EOY '24 - What Worked, What Didn't

[6mm Remington]

My carcass did not work worth a damn. I had a shoulder repair in the right shoulder in July (surgery number 4 on the right shoulder), let it heal 3 months then went back in October and had a reverse shoulder surgery on it. Surgery 5 on that shoulder. Hopefully it heals well and I can get out next season. Actually hoping I can get out in May spring bear hunting. Still have to be careful because I can't be taking any falls. Maybe after all I'll just wait until fall to play it safe. After all, I will be drawing a bighorn sheep tag next year!

 

[MTLabrador]

Well let me know about what you do on the back end. I’m guessing I’ll need something with the soon to be adds in the bed of mine.

I’m down to two options. I have 95,000 on the truck now. The goal is to add a little bit of ride height and improve performance with a heavy trailer or a lot of weight in the bed.

If I decide to spend less money I’ll go with Eibach coilovers in the front with roadactive suspension in the rear, or if I decide to spend more I’ll go with Dobinsons front coilovers, heavy duty leaf pack, and their shocks, with or without a new bumper.

The Eibach/RAS setup would add 1-1.5” all the way around and the Dobinsons would be 2-2.5”. I’m leaning hard towards the Dobinsons.

 

[Tikka06]

Worked: a Tikka 308 Superlite,
my kids Stoeger 3020 20ga w/TSS #7’s-a true 60 yard turkey hammer, Accubonds and TSX’s-still, Schnee’s 10in pack boot, and the OnX hunt app navigating public land.

Didn’t Work: My Leupold VX5 3-15x44. Previously missing a season for a repair for not adjusting windage, this year the lenses chipped inside during a range session. A replacement didn’t come in time to make the season so it sits in its box in the safe.

 

[crock239]

what worked:

- stone glacier xcurve frame and pack...lighter weight than my MR selway pack and SG frame is 2" taller, good for the freakishly tall like myself...the SG carries weight better for me too bc the meat shelf can attach higher up on the frame

- cow calling for cow elk in late October. First time we set up blind and cow called they came running inside 3 minutes. Bang, flop.

-sofirn headlamp. Like Fenix but way cheaper...worked great.

- marsupial no-mag enclosed bino harness...worked great. Slim, comfortable...I like MG harnesses and glad to get rid of the magnet

-primos cow girl elk call..cheap call and easy to use. Called in first group of cows immediately, then the last day of our hunt it even worked to stop another herd when the reed froze up and I squawked like a duck...fortunately the herd paused (I assume trying to figure out what a duck is doing on the side of the mtn) just long enough for my buddy to drop his first elk

Didn't work:
- new fenders a well-intentioned friend put on shared utility trailer...worked fine for 1200 miles of highway driving (thank God) then we blew two tires as soon as we got off pavement, bc a bolt was too long and it cut back side of sidewalls

- driving the truck too far in on a crappy road to set base camp...it worked out ok in the end, but really cut down our mobility and ability to be flexible in hunting various areas of the unit when elk weren't where we expected to find them

 

[Wildabeest]

I’m down to two options. I have 95,000 on the truck now. The goal is to add a little bit of ride height and improve performance with a heavy trailer or a lot of weight in the bed.

If I decide to spend less money I’ll go with Eibach coilovers in the front with roadactive suspension in the rear, or if I decide to spend more I’ll go with Dobinsons front coilovers, heavy duty leaf pack, and their shocks, with or without a new bumper.

The Eibach/RAS setup would add 1-1.5” all the way around and the Dobinsons would be 2-2.5”. I’m leaning hard towards the Dobinsons.

I went with Bilstein 6112’s and a leveling lift on my 4Runner and was pretty happy with the setup. Added an aftermarket bumper and winch from C4 Fabrication, and the Bilsteins handled the added weight well.

 

[F250]

Installing a Trijicon AccuPoint 3-9X40 green dot on my .45 Woodman Patriot muzzle loader. Filled 4 Whitetail tags with it. My old eyes appreciate that green dot !!

 

[Jbotto]

Little Kowa TSN501 20-40x spotter on an Amazon basics tripod. Shit on it all you want, but Jeff Bezos is a guy who clearly understands backcountry hunting needs, and this combo weighs next to nothing (the scope is 14.5 oz) and is my go-to for lightweight hunts. Obviously the panhead sucks but stable enough to get a good view on stationary animals.
View attachment 353254
View attachment 353255

Got a link for that tripod?

