What worked, what didn’t, 2021 edition

[Pucky Freak]

Worked
-Winchester Long Beard XR 5 shot. Patterns better in my gun than Super-X 6 shot, and was pleased with results on 2 turkeys
-Montec G5 100 gr. continue to impress. Busted humerus on 2 deer with great body penetration
-Switched from TP to wet wipes. Perhaps the best benefit is a convenient way to wash my hands when afield.

Didn’t Work
-Puffy jacket and pants as an inside layer. Too much dinking around to layer up and down. I have moved from size M to size L puffies so I can wear as an exterior layer instead
-Still trying to figure out a good gaiter/boot combo for creek crossings. OD Verglass are too light for IA terrain dominated by burs and briars. I’m trying out Kennetrek gaiters which seem more stout. Also in the market for new boots, plan to try on some Crispis at Scheels as a starting point.
-Cheap tree stand harness that came with the stand. After 25 years in a tree stand I’m ready for a quicker, safer, more comfortable upgrade.

Non-gear
Wyoming BHA for sticking their neck out for the Elk Mountain case. My chips are in - I joined BHA as a lifetime member.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Worked
- Tikka Veil .300 win, got tired of lugging around a 11lb rifle in the mountains. Light, accurate, and element proof. So far a great backpacking rifle.
-Hammer Bullets, accurate, easy to load, happy with performance on my elk
-FL Corrugated Guide pants, loved the pockets and knee pads

Didn't Work
-Not bringing a tent/shelter, 80+ degrees during the day, 0% chance precipitation for the week, didn't bring a tent, woke up in a thunder storm. Murphy you bastard...

 

[rwc101]

Worked
- First Lite suspenders
- Wet Wipes instead of TP
- Very little else

Didn't Work
- Scouting
- Knee
- Shoulder

 

[BackofBeyond]

Worked:

DaySix arrows and broad heads, crazy penetration on my deer, full pass through on my elk.

Factory skid plate on my Tundra - saw heavy use in the Owyhee’s for archery Antelope.

Overnight oats/protein shake for breakfast. Do some very watery overnight oat recipe, add in a protein shake, then chocolate covered coffee beans for an added kick. Worked well to get me going in the morning.

Tite Spot 2 piece Quiver. Light, super adjustable, sits tight to my bow, and most importantly - quiet.

Didn’t:

My lungs. Either Covid hit me harder than I thought, or I’m getting old because I just could not hike like I used to this year.

Cheap Fuse Quiver. I bought this as a “save some” when I purchased my bow (first one so getting all new for everything.) Snuck in to 42-ish on a 7-point and his cows, blew them out when my arrow squeaked coming out of the quiver. Tossed it as soon as I got home, ordered the tite spot.

 

[belshawelk]

Worked:
Making sure my Kennetreks were broken in first. Then they were awesome
jet boil sumo
getting my buddy his first elk
Kuiu Elements jacket

Didnt:
Some asshole stealing my camera on my own property. Chopped it off with an axe ( it was bolted to a tree). All he had to do was ask or let me know he ended on my property, no big deal. But stealing my camera is a bid deal.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Worked:

Both my Tikkas worked admirably. .270 on an antelope off a bipod with my knee in cactus, 340yds. .308 off a rimrock on a big, fat, old cow elk at 295yds. I was using handloaded Federal TBTs in the .270 and Hornady Interbonds in the .308. I've had very good results with both.

MR Metcalf was also excellent, like it always is.

Vortex Diamondback binos. I spotted several groups of animals at distances I had business seeing the them at. Can't say I'm real crazy about the Vortex "glass pack" harness.


Not sure I had anything just flat out not work, but I actually used Keen Targee ii hiking boots for years, simply because they fit my goofy-shaped hobbit feet more comfortably than anything else I've tried, but their soles are not 1-piece, so the pieces begin to pull apart before the tread wears out. That's not good, it's a design flaw. Also, the area I hunted antelope this year had a lot low, ground-hugging cactus. There was no way to miss it all, I got cactus to my bigtoe, which sucked, and made me consider searching for another boot. I just like being able to hike miles and miles and not worry about my feet getting blisters or worn out in some way. Keens fit that bill, they're just not all that durable or tough construction-wise.

