That early CO BP season is absolutely a great hunt. You guys will really enjoy it.
I will tell you what we came up with.
For a rifle I like the Knight MK-85. It has a fantastic trigger. It shoots very well, and is very "handy", along with being lightweight. And you can pick one up for a decent price. However what I like most about them is that they shoot conicals very, very well.
I cast a 525 grain conical with the RCBS HotchKiss adjustable mold in 50 caliber. I realize this is a big bullet, but it is extremely effective on elk. Now I will admit that I did not measure the length of this bullet when we used them in CO, and bullet length is a parameter for legal projectiles in CO. But at the time I hunted and casted those bullets I did not know that law. But that was my problem if I had got caught.
I backed the 525 grain Hotchkiss bullet with 120 grains of 3F BP. And that was one stout load. Probably too stout. But it would cut the X at 100 yards off the bench. This really is too stout of a load, but I did shoot it, and it kicked the he** out of me, but I wanted an elk. I shot one 5X5 bull at a lasered 148 yards, and the bull went sick. He did not go 10 yards and fell over dead with a "boiler room" shot.
I sighted the rifle dead on at 125 yards. That gave me a point blank range out to about 160 yards. But I was practiced and would not have hesitated at a 200 yard shot as long as it was lasered.
The other great thing about the MK-85 is that they come with great factory sights. I actually upgraded mine to a peep sight. I do not know now if that peep upgrade is legal, you may want to check into that. But if not-no worry. The original MK-85's come with excellent Williams sights.
I hope you draw your tag. Do you have any preference points built up?? I have drawn a couple on my first try. In the Paonia, and White River Forest area. Tom.
Last edited by HOGGHEAD; 02/18/10.
