Old and tired

[Gussy]

The mountains are getting higher. I hauled a 14 lb Sharps with a Malcom scope all over h*ll the past 2 days looking for a buck. MUCH exercise, no buck. I put on 4-5 miles and 1000' or so elevation and all I saw was does and fawns (35 in the first 2 hours). I'm either going to have to get younger, hire a bearer, or put training wheels on this thing.
Gus

[rugerman1]

[smilie=l:

[45nut]

Hey Gussy,,,whats the bottom line on those Malcom scopes? Price equal to quality,,,etc,ect.

[KCSO]

I think folks in the US are missing a good bet, the word gunbearer always sounded good to me. Jambo Bwana!

What caliber Sharps are y0u shooting in a 14 pound rifle?

[Gussy]

I think the optics in the Malcom scope are very good. The mounts suck. I have the heavy mount with adjustment. It is a good hunting mount but NOT for target work. I only use them to set the sight for hunting, then get hold over/under for other distances. It would be a royal pain to try adjusting under hunting conditions (with ANYONES mount, not just these). This scope is supposed to be water proof, and not all are.

The rifle is a heavy barrel Shiloh Sharps 45-2.6 aka 45-100. I was/am using a black powder load of 85 grns 2F with a 400 gr flat nosed bullet. This will be my deer/elk load....if I am still able to carry it by elk season (:>).

Anyone know of a source for a REALLY GOOD strap on sling? I used a muzzle loader strap I had and it worked but ...... Damn near cut me in two with it's tiny strap and made me very nervous about it breaking.
Gus

[fourarmed]

One of the most memorable of Jack O'Connor's dry comments was the one about large-caliber British double rifles, and how much they weighed. He said "I think everyone would agree that a rifle is much lighter if someone else is carrying it."

[SharpsShooter]

Gussy,

I use a 75 C. Sharps in 45 2.1. It is close to 13 Pounds with sights so I understand your misery, but they are so much fun to hunt with it is worth the effort.

Black Powder only of course!

SS

[lefty_red]

Two words...PACK GOAT!

Also, like I tell my buddy, "that's why they call it hunting and not killing!"

Jerry

[kodiak1]

Gussy I got me one of them with a 32" Big ol Hex Pipe on it. Not a mountioan gun really but it is fun or you would have left it home for something else.
Think of how good a shape you will be in by the end of the season........................
Ken

[waksupi]

Gussy, I had carried my old 12 # Business rifle a few times in the mountains. It is very good for hunting whitetail, as it makes you slow down. However, once I got as far as I wanted to go, I still had to get back! So, I now use light mountain rifles.

[WBH]

My heaviest BPCR is a 50-90 RB at 16+ pounds. I think I'll wait and let the Buffalo come to me. I'm starting to like horses more and more.

[Gussy]

Me and that ol rifle been up the hill every day this week, twice some. Found a quick fix last night. I "had" a sheeps skin wool car washing mitt. It's missing a large piece today (:>). Wrapped it around the top of the sling and tied it on. MUCH better.

Got the blood pressure up today, thought I was gonna make some smoke. Came up on a doe, 2 pups and the rear of something, sticking out of the brush, just tearin' hell out of a sapling. The doe and pups fed off but the other guy stayed and continued his tearin'. I was next to a very large rock so I got all set up waiting to see if it was legal size. Critter was only 75 yds away and I figured meat was on the table. Finally... out steps a scrawny pickle horn. For a little sh*t he shore tore hell out that tree. Must have completely shinned 2-3 feet of it. It did take him 10-15 min while I waited for a look. Oh well, I was hoping it was the bigger one I had seen last night at dusk.
Gus

[madcaster]

Gus,
I sure hope you get the next record buck,or better yet,a lot of good steaks!A fella needs to be rewarded!
By the way,when ya gonna send me that Sharps as a reward????HUH????

[The Double D]

Gussy,

Sounds like you found your bait. Go find those does every day, they'll be in the same area. Let them draw in your steaks instead of traipsing aroudn all over the contry side.

I found that the Mulie and Blacktail does will even get kinda use to you and will not spook off that far. White tails well that's different but they will be inthe same area.

[Boz330]

Wall hangers and good steaks don't usually come in the same package. The best deer I ever took was so tuff you couldn't chew the gravy. My wife told me not to ever bring home something that tuff again. The dog was pretty tickled though, kept her in chew toys for a year.
Now days does are legal and that is my first choice. Don't take bucks unless they are better than something I already have and don't know if that will ever happen again. Keeps you going though, looking. Now days it's about being with good friends, an occasional adult beverage and telling lies. The rest is just iceing.

Bob

[montana_charlie]

More people should shoot does.

That 'bucks only' thought pattern allows herds to outgrow their habitat, creates too much competition between hunters, and 'culls out' the bucks with good genes...leaving the scrawny ones to breed the does.

I think that any state which has 'special seasons' (bow, muzzleloader, etc) should make them 'doe only' seasons.

That will have one of two effects...maybe both:
1- The deer population will be controlled better as hunter success goes up.
2- The number of hunters in the field will be reduced because the 'horn collectors' will stay home.

CM

[45 2.1]

More people should shoot does.

That 'bucks only' thought pattern allows herds to outgrow their habitat, creates too much competition between hunters, and 'culls out' the bucks with good genes...leaving the scrawny ones to breed the does.

