"The Season"

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les welch

les welch

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How does bisecting the available space "add" room?

This allows me to get two 125 quart coolers with ice on the lower level along with many smaller items, while keeping one side open with a bed roll and sleeping bag. Bow cases, gear boxes, packs, etc all go on the top. Makes access and organization easier and faster.
 
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les welch

les welch

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I have created a separate FB page for my hunting/athletic endeavors. It is here is anyone is interested. I'll keep only my hunting and athletic things on this page.. Les Welch | Facebook
 

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"DADDY"
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This allows me to get two 125 quart coolers with ice on the lower level along with many smaller items, while keeping one side open with a bed roll and sleeping bag. Bow cases, gear boxes, packs, etc all go on the top. Makes access and organization easier and faster.

Gotcha. Didn't know you were sleeping back there. Mine is usually packed top to bottom all the way back, but I don't sleep back there and everything gets unloaded in base camp.
 
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les welch

les welch

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Yes, it goes either way. Sometimes I do while traveling and sometimes I don't and just get a room. 90% of the time we don't get to base camp so it's backpacking in and it does help with the organization and access.


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"DADDY"
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Just another quick question......how is your shell clamped to the truck? I don't see any clamps and the plywood looks to sit flush with the rail. My clamps are big enough that the plywood wouldn't sit well.
 
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les welch

les welch

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It does sit flush. I just notched it out for my clamps.


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les welch

les welch

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So 33 rounds through the Encore .50 ML yesterday and today. Another 19 through the .300 win mags. Hunter managed about 600 through the .22's and then some through the .223's. Shot 245 and 295 grain Powerbelts and 270 grain Federal Premium BOR Lok's. Powder ranged from 95 to 120 grains. Best groups were shot with 295 grain Power Belts pushed by 100 grains of BH 209. 3" 100 yard open sight groups. Will be dialing in a Turret knob Williams peep sight this week yet.

Spent some time with Mike today going over maps. We build all custom topo maps with UTM grids so we can really fine tune. We have around 40 24" square maps that we are poring over right now trying to dial in our first half dozen plans.

Packing gets super serious tomorrow. About ready to shut it down for the week-end and watch a little bit of the The Collection for about the fifth time since it came out.
 
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Spent some time with Mike today going over maps. We build all custom topo maps with UTM grids so we can really fine tune. We have around 40 24" square maps that we are poring over right now trying to dial in our first half dozen plans.

I'm interested in a little more detail regarding this. I buy the USGS 7.5x7.5 maps. They are expensive and my route always seems to be thru four corners and never in the middle of one map so I'd love to know how to make my own custom ones. Also not all include UTM, just the blue tic marks on the edge, so I have to pencil in myself.

Thanks and Good Luck!
 
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les welch

les welch

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Brood, my hunting buddy has been a surveyor for about two hundred years so he really has the mapping/navigation down to an art. It's something he showed me how to do. Basically it involves a lot of copy and pasting into a word document and then having a plotter to print those big maps. The website that we have used in the past is getting harder and harder to get into it. This year we are using a blend of the 7.5 minute topo's and some of the custom made ones. Agreed, it sure is a hassle having to line in all the grid lines so we can UTM scale.
 
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les welch

les welch

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My daughter busted her arm on Sunday so things have been a little hectic with here getting it casted on Sunday, uncast Monday, surgery yesterday. I have however still been in high gear trying to get things in order.

Our plans have changed some. My son and I are not going to OTC first week archery elk in Colorado. Yesterday while at the surgery center I logged on to the CO DOW site and was able to purchase him a muzzy tag. After my daughter got home I did a bunch of calling around ended up ordering him a Traditions Pursuit Ultralight with the Cerakote barrel and camo stock. I also purchased him an airline ticket one way from Denver to MPLS. When we are done with the muzzy hunt I'll drive him to Denver where he will fly home. From there I'll be able to just head to Wyoming.
 
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les welch

les welch

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Getting some rounds through the Encore.


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I'm interested in a little more detail regarding this. I buy the USGS 7.5x7.5 maps. They are expensive and my route always seems to be thru four corners and never in the middle of one map so I'd love to know how to make my own custom ones.

If you go to mytopo you can choose pretty much whatever you want and have them make it for you. I agree, seems as though I ALWAYS want the four corners of four meeting quads. This way you can custom the boundaries, choose the scale you want, and even have UTM grids printed on it. You can also layer the hunting unit boundaries as well as shading, etc. Good stuff.

Forgot.....you can also do a satellite imagery map of the same area if you wanted as well with the same grid lines etc.
 
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les welch

les welch

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Time to hit the range and let Hunter sight in his new toy now that the Bear bait is done.


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les welch

les welch

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I've been shooting TC for years. I love my Encore. When we started shopping around this last week I found out that TC had been sold to S&W and that manufacturing had changed. From the people I was talking to the quality/shootability wasn't the same. Longtime TC shooters were steering me towards the Traditions Pursuit. Mike, my elk hunting buddy, had purchased one the week before and it was shooting lights out at the range. I was able to order a camo one from Cabelas on Wednesday. Believe it or not it showed up on Friday. We were able to hit the range this morning. 2 shots about 4" low and 2.5" right, out of the box. I made some adjustments and the final 3 shot group was amazing. This is open sights, 100 grains of BH 209, 295 grain Powerbelt, and a CCI 209 ML primer.
 
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