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

I saw this thread theme on another site and found it very interesting. Nice (and useful) to see what worked and not worked for folks.

I'll start...


The Good
Danner, Fort Lewis, all leather, unlined boot. 10" upper, fit very well, broke in well, this will be a great boot.

White Water, wind proof, water proof vest. Performed as advertised.

Knives of Alaska, Denali Series, Master Guide, folding knife. Probably the nicest locking folder I've ever seen and handled.

Propper, ECWCS Gortex raingear. Not cheap, but I was tired of getting wet. This stuff is incredibly well made.

CZ 550 Magnum, nice rifle, well made and accurate. Very happy with this.


UGLY!!
Bushnell, Elite 4200, 1.25-4 x30mm, very nice scope. Excellent clarity and lowlight capability - ugly as a warthog.


Bad
Knight and Hale, Moose call, not sure what the heck it sounds like but it's nothing close to a moose!

Good
1. Garmin GPS 60csx - never loses signal, even in heavy tree cover.
2. Hornady SP bullets - 139gr for deer (again) and 250gr for elk.
3. Off brand Under Armour shirts - Microtek fiber is available from a lot of manufacturers at 1/8 the price. Really.
4. Leica CRF 1200 - reliable, compact, accurate.
5. Hootchie Mama elk call. Only bought it because it was on sale for ridiculous cheap. Worked very well to locate elk.
6. Rem 700 rifles with Leupold optics. 'Nuff said!
7. Homemade shooting bench built with the brackets and plans sold by our own BXroads, right here in the classifieds section.

Bad
1. Georgia Boot 6" uninsulated work boots. They slip in the heels and hurt! I've tried to make them work for 3 years and just can't make them work as a hiking boot.
2. Any of the new ultra thin plastic water bottles that crackle loudly once you drink some of the water out of them!

Great

Thermacell - The best invention since Black Powder IMHO
McMillan Stocks - Bought 2 and love em.
Barnes TSX's
Barnes TTSX's
Cabelas's Pinnacle Snake Boots - Wear them year round.
Steamlight Head Lamp

The BAD

Simmons New Aetec Scope...Piece of Junk.
Nosler Accubonds

Robert

Good:
1. Danner 10" Pronghorns 600 gr of Thinsulate
2. Savage 99 in 308, took a nice 8 point the first time I hunted with it.
3. 165 gr Nosler Solid bases at 308 velocities:picture perfect results on said 8 point
4. Barnes 250 gr Tipped MZ out of my muzzle loader, again picture perfect results.

GOOD:

Sitka Gear Mt pants.
Cabela's Microtex pants
257Wby
Leica warrentee service on a set of Geovids
Cabela's Mt hunter boots in uninsulated and 400gm
Ultra Bore Coat

BAD:

Hankook Dynapro MT's. I've got about 30K on them now and they have to be rotated side to side until I replace them. The two tires on the back of my truck can no longer be balanced well enough to be on the front. If you put them on the front it feels as though you're driving a paint mixer.

Good:
Cabela's TEF 60 jacket. Very slim for the warmth and the windstopper works as advertised.

Bad:
Bushnell 450 rangefinder. It's good to about 220 on large flat reflective objects. About 150 on anything else.
Slingsticks...Neat idea, they just didn't work.

Good:
Therma cell (Actually, this is better than good).
CZ O/U Shotgun
Diamond The Rock bow package.
Moultrie D-40 trail camera.

Bad:
Nothing really.

Doug

GOOD:

Cabelas 24-LED Lantern with remote.

Bull-Pac pack frame, best pack frame ever.

24.5 inch rainbow on a 5 weight fly rod in the Green River.

Bad:

The weather was cold, single didgets in the morning and no snow.

Wolves.

My archery elk tag for Oregon didn't work at all. I still have it and still no elk. I hate when you get bum tags like that.