Yea:
Marsupial Upland Vest. I am tired of full vests. Crappy zippers. Way too hot chasing sharptails. Not enough customizable storage. Limited hydration pack options. This was waaaaaaay better. Got Hunting Husband a Final Rise last year for Christmas. They seem pretty similar, though I like the low-profile strap option in the Marsupial for myself.

I’ve been sick of my cheap square Cabela’s vest for years for most of all your reasons too. A friend took pity on me this year and gave me an old Pella Bird ‘n Lite when he upgraded to a Final Rise. Even with half the Velcro and half-broken buckles, this thing is like a Cadillac to me compared to my old vest. I was pretty excited about the Marsupial option when it came out. They make some great stuff and by the looks of that vest, it’s no exception! Glad to hear the review on it.

 

[trb]

Got a link for that tripod?

Amazon.com

Fair warning, it will only work for binos and lightweight spotters. And again, the pan head sucks. But it’s cheap as hell and works fine for stabilizing a small spotter without high winds.

 

[Irrelevant]

Amazon.com

Fair warning, it will only work for binos and lightweight spotters. And again, the pan head sucks. But it’s cheap as hell and works fine for stabilizing a small spotter without high winds.

I rocked a similar one for 5 years.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Got a link for that tripod?



I’ve been sick of my cheap square Cabela’s vest for years for most of all your reasons too. A friend took pity on me this year and gave me an old Pella Bird ‘n Lite when he upgraded to a Final Rise. Even with half the Velcro and half-broken buckles, this thing is like a Cadillac to me compared to my old vest. I was pretty excited about the Marsupial option when it came out. They make some great stuff and by the looks of that vest, it’s no exception! Glad to hear the review on it.

Just the ability to comfortably carry more water for the dog and myself, plus still fit birds, was worth it. Can stow extra layers outside instead of having to stuff them in the bloody bag. And way cooler on those long September hikes. Didn’t find anything I don’t like about it yet.

 

[nastynate]

I bought some tungsten turkey loads for a stupid price, but it allowed me to ditch my heavier 12 pump and had me pick up my 20 gauge full choke topper single shot for turkey season with full confidence. I much prefer a light gun for belly crawling or sitting still with the gun up and in shooting position for a long while, both of which are common in the turkey woods. Plus it's always nice to have a new use for a gun that otherwise is sitting in the safe, so the 1970's topper is the dedicated turkey gun now.

 

[nastynate]

Perpetually, my hardest to solve hunting equipment issue is how to have warm functional hands for a quick shot in the uplands when it's really cold. I am a year into a final rise vest, and I've really liked it over my old traditional vest in the early season because it's not as warm and I can carry a lot of water. My old vest has a fleece lined pocket, and I still actually prefer that vest late season when it's cold and my dog needs less water (he get's very low MPG, especially when it's warm). When it's too cold for thin gloves I put hand warmers in the fleece lined pocket and I couldn't quite figure out what to do with my final rise, but I've come up with a solution. I have a hand muff warmer with little clips and it actually clips into the front of the final rise pretty well in a way that's not super annoying and very warm. But I will probably still tinker with this issue moving forward.



I also got my first Elk this year, and there's some equipment choices I made in the past knowing I would be elk hunting one day and they all worked great, including my all purpose big game rifle (Tikka 30-06, 3x9 Leupold scope, Trophy Copper ammo) , and a mystery ranch Metcalf.

I continue to love a thin REI merino base layer and a First lite Kiln hoodie for upland, stand hunting, and hiking when it's cold, and I have an 8 year old patagonia nano puff hoodie. With all three of those on, I was bird hunting this past weekend in single digits temps with double digit winds, and it worked great.

Also, one of those battery jump starter and tire inflation combo deals they sell at auto parts stores helped us out of a pickle! Get one!

 

[nastynate]

And I have a pair of Danner Pronghorns that did not work well at all, in the durability department....

