Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 760 Project/Advice

I sure like that you put the sights back on it after the chop.

Well Okie... we get old. I have a Win M64 that I put a peep on last fall. I just couldn't throw that rifle out of balance by putting a scope on. I'm not going to shoot it further than 50 yards anyway.

The Benoit boys have been using scopes for a few years now but still aren't afraid to throw a little lead if needed.

With the scopes you're looking to put on it, I don't think you'll be wrong. Those are great close range optics. I have a VX2 1-5 on a Rem 740 that was my grandpa's rifle. It's a "shotgun" scope I guess so the reticle is wide and easy to see in low light.

Years ago we cut a 760 in 35 Rem to 16.5" and mounted a 2.5 compact Leupold. We then cut the pistol grip off and turned the stock into a straight grip. The owner got involved in some crop damage permits and I have no idea how many deer he killed with it. Very accurate, low recoil and handled like a good shot gun. For its intended use the 760 does quite well.

Dinny,

I was similar to you but turned down E-9 to retire. It was 2009 and I didn't want to sell my soul and deploy again

I'm willing to stand corrected on that, too. I've never hunted that part of the country and I haven't seen my copy of Larry Benoit's book in years.

I'd be all ears if you want to expand on any of this.


Okie John

Certainly one of the more interesting aspects of hunting deer in these wilderness areas is the fact that the terrain is so vast they wander unlike woodlot deer. Deer don’t know a thing about international borders for example and they can and do cover distance into Canada sometimes. Also interesting is the low, low population density of these animals. The weather here is a major factor as well. I suspect the same for other northern WTs in different parts of the US and Canada.
Anyway, big woods tracking takes a lot of bushcraft and is not always successful as one may imagine. The northern forests in Maine can be pretty thick and can also offer new or old cuts and various hardwood areas. I’ve tracked some to a successful conclusion in the snow and it really requires all of one’s attention. In that regard it can be quite mentally taxing which combined with hard physical walking can make for a long day.
I swear these trackers are part Indian! There’s another guy down in Massachusetts named Jeff Doyle who was posting content on YouTube for a while and he was quite knowledgeable in this area. It’s hard to get close to them I know that much! I like the choice of the 06 for this application as it is bad medicine on big deer. My buddy has a nice Whelen he needs to blood so hoping for early snow this year in the hopes of getting on the track.
What are the deer in WA? Don’t you also have the Roosevelt elk?

We have blacktails west of the Cascade crest, whitetails on the eastern edge of the state, and muleys in between. Smarter folks than me describe hybrids where two species meet, so call it five species.

Blacktail terrain can be as mild or steep as you like. Vegetation is stands of dense timber mixed with clear cuts where you can see for miles. By deer season (the last two weeks in October) it’s probably been raining for several weeks so the ground will be slippery and temperatures will be in the high 30s. It’s classic hypothermia country.

I took the attached picture a few hours ago while chasing black bears. You can see the difference between clearcuts and standing timber, but you can’t see how difficult it can be to traverse a clearcut. I’ll try to get some pictures of that in the next few days. Imagine rough and broken (but soft and squishy) terrain covered with thigh-high brush, most of which is blackberry vines covered with thorns.

Terrain and vegetation east of the Cascade crest look more like the Mountain West. I haven’t hunted there much, but I do know that the seasons are more distinct, and have greater variation between annual highs and lows.

Roosevelts are a beast unto themselves. They’re 20% larger than Rocky Mountain elk, or about the size of an American Quarter Horse, but their racks are much smaller. If you compare both species, then you’ll be forgiven for thinking that Rocky Mountain antlers belong on Roosevelt elk and vice versa.

They live in blacktail country but the season is in November. It WILL rain, and the rain will be like getting sprayed with a hose. If you wound one, they will dive into the deepest, nastiest hole you can imagine and die there.



Okie John

Thanks to all again. I should have the rifle in my hands in a few weeks (I'm getting it from a friend about 3 states north of me when I make my next trek up there) and I'll post pics when I get it done.