I know this thread is dated but I carried my carbine all season here in Maine. Ended up hunting 9 1/2 days overall and killed a buck the last Saturday of the season. I'll do some things differently for next year. The 2.5x8 is the least favorite Leupold I own and I will be getting a 1x4 or 1.5x5 for next season. Really don't like the cheap Leupold rings I put on so that will be upgraded also, and plan to play around with a few more loads. I killed my deer at about 20 yards with a single 165gr. factory Core-lokt. While I'm not a huge fan of the 06,and certainly not Core-lokts, everything worked fine and he dropped in his tracks but I want to play a little more with the rifle.
We had snow all season long and I was on my feet for pretty much the entire time I hunted. That little carbine was a joy to carry.