 

[MNElkNut]

Worked:

Barnes TSX and TTSX. Bang. Flop. 3 critters this year.
Schnees boots. From Cactuses in WY antelope hunting to steep mountains elk hunting to -21 air temp on late MN pheasant hunts, they did it all. Again. Many years and miles on these boots.
Sitka Timberline Pants. Same hunts as the boots. Like hunting in your pajamas.
Leupold Optics. Love'em.
Rotator Cuff Surgery. If anybody out there is looking for an injury so they can have surgery and miss work, I do NOT recommend this one. But it fixed the tear and my arm isn't going to fall off now.

Didn't work:

Putting my mitten in my pocket before chasing after an elk. I liked that mitten. A lot. Sniff. Sniff.
The Montana Legislature.....
While we are at it....Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks leadership

 

[Wild Bill]

Worked: The dog.

Didn't Work: Cheap Vanguard tripod. Time to upgrade to a better tripod/head combo.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Worked:
- My .308 Win Nosler 48, continues to kill unabated. This year a nice MN Whitetail and a MT Mule Deer. I like it so much I just bought another .308.
- Nightforce SHV - on a stalk this fall, I ate chit harder than I think I ever have hunting. I had already dropped my pack and had my rifle in hand. low light, misjudged the drop into a rocky washout, yard sale... From the perch @ewludwig and @theat were spectating from, they were quite confused about why I chose to incorporate a swan dive into my approach. My rifle/scope banged hard off several rocks. After collecting myself, I ended up closing to 100yds of the buck and after checking for obvious damage to the rifle/scope decided to take the shot. Dead nuts. If there was ever a time I thought a scope might get knocked out of zero or have the illuminated reticle fail this was it, but it came through perfect.

Didn't:
- FL Corrugate Foundry pants - design, fabrics, performance all great. Side vent zippers garbage...lost teeth the first time I had them out spring bear hunting, and now the zipper opens/comes off the tracks (caveat: I received one of the first pairs, so maybe they have fixed that glitch)
- The new Black Diamond Storm headlamps is giving me fits...

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Worked:
-Skipping work to go hunting
-Asking landowners permission to hunt

Didn't work:
-Antelope hunting with four kids 13 and under, still a lot of fun though.
-shooting my shotgun at pheasants. 9 shots and no kills Got crap from both my son and dad, who both drastically outshot me that day.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Worked:

Hoffman Explorer Lights, great boots
Kimber 6.5 CM with Hammer bullets
My dog
First Lite Corrugate Foundry pants

Didn’t work:

Losing my InReach

 

[Elk Junky]

Im very happy with my gear. It took a while to get here i can tell you that. New additions for me this year was a MSR Windburner, an Xped 9 and a 0 degree Slickbag. A little more weight but i slept good and warm. Traded out my Pocket Rocket for the Windburner. I will keep the Pocket Rocket as my backup.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Didn't Work:

Cabelas Wildcat hiking boots. Bought them in July and by the time I made it to Montana to hunt elk the soles were coming off.

Rebarrelling my WWII Springfield 30-06. Not finished till three days before leaving for Africa. Bedding fiberglass didn't cure completely and the gun lost zero after I got there. I did manage to kill a hartbeest with it but wasn't pretty.

Kent FastSteel #4 steel 3" twelve gauge for shooting pheasants in Montana. I just as well throw that ammo at the birds.

Worked:

Georgia Boots Eagle Trail waterproof hiker. Bought them in a pinch at Havre North 40 store for $120 and they are the most comfortable thing I've yet put on my feet. Zero break in time, good grip on soles, surprisingly warm, and they are tough. I put them through the mill during five weeks of VERY hard bird hunting. For that price I was just looking for something to get me through the season but I think these will last a lot longer. Paracord laces gave out after a week in the field. No surprise there. Not a problem. I pulled the waxed nylon braided ones I previously added to Cabelas boots and used them. Shocked that these boots actually stayed waterproof to the end of the season. Great buy!
My 1998 GMC Jimmy. That rig drove all over the country during the year. Umpteen trips to Minneapolis (14 hrs round trip) for COVID tests and surgery, twice to Montana and back (30 hrs one way), and once up to Red Lake, Ontario (7.5 hrs one way) to put barrel on my rifle. 300K miles on that old mule and it never failed. Had to replace the ball joints before going to Montana. That's it.

