Was up early shooting groups... snapped this pic of the Bridger's for everyone's edification (finally enterd the digital world, grin's). It was chilly in the high 20's. Things are "just" starting to green up a little... in another six weeks the grass will be brilliant green.

Enjoy...

Awesome! I have got to get my butt to MT more! Is that where the Bridger Ridge run is??

Thanks for sharing

Pointer, that's where the run is. If you decide to come this way PM me and we'll meet for a hike...

Brad

Are they full of elk?

Blaine, yeah they're full of elk. Watched a herd of thirty this am. I rarely hunt the Bridger's as the bulls generally aren't big... we call them "Bridger Bulls"... everyone knows what you're referring to! I did shoot one five point off a clear cut visible in the pic a few years back. In the winter (and at night year round) elk come right down to our place where I snapped this pic. Mostly it's Muley and Antelope country tho...

Well, I am a bit envious of your location, but at least I now have real mountains to look at, though I think the ones with the renouned Arizona bulls are a couple moutntain ranges North of me.............

BTW, did you see this description of the latest rifle I had built? It is not a 700 OR a PF..............

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/474533/an/0/page/0#474533

LOL, even an old AFP can surprise a guy! Very nice... I'm shocked the barrel's even reasonably light (for you, grins)!

Here's what I've been working with lately... she's showing real promise:



The aptly named Kimber "Montana" under the Big Sky... 7lbs 7 oz's "all-up"... these digital cameras are fun!

I saw one of those in 300 WSM, and it sure looked nice. My only hesitation is the three-position safety, but that is probably something I could adjust to.

How does it shoot? I am thinking it may be custom rifle quality in an $1100 factory rifle.

Brad- Will do. Just be forewarned, I'm slow and fat! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Brad,

Man, that view is so good that it's now my desktop wallpaper - so I can sit here, dream of MT, and remember that I already don't like you... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Blaine, I'm impressed with this rifle (300 WSM). It does have a real "Pencil Barrel" (.560" @ 24") but so far seems capable of moa-ish accuracy with nearly any bullet. It's hard to expect much more from this type of rifle. I have gotten enough groups in the .5's -.7's with certain bullets to keep me from calling load development done (isn't the pursuit of the "Holy Grail" half the fun?). The chamber is awesome... beautifully cut and polished. The tube cleans easy... I put a bunch of X's, etc. (over forty rounds) through it the other day and used only two patches of CR10 and had a completely clean barrel in ten minutes (I hate cleaning rifles and like to let them go over 100 rounds before cleaning if accuaracy allows).

Pointer, that's why God made horses, LOL!

VA, glad you like the pic! It's my desktop too...

Brad,

As soon as I (too) join the digital photo set, I'll post a view of my backyard. Not as impressive as the Bridgers, granted, but it ain't too shabby, IMHO.

There's more than one kind of beauty and it can be found in all corners of the world just as decent people can. I'd like to see those pics!

I'm more scared of horses than hills! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

If my bearings are right, I shot a spike elk way back in the late '80s on the other side of the peaks in the center of the pic. Used to go in through Bridger Bowl and hunt to the south (Slushman Cr.). In '91 I saw one of those mulies you only see in pictures come down out of the rocks at the head of Slushman but I ran out of daylight. And I was more interested in the elk that he seemed to dwarf in body size that were below him. Still kicking myself for that move. It was brutally cold that November so I was really surprised to see a sow and two cubs still out while I was trying to get up the hill to the elk. All in all not a bad afternoon outing after classes! Ran into moose frequently in that neck of the woods too. Can a person even go through Bridger Bowl these days to hunt the USFS land south of there?

Damn it Brad, stop making me homesick! Here's a view from my (only part time now) backyard (north of Red Lodge):

Whttail, yeah you still can but it's a LOT of work for long odds on decent bulls. Actually, where the top photo was snapped is about 16 miles north (on 86) of Bridger Bowl... ya can't see BB in these photos. The Bridgers still have decent Mulies but is limited draw only. I was up on Saddle Peak a couple of years ago in the summer and glassed three big bucks bedded well above timberline avoiding flies... what a beautiful sight!

Jon, I love the area around Red Lodge... you near Rosebud Creek?

BA

Brad, you are going to erode the throat out of that rifle by shooting it. Heck, you probably already have. Well, it was a good rifle, before you wore it out <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Yup. The East Rosebud runs through our place.

Flinchy, guess I'll just have to sell it to ya for $399... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Jon, figured it was in the Rosebud drainage (saw that nice bottom ground in your photo)... I'm assuming the deer are thick?

Check's in the mail <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Love that view!!!!

Oh yeah. A few pics in my sig from one particularly good year for us. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Nice pics, Brad. Looks like the rancher across the fence must have been into sagebrush eradication back in the day, or is that just the lighting?
Here's a coupla shots from the more urban side of the Bridgers. As if I didn't have enough sidelines already, we're farming again. Assumed a State lease from a friend/neighbor who was killed in a December plane crash. I'm continuing his heritage of "no equipment made after 1960!". Here's our matching 52's, along with a drill I scrounged up via the Mini-Nickel. Quite possibly the best-preserved John Deere-Van Brunt double disc drill in MT, and judging by eBay, perhaps globally.

Bill, I love your pic's and gear... now I know exactly where you're at! Once a farmer always a farmer, huh?

Yeah, we've got a patches of sagebrush mixed with "ok" pasture... to really do it right we'd need to get rid of the sage, and re-seed the whole thing... ain't gonna happen... the dirt on your side is soooo much better.

Was the gent one of those who cracked-up in the Bridger's?

<the dirt on your side is soooo much better>

Not in my case, it isn't! Those photos were in one of the "less rocky" spots. I suspect it's the rockiest farm in Gallatin County. And, it was dryland farmed for probably 70+ years with no fertilizer or other inputs other than seed, and it is just plumb wore out and used up. It's a restoration project for sure...
Anyway, yes, it was that December plane crash when four guys (all pilots) piled it into Sacagawea. I've since met the rescuer of the one who survived. Talk about an epic story! It was just not his day to die.
Anyway, don't get rid of that sage! The only thing wrong with sagebrush is that cows won't eat it.

Bill, sounds like you're the man to get that soil back in shape... don't call me for any "rock-picking" parties however, LOL!

Yeah, these mountains can kill a guy quick! My dad started flying at age 15, did the air force thing, flew for Lynche's out of Billings for a couple years and then went on to a 33 year airline career. He'll tell you his time flying these mountains were absolutely the most hazerdous!