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.
It was a good tracking year in VT as well. Snow from beginning to end. Shot my buck hunting the thick stuff on the first Wednesday of the season. 7600 carbine using 180 grain round nose core-lok. One shot, one kill. Love my Leupold 1.5-5.
