Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Things that worked / Things that didn’t 2024 version

Reminds me: my buddy shot his elk this past year with a 150 gr Tipped CL from a 7 RM. At 40 yards it worked <G>

Yup. Wore them today shed hunting. Was -9 when I left and 9 when I finished. Soles were hard as a rock with little to no traction. Maybe I’m unlucky but the last 2 pair I have had were the same.

What worked:

Winchester PowerPoint 270 Win - 130 grain
Federal Blue Box PowerShok 7.62x39 - 123grain
Norma Whitetail 308 Win - 150 grain
New Primos Gun Hunter orange vest. Perfect amount of pockets and placement

Didn’t work:

Deer sightings were way down for myself, my kids, and hunting club. It’s been a tough year
Rut has been almost nonexistent in our corner of the world

Plausible (think it’s more personal preference):

After having lots of folders through the years - and they work fine - I have decided folders for pocket knives and fixed blades for field-skinning-butchering. A pair in the 2.5-2.75” and a 3.75-4” range cover all of my needs!

But it sure was fun!

I haven't bloodied my 6.5 LTR yet but what is working for both accuracy and confidence is 120gr TTSX's and 43gr of H4350.

New Kuiu bino pack-after running the Badlands for ten years I found this to be better (for me anyway)

Havalon knife. These make sense as an additional knife but not a primary (again, just me)

The one thing I tried that oddly enough didn't work for me as far as hunting was a S&B PMII 10x42. Everything about the scope is exceptional except the reticle. Great as a target scope but for myself and the areas I spend a lot of time hunting the bold part blocks too much field of view in thicker cover and watching lanes. Wouldn't pose a problem in open country.

Ditto.


I'd done a similar lookback at this year's kit earlier. A couple clarifications/additions would be:

While I mentioned a specific spotter, I think the general idea is that if one's not packing a really good spotter, it might not be worth the weight. Granted, the Athlon I had was miles ahead of what guys carried maybe even into the 1990's, but it's far, far behind today's offerings.

I grow more & more fond of Tim Olt's Michigan Slim every time I use it. It just does so many things, so well. Not a monster, by any stretch, but it'll do a good bit more than one might suspect. The excellent craftsmanship goes without saying.

KUIU merino shirt seem to punch above its weight. I haven't tried to out-nasty it yet (x days afield with no washing), but it's awfully comfy in a wide range of temps, and handles moisture extremely well.

Crispi Valdres boots didn't work. They use a loop for the ankle locking point, instead of a cleat. Unable to lock my ankle, my toes would shove into the end of the boot on downhill stretches. I tried every imaginable lacing setup, & couldn't make them work. I spent too long in the effort, and wound up roaching my toenail bed on one foot. I went back to the Crispi Wyoming, and it's perfect for me: absolutely love that boot.

PPU brass outperformed my expectations in the family 7x57. Sure, it's a mild load, but the brass has been consistent out of the bag, and has held up quite well through several firings.

Worksharp Pocket Knife Sharpener is hella handy, & quick to bring an edge if the blade's not too far gone. $15 well-spent.

A good poly bandana has been awfully useful. From keeping sweat out of my glasses when worn as a doo-rag, to keeping dust outa my nose as a bandana, to giving much more warmth than I'd have guessed when 'round my neck, it's definitely worth having one around.



FC

What worked:

The trail camera scouting for a big Blacktail buck that I found the year before.
He was coming to the water hole every day at either daylight or dusk - but he always showed up each day. 8X6 with tons of mass and very long eye guards - I wanted him pretty bad.

What didn't work:

"The Plan" - All I had to do was set up within reasonable rifle range and good wind. No sweat....
I checked the trail camera after sitting all day on the water and his last daytime photos were from the morning before. After that he went totally nocturnal on me. That was Oct 5th. I finally got eyes on him on Nov 1st. He was a lasered 480 yards away and alert to my presence. He boogied after about 30 seconds or so of mutual admiration...lol. I saw him two more times, both in the early morning and even further away each time. I probably had 15 solid days of hunting just for him and passed on at least 6 lesser bucks that would have been easy kills. I didn't want any of them and never punch the tag.

The Lesson:

He's killable, but not with the tactics I normally use - so I'm going to change them. I love the rifle. But the timing isn't in my favor, so I plan to use my compound bow this year. If he (or another like him) is using the water hole again this year, I'll set up my large popup blind well in advance and then monitor it to see if he accepts it. If all goes well, I'll sit it during the early archery season when he's a regular visitor. I don't have to buy a tag and commit to a season until the day before it opens, so I can bail and hunt rifle if he doesn't want to play......

The 165 gr ILock in 308 win. I’ve been using the for many years over 44 gr of Varget and have shot many deer and heave animals up to Eland. I have always been very satisfied with their performance.

Worked:

1:7 .224 Lilja barrels in Kimber Montana contour. 1 in 223Rem and a 2nd in 22 Creed. Also a Lilja #2 .308 chambered in 300Win is a hammer as well. I'm not opposed to other barrels, but, the number of factory contours you can just order up right from their website typically has me looking there 1st.

