Newbie with questions.

[Wapiti1]

Using a Vortex HD LH 2.0-10 on Talley low rings. HsR-4 reticle. Seems good to go. Yes?

Yes. That will work just fine. If you decide to get into the dialing game, then things change a bit.

Jeremy

 

[PRC_GUY]

When you say bigger caliber, do you mean a bigger caliber or a bigger cartridge? A .308 is a 30 caliber, so is a 300 win mag, the difference is the case capacity of the cartridge. If you wanted a bigger caliber bullet your looking at something like a .338 win mag.

.308, .300 win mag, or a .338 will all kill elk or moose. Shot placement and bullet choice is whats important.

If I had to choose between those 3 I would take the .300 WM

I would take the 300 WM for sure.

 

[roosiebull]

Whereas I always want more guns and have been loving bolts and such, it makes more sense waiting so I can have the things that make these trips more possible and enjoyable

with some hunting experience, doing the hunting you do, some time/experience may make that next rifle purchase that truly suits your needs, and you'll only know what you want to change after some field use... maybe you'll end up wanting an ultra light mountain rifle, maybe you'll want a more precision rig, maybe you'll see a gap in your .308 that another cartridge will compliment well, but it's hard to pick the right rifle before learning what you don't like (for certain applications) about your current rifle... your current setup is versatile enough you won't be held back by it in any meaningful way, unless you draw a rhino tag or something, but the draw odds are terrible in most of this country

 

[roosiebull]

I'd take a 308 with a 150-165 partition after anything in north America and never loose a wink. You're not likely going to break into big game with 800 yard pokes, so the 308 makes great sense.

Cheap, lots of ammo choices, low recoil and muzzle blast....great choice.

rows of .308 ammo on the shelves right now, very little of anything else (where i'm at anyways)

 

[Novice]

Do you guys suggest with or without a bipod? Right now the only thing on my rifle besides the scope is a Magpul sling. The Rhodesian style one.

 

[Novice]

Do you guys think a bipod is a good call? Or skip it? Could use a pack or a tripod etc I suppose.

 

[Cahunter805]

Do you guys think a bipod is a good call? Or skip it? Could use a pack or a tripod etc I suppose.

I always hunt with a bipod. For me personally I’m a much better shot off a bipod especially prone and the added weight isn’t that much of a deal.

 

[Novice]

I always hunt with a bipod. For me personally I’m a much better shot off a bipod especially prone and the added weight isn’t that much of a deal.

Any particular bipod you’d suggest? I suppose you attach that to the stud then your sling to the bipod?

 

[35WhelenAI]

All good advice on the clothing, definitely don't need name brands.

I use a pair of Underwood shooting sticks, they are compact and easy to deploy. Don't know if they're still available. Cabela's or Bass Pro sell similar ones, Primos Pole Cat steady sticks come to mind.

.308 Win is a great choice. As has been said keep the bullets in the velocity range they will open reliably and go get your moose.

 

[roosiebull]

Any particular bipod you’d suggest? I suppose you attach that to the stud then your sling to the bipod?

i have a spartan bipod on my rifle, so if i don't want the bipod hanging off my rifle, i can have the bipod in a convenient spot and put it on quick (all light components too) i have used a Harris a lot in the past, but are heavy, bulky, and always on the rifle... the Spartan is a good compromise i feel

i'm sure others will chime in with some other good options

 

[Novice]

Picked up a couple boxes of this stuff today.

 

[Coldtrail]

My take has always been to use adequate gear & not get caught up in what is fashionable this season, a .308 & army surplus gear can harvest alot of North American game....take the money leftover and spend it on getting you places as often as possible to enjoy it

 

[Novice]

Very wise advice sir. Thank you!

 

[35WhelenAI]

My take has always been to use adequate gear & not get caught up in what is fashionable this season, a .308 & army surplus gear can harvest alot of North American game....take the money leftover and spend it on getting you places as often as possible to enjoy it

That's a really good post.

That ammo will do a great job from your 308.

 

[Rich M]

308 is fine. Read this again:

I'd take a 308 with a 150-165 partition after anything in north America and never loose a wink. You're not likely going to break into big game with 800 yard pokes, so the 308 makes great sense.

Cheap, lots of ammo choices, low recoil and muzzle blast....great choice.

I think 150s are great for deer, antelope, elk, whatever. They'll shoot pretty flat too.

You have an excellent scope - Vortex Razor HD. 2-10 is perfect for hunting. don't get into dialing your scope, use point blank range and you'll find a 200-250 yard zero will give you point blank hold out to 300 yards or more. I do this and have shot antelope 350 yards away and 25 yards away on the same hunt.

Be careful about taking what you read to heart. Half of it is regurgitated marketing hype. 1/4 are guys trying to be heros and act cool. and 1/4 of it might be reasonable. We all have differing situations and circumstances. *Only buy what you need, what you can try out/on, and what you can afford.* If you can't afford what you want, save another year and see if you still want it.

Target practice with a .22 or even a pellet rifle is good. Trigger time is what you want. Just know that the air rifle won't be as accurate as a "real gun" and don't get upset if you don't hit a penny every time at 50 yards.

I hunt in long johns and jeans to hunt most of the time. was in CO for subzero temps and big storm in 2019 - long johns and jeans, 400 gr boots with wool or cabelas ultimax socks (I use em both), long john top, flannel shirt, fleece vest, fleece jacket and a breathable rain jacket. Also wore a fleece beanie and wool gloves. The expensive pants guys say i should be dead - LOL! Did get a nice buck. Had a great time. Aint no way I'm spending $1,000 for an overpriced, highly marketed hunting outfit. so they can sponsor some trespassing & poaching "face of the company".

