them from behind. I played the wind and followed the fresh sign. It’s such a thrill to stalk like that but man it’s hard when you can’t get a shot. Either legally, safely/ethically or they spook. Anyone feel the same way?

I think opening the season on the weekend is a terrible idea. Given that weekends are the only time most people have to hunt like someone said it turns into an orange parade. I think moving the regular season open days to Monday and then extending each season by a few days would benefit everyone. You wouldn’t have a huge influx of people on one day, the public lands wouldn’t get hammered so hard and it might just move people around a little to help with congestion. I pretty much refuse to hunt any public land, especially WMAs on the weekends because it’s just too crowded.

https://www.sportsmans.com/hunting-gear-supplies/hunting-packs/binocular-harnesses-cases/alps-outdoorz-bino-hunting-harness-x/p/1433640?channel=shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt7rnu7rA5QIVA3iGCh0O8gIcEAQYCCABEgJLfvD_BwE I have used this harness for the past three seasons. Awesome product. Mine is a touch small for my Nikon Prostaff 7s binos but now they make a larger size for $5 more. Quality is top notch. I found mine on sale at Herb Philipsons for $25 three years ago. Shop around and you can find them for $30-40. Well worth it.

I’m so behind. With the kids, work, church, family life I haven’t even bought my tags or scouted at all. Hard to find the time. The only expectations I have are to at least get away from society for a few days. I see deer almost every night at work. I hope I see one when I’m in the deer woods. Just gonna thank the Lord if I’m able to get out there and my boy can come with me.

My .243 is solid. I absolutely love that rifle. I actually think I’m just going to load some 85gr TSX bullets for it and use that. I have a Marlin 336 chambered in .30/30. I’m just going to build it out as a back up. It needs new sights and could use a new pair of laminate stock/forearm and maybe a more durable foul weather finish than the bluing. A Wild West loop and trigger, Beartooth Mercantile safety delete with some Skinners on it would make a great rifle.

I wish someone would make a true standard length action. I think the Winchester M70 can still be had in a standard / intermediate length. All the ones I’ve seen have been $$$

I’m just starting to jump into reloading. I was looking through the Winchester ball powder information and the fastest they had a 230gr .45 ACP loaded to was 771fps. Are some of these manuals loaded light for liability reasons? That was my guess.

I agree. When I bought my .243 I was debating between that and a 7-08. I wasn’t reloading then so I went with the .243 because finding 7-08 ammo where I lived was really difficult. Now I find myself mulling over different ways to rebore/rechamber, rebarrel or just leave it alone. As for for the two rifles mentioned, Ruger hands down. Both are more than accurate enough. In my opinion the Ruger has a better fit, finish and feel than the Axis. One thing that annoys me about the Axis, and to me just seems like a major cheap short cut, (don’t mean to offend anyone, just my opinion) is the use of a humongous Savage long action for all cartridges. I suppose if you handload the ability seat bullets out farther than normal could be an advantage, but at that point I’d just buy a long action .270 if you’re contemplating a 7-08 and you handload. The Ruger also seems to have better after market support. I have a Savage 111 in .30-06 and I swear that action is long enough to stuff a .50BMG in it (sarcasm). That being said it is a very accurate rifle. If you go the Savage route I would just jump up to a 110 series rifle instead. Just my $.02.

NYS Deer Population: Tons (Official, 2018) Good amount of car/deer MVCs in late September through very early November. After the first week of November they started decrease. It made me think that perhaps the rut is longer or starts earlier than we think. Once mid October hit it was a lot of bucks chasing does.

I think it should just be incorporated into basic hunters education.

Add in that a bow hunter education course isn’t required for crossbow.

I have a different view on the whole thing than most people. I ask the question of why? Why do we bow hunt? Why do we archery hunt at all? Why archery hunt when there are much more efficient implements available for our use? I think the answer for a lot of people is to extend their season and/or hunt when deer are under less pressure. Some people are die hard bow hunters. That’s the only way they hunt or the way they prefer to hunt. Bow hunting takes a lot of skill. Not only with woodsmanship, but ability to draw, aim and consistently hit what you intend to hit. Even with modern compound bows there is a greater degree of skill that goes into bow hunting than rifle hunting minus long range rifle hunting. I am not currently a bow hunter. A good number of people have/will add a crossbow just to extend their season. While by no means do I think a crossbow is easy to use requiring minimal skill, it is easier to use than a vertical bow. I think full inclusion of crossbows without caveats will just lead to archery season being very similar to firearm season when it comes to hunter density and pressure. Just my $.02.

I’ve talked to him in the past. My barrel is skinny, only .509” at the muzzle. I do believe he said he could open me up to .338, but not .358. The biggest concern I have with a rebore is 1) having a whippy barrel that can only group 2 rounds rapidly and walks the third badly, and 2) takes an already light rifle, makes it lighter and then doubles the recoil from a .243 to a .338/.358, which I fear would totally ruin the handling characteristics of the rifle. If I did the rechamber project I think I might order a Manners stock first, then order a medium heavy sporter with fluting to reduce weight while still giving the rifle some forward balance. Then have the stock inlet, barrel installed and the whole thing put together. Space the prject out over a couple years so I’m not forking over small fortunes at one time. I really think having a 16-20in barreled 8mm or .358 bore rifle in a cartridge that could be loaded properly for the shorter barrel would be a great carrying / handling rifle. My Ruger Hawkeye has a 20in, Marlin has a 20in and Mini14 has an 18in. I’m sold on the shorter barrels for field use.

Ruger Hawkeye. I think the mag length is just under 3.00” I’ve been tossing up the idea of rebarreling it to a medium bore .308 based cartridge. .358 Win has been on the radar. Not really sure I need to, but it would be neat and different.

Is there an 8mm-.308 based wildcat?

I just looked into the 8x57 and it actually looks pretty solid. However, the 8x57 is not able to be loaded in a short action so wouldn’t it be best compared to a .338-06?

That’s definitely true. I meant for what most people will use a rifle for -deer hunting- a .325 or even a .338 doesn’t offer any real terminal performance increase over a .277, .284 or .308 bore to name a few. Once you start to get into niche loadings, like you have done, it has advantages, but for Joe Average Hunter I just don’t think they offer enough performance increase. Hence why some of the .325 and .338 spin offs haven’t really gained much popularity. .338 Federal, .325 WSM etc just haven’t gained popularity like they could have. I really want to add a .338 Federal but I just can’t figure out what it could offer me that I couldn’t get from a .308 Win.

Realistically, a .243 loaded with a monolithic copper bullet designed to retain weight and penetrate would probably work just fine. I'm also going to explore breaking out the old Marlin 30/30.

The old ‘06 was my first so it will stay. I’m setting up the reloading bench this spring and loading 85gr TSX for the .243 and 130gr or 150gr TTSX for the .30-06. I’m going to check that CVA Scout out.

Except a .375 Ruger is a standard length cartridge.

A .35 WSM would be much cooler/better than a .325! How did you wildcat it?