Q Mini-Fix in 223Rem. I like it a LOT more than I thought I was going to. My intent was to have it as a backup for use with a thermal in case an AR got wonky in the cold. I topped it with a 2.5-10x42 NXS MOAR in an ADM mount and put the Q Number Shrimp suppressor on the end. It's accurate, short, handy, and feeds like a dream from 10rd Lancer mags.

Suppressors, I went from 0 to 3 in 2024. A 5" Thunderbeast, 5.7" Q Jumbo Shrimp, and 6" Scythe Ti. I resisted the trend for a LONG time but the lightweights keep a rifle's balance much more to my liking and so I plunged.

Wicked Edge knife sharpener. Midway had an open box model marked way down. You can really perk up a worn-down, dull, basket-case blade, all the way to the tip.

first report I've ever heard of a hammer hunter not doing the job quick. Of course high lung hits tend to go a long ways at times.
But the bullet not opening twice is weird. I won't use them because they open and frag and do more damage than I want.

Things that worked:
1) Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 400 boots. My buddies had raved about these, so I finally got a pair. I broke them in as recommended with 50 miles of daily walking. Then I wore them on seven hunting trips from Arizona to Montana over the last season. Weather was never wet, nor was it terribly cold, but some of the terrain was really brutal. My feet held up well after getting kind of foot-sore at the end of the day with my previous boots.
2) Hornady 103 ELD-X in a 6mm ARC on a Montana whitetail doe at 448 yards. I bought this 7.5" twist 6mm ARC AR-15 upper on our 24HCF classifieds for what I considered a very fair price. It turned out to be so accurate with the 103 ELD-X load I worked up for it that I wanted to "take a poke" at long range on a Montana "B-Tag" to see how the bullet would perform as it got down to its low end velocity.
Based on how the 6 ARC did at 448 yards, I would expect the same bullet performance out of the 6mm Creedmoor out to 600 yards plus.

One of my favorite buys from last year. Never knew what I was missing.

Flat base or boat tail?

I don't worry if my super, high power, extra high BC, latest and greatest, solid turned and tuned copper bullet wonder cartridge will work or not. Funny, how we say 150 year old, lead hard cast will kill a bear the best, but we need some Guns and Ammo touted super new wiz-bang cartridge and bullet to kill a deer.

What did not work, my CIA spy satellite, boots on the ground, previous hunting experience in the area, and trusted-friend intel. Even the lame warden's suggestion to try a different area was void of elk. The elk got some memo that said, yo, that Mountain 10 guy is on his way, time to blow this lodgepole stand and make for new cover. Saw one elk over 14 days of hunting - two seasons. Elk, were, just, gone. Like f-ing gone. And they 100% were there three weeks earlier at opening of archery - from first hand knowledge of a friend. Moved camp four times over two seasons and still nothing. Last year took a cow in the exact same area. Bizarre to say the least.

What worked, let's see, Moose. Moose worked. Saw 14 moose and almost got charged by one very large bull. Could be the reason there were no elk. In any case, if anyone wants to see ultra rare, better protect them and limit hunting tags, moose, I know some spots.

I made a small, simple, chest rig. Worked better than the half-dozen, oversized, chest, bra, front-chest-back-pack things I've tried in the past.

Sold and bought a new travel trailer. The new one is a toy hauler type. Bought it used and redid/upgraded it. Lifted it, put on bigger wheels and tires, added lights inside and out, replaced the mattresses, added USB/C outlets everywhere, heated the water/grey tanks, and prepped for solar which will be added this year. The thing rocked big time. The lift alone was worth the $ and time. I dragged that thing in places where even a Subaru would turn around. Worked epicly awesome.

Any pics of the trailer? My buddy and I have been pondering that over the past few months.

What was the velocity at impact?

What was the condition of the innards between the in and out holes?

These Interlocks are usually quite reliable at 308 type speed.

Total fail: Kuiu camo "waterproof" gloves. Wore them on a 4.5hour goose hunt two days ago... completely soaked through within an hour of moderate rain. By two hours water was pooled INSIDE the glove. Complete and total fail.

On the other hand, I wore their Yukon jacket all day and was bone dry.

Yes, I'll see if I can upload some here.

The Helinox lite cot kept my 220lb self off the ground, dry and comfortable. I expected it to be flimsy, but it was pretty solid. Spendy, but worth it to me. Better yet, I found them on sale and saved a little.

The Razor Lite folding knife punched way above its weight class. I think I used 4 or 5 of the replaceable blades to skin and break down a moose. Lightweight and cheap, I’ll take an extra one along next time. Oh yea, I wore a cut resistant glove on my off hand. It fit under a rubber glove and provided some insurance.

Cheap stretchy suspenders with hardware removed and sewn on permanently. I’ve got a few of hunting pants rigged like this. Can still wear a belt for pistol or knife if needed.

5 years and the elastic is still perfect.

Worked:
Streamlight Wedge XT - Clips in shirt or pants pocket and does not roll when set on a flat surface.

Nosler 160 gr Accubond in a 7x57 - worked on golden wildebeest, impala and springbok. One shot on the wildebeest and impala, two on the springbok but the second was not needed. PH in camp had lost one earlier and mine wanted to be sure.