20 years trying to get a tag…..and it happened!!!!

[Wind Gypsy]

Great info WG. Thank you!

I actually did shoot my hunting ammo through a chronograph - average of only 5. But I used the B.C. on the box and standard eye relief measurement of 1.5”.

Probably should have just left it alone and used holdover because this is definitely my confidence rig. Without the magic dial I’ve killed a bunch of white tails out to 225. But nothing approaching 500. Never even gave it a thought, really.

If I can’t hunt my way to a ‘nice’ bull at a reasonable range for me, screw it. I’ll hunt for 5 days, enjoy the Rockies in late September, and try to fill my coolers for the ride home with a satellite bull in bow range.

Thats good that you chronoed them. I've never sent in for a CDS but i'm guessing by eye relief measurement you mean scope height (scope height above bore is a standard input for ballistic solutions)? For scope height, i'd do your best to eyeball it with a ruler/tape measure or calipers to confirm actual.

In regards to BC, nosler is a little high on the published BC vs what most folks see to be actual. Applied ballistics is the big dog in this space and tests/publishes BC on a lot of bullets because manufacturers are often not very accurate. Nosler publishes a G1 BC of 0.507 for the 180 accubonds and Applied ballistics tested them at 0.482 but better yet would be to use a g7 BC as they are typically more stable across the velocity spectrum and applied ballistics has a g7 BC of 0.246 for that bullet.

The BC thing is getting into the weeds a bit with ranges inside 500 yards as the differences I mentioned above dont amount to much until a little longer ranges. But if you have a chance to get with Leupold and update inputs, I'd definitely make sure you have a good scope height above center of bore and update the BC to have things as tight as possible.

 

[Maddog66]

Correct …..scope height, not eye relief.

Those dedicated long range rifles are really something! Several of the outfitters I talked with said many guides carry them these days for client use. They do all the setup at 800 yards and you lay behind the rifle and touch the trigger. No offense to them, but for me that ain’t happening! I’m using my rifle based on my skills, and that’s it.

As far as long range practice, I have a local range out to 500+ yards. Gongs only.

I’ve done lots of research into all of the various shooting stick concepts. What I’m going to try is a little plastic gizmo that attaches to my trekking poles to turn them into a bipod. Called a Quick Stix.

I ordered a 1500” daypack from Eberlestock called the X1A3. It has a built in rifle scabbard to keep my hands free to use the poles. Hope that works out too.

 

[Maddog66]

Time sure is flying! Only 6 weeks until my hunt starts..

Shooting practice is going pretty well but it’s kind of a slow process to extend my range. I’m finding that I really need to let my barrel cool for a long time……otherwise I start spraying them. Since my rifle range is 10 minutes from my house, I’ve been only shooting about 6 rounds per session - 2 rounds of 3 shots.

The other thing I’ve found is that my “first shot” accuracy suffers horribly on a clean barrel. I stopped cleaning it other than a bore snake at the end of each practice session.

As far as getting in shape, I’m down about 10# from the day I drew my tag and I’ve been going for a “hard walk” wearing my boots and a 20# pack about twice a week. I’m never going to be in Cam Haines hunting shape but it is what it is.

My guide has been spending lots of time on the mountain, clearing trails. He said things are really looking good so far. It’s been very hot out there but they’ve been getting timely rains at elevation that he said should help with antler development. He says the heat has them in the dark timber all day and he’s mostly only seeing cows, calves and small bulls right now.

My excitement level is at a solid 9.5! I’ve watched every hunting video online 5 times!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

If you're not going to be shooting over 100 rounds between now and the hunt, I wouldn't worry about putting anything down your bore at all. Nothing in modern centerfire ammo is going to damage your bore if not cleaned out for a couple months. Skipping any cleaning will keep your bore in the same condition shot to shot.

Bring a 223 or something to the range to practice positionally while the barrel is cooling.

How much are we talkin when you say it starts spraying when it gets hot? It shouldn't. My browning xbolt 300 wsm will print tight groups with a very hot barrel.

In the summer months i use a magnetospeed barrel cooler to cool barrels quicker, mainly just to preserve barrel life and minimize mirage than for accuracy concerns. Heres a way to make one cheap yourself: https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2021/09/build-a-better-barrel-cooler-for-under-15-diy-project/

 

[Maddog66]

I plan to shoot about 60 more hunting rounds before the hunt. Hopefully.

After 3 shots in the span of maybe 3 minutes, the light barrel on my A-bolt mountain Ti is getting pretty warm. If I take another 3 shots then, I feel like my groups open up by about 1.5” at 100 yards. If I wait 15 or 20 minutes to shoot another 3, it seems like it doesn’t happen, but the barrel is VERY HOT afterward. If I want to shoot another 3 after that, it takes more patience than I have for the barrel to get back to a reasonable temp.

