Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting camp cook kills a bull … on an OTC tag … on public land … using old levergun, factory ammo

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately the rifle is not one of the cool relics of the West. It is a 30 year old BLR model '81.
Bought it not long after '81 and I believe it is the vintage with the Japanese barrel and still had the metal lever gear.
I'm not anywhere near the gun and bullet guy that some of the rest of you are and my stuff is old, ordinary, and very vanilla.
Much of the bluing is worn away from the rifle, and it wears some deep gouges from spooked horses or falls taken above treeline. I no longer hunt with it in wet weather because it has no rust protection anymore and it blooms rust like crazy. I worry that I may have put too many rounds through the barrel.

I like the rifle because it comes on target fast (because it has a fixed 4x scope) and it hits fairly hard (7mag). I've got a half-dozen 7 mags and the 160 grain weight seems to be the common denominator or starting point with most of them. I shoot the Federal Partitions because they are commonly available, premium bullet, and shoot pretty good in everything.



I shoot regularly but my approach to it is different from most people. I am less about chronometers, ballistics, and long ranges, and more about feeling comfortable and confident and giving myself a chance in difficult conditions.
Really though - I'm just worried about being able to get out there again and manage my physical challenges. Success has to be a secondary consideration.



2 holes (but not the kind most bullet experts seek).



In the days when I would carry that rifle 15 miles my non-shooting sling shoulder and collarbone would ache a little. These days my hunts are more like 3 or 4 miles and the shoulder pain is unbearable. I suspect it is arthritis but I don't really know and I have some issues to fix before I attempt another alpine hunt.