I made it out to Mom's pretty early but it was hot quick. I had a lot of grass to cut on the range and all so I did not have a lot of time to shoot.

I shot a cold hunting round at 50 yds with the 1894 and hit the bull. I shot a couple more to see if they were OK and they were. I shot my old hunting load and it was the round on top of the right target. The verticle string is the heat up of the barrel but that 1st round and second are right on. I am happy.

The target on the left was my new hunting load for the SBH at 50 yds. I am really happy. I think I have a shot at a handgun big game kill this year with that load. It is a Hard Cast 240 gr. WFNPB bullet. Slow but deadly. It will punch a hole through anything that walks in our woods, stem to stern. Now I have to put it through the vitals. Just like bowhunting.

There were some peas still coming up from rain we had Wed. night but most everything was gone from my planting last week. I think. Maybe it was just now coming up.

Good shooting Chief. I'm sure going to take my 41 mag with me deer season this year. I'm shooting a 210 grain hardcast Lee tumble lube at 1150 fps and I'd sure pop a deer under 50 yards with it no problem. That 240 grainer should do a great job. I used a 255 grain Kieth style gas check hard cast for years in the 44's and it was deadly on deer and black bear at 1250 fps..

I have been wanting to get out an shoot some of my rifles and handguns but the 100+ heat has put a stop to it. I am worried about me overheating and not just the guns. I did make a trip to Cabelas this week and picked up some gear for this years elk hunt. I too will be toting my 44 mag revolver during all my big game hunts this year. I have taken a few deer with a handgun but would like to do it more often.

Looks like you should be set for some meat in the freezer this fall Chief, if the deer cooperate. When you say most of your plantings were 'gone', do you mean animals got the seed, or ate the sprouts?

I got to the range this morning and shot Steyr SBS stainless in 7mm-08, and my Browning A-bolt 338 WM stainless. Those are my two stainless guns, and I haven't fully decided which I'm taking on my caribou hunt this fall. That 7mm-08 is sure a lot more pleasant to shoot, and at least this round, more accurate. Also shot the Rem 700 SPS in 243 Win, and that was still very accurate. Then, humbled myself with a round of sporting clays! A good morning!

Shawn if your going to Alaska and going to be in Grizzly country I'd much rather be packing the 338. The 7mm will certainly do a caribou in, but There's plenty of big bears still left in that country.

Boy I know what your saying about the shotgun, It's been lots of years since I did any wing shooting and I might as well be throwing rocks now.

Chief we can't even grow a garden here in my little town anymore cause of the deer. You've got to have an electric fence to keep them out.

Shawn if your going to Alaska and going to be in Grizzly country I'd much rather be packing the 338. The 7mm will certainly do a caribou in, but There's plenty of big bears still left in that country.

Bob, I'll be in Northern Quebec, but I have thought about that too. Not too much of a concern for me because there will be three hunters, one guide, so plenty of firepower available if something wants to take offense at our trespassing! Not sure if grizzlies are up that far (Kujuuack - sp?), but I think there are blacks and wolves.

Another concern I have though, is the 338 has been time-tested, and nasty weather-tested. It has a 3.5-10x Leupold VX-III on it that holds from year-to-year. The 7-08 has a early 2000'ds Redfield widefield 2-7x. I have a mid-70's 2-7x Redfield on my 25-06 that seems bullet proof, but I am suspicious of this new Redfield. Nothing has come up with it, but I'd hate to find it has a weakness out on my hunt!

We should all be preparing now for our fall hunts, like Chief is. Don't wait until the day before the opener!

Both guns shoot pretty much the same trajectory, but the 7mm-08 is sure nice to pack on a long day. I shoot a 280 Remington Mountain rifle and sure like taking it to the woods instead of the 8mm mag. With that many guns around I'd probably take the 7mm also.

On a hunt like that I might take two scopes in rings that I could switch out in case one crapped out. Sight both of them in and use mounts that stay pretty much zeroed or QD mounts. When I was in Alaska I saw several cases where a fella came a long ways, dropped a rifle or just had a scope crap out and had to borrow a gun he was unfamiliar with to finish his hunt. Pretty discouraging. The Alaska weather sure seemed to stress out scopes.

I loaded up a bunch of 45-70 and 7mm RM today for my range trip tomorrow. Been working with the small bores all spring and summer (with good success I might add) but it's time to get the hunting rifles out and make sure they are ready to go. I did a hunting gear inventory, don't need anything but am always on the look-out for something I can't live without.

Bob - what kind of 41 Mag do you have. For some reason that cartridge has always interested me. Someday I may get a Freedom Arms single action in 41 Mag.

I've had three over the years flash. The first one was a 4 inch Smith 57. Sure liked that gun and sure wish I had kept it. The second I got in trade for some work was a Ruger Blackhawk with the 7.5 inch barrel. I cut that down to a 4 5/8 incher and sold it to a guy for a carry bear gun in Alaska. The one I am using now is a 34 ounce Taurus 4 inch stainless Tracker. It's a nice gun to carry out berry picking, fishing or just when your in the woods. I sold both my 5.5 inch 44 mag REdhawk and the 7.5 inch Super Redhawk to folks that wanted to get into big game handgun hunting.

It's light enough to carry on a belt, but I also have a nylon Uncle Mikes shoulder holster for it. Just got done firelapping it and it shoots great. I'm using Lee tumble lube 210 grain hardcast in it loaded to 850 fps for plinking and 1150 for woods carry.

I used to just carry a little 4 inch 22 revolver, but with more and more wolves in the woods thought a little more power would be nice if I ever really needed it.