I had been bringing my .308 with me until the ammo ran out. Need to buy more. Will start bringing a .223, as you suggest.

I saw a guy with a little 3d printed barrel cooler / blower the other day at the range. Neat gizmo! Didn’t know it was a thing until then.

 

[Maddog66]

I looked at the Utah Draw odds the other day and took a pic of the summary sheet. I’m the guy in the 21 point pool who drew. The odds were even worse than I imagined!

I heard somewhere that Utah already has over 100 years worth of NR LE elk applicants applying every year. Most will age out or die before drawing.

The unit I drew has the most elk of any in the state, and there were 4 NR tags. Plus this graph doesn’t even show the people buying points and not getting in the lottery every year.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Pretty cool man. I play in 5 to 7 western state draws per year for multiple species and the best luck I’ve had is drawing a tag with 50% odds last year and 25% odds this year.. The countless stories of guys beating the odds like you or significantly longer yet gives a guy hope that lightning will strike eventually!

I’m 8 years into Nevada draws and the elk odds don’t even get better with each passing year.. I think i climbed up to a whopping 2.2% odds for the EASIEST to draw elk tag in the state this year.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I looked at the Utah Draw odds the other day and took a pic of the summary sheet. I’m the guy in the 21 point pool who drew. The odds were even worse than I imagined!

I heard somewhere that Utah already has over 100 years worth of NR LE elk applicants applying every year. Most will age out or die before drawing.

The unit I drew has the most elk of any in the state, and there were 4 NR tags. Plus this graph doesn’t even show the people buying points and not getting in the lottery every year.

Yeah it’s insane. I’m the guy who buys points every year. Never even applied. Super depressing. May just cash out on something soon.

 

[Maddog66]

Honestly, I bought points for quite a few years too. My reason was that I neither had the money or the vacation time for the hunt I had in my mind (remote tent camp with horses like on TV ). When I finally started putting my name on the lottery (appx 12 pts) every year, I was applying for the only unlit in Utah that really offers the remote experience - Book Cliffs Roadless. Well the BCR only ever gave out 2 NR tags for the early rifle hunt and I had hundreds of people in front of me. My only hope was drawing the 1 random tag. That never happened and then last year they re-aligned the seasons and don’t even offer a NR tag for that unit. So that was out.

I did lots of reading last year right after I learned about the BCR being shut down. The main takeaway was that first, don’t accumulate points without putting your name in the lottery. Your odds are long no matter what, and you decrease them by not playing. Second, I had to recalibrate my thinking about what I wanted out of my LE tag. The unit with the most tags (opportunity) is what I chose (Manti)…….but a tent camp was out. Too many roads.

But I’ll be staying in a nice off-grid cabin in the unit with everything we need to hunt miles and miles in every direction. The guide promised me we would have vast areas (and huge bulls in full rut) all to ourselves in spite of the “easy” access.

Excitement level = 99.8!

 

[Mtyhunter]

Man, I'm excited for you!
I can't pick the gnat shit out of the pepper like Gypsy can in regards to ammo/ballistics, but like i think Foggy said, go light as you can get away with!

 

[ChrisA]

Honestly, I bought points for quite a few years too. My reason was that I neither had the money or the vacation time for the hunt I had in my mind (remote tent camp with horses like on TV ). When I finally started putting my name on the lottery (appx 12 pts) every year, I was applying for the only unlit in Utah that really offers the remote experience - Book Cliffs Roadless. Well the BCR only ever gave out 2 NR tags for the early rifle hunt and I had hundreds of people in front of me. My only hope was drawing the 1 random tag. That never happened and then last year they re-aligned the seasons and don’t even offer a NR tag for that unit. So that was out.

I did lots of reading last year right after I learned about the BCR being shut down. The main takeaway was that first, don’t accumulate points without putting your name in the lottery. Your odds are long no matter what, and you decrease them by not playing. Second, I had to recalibrate my thinking about what I wanted out of my LE tag. The unit with the most tags (opportunity) is what I chose (Manti)…….but a tent camp was out. Too many roads.

But I’ll be staying in a nice off-grid cabin in the unit with everything we need to hunt miles and miles in every direction. The guide promised me we would have vast areas (and huge bulls in full rut) all to ourselves in spite of the “easy” access.

Excitement level = 99.8!

I am excited for you. I was extremely fortunate and drew a Utah LE tag about 8 years ago in La Sal on my second time ever applying. My guide told me how lucky that was, and at the time I did not appreciate it. Seeing your story and the wait times people have had, I appreciate my dumb luck all the more, especially after trying to draw other tags elsewhere with no luck whatsoever.

