Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Why does this have to happen?

I sit here reading about hunting, and as I read the re-told account, as he describes in vivid description his attempt at taking the biggest griz he has ever seen, I close my eyes. His words soothing through your mind. <BR>The bear, it's grace as it humbly lumbers near a berry patch. <BR>His aim, the iron sights covering the bear's shoulder. <BR>The shot, as it echos through the valley, yet his ears don't seem to detect a sound. The outcome, as the bear drops, rolls, then runs towards the hunter, hatred filling it's soul, intent on returning the favor with good measure! <BR>I try to visualize further, it was me who should have done this. I imagine levering another round, taking aim. The bear is closing in, it's fat rolling under fur, it's growls like thunder, I can almost smell it's breath... but dang it, if I can't get passed the kid's voices, the tv and the Mrs, as she says something! <BR>I think I'll pop another can and turn the page. I may have to retreat to another room... waiting for bear hunting is almost like torture. ~~~Suluuq

For me it is the opener of dove season. I can retreat to my shop and lose myself in the mind visions of those little screamers coming in at about 70mph. I can see them dodgeing and darting and doing things that our military jet engineers can only wish about. I can see grown men (25 shooters on clays), curse in flustration at the number of empty hulls at their feet and the lack of birds there. Then the phone rings and it is back to no shooting. Just two more weeks. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]

crawfish:<BR>You must have read my mind.

I see a flicker of movement in the brush on the opposite hill. Turning up the scope, I look closer... YES! A magnifecent 10 pt, and he's headed this way! I get into position, silently willing the buck to come closer. Dear God, keep him coming this way. Silentley I watch and wait. My trusty ought-6 is ready for action, and my thumb caresses the safety in anticipation of the shot.<BR>Finaly, the beautiful creature steps out of the brush in the field below me. He's 125 yds away, an easy mark for this rifle, which is more like a trusted friend than a tool. Easing it to my shoulder, I peer through the scope, settling the crosshairs just behind his shoulder, and gently flicking the safe off, I slowly tighten my Finger on the trigger I know like my lovers touch...<P>HONEY! You'd better look at this car! It sounds funny! ARRRRGGGHHHH!<P>I'm with you, Suluuq. I can;t wait.<BR>7mmbuster

<STRONG>The smell of the pine in the forest is strong in my nostrils and mixed with the gun oil smells on my '66 Winchester 45-70 makes me wonder why I don't live out here full time. Just then as I slowly and silently approach a clearing, there he stands! Right in the middle of the clearing, 30 yards away with the bright morning sun shining on him through the trees like a spot light, a magnificent Bull Elk the likes of which dreams are made of. As I slowly raise my trusty Winchester and pull the hammer all the way back to full c0ck.........<P> <BR>Honey! load up your "Little Rascal" and take me to the mall, will you? I need to get a few things.<P>$hit!!!! Clean the guns later I guess.</STRONG>

7mmbuster, you didn't really mean to say that you checked out that flicker of movement with your rifle scope did you ? E

As I sit at the kitchen table in my underwear (if you are lucky) sipping a cup of coffee , waiting to get into the bathroom, my wife comes out of the hall and says: "There's a big one out in the pasture." I immediately go to the corner by the back door, heft my trusty Rem 700 in 30/06, loaded at all times with 180 gr rn Corelocts(sp?), open the door, get the whitetail in the cross hairs and drop the sucker on the spot. That's the extent of my deer hunting these days.

E, I thought I might get some flak over that, but I aint gonna lie just to be politicaly correct. I travel light. Nothing but a few shells, a knife, water, and "fire balls". No binocs. We got a law that reqiures 250 sqr inches of orange. If you're dumb enough to ignore that, then you're living dangerouse. Brown is checked in the scope. The finger is not in the trigger gaurd, if that makes you feel better. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>7mmbuster

I'll tell you what, 7mmbuster. You want to see, and shoot more game ? Take that fancy varible off your rifle, and go to a peep sight. It will save weight. Then sell that scope, and buy a $500 pair of binos. You'll be amazed at what the art of glassing can do for you. <BR> Second, animals can see blaze orange. It doesn't look that color to them, but they can see it. And that's all it takes to spook a four year old class buck. Have fun, E

E,<P>If you are suggesting that 7mm not wear his 250 sq inches of fluorescent orange, that is very bad advice for someone living here in PA. <P>I agree that deer CAN see orange, even if they don't see the "color" that we see. It definately appears "out of place" to them in the woods. In PA, though, not wearing your orange will cost you - in two ways. 1st, is your wallet. Our game wardens will cite you without question. There are no exceptions. Second, there are 1 million hunters in PA. I WANT to be seen. It is very different than hunting in the western US. Even with orange on, there are still hunters that get shot/shot at by some idiot each year.

