Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Tonto AZ camp and shoot... GTC memorial Feb 23-25

We hope it's not medical problems - pray they're healthy!

Mark - sorry to report that there is some of medical reason and mostly otherwise - but seems not avoidable in any case. These guys are of the best and we will miss them all. On the other hand, we have seemed to lack one or more we are eager to have at each gathering and those who get there always make it a great time. The reason for doing these makes them work so well for those that participate.

Cutting this one tight. I took my M700 223 AI out a week ago to find it would not extract. I haven't shot it since 1996... I pick it up tomorrow from my 'smith, will hit the range on Wednesday and on the road Thursday.

Ed - that was 22 years ago - maybe just a gummy ejector pin. I didn't know that the ".223AI" was invented that far back - goes to prove I know hardly anything about that one. How is it in the wind - been blowing hard here on the mountain for two days - hoping that stuff is out of the SW by the weekend.

Paul,

Steve Timm was playing with it back then in Varmint Hunter magazine. The ejector is fine. It just will not pull the round from the chamber. I bought the replacement part from Brownell's and was going to do it myself but also read of problems replacing it. For $40 I gave to my guy. I seem to recall playing with H335 back then and having funny things going on... I have since heard similar from others. I am going to try TAC and found some old 62 gr Berger's on the shelf.

I've not been reading this daily and now its up to 21 pages, I don' t have the attention span to step thru every page. Can someone fill me in:
Location, exact, Lat/Long, FR road etc.
time, dates in the title say fri-sat-sun I presume some of you are going up friday, staying fri night & sat night?
what other activities are plan. 'yote hunt? Shooting? (tonto put in new restrictions but paper and steel are still legal). how many folks are showing up?

I probably can't head up friday but might be able to come up saturday afternoon.

Poole

Heading out. All have a safe journey.

Bill, some folks will be on site by Wednesday - the "official" stuff starts Friday afternoon with dinner as the kickoff - and most start homeward by Sunday noon.

The shooting contests begin after breakfast on Saturday and the descriptions of those shoots can be found earlier as post #12570841 - 01/22/18. The maps to the site are about three posts later. Hope you can make it.

Ed, thanks for freshening my mind on the .223AI - not something I followed at the time.

In my old .223 I've not gone past 60g bullets and only loaded those twice. It was a 60g Hornady with 25g of 4895 and that got close to 3,000 fps. It worked pretty good - of course, better in wind than the 50s and 55s, Have not yet loaded any TAC, but have used the Berger 62g in a 22/250 and it was good stuff.

This should be fun - safe travels.

Bob - sure glad you are coming - drive safe and load good terbakky.

from Punkin center take FS409 W a mile or so and you come to a road to the right or it drops into the wash on the left, turn tight North and the camp is about 1/4 mile.

Kent

So - the weather? In that we've had some unexpected precip two and three days ago followed by unusually high winds for two days (screaming like wild ladies up here at times), I started thinking about weather for the Tonto time. Also, thought the wind would be gone by today and finally I could get some shooting prep done in mild wind or stillness by 7AM, so set the alarm and got up to find stillness - but falling snow, and it's still falling at 9:30 with no sign of quit so far. Maybe won't get to shoot at all before the gathering.

As the crow flies, we are approx 250 miles northeast of the Tonto camp - so went to our best weather site and it shows likely precip tomorrow and Thursday on the road path from here to camp - which could mean dicey mountain driving in our old MoHome - if I get the oil changed and other usual pre-trip maintenance done by tomorrow. It's pretty cold out there on that concrete slab right now.

For camp, the forecast shows likely precip on much of Friday - probably rain but maybe something colder - and a clear sunny day for Saturday. So, best to bring some clothes accordingly just in case. We've been needing moisture up here, so no complaints - but am wondering about the travel.

Kent, just past the old cattle pen?

We've had big winds in the Sandias, east of Albuquerque, and about an inch of snow, hail and sleet last night. Some of the roads were iced and the HS parking lot was so icy that school was canceled.

Sadly, I cannot make Tonto this year (it would be my first) because school pressures mean the kids can't go. We'll try for Armijo Springs, though, and I have some new BBQ guns to show.

Norm

Bob are you already there? Call me if you need to I'm still working and not on the computer, call me 480 292 4554.

Kent

Bob - after you turn right off the gravel road in from the highway and then go along that narrower/rougher one, there will be a clear campsite on the left and maybe one on the right. There may be pens there - I forget. Pass that stuff and go up a little (less than 200 yds., I think) to the next clear area - on the right - with quite a few places clear between trees/bushes. That's our camp site. The little road turns left/downhill after that.

You're there in time to get the best spot - just don't pitch your tent in Dennis sacred place where there is some grass under that bent tree - right where all of those cow pies are. He likes to sleep on top of those.

Glad you are there safe.

Yeah! Im good!!! Nifty-250 pulled in a while ago and said this is da spot!!

He says to say to all that the road coming in is better than it's ever been!

Postscript! We are closely guarding Dennis' sacred spot!

Ed, try 25.5gr of CFE-223 if you have any. I had one partial box of old 62 gr Bergers and shot them up with that load, then switched to the 62gr Federal Fusions when they were gone. Great accuracy in all of my .223's.

Folks, I was going to try to make it, but I caught some type of virus and can't seem to shake it. I was really looking forward to seeing old friends, particularly Jim & the beautiful Nikki, and finally getting to shake EdM's hand among others. To tell the truth, I was kinda hoping to get the chance to try to beat Dennis at shooting...sort of an itch I need to scratch.

You'll have to toast for me, too. Gonna really miss the toast for Greg.

I'll get out that way sooner than later.

Y'all take care, don't need to tell you to have fun.

Ed

He has his own slit trench?

Ed