Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

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JAG2955
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Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by JAG2955 »

So it looks like I'm eligible for Idaho's reduced rate non-res license due to my VA rating. It turns a non-resident hunting license fee from $$$Stupid to $120 for the three tags I have listed in the title. Combine that with the land that I have up there, with very close (100yd) proximity to hundreds of thousands of acres of public land that are fairly remote, I think that I'm going to make a little trip this fall.

It doesn't look like weather should play much of a factor in the mid-late October timeframe, though of course I'll go prepared for it. I'm planning on wearing MARPAT with proper undergarments underneath. Because of PA's 1 million hunters, fluorescent orange was the name of the game. I have a blaze orange/camo parka, which I'll bring, but I don't have a camo one. I do have a Generation I ECWCS parka as well. I'm rather pissed at Mystery Ranch, since I found that they're not selling their packs separately from their frames anymore. I already have a frame. I'm supposed to call them on Monday and see if they have any packs in inventory. I've wanted to get their Crew Cab for quite awhile, and now I could use it to haul quarters out if I have to, assuming that they still have some around. Fingers crossed!

I have a few rifles to choose from. I'm torn between taking my .270, which has a cheaper Nikon scope on it, and buying a low profile mount for my M1A SOCOM to fit an Aimpoint. I think that I'd like the option of having an illuminated recticle, considering that my best opportunities may be during dawn and dusk. I also like having the semi-auto ability and detachable mags since those big brown things we like to talk about are present, along with wolves. Sidearm will be carried in my HPG Kit Bag, with my S&W 325 with a Surefire light attached. Once I decide which rifle is going, I'll lay in some serious practice in many positions in the coming two months.

Planning on a stalk/still hunt, no treestands. I have a whitetail grunt call here *somewhere*. I'll also buy a Harris QD bipod for whichever rifle I take.

So what do I need to know, other than if I shoot something I'm stuck carrying it a damn long way? I'm familiar with hunting whitetail, but that's about it. I may have the chance to scout it a month before the season opens.
toad
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by toad »

Well this is from a Montana site but if you nail an average size elk you may be trying to haul out about 950 pounds of dressed out elk.
http://montanaelk.com/elk_facts.html
I'd think a rented ATV would be your friend???
Considering how thick there hide can get you might not want to take any rear quartering shoots but stick to head on or broadside with the .270?
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blackeagle603
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by blackeagle603 »

.270 with modern bonded bullet will git 'er done on elk. I'm a 30-06 luddite but a buddy of mine takes an elk and sometimes a black bear most years in Colorado and New Mexico. Used a .270 for the task since the late 70's.
"The Guncounter: More fun than a barrel of tattooed knife-fighting chain-smoking monkey butlers with drinking problems and excessive gambling debts!"

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
toad
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by toad »

IIRC back in ye olde days the .30-06 with a 200 grain bullet was very popular on Elk.
A step father of mine kept a .30-06 in he contracting truck and usually had rounds from a can of surplus military ammo loaded in it. On one ranch that had some Buffalo on it, a young one escaped. The ranch foreman borrowed the rifle to put the buff down, they weren't about to try herding it back. The buff was moving out and the foreman gave it windage for a head shot. He got it behind the shoulder and the Buff did about 10 yards and collapsed. They got the truck mounted A frame over to pick It up and the blood from a half dollar size exit wound poured out of the Buff. He had shot it with an armor piercing round. The bullet apparently tumbled but stayed intact.
My step dad also reported a tracer round just about blew up a coyote he shot.
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JAG2955
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by JAG2955 »

I'm leaning towards the .308. I was looking at Hornady's 165gr Interbond bullets. I might grab an Ultimak rail, which I wanted anyways, and mount one of my existing Aimpoints on it. We'll see if I can get away without a cheek riser.
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JAG2955
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by JAG2955 »

Okay, I called the Idaho Fish and Game for my area. They said that in the Selkirk Mountains, they only estimate that there are about 50 grizzly bears in the area. Of course, the guy told me that he had never encountered any bears in that area at all, and I told him that I had lots of stumps and a tree pushed over in my AO.

I called Clark Custom about getting my S&W 325 cut for .460 Rowland. It sounds like if I send it in now, it should get back to me in the beginning of October. Not a fan of waiting that long, I don't know if I should try someone else, buy a 1911 conversion kit, or just take the FNX-45 (15 rounds of .45 goodness!).
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Termite
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by Termite »

.270 with 150gr high quality bullets(Partitions, etc) should do nicely for everything, except for severe angled raking or "Texas heart" shots.
"Life is a bitch. Shit happens. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. Acknowledge it, and move on."
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First Shirt
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by First Shirt »

Have a service buddy from years ago, who owns two rifles, both pre-64 Winchester Model 70s, in .257 Roberts. People will say that the .25 Bob is too light for elk, but don't tell my buddy that, because he has a garage full of elk antlers to prove them wrong.

Every year he fills an elk tag, and at least one mulie tag. But he takes his time, puts the bullet where it needs to go, and is willing to pass on a risky shot.
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
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toad
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by toad »

Considering the state of the economy a man with a couple of hundred pounds of elk meat could be considered quite wealthly.
If I was going into grizzly country I'd take a single action revolver ported and chambered in one of the OMG .460 or .500 calibers.
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Denis
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Re: Whitetail/Elk/Black Bear hunt possible...

Post by Denis »

JAG, lucky you. Good hunting!
First Shirt wrote:People will say that the .25 Bob is too light for elk, but don't tell my buddy ...
Every year he fills an elk tag, and at least one mulie tag. But he takes his time, puts the bullet where it needs to go, and is willing to pass on a risky shot.
My brother and I regularly shoot European red deer, similar to North American elk (though the Highland deer are small because of their poor habitat) with 100-grain .243 Winchester Silvertip bullets. Never had one get away yet. Proper shot placement is both essential and effective. The Scottish stalkers like us to use .243, because boiler-room shots don't spoil much meat, and headshots (at the base of the ear) are instantly lethal.
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