I bought a $500 pair of binocs in 2017 and buddies bought $175 binocs in 2019 - guess who's could see the bedded mule deer better? The cheaper ones (Leupold McKenzies). Go figure. I still haven't been able to talk myself into new binoculars.

Again - be careful what you read and believe. They call it the hunting INDUSTRY for a reason - lots of folks are out there only to make money off of you.

 

[TheGDog]

RE: Gear? Don't go cheap on comfort for your boots. AND the socks! When I discovered DarnTough socks, I was then able to DOUBLE the amount of miles I could cover before my feet started barking at me.

Even when it's hot, you'll still want liner gloves and mesh facemask. That pink skin sticks out like a sore thumb in the forest.

RE: Camo Clothing - You're gonna want to first get a look and feel of the colors found in the various habitat(s) you're most concerned about concealment in. I wouldn't bother yet ordering a particular camo until youhave a strong idea in mind of the particular area/location you want to be stealthy in.

Cheapest camo solution for ambush sits is to get some North Mountain Gear - 3D Leafy gear. Since obviously you can throw that on top of ANY clothing you've decided to wear that day.

If money is tight, first and foremost just concentrate on obtaining gear in the dull muted colors of the forest, like in the greys the dead wood looks like, or sage, or some kinda light FDE colored stuff to match like the tall dead grasses. (Like said above, ya really need eyes-on the area in question in order to make a choice for camo... although Natural Gear's primary pattern, the grey-based one, is a darn good all-around choice, especially when paired with their mesh facemask.

You need comfort... right amount of warmth for the situation... not too bulky so doesn't take up buncha room in a pack if ya need to take off a lot as the day warms up.

ALWAYS bring with you colder weather gloves and some kind of warmer head covering like a beanie with built-in light for unexpected colder temps that can sometimes surprise ya (and some extra redundancy in light sources!).

On my hike-ins that are on the longer side, I like to take off the hiked-in sweatied-up shirt about 1000yds back away from my destination ambush sit spot, I'll leave that shirt hidden draped over a Greasewood bush to dry in the Sun, then I put on a fresh hunting shirt, especially since when ya get to your sit spot.. sometimes in the morning there can be breeze / wind coming thru and you won't want that sweatied up shirt underneath everything now starting to get all cold from that chilly wind that's around before the Sun finally comes out to start heating everything back up. This was like in a place where the low could get to like... 34F low, but then it can get like even up to mid 80's same day. So it took a little experimenting before you find the gear combo that works best for the situation at hand.

The other item I'm happy to say I learned about on this forum are boot-insulators such as Artic Shield! I tried a new zone last year that's more Alpine rather than chapparal, and Oh Man... this one morning in particular it was really bad in there. My boots aren't insulated because normally I don't need them to be. I have some insulated ones, but they're not the best quality and kinda heavy and clunky, and this Alpine area was very steep in places, so bringing them was a nogo because I know they'd have tired me out and made me sore by end of day with that extra weight on the feet. And also that outing I needed just a little bit more in terms of base-layers on my legs. I took out my puffy and wrapped it around my legs to help. The thing of that day was it had a lot of wind AND the cloud were right at this altitude level, so the wind was blowing those cold clouds right into this area. Thankfully I was in kind of a draw / depression in the terrain and found a spot in the sun that still afforded me some concealment from the area I was overlooking. Anyhoo with that wind blowing clouds around, it was often covering back up the rising sun. So it was like 25F that morning and high winds bringing cold clouds right to ya, and covering up the sun, Eesh.

RE: camo - right about now is a great time to be looking for sales on stuff. Lotta the stores know those items will just mostly sit until next season comes around, so they do some good deal to clear the shelves for the next seasons stuff.

RE: 308 Win ammo. - For something like Elk? I'd most likely use the 168gr Barnes VOR-TX TTSX <- those are overkill for Mule Deer shot at close distances, like 6" circle of bloodshot meat on entry wound!

 

[Novice]

Thank you gentlemen. So much info here. I have some stuff and initially I was just buying first lite stuff. Even just the thin layers for spring and fall turkey I was blown away. Super expensive. I’d been thinking that I didn’t know if I could make it next season if I had to spend like 2 grand just on clothes for winter lol. Throw in the lotteries, ammo, trips, tent, all the gear and yikes.

My buddy pointed me to Rogers. They have some good deals and lesser big names. Found some warm stuff there.

Another friend said the same about boots and warm base. Don’t skimp there. The rest you don’t have to go nuts on he said.

 

[Coldtrail]

Get yourself an REI card with rewards, those extra points will help you fill many of your camping and clothing needs each year with much of that gear being better priced than "hunting" clothes.

The most valuable learning experience for me was the first 30yrs of my life having more passion for the outdoors than I had money to spend....That experience has made me learn to improvise and adapt, thus I am proud to not very valuable to "the industry".

 

[Novice]

I’ve got one of those cards. Recently picked up a few items there with more in my cart. Lol

 

[Coldtrail]

Being new to the sport, don't overlook small game hunting too. You'll learn just as much about hunting and shooting plus get educated on best clothing choices for active vs. inactive hunts, weather conditions etc. A working man's shotgun is a very solid investment and can put meat on the table too.