Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What did you pick up last year that worked...or did not work.

GOOD:
Rivers West Jacket: Forget wich one it is though lol. Quiet and very waterproof, But WAY to warm for still hunting. Awesome on a duckblind though.

Panasonic TZ-5 :Awesome camera, that even I can use



Iffy: Badlands 2200. Good pack, very stout and well thought out but its a lil big and bulky for the direction of my interests.

BAD: Defective deer tag, never could get it hooked onto a set of horns.

GOOD: Leupold rx2 rangefinder. Makes my 30 06 way better (for me) than any faster caliber and trying to estimate range.

Wearing my driving glasses while hunting. I put it off too long.
Make shift shooting sticks from 2 walking sticks and a tie tap.

Merino wool undies.

BAD: Camo rangefinder, too easy to set down and walk away. Tie a orange ribbon to it.

GOOD:

My new, lighter Rivers West jacket. Wore it in an all-day downpour and stayed dry, and as long as I vented it with the pit zips it was "breathable enough" in Colorado;

Kimber .325 WSM flat out rocked;

Those Outdoor Research Windstopper gloves I've mentioned before;

Minox 13x56 binocs.

The $75 pack frame I bought at GIJoes. Was worried I should have bought a "premium" one but it handled my elk fine.

Leica LRF 1200.

Apple iPhone was great; kept me fully connected with internet and email anywhere I had signal. Allowed me to be gone, but still keep a couple real estate deals going. I guess this could be seen as both good AND bad <g>.

BAD:

Nikon tripod adaptor for above Minox;

Found out, with the shorter RW jacket, that my RW pants leak at the crotch zipper. They are currently back at the mothership.

GOOD:

CZ Ringneck SxS 28 gauge 26 inch. Shoots where I look and still fun to carry at the end of the day. Looks fantastic too.

BAD:

Defective buck tags.
Missed shot at longbearded tom turkey.
Prices of 28 gauge ammo.

-

The good.

A bunch guys and gals here, when I needed you most.

The bad

I can't think of anything.

Westcoaster: I had a pretty good year in 2,008!

The GOOD!: Remington 700 VSF in the new 17 Remington Fireball caliber!
This Rifle looks great, the caliber does a lot of things in the Varminting world REALLY well and with NO recoil so I can see bullet impact points!
This Rifle shot both factory ammunition and my handloads well and the accuracy remains through shot strings of 25+ rounds.

Remington XR-100 in caliber 22-250 Remington. I have owned this Rifles brothers for a few years now in calibers 204 Ruger and 223 Remington and I had such great luck with them that I decided to go ahead and get the third caliber offered in that model - the 22-250.
Trouble is Remington quit offering them in 2,008 so i had to resort to an on-line purchase!
I could NOT be happier with this XR-100 either!
It shoots extremely well and the stock design fits me to a "T"!

Ruger 77 V/T in 204 Ruger caliber! This is my fifth Varminter in caliber 204 Ruger and like the other four this Ruger 77 is impressively accurate! The two stage trigger is a bit different but once the first stage is pulled through it is an excellent trigger.

Leupold 6.5x20x40mm Long Range Model (LR). This scope has the 30mm tube on it with the 40mm objective.
I have been using the Leupold 6.5x20's ever since they came out and have a small hoarde of them right now on my Rifles.
I swore I would never use or own a 30mm tubed scope - they looked funny to me - awkward might be a better personal observation.
I got a great deal on this scope and was originally going to use it as trading stock for a more "traditional scope".
Now that I have been using this 30mm tubed scope for 6 months I have grown to like it and to accept its "chubby" profile!
The optics are excellent in this particular scope!

Nosler Ballistic Tip Big Game bullets. I continued this past fall my decade long now, VERY successful use of Noslers Ballistic Tip Bullets on Big Game.
I stayed away from these bullets for many years relying on what I am sure were unsubstantiated and unwarranted "rumors"!
That was my MISTAKE - these are EXCELLENT Game bullets and not only are they accurate they fly VERY flat!

Luckily nothing comes to my mind in the "BAD" equipment category. Like I say 2,008 was apretty good year for me.

Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

GOOD

Tikka T3 SS .308

Brownell's Quik Set Latigo sling

Serius Hyperlite All Weather gloves
Got these for skiing but now they just stay in whatever coat/jacket I'm wearing. I skiied in 9* weather in them just last week and never felt the need to put on my heavier gloves. Love 'em.

