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Post by bushog on Sept 29, 2017 8:08:14 GMT -5
Looks like you had a great time Will! Glad to see you got a couple animals and "even more glad" you got to get them out and I didn't! Hahahahaha!
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Post by sheriff on Sept 29, 2017 8:33:31 GMT -5
Congratulations on the moose, a great one!
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Post by contender on Sept 29, 2017 9:05:41 GMT -5
I'm jealous! NICE pics, congrats on the moose & especially the time with family!
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Post by Robster on Sept 29, 2017 9:07:26 GMT -5
FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!
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Post by dougader on Sept 29, 2017 9:16:12 GMT -5
A whirlwind hunt combining two areas and success in both. Wonderful!
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Post by wildwillalaska on Sept 29, 2017 16:28:46 GMT -5
It really was a fun trip, really trips. I should have added at the outset that neither animal experienced any single-action action. Wife's moose received a perfectly placed 130gr pill from her .270, followed by a 180gr 300WM through the lungs behind the shoulder. She really amazes me how well she shoots and always has. Ten years ago, when we were getting ready for our first trip to Kotzebue, we went to the range and I had given her a stainless Winchester 70 that I had owned for several years, but had it bedded into a neat painted Brown Precision stock just for her. Think it was the fist time we had really spent much time actually shooting scoped rifles together. I was being all teachy and went over the basics for repeated shot accuracy and using the bags as we would our packs. She says she has it, and then goes to shoot the first time--which is also when I learn she is goofy eye'd, but does super well shooting right-handed once she settles in the first time. She then proceeds to produce a single ragged hole--no paper left at all--between her first 4 shots. Enough said--no more teaching her. She really has some of the sharpest eyes I have personally witnessed. The downside in it all though, she does have difficulty with repeated shots on moving animals due to her cross-eye dominance. Her father has a heartbreaking video of her when she was 14 in the Tok Controlled Use Area missing a 41-42" class sheep three times. He takes complete blame as he had her supporting the weight of her rifle while the fore end is balanced on his bino case, but no support for her elbows for over an hour. Once the sheep got up, she was so noodly-armed, she couldn't steady the rifle and pulled the first shot, and the next two on the running animal were horribly high and behind. As long as she takes her time, and now knows to support herself to prevent fatigue, she is deadly with that .270.
My bull received 180gr Accubond from a 300WM I had GA Precision build for me several years back but had never gotten around to even mounting a scope, let alone breaking it in. It is a wickedly cool riffle with their ultimate hunter action by Defiance, fluted Bartlein 3 contour barrel, and a carbon manners stock with molded GAP camo pattern. Because of the significant downward angle I was at, and quartering, I went in higher behind the shoulder and expected exit on the offside brisket, but no exit existed. It hit a rib solidly just below the backstrap and looked like it almost exploded. Massively huge entry wound--much more so than I have experienced with the 200gr in my 325wsm or 250gr in my 338WMs. As much as I like the 300WM, I may look at it unfairly since I have such a huge fondness for the 325 and 338's with 200-250gr Accubonds.
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woody
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,116
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Post by woody on Sept 29, 2017 19:27:06 GMT -5
Well we had a wonderful hunting season this year. My wife had a neat dall sheep tag, which sadly she wanted to bail on even hunting after her father was unable to go with us due to ill-timed pneumonia. Not that there is ever a good time. I was able to twist her enough to make her go anyway, and promised we would do it quickly whether successful or not, so she relented. Since the new addition to the family, it had been a few years since we were able to hunt together. To top it off, my brother went along as well, which was our first hunting trip together. While I grew up hunting with our father, he missed out and by the time he was old enough to really start, it wasn't an option. He is dozen years younger than me, and between college, grad school, new career, wife, baby--he kept having these lame excuses for missing out on hunting. Luckily he still made time for fishing trips and did a concert/hiking combo trip with me in Lake Tahoe this year too. Think this moose season got him hooked though. My wife got a nice tender forked-horn meat bull the 3rd day in the Delta Controlled Use area, but wasn't feeling well and ready to go home the next day, so we packed camp and headed for home promptly upon her request. We hadn't seen any legal sheep, and leaving early left just enough time for a mad dash to Kotzebue where a buddy was waiting for us if we made it even with 3 days to hunt. As it worked out, we made it home, had 16 hours to wash cloths and repack before heading to the Anchorage Airport and off we went. Made it to Kotz in time to enjoy a little time with friends before dropped in the field. Hunted hard, but made it pay the end of our first hunting day. That evening I called an old bull we had found late morning all the way across the valley, which we poured off the ridge line to meet him part way, but he came right in clucking away, grunting with almost every step, rocking antlers back and forth the whole way. Was so cool for my brother to see. And ultimately, also a good experience for him to witness how much work these big bulls are when not right in camp, and taken at last light. By the time we made it back to camp in the pitch black (must have been a new moon), he was more than beat. Will say though, he did really well helping me part out both moose and was one of my best hunting memories having him with me. Here we are playing with three sub-legal bulls I had called in. This was about 20 minutes before another bull and the forked-horn popped out of the timber down below. I was so wrapped up playing with the young gents I was surprised when my brother asked if I should have a gun. We had no intent of shooting of them--but prolly not the smartest to leave the guns with my wife. Where did you find the Genny Cream Ale? Awesome!!!!