The rifle round is a 250 gr LFNGC. It zips along at about 1600 fps. Should be good for our little whitetail.

I plant about every three weeks through the summer. Just small patches to keep the deer where I want them. They eat it as soon as it breaks the terrafirma. I could not get soybeans early in the year and I just finished off the clay peas and sunflowers that I had. I can get a mix with clover and soybeans and wheat for the fall planting that is coming up. That has been my system for a while now and it works good. It is about all I can do with a hoe rake and shovel and a roto tiller.

I can take several deer in the area without trouble each year if I have to. I try to hunt it sparingly if I have other places to hunt. The gas may make it so I have to hunt it more than usual this year. I had to hunt it last year because of my surgery during season. I try to researve it for bow hunting but the SBH will get a chance this year for sure.

Chief - I think a deer will eat anything a human can plant. They got 5 trees I planted this year, nothing special about the trees, indiginous maple and chestnut, but I'm convinced they ate them just because I planted them. Now I have two does that are thinning my apple crop. They stand on thier hind legs and pick green apples off the trees. So much for low hanging fruit. My wife is fretting over her tomato plants and pepper plants. They are behind a 4 foot fence and should be OK. I pity the deer if they eat her veggies after all the work she's done. We had 5 of the biggest tom turkeys I have ever seen in the orchard yesterday. I think they might be more of a threat to her plants than the deer.

Got my boomers checked out this morning. I need to wear low power reading glasses to keep the open fire-sights on my Guide Gun in focus. Easy to pick up, put the red dot on target between the two green dots and pull the trigger. The 7mm RM took a little more time because I had a new load and I waited until the barrel was cold and cleaned before each shot. It's zeroed in at 200 yards. I'm ready.

I can tell you for sure a four foot fence won't hinder the deer. If you run across an old electric fencer that will work. The old fella that lives next door to me has used one for years to keep the deer out of his garden. We have a large population of "town deer" here and they just love the folks that plant gardens for them.

My guns are all sighted in, but I'll check sight them before we go out this fall. I've got to load some 45 Colts today, but I'll need to do some casting this evening. Been fighting water problems, my inlet valve was cracked and I've been pumping water out on the ground or in the ground now for I don't know how long. Finally got that fixed yesterday.

We can't shoot the deer in town, just to many houses and folks around. It has lead to having a cougar come in for the last few years. I havn't seen it this year, but it visited two houses down.

Went to a friends barbeque yesterday and he took his 11 year old Nephew back packing up on the headwaters of the North Fork of the Clearwater river here in Idaho for four days. Their first day in camp they had a wolf right in camp. Saw half a dozen in the four days they were there fishing. He said that he sure never let his Nephew out of his sight. He was sure glad he hadn't taken his dog with them.

On a hunt like that I might take two scopes in rings that I could switch out in case one crapped out. Sight both of them in and use mounts that stay pretty much zeroed or QD mounts.

That's a fine idea Bob! And, it just so happens that I mounted the Redfield on the Steyr with QD mounts/rings. Still undecided if I'll opt for 'ol meat (338 A-bolt), or the new kid on the block though. Here's a couple pics of the Steyr. Not a particularly attractive rifle IMO, but handy with a 20" barrel, very functional, and accurate.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/shwncrea/100_0190.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/shwncrea/100_0191.jpg
flashhole, my Dad was recently complaining that several of his black cherry trees were all busted up in the upper branches at their cabin on the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. He thinks that turkeys either tried to roost there, or they wanted the ripe cherries last fall.

Shawn - The turkeys roost in the tall trees in the ravine. It's a natural wind block and out of the way. They have a good vantage from the tree tops and it's awfully difficult to sneak up on them during hunting season. Ones only hope to bag one when they are roosting is to get in before light and wait for sun up or catch them in the evening when they are coming to roost.

FWIW - I had my Redfield 3.5 - 10 x 50mm on my Ruger #1V 25-06 for about a year. I didn't have any problems with it but pulled it off and put it on my new 223. I bought it because it has the wide field of view and it turns out I really like that feature. The large front optic is much better suited to the 223. I had a Burris Fullfield II (1.5 - 5 x 24mm) on my Guide Gun, no problems whatsoever. I moved that to the 25-06, no problems. Same with my 7mm RM, I have a Burris Signature 2.5 - 8 x 33mm w/posilock, no problems. I had it out today and changed zero because I am using a different load. It's a good match to the gun. I don't think you will have a problem, especially if you are giving them the once and twice over the way you are.

I often drive up the Middle Fork, what a beautiful river. Knew some folks that built a new house up there a few years ago. They came from California and she started feeding the turkeys around the house. Got so you couldn't walk across their yard for the two inches of turkey poop and all her fruit trees were busted down. She had 2-300 turkeys there about all the time..

That Steyr's sure have some pretty metalwork for an ugly gun. Always wanted one, but never seemed to cross paths with one when I had the right money. Most scopes are under a pound and I've seen where an extra saved a hunt. Nearly bought an old 6.5 by 54 MS full stock a few years ago. Time I finally figured out I wanted it someone else beat me to it.

Bob, the Steyr's sure have some good metalwork on them, and nice clean lines. The FFl/gunsmith that I had order the Steyr had to avert his eyes when opening the box of the Steyr as he builds walnut stocks, and that synthetic stock could send such a guy screaming into the night! But it works!

Never thought turkeys would get peoples dander up, but there's so many now that they do cause damage. Living with wildlife....but F&G does respond, with a fall season on turkeys now.

Keep shooting fellas, that practice will pay off soon!