Boot lifespan? Danner Pronghorns not holding up

How much mileage do you get out of a pair of boots? I bought a pair of Danner Pronghorns that blew apart in under a year which was replaced under warranty with the exact same pair. Pair number 2 has two hunting seasons under it's belt, including a western hunt which was wrapped up in 3 days...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[maconbacon]

Worked:
-new hunting rig (below). No issues with terrain, range, etc. did not expect to ever use the camp mode but ended up sleeping in it three different nights after getting to the trailhead late. Sure beats one more night in the cold tent plus dint have to unpack and repack all that stuff when heading in.
-copper bullets from my 280 AI. Had a mule deer surprise me at 10 yards. He ran and I made the split second (probably unwise) decision to shoot at him bounding away while quartering away at about 40 yards. Found him 100 yards later dead. Bullet went through a hind quarter through the femur and all of the way to vitals. Talk about penetration.
-Scarpa zodiac plus GTX boots. Perfect for mid season hunts and much lighter than my kennetrek mountain extremes. Saves the legs quite a bit I think.
-tried some new instant coffee, brand called Waka. Big upgrade to the BRCC I used to carry
- Sitka mountain evo jacket. Awesome piece, much lighter than the Jetstream with similar functionality which it replaced. Perfect over a light layer while hiking in wind or light precip.

Didn’t:
-MSR pocket rocket deluxe. The piezo igniter died after one use. MSR honored the warranty and sent me a new one but I’m not optimistic it won’t happen again.
-GoHunt neoprene rifle barrel cover. At least for my barrel, just too snug for quickly getting it on and off. Because of that I often left it off when I shouldn’t have. I was fiddling with it when Mr buck surprised me (above)
-lack of snowshoes. Found out 12+ inches of powder is tough to hike in without snowshoes!

 

[geetar]

Became a big fan of my Browning X Bolt Long Range Pro in .300 Win mag. It is heavy enough to not recoil badly and the stock is ergonomic enough that the weight of carrying it is enjoyable. Probably toted it around 40 miles this season.

 

[ccc23454]

So shot a buck this year and planned to euro it as I always do. Broke skull during travel and figured I would just glue/epoxy everything back together but buddy said to try one of these fake skulls. Ordered, cut horns off real damaged skull and mounted, SUPER EASY! Very happy with results and thought would share a product that might come in handy. End result has a small line visable but they have filler glue in package I just don't see need, looks good enough for me. Pic is fake skull installed.

 

[trackerbacker]

Became a big fan of my Browning X Bolt Long Range Pro in .300 Win mag. It is heavy enough to not recoil badly and the stock is ergonomic enough that the weight of carrying it is enjoyable. Probably toted it around 40 miles this season. View attachment 354488

Years and years ago I picked up an x-bolt hells canyon. The way that line of rifle naturally fit me, pulled, carried, felt like heaven.

I immediately set it back on the shelf knowing I was not about to blow my pocket money on that rifle that day.

See, the problem was, as much as it fit and I loved it...I already had the 4473 processing on a cz p07, a cz p10c and savage 110...and had already told my wife about the 1 gun I was buying..

Beautiful line. Hope she performs well for years for you.

 

[Wes Mantooth]

Spartan bipod. Really sturdy, easy to adjust and I like how easy it is to attach or remove. I hate a fixed bipod on a rifle when carrying it, so this one fit the bill.

 

[WesternCO68]

Worked:

• Rick Young bino harness: as much as I like the idea of keeping my binoculars protected in a padded bino pack, the Rick Young just works. It is simple and low profile. I used to think it was only good with really lightweight binos (under 20 oz), but I used it extensively with some binos that were closer to 30 oz and was comfortable the whole time.
• Topo Trailventure boots: Wore these with gaiters in the December snow and they kept me dry. The tread is not ideal for sloppy conditions, but otherwise I am very pleased.
• Wiggy's sleeping bag: Not perfect but a very good product. Kept me cozy while car camping. Great price. Made in the same city that I live in.

Didn't work:

• Magpul bipod: Bought this to throw on my coyote rifle. Floppy, cheap, unreliable. Might be a decent buy if it was $30. Spent the extra $$$ on a Harris.
• Mystery Ranch Marshall pack: The five-piece hipbelt was painful with any sort of load. Don't get me wrong - I know there are excellent packs. Didn't work for me, though. Just goes to show you that an excellent product has to fit you well to be effective.

 

[TheAri]

Loved my backpack setup this year except for my: tent, quilt, bino harness. Ended up selling those items and getting a hot tent setup for next year with a warmer quilt and a stone glacier bino harness