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Sept 29, 2017 20:11:09 GMT -5
Dang.... That's a sad story about the 40+ TMA ram. That's the ultimate sheep tag there. DCUA was/is managed for a large sheep population. 38" is big for DCUA, TMA was/is managed for larger, trophy class rams, 40+ inchers come out of there every year. Tough draw to get. I put in for it every year. I hear ya on the 325 with 200gr Accubonds. It's a deadly combo, hits the sweet spot for sure. I love my Kimber MT "Little Eight" as I call it. Must have been just the right (wrong) combo for the 180gr accubond. Speed, bone, etc. Did you guys go into DCUA off the Parks or the Rich? I swear that second pic looks like familiar country. But, it's been a few years, 12+ since I was there. Well we had a wonderful hunting season this year. My wife had a neat dall sheep tag, which sadly she wanted to bail on even hunting after her father was unable to go with us due to ill-timed pneumonia. Not that there is ever a good time. I was able to twist her enough to make her go anyway, and promised we would do it quickly whether successful or not, so she relented. Since the new addition to the family, it had been a few years since we were able to hunt together. To top it off, my brother went along as well, which was our first hunting trip together. While I grew up hunting with our father, he missed out and by the time he was old enough to really start, it wasn't an option. He is dozen years younger than me, and between college, grad school, new career, wife, baby--he kept having these lame excuses for missing out on hunting. Luckily he still made time for fishing trips and did a concert/hiking combo trip with me in Lake Tahoe this year too. Think this moose season got him hooked though. My wife got a nice tender forked-horn meat bull the 3rd day in the Delta Controlled Use area, but wasn't feeling well and ready to go home the next day, so we packed camp and headed for home promptly upon her request. We hadn't seen any legal sheep, and leaving early left just enough time for a mad dash to Kotzebue where a buddy was waiting for us if we made it even with 3 days to hunt. As it worked out, we made it home, had 16 hours to wash cloths and repack before heading to the Anchorage Airport and off we went. Made it to Kotz in time to enjoy a little time with friends before dropped in the field. Hunted hard, but made it pay the end of our first hunting day. That evening I called an old bull we had found late morning all the way across the valley, which we poured off the ridge line to meet him part way, but he came right in clucking away, grunting with almost every step, rocking antlers back and forth the whole way. Was so cool for my brother to see. And ultimately, also a good experience for him to witness how much work these big bulls are when not right in camp, and taken at last light. By the time we made it back to camp in the pitch black (must have been a new moon), he was more than beat. Will say though, he did really well helping me part out both moose and was one of my best hunting memories having him with me. Here we are playing with three sub-legal bulls I had called in. This was about 20 minutes before another bull and the forked-horn popped out of the timber down below. I was so wrapped up playing with the young gents I was surprised when my brother asked if I should have a gun. We had no intent of shooting of them--but prolly not the smartest to leave the guns with my wife. Where did you find the Genny Cream Ale? Awesome!!!!
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Post by bula on Sept 30, 2017 8:01:22 GMT -5
Congrats ! Now the joy of full freezers. Funny on the beer thing too. Have a friend that did some guiding up there and now has a taste for Alaska Brewing Co. beer. Few weeks ago was in the little port town of Conneaut Ohio at a little pizza shop and found ABC's Amber in the cooler. Good stuff.
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Post by bushog on Sept 30, 2017 10:28:47 GMT -5
Don't give up on that .300 yet.
I have shot several bull elk and a couple oryx with the 200gn Accubond out of my Blaser K95.
It's my go-to.....
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tomc
.30 Stingray
Posts: 126
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Post by tomc on Oct 1, 2017 11:16:58 GMT -5
Awesome moose.
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Oct 1, 2017 11:45:57 GMT -5
Don't give up on that .300 yet. I have shot several bull elk and a couple oryx with the 200gn Accubond out of my Blaser K95. It's my go-to..... Ya, the 300 WinMag along with the 338 are the "go to" rifles here in AK. Sounds like the stars lined up just right (or wrong) in this situation. I've recovered a few .323 Accubonds that were nice mushrooms retaining 70% of their weight like Noslers says they will. I wonder if these 180gr Accubonds were the "Long Range" Accubonds. I've heard of them grenading.
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Post by mart on Oct 1, 2017 12:00:18 GMT -5
Good job on both the moose. It's great that your wife hunts with you. My wife, Etta, likes to hunt with me but had a ten level spinal fusion this year. Doc assures me she'll be in moose packin shape by next year.
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Post by squigz on Oct 2, 2017 9:48:48 GMT -5
I can't say much for hunting on anymore other than deer and black bear for those accubonds. But I've had tremendous success on both with my 300WM with the 180gr loads. So much so, almost all of my other rifles have acquired accubond loads in everything from a 243win all the way up to a 375ruger.
I do know however that when they make contact with anything hard(bone for example), they will "explode" and basically fragment all over causing massive damage. If you do a clean through and through shot and the bullet is retained, as advertised by Nosler they retain most of their weight.
Other issues I've encountered is that if you hit a small enough twig (or large enough branch) in the woods several yards prior to the animal, the bullet will begin it's expansion process and you'll be entering the animal with a much large entrance wound than what you'd normally expect as well as not getting the expected penetration due to an already expanded bullet.
I apologize if this is cognizant data.
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Post by wildwillalaska on Oct 3, 2017 19:40:22 GMT -5
I haven't given up on the 300WM yet. Shoot I haven't even worked up a handload for that particular rifle (or the Dakota Hunter that followed me home from Cabelas last month). I will play with both of them this winter. I hope to use Accubonds, either the 180gr or the 190gr LR. I have experienced nothing but dead animals with anything I have used the accubonds on from a few brown bears, several moose, and not sure how many black bears. So not giving up on the Accubonds either. I was just surprised by the wound was all. I'll try to get a picture uploaded to post. And acknowledge as thick as things were--I very well could have tripped on a branch or leave.
All that said, I still love my 325WSM which was hard because I am such a 338 fanatic. I need more things to shoot apparently. Already trying to talk myself into a pair of Kimbers, a his and hers in 7mm-08 and 280AI.
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