I use my scope to check out brown. I could have shot my brother a time or two-except for that little KNOW YOUR TARGET THING(or saying). I live in South Dakota- not alot of glassing(other than early mornings), so I usually dont go for the extra weight. But you know, glassing that snowmobiling,tresspassing slob hunter while you try to figure out who he is just isn't as effective as scopeing him out is [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img]

Look fellas. I don't want to start a cat fight. But the fact is: you point a rifle at someone and you break a law called brandishing a weapon. What's more he can assume that you intend to shoot him. He can, in fact, open fire on you. And get away with it. You do what you want. Wear your blaze orange. Point your guns at anything brown. Don't use binoculars. I've had hunters point guns at me-standing in the open, odviously not a legal anything. They still did it. What to guess what I did ? E

well i am waiting for deer season when deer season starts i took a whole week off from work just so i can consentrate(spell?) on getting my deer. november cannot come soon enough. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]

E, I won't argue that the color may give you away. The 250 inches of orange is a saftey thing required by the PA game Commission. There are alot of yo-yos in the woods in deer season here, so it behooves a fella to wear it. Some of them don't even care.<P>As far as glassing brown, that is all you glass. Not orange under any circumstances. Common sense tells you that.<P>I like my variable, as it suites my hunting. Around here, I'll start out in brush where 100 yards is a long shot. I usually "still hunt" my way through that. Jump shots are the rule here. You want to get on target fast, so the magnification is as low as possible. After about a mile, it opens into a hollow where long shots are likely. I keep it low, but always have time to turn it up should the need arise. I wont argue that a peep would be better in the brush, but that scope is awful handy sometimes.<BR>7mmbuster

Using a scoped firearm as a binoc is <B>poor</B> manners. One can easily use compact binocs, or even a 8x or 10x monocular(which would do the same thing as a scope, only safer.) Its one of those "Safety Do's and Don'ts I once read as a youngster. ~~~Suluuq

Hi 7mmbuster. Next time you still hunt that patch of cover, try this. Use binoculars to look through the cover. Focus out the nearby brush, and refocus on the area(s) behind it. You'll be able to see 2-5 times the area you could see before. Especially those deer your looking for. Before they see you. I never hunt any cover w/o a scope. I killed a very nice blacktail once, that I could barely see anything of w/o a scope. With the scope, (I'd seen him enter the cover) I was able to verify that he was legal, and find a hole to shoot through. Even then the bullet was fully expanded when it hit him. The range was only 60 yds. E

E, do you own stock in a binocular company? [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] Just kidding.<P>By still hunt I mean I take 2 or 3 steps, stop, and look around for 2 minutes or so. It'll take me an hour and a half to cover that mile. You need good weather, to keep things quite, (rain or better yet snow) and keep hunting into the wind. It's hard to sneak, but it's very satisfying if you get a shot at one unawares. That's why I enjoy it so much. In early season there's too many hunters, but the late season and muzzleloader is when I do it.<P>It's amazing how you can stand there and look at a place and not see anything, just to have one bolt from 20 yrds away at the crackle of a leaf. [img]images/icons/mad.gif" border="0[/img] <P>I may take your advise on the compact binocs though. What's the best ones for a budgit? Do they make them with instant focus? Thanks.<BR>7mmbuster

I know what you mean about having the woods to yourself. I'm not going to hunt the openers out here. <BR> When I still hunt, I may well take 45-60 mins. to cover 100-200 yds. I move that slow. <BR> I would not, as a rule recommend the really small compacts. They're just too hard to hold steady, unless you can either sit down, or rest them on something. Try looking/ using some of the smaller 7X or 8X glasses with about a 30 mm size objective. If you insist on a compact, by all means go for the 8X Ziess. Mine are 10X, and I wish they were 8X instead, like my ex wife's. The current champ seems to be Leica. Pentax is, apparently, the value for dollar champ. For the buget minded, I vote for Leopold's Wind River binos. I prefer the Porro design to the Roof design. Better to look through cover with, and cheaper to build. <BR> I understand you can buy them from Cabelas, try them for 60 days, and return them for a refund if they don't suit you. Sounds good to me. I'll probably do that myself, when I need another pair. I have 3 now. <BR> It took me many years, and listening to some really successful hunters, to learn the value of good optics. Deer are alot harder to see than most people realize. Good luck, E

With spot and stalk hunting in thick cover, you probably won't be doing much constant glassing, so a low cost pair, usually under/around fifty bucks should do fine. ~~~Suluuq