Yearly Archives: 2017

Boar Sight Shooting School

Cooper Backcountry lightweight rifle in .300 winchester magnum

Preparing for my upcoming CA Desert Bighorn Sheep I bought a Cooper Backcountry lightweight rifle in .300 winchester magnum. My beautiful custom classic in .270 shot so well I was confident they could make a light weight and accurate rifle. The rifle is 5 3/4 pounds! Should serve me well on any sheep hunts. I topped it with my go to Leupold 4.5-14×40 scope with the compensation drop (CDS) turret system. The hunt requires using non-lead bullets so I bought Hornady Superformance GMX and Barnes TTSX. The fast Hornady rounds are slated at 3260 so was hopeful they would shoot well. My first chance to sight it in at Los Altos and while they looked promising they just did not cooperate. I cleaned it well saturday night and returned Sunday to try the Barnes loads. My first group was an inch. Second group one ragged hole. My six 3 shot groups averaged 7/8″ so happy it is shooting them well!

Cooper test target and my target behind (Barnes TTSX)

Next step is attending Kyler Hamann’s ‘Boar Sight Shooting School‘ Kyler was the guide on my first hunt ever in 2002 when I took a great trophy wild boar. He has an incredible set up with hanging 8″ steel plates at distances out to 600 yards to replicate ethical shots on game. He even has a 30″ plate at 1000. I brought all five of my rifles dialed in and hoping to see them shine at distances I might reasonably take shots at game. For the Sheep hunt the goal is to be able to shoot 400 yards. The guides at Dry Creek say most shots are around 200