Good
Blackhawk Summit pack
Leica CRF 1200
Garmin 60Cx GPS

Bad
I got some of those no good tags too.

Ugly
sushi restaurant in Hamilton , MT

jim

The Best-Rem. 700 AWR in .338win, wearing a B&L 4200 2.5X10 and a Rem. Sendero in .300win, with a 4X12 Kahles Helia-C with Multi-Zero. Good- a Rem 700 SS Mtn rifle in .280rem (bought from a 'Fire member) with a Leupold 2.5X8 with the B&C reticle. Too early to tell (but I'm liking so far) are a H&R in .35 Whelen, a Leupold GR 12X40 spotter and an Eberlestock J104 pack.

GOOD:

Cabela's Mountain Hunter Boots.

BAD:

Barnes TTSX's.

Good: Cabela's Alaskan Guide knife in S30V. Gutted 2 antelope, deboned 1, and is still wicked sharp.
First rifle hunt (.257 weatherby w 100 grain TSX)

Good:

Kenetrek mountain hunter boots
Ti-goat large stove and 8 man tepee

GOOD:
Patagonia capilene 3. I can't beleive I waited this long to buy this stuff.
Big Agnes sleeping pad.

Good:

Sako 85 Finnlight (Great Gun!)
McMillan Edge stock
Danner 8" Ghost 800 boots (Awesome boot!)
Georgia Boot 6" Muddogs


Bad:

Schnee's Boots! 13" Hunter II (Boy, that was an expensive experiment!) Anyone want a like new pair for $50? (size 13)

Good:
76 LED headlamp.
LED lantern for the tent
Tikka T3
.25-06 w/ 100gr TSX's
Vortex diamondback scope using dots
Vortex vulture binos
Toyota 4Runner w/ Warn winch
Wife

Bad:
Not enough time!

The Good:

Montana Elk Decoys - after successfully harvesting elk for 14 years, this year was the most successful elk hunting yet...our group put four bulls on the ground with these decoys in four set ups! Won't be hunting , or guiding for elk without them again (rifle or archery)!

Outdoor Edge SlingBlade - Was a little skeptical at first (not a fan of gut hook type blades) but was impressed with this knife a friend had ...used it to clean and skin 4 deer one evening, and it was still very sharp...and I liked how the gut blade worked on the hide and stomach covering.

Primos Buck Grunt/Roar call and Silvex Scent Eliminator products - the grunt and roar worked very well on several bucks that would have otherwise ignored our old grunt calls, and the scent elimination products worked very well when used as a complete system...including a herd of elk directly downwind at 60 yards for more than 20 minutes!

AccuBonds - still the most accurate and best performing bullet I've used to take game, in all of my bolt action rifles.

Leupold Boone & Crockett reticle - not too busy and when used in conjunction with the right cartridge/load combination, calibrated properly for proper hold points.

My new Mathews Drenalin LD compound bow and Excalibur Equinox Crossbow - Took a moose and a whitetail, and an elk and a muley with these this past year; accurate and smooth shooting.

G5 broadheads - Strong, deadly and accurate

Easton Full Metal Jacket arrows with Bohning Blazer vanes - straight shooting, hard hitting arrows...and I cannot say enough about how tough and durable those vanes are!

The Bad:

Bushnell's Scout 1000 w/ Arc - Loved the compact design and Arc capability, but hated the fact that the button takes so much effort to take a reading that without a good support, it moves the rangefinder enough that readings over 300 yards in the field are not consistent.

BAD.

E-2 surefire flashlight.

GOOD:
Colt Light Rifles, bought 2, both accurate with Tupperware stock that is extremely well designed.
Light center fire loads, trialed some 130 gr bullets over SR4759 at around 1900 fps for my grandsons. What fun! Accurate as well.
Fleece liners, for your sleeping bag. WOW!
BAD:
RL15, ran into some pressure spiking issues in 35 Whelen loads.
Remington 597, disappointing accuracy & reliability.