Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles okay for the guys that didn't draw

i didn't draw utah bucck deer or wyoming doe antelope tag what would you have taking
i'll start, just picked up 458 win mag i would have used for antelope or buck deer
and my back up rifle would have been a savage 99 featherweight 358 win

jump in and tell us what you would have used!

I don't know how other states work...are you saying that in the state you live in...if you don't draw a tag...you just don't get to hunt for the whole damn year??

Wtf

Lol I thought the same thing

Yes what he is saying is correct. Utah sucks for Deer hunting, or general big game all together. You can buy an Elk over the counter if they don't sell out before you get one.

Wow that's BS. Can't even hunt in your home state.

North Dakota is the same for rifle deer.
It sucks

I’d be pretty chapped if they sold any Non Res tags and I couldn’t get even one as a resident. I didn’t apply for any hunts this year. Just OTC for me.

I’m likely toting a 6.5 Grendel Howa for deer and a 280 M70 if I go modern for elk.

that was my thought...better be zero out of staters shooting the deer i pay for

I admit mooshoo's OP was a little difficult to follow, but I think he is posing a question to the folks here who did not draw a tag this year, and wants to know what rifle they would have used if they hadn't got skunked on the draw. If they applied for, and failed to draw, multiple things he'd like to know the rifle you'd have used for each.

mooshoo, is that correct? If so:
I was unsuccessful for AZ Elk - if drawn I'd have used a 9.3x62 that I've just completed and not yet hunted.
I was unsuccessful for AZ Deer - if drawn I'd have used a .256 Newton that I have NOT just completed. But if I'd drawn for Coues I'd have reprioritized my work to have it done in time.
I was unsuccessful for MT General Deer - if drawn I'd have used a new Christensen 6.5 CM or Mauser M-12 .308 that I am complete with load development for but have not yet hunted.
I did draw MT Antelope, and MT B-Tags for both mule deer and whitetail. I'll use the 6.5 CM and the .308 for the first two. My host insists on lever actioned Winchesters with iron sights for the whitetail, so for that one I will use my M-94 30-30.

Cheers,
Rex

yes thank you for helping me out. and yes it sucks here in Utah

Well I got skunked with PA Elk and VT Moose. No surprises there. But I would've used my Ruger 77 Hawkeye 30-06 with a 6X Docter scope and my Marlin 1895G 45-70 with open sights

I would have used the same rifle that I’ve used since 1990!

Now regulated to a bolt action rifle shooting, sub-sonic 22 LR with silencer....hunting at night! 😉 No permit required! 🤪 memtb

I applied for 30-40 tags, mainly hard to draw tags for critters ranging from coues deer to brown bear and bison. The only thing I drew was a short range weapons moose tag...basically a depredation hunt. Other than that, it is nothing but general tags for me this year again.

Of my unsuccessful draws: for brown bear, bison and musk ox I would have probably taken either my .300 or .375---both H&Hs. For everything else including caribou, deer, antelope, sheep/goat, etc. hunts it would have been either my .223 Rem or 6.5x284 NORMA, depending on circumstances.

I was unsuccessful for Montana antelope, first time that has happened in 6 or 8 years I think. I would have taken my Model 70 classic stainless in 30-06. I have recently worked up a load with 150 gr SSTs at a touch over 3000 that shoot under MOA. Should have been perfect for speedgoats. Maybe next year.

Didn’t draw a tag this year in any state. Had to buy an LOP in NM for elk. Using a .270 Win for that hunt, a 308 or 6.5 CM for deer in AL and FL.

Didn't draw in AZ this year so going over to NM for a cow elk. Taking Plain Jane, M700 in 30-06 w/ 2.5-8 Leupy.