What you describe about your guide sounds similar to my experience, all around great guys and him and his extended family all willing to help out when I shot my bull. Best of luck to you, and report back how it goes!

 

[Maddog66]

The last few weeks flew by with all of the food plot and general projects on the farm. And now I find myself less than 2 weeks from beginning the drive out to Utah. Just unbelievable how fast it came now that it’s almost here.

Still shooting my rifle at least a couple times per week and I feel real good out to 300. Beyond that I just don’t have the optics for it. Or the eyes.

I thought my conditioning was going well until I worked hard outside in this recent heat wave. If it’s this hot on my hunt, I’m in trouble . But generally I feel great. I’m glad I have a couple of non hunting days at the beginning to start getting used to the altitude.

I have clothes packed for every type of weather possible except extreme cold…..which seems unlikely……but now that I said it I suppose the polar vortex is is getting whipped up.

The local report until recently, has been HOT as hades. Bulls were still in singles / bachelor groups and staying in the dark timber during daylight. In the last few days there has been lots of rain and cooler temps in the higher elevations. My guide is starting his serious scouting now through my arrival on the 18th on his own and with a Manti Archery tag holder. He said things should start getting more serious as far as rutting activity with the bigger bulls, very soon.

Truck oil is changed, tires are rotated, coolers are cleaned, and hotel reservations are confirmed along the drive out. Final payment for the hunt is in the mail.

Let’s do this!

 

[Bill]

Good luck. Can't wait to hear "read" the adventure.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Elk season is here! Have a blast man!

Here’s another UT Elk thread to get the juices flowin.

https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/26-year-wait-utah-elk-hunt.320183/page-8#post-3649644

I head to WY on Friday. Never been less prepared or in worse shape going into an elk hunt but I’m starting to get excited!

 

[Maddog66]

That’s a funny thread WG. I’m not exactly sure what a “flat brim” is, but all my ball caps have curved brims, so I think I’m ok

 

[Wind Gypsy]

That’s a funny thread WG. I’m not exactly sure what a “flat brim” is, but all my ball caps have curved brims, so I think I’m ok

Just a reference to hats commonly worn by a younger social media influencer (or influenced) hunter stereotype. Strongly correlates to the "posse hunting" styles in UT/AZ where 1 guy in a posse actually draws a tag each year and all 10 comb the mountains looking for a monster that they can take pictures with for social media glory.

Funny that @Howboutthemdawgs mentioned Wade Lemon early on in this thread and then some questions about his guide's ethics popped up again in that thread with that monster gov tag holder bull.

 

[Maddog66]

Can you share a pic of your LaSal bull Chris A? Was the early rifle season everything people say it is with rutting bulls screaming their heads off?

One question I have is about this hunt is…….Did you hunt all day? Or do you take a mid day siesta while they’re bedded?

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Just a reference to hats commonly worn by a younger social media influencer (or influenced) hunter stereotype. Strongly correlates to the "posse hunting" styles in UT/AZ where 1 guy in a posse actually draws a tag each year and all 10 comb the mountains looking for a monster that they can take pictures with for social media glory.

Funny that @Howboutthemdawgs mentioned Wade Lemon early on in this thread and then some questions about his guide's ethics popped up again in that thread with that monster gov tag holder bull.

Unfortunately I have 3 first hand stories from really good buddies that leave zero doubt.

 

[Maddog66]

Yeah…..I’ve heard about the huge posse’s some people have. I guess there have been throw-downs on popular glassing knobs that get a little intense sometimes too. Arguing with somebody before daylight would completely ruin the day for me……just like combat fishing for walleyes in the spring does.

When I was interviewing guides for my hunt, including WL, most wanted me to “buy” spotters for $150 / day per man. They usually recommended 2, but said more is always better.

I didn’t do it. Just me and my guide are going to give it hell and hopefully get the bull I worked for, or not.

Edit. Good lord that 430” bull is a monster!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Yeah…..I’ve heard about the huge posse’s some people have. I guess there have been throw-downs on popular glassing knobs that get a little intense sometimes too. Arguing with somebody before daylight would completely ruin the day for me……just like combat fishing for walleyes in the spring does.

When I was interviewing guides for my hunt, including WL, most wanted me to “buy” spotters for $150 / day per man. They usually recommended 2, but said more is always better.

I didn’t do it. Just me and my guide are going to give it hell and hopefully get the bull I worked for, or not.

Edit. Good lord that 430” bull is a monster!

Sounds like you've got the right attitude! I've never held a high end elk tag like what you've got but I'd sure hate to take the fun out of it by pushing too hard, setting expectations too high, and fighting with other hunters.