I'm glad you are figuring things out. I have a few ill-fated elk hunts as well. Including last season when I came across a trophy bull, but wasn't ready for a 505 yard shot, and it wasn't possible to stalk before dark. On the hike back to camp I sprained my knee. I hope that big bugger is still...
Two seasons ago I was hunting on a friends 140 acres in eastern Colorado. I set up a decoy and within 10 minutes a nice Pronghorn buck was lured off one the neighboring ranches of over 1000 acres. Judging off that success I plan to use a decoy next season if I can pull a tag
I have a Gregory Denali 100 that I use for everything. I'm usually the pack mule on family backpack trips, and it doubles as my hunting pack. Unfortunately I have not packed out an animal with it, but I expect it to perform well in that regard. Hopefully I'll find out this year
It is good to hear of great service. I am looking at Leupold and Vortex for a new spotting scope. I like the Leupold scope better, but was concerned about the warranty service.