The Springfield 30-06. After shooting a hartbeest (poorly!) I discovered my rifle was loose from its moorings. I finished the rest of the safari shooting very well with borrowed guns. Tightened the Springfield up after returning home and it shot great groups again. Fired one shot with it in Montana. Dropped a muley buck in his tracks at 200 yards offhand. It's ready to go back to Africa again in August.

My Lab and my legs. Ellie is such a happy goof ... until I load my A5! Then it's all business. She is absolutely amazing. And this year it was TOUGH business. Required both of us diving into heavy cover and putting in miles of legwork almost every day for five weeks. Mostly we hunted the cattail jungle at the bird refuge. At the end of the last day I analyzed the miles of awful stuff we crawled through, end to end on the refuge and back wearing heavy Muck boots. I couldn't do much better than that twenty years ago when I was only pushing fifty. Now I'm almost seventy. Still using all my own joints. Arthritis has progressed rapidly in the last year so not sure how much longer that will last. I am truly blessed.

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

Worked:

• OnX for scouting, finding promising land, and ultimately finding a buck dad got to kill.
• My wife's F150. Good gas mileage, comfortable ride, and stopped in time so we didn't hit a deer lol.
• Schnee's Beartooth classics. I bought these last year before our hunt and used them the last couple years. Although they haven't gotten any real mountain time in yet, they comfortable all day and totally waterproof. Very happy with these.
• Time in the woods with the kids in our new home state. Priceless.
• Gutless method when we finally tried it.

Didn't Work:

• My physical conditioning, or rather lack thereof. This bit me in the rear this year and it was noticeable and caused regrets.
• Not shooting enough before leaving for our trip. Again, noticeable and caused regrets.
• Dragging a buck out instead of trying the gutless method, lol.

Maybe Didn't Work:

• My .308 and scope combo. It was way off when I got to MT. It seems to be related to a fall during our move, but I'm not totally satisfied with that answer. Plus, I've never been totally comfortable with the rifle and that seemed more noticeable this time around. Of course, that is related to not shooting enough.

 

[BRI]

Worked:
KUIU Guide pants. Not too warm in medium temps plus the vent zippers work great. Great in cold weather.
Meindl Vacuum boots. On my third pair.
Black Diamond hiking sticks. Why it took me so long to use hiking sticks I'll never know.
Kifaru Gun bearer. Like Ronco Showtime Rotisserie. Set it and forget it. Especially when taking your gun for a hike on Montana public lands!

Didn't work:
Me. I failed to execute when I needed to.
Me. When I decided to start my generator while my camper furnace was running. Note: doing so will likely blow your automatic transfer switch in doing so. If cold weather camping, this sucks!

 

[LuketheDog]

Didn't work:
My deer tag
100's and 100's of hours of archery practice...still missed my first whitetail
My plan to hunt mountain snowshoe hares this fall, again

Worked:
My .257wby finally got on a hunt and performed perfectly

 

[noharleyyet]

Xthreaded...

what hasn't so far....work sharp belt thingy

What has...some Sitka upper body layering apparel prudently acquired right here

 

[OntarioHunter]

Didn't work:
Me. I failed to execute when I needed to.
Me. When I decided to start my generator while my camper furnace was running. Note: doing so will likely blow your automatic transfer switch in doing so. If cold weather camping, this sucks!

Thanks for that tip! Don't yet have a generator for my camper but one may be in the offing. I'll make a warning sticker to put on the wall next to the furnace thermostat.

 

[npaden]

I didn't have much new stuff this year.

What worked was my new JVR Vac100 Chamber Vacuum Sealer - VERY nice and the bags are so cheap and easy. I doubt it will ever pay for itself in bag savings but it did such a better job than my old Foodsaver machines that it was worth it.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I didn't have much new stuff this year.

What worked was my new JVR Vac100 Chamber Vacuum Sealer - VERY nice and the bags are so cheap and easy. I doubt it will ever pay for itself in bag savings but it did such a better job than my old Foodsaver machines that it was worth it.

Thanks for that! I'm about ready to use this gawdam Foodsaver machine for target practice. What a piece of crap. The engineer who designed it must have been a freak of nature: dyslexic spastic with three hands.