BAD

Can't think of anything right off.

Worked:
-Arc'teryx bora 65
-McMillan Ruger Classic
-VX-II w/LRD, really like those dots
-OR hydroseal stuff sack
-Knives of AK Jaeger
-OR Fraction jacket

Didn't:
-OR changed the sizing of their Croc gaiters and didn't tell me

I will start off with the bad, Laid off since Apr. 2008. Now for the good, caught up on my reading, fished a lot the past summer, when hunting season came along, Blaser R-93 7mm Remington Mag. Took two shots to conferm zero from 07, and I got to hunt the whole landowner Deer Season in CT. The other bad thing was I heard no shooting in the area, and my neighbors who I see while deer hunting, they hunt to, were not present this year. Lots of deer thou. No problem filling two tags.

Looks like gear was covered pretty well.

couple things that helped my elk hunt alot were:
Emergen C drink powder mix and Gatorade powder mix to add to the water bottles.
Nissan Vacume water bottle to keep water warm overnight and help us get out of the tent faster in the morning.
My cabelas bowhunter 100% polyester pants worked amazingly well for hiking up the mountain.
My Vasque hightop hikers worked amazingly well as fill ins in the unseasonably warm weather.
Also for the heat, a T-shirt and cargo shorts for mid day hiking.

Good; Gizmo called a "Dead Sled" a roll up to get your deer out. Works well even on dry ground, but only good for one rough-n-tough application.
Remington Model 7 Predator in .223 tickled S*%#less with this rifle all around except for...
Bad: " Xmark Pro Trigger" on the Remington. Yanked it and installed the old style....
Ingwe

Good:
Tikka T3 Lite. It's everything everyone said it was.
Gore-Tex Windstopper or Windshear fabric is worth the extra few bucks you pay for clothing manufactured with it in it.
Polyester baselayer type underwear really does keep you dry and warm.

Bad:

No issues that I can think of.

Good:
- SureFire G2 LED (The tailcap actually crapped out, and surefire replaced it free within 3 days. Kudus to them.)
- Sitka Gear Mountain Pants
- DH Russell Canadian Belt Knife
- Swobo featerweight Merino wool tshirt (awesome baselayer)
- 120gr Ballistic Tips from 7mm-08 worked well, need more testing though.
- Swarovski binoculars worked.
- Under Armour fleece beanie is awesome
- Leupold RX-2 Rangefinder, great for bowhunting.

Still unsure:
- Sitka Gear 90% Jacket. I haven't worn it enough to give it a fair evaluation. Seems promising, however.

Bad:
- I need to find a better belt to wear, I've been using a 1" nylon belt that's way too skinny.
- My little daypack from LL Bean will be replaced, hopefully by a Badlands Diablo.

My Kampfeld Custom 25-06AI WORKED AND SHOT LIGHTS OUT.

Good:

Smart wool shirts. Had the bottoms for awhile got the top this year and it worked great.

Lowa tibets, awesome boots.

Marmot Precip jacket. Worked great in a light wyoming rain, water just beaded up.

this year I'll be trying the cabelas tef jacket and patagonia puff-ball vest.

2 things actually,

First was a 700 SS 30-06 from Skane...Love that sum bitch, the gun /scot is cool but..., grins

Taking a fresh pair of socks to my stand and putting them on. Dry socks keep your feet warm.

Good:
Chippewa leather hunting boots. Great in cactus and thorns.

Bad:
Bought a low-cost spotting scope because I had been very pleased with my high-cost binocs from the same manufacturer. I learned that you get what you pay for.

Two more:
My kids drink Chocolate Milk everyday. The wife buys hershey Choc syrup. The bottles have a flip cap that Really doesn't leak. I cleaned one up and filled it with water. Works great as a water bladder. Great disposable piss bladder too. It's free.

Listened to my gut saying move. I've always felt I'd be better off staying put no matter what changes happened. I say my guy but it was really the direction of the wind in relation to the areas I know deer move from or to. I got down and moved this year based on wind changes. It worked.

+1 on the patagucchi capilene. It's not new to me, I've had all my capilene for more than 10 years and it still looks and works good. You get what you pay for with this stuff. It lasts.

Good:
Therma-Cell
Barnes TTSX
Leica 8x42 Ultravids
Minox 6.5x32 IFs

Bad:
Work