I think that any state which has 'special seasons' (bow, muzzleloader, etc) should make them 'doe only' seasons.

That will have one of two effects...maybe both:
1- The deer population will be controlled better as hunter success goes up.
2- The number of hunters in the field will be reduced because the 'horn collectors' will stay home.

CM

Illinois has a limit on two bucks per year per hunter regardless of hunting tool. This has had the effect of increaseing the buck population, scrubs and all. I used to kill the scrubs instead of does, now I don't do that much and 25 years of selective harvesting to upgrade the deer population, which was working out very well, is being negated by the law. I now have more immature and scrub bucks than does. The only saving grace is you can kill buttons in place of does on the anterless deer tag. The problem with that is you don't know if the deer will be a scrub or one to let live and breed.

[Boz330]

There are a lot of different thoughts on what will increase the number of good bucks but if they never reach 3 it is a mute point which are the best.
In KY you can only take one buck per season. In certain zones it is unlimited antlerless, just buy the tags.
In defence of the antlered mentality many of us started hunting when it was bucks only and they were few and far between. The does were the future of deer hunting and you just had a mindset that you just didn't kill off your future herd. I know for me that was a hard habit to break. The down side to that thinking is that the area that I hunt doesn't yeald the nice bucks that it used to and there are plenty of does that need to be thinned out. For the last 3 years the check process has shown that there are about 52% does to bucks and I think that F&G is looking for around 60% for optimum ratio. There has also been the suggestion to move the season out of the rut. If that occurs there will be damned few bucks killed. They tend to be very nocturnal around here even when there is no preasure.

Bob

[Gussy]

SMOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last night just before dark, I caught up with a 3X3 with eye guards (I think the same one I'd seen the night before). The Shiloh is no longer a virgin. Sent a photo to castpics a few minutes back. 160 yd shot off of a mono pod. Good sized deer but very little fat. My buddy tagged a 4X4 whitey that was VERY fat. Deer fat make a good lube??
Gus

[WBH]

I am all for eating the does. When I lived in NY years ago it was bucks only unless you pulled a doe tag. There is just about nothing tougher than a big buck that has been eating pine cones and needles to stay alive in upstate NY. Makes goat taste like rib-eye. Best to just grind the bucks into burger. At least here in OH they all eat corn and soy beans. Much tastier than NY conifer fed venison.

[Boz330]

Good shootin Gus! that is a respectable shot on a deer at 160yd with BP. Range estimation is everything with the rainbow trajectory of the big bores.:drinks:

[Gussy]

My buck

[KCSO]

I'm not much of a horn hunter myself. I am mostly trying to fill the freezer and horns dont' cook up good. I will take a buck if I get a shot, but I won't pass up a fat doe if I have the tag for one. When the kids were living at home I needed 5 deer a year just to keep up, now I mostly eat other folks deer and kill one for practice every M/L season.

[Gussy]

No choice here, no doe tags except for special drawings. Odds are in the hundreds to one to get one. 3 pt minimum for bucks. I fully agree that does are far better eating. This guy was starting to get the neck swell. Rut is a couple of weeks off. He's a lot better than track soup, and I dearly like jerky!!!
Gus

[WBH]

Nice buck....very nice Sharps. Is the scope a RHO?

[Gussy]

The scope is a Leatherwood Malcom. I didn't want to wait for a scope and it was also less money. The mounts are a bit crude but more than good enough for hunting. I only adjust on the bench sighting in. I never touch them in the field.
Gus

[Montanan]

Hey Gussy, nice buck.... be sure to send your pic into Shiloh for their Trophy Room.

Mail or email photos to: Attention Lucinda
Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Company
PO Box 279, 201 Centennial Drive
Big Timber, Montana 59011
406-962-4454 or 406-932-4266
email: info@shilohrifle.com

I can't send pics of my hunts because I have Remington Rolling Block 45-2.4 and don't own a Shiloh yet... maybe someday.

[NickSS]

I had the same problem hunting with my Sharps 45-70 by the end of the day I needed to mount it on wheels and tow it. So I fixed the problem. I left my sharps rifles I bought mostly for target shooting at home and bought a C. Sharps 1875 45-70 sporting rifle with a standard weight 28 inch octagon barrel for hunting. This rifle with a hunting tang sight and post and bead front globe sight makes for easy carrying and it also is fast for off hand shots. My heavy barrel target rifles stay home now and I do not need oxigen when climbing a hill.

[SharpsShooter]

Way to gol Gussy! Nice looking deer and you did it right too, with a single shot.

SS

[9.3X62AL]

Nice buck, Gussy!

Unlike past seasons, I'm seeing does every time out this year--pretty cool stuff, and I'm going to start focusing on the sighting areas now. Rut starts around here right at end of the season, so later can be better.

FULL AGREEMENT on doe tag issuance here, and I agree with the comments above regarding herd outcomes with "bucks only" seasons now in place hereabouts. I'll be out again this afternoon and evening.

[EDG]

Gussy,
About that heavy rifle. To paraphrase an old magazine article:
Lose the 14 pounds off of your butt. Then when you carry the rifle you have a net gain of zero.
It seems to work for the legs but your arms are not fooled.

[stocker]

Gussy: have a look at the slip on shotgun slings. The one I have has about a 2" wide area like the Cobra type slings. Has a leather loop to go over the barrel and another for the butt. May be what you need. Mine is made by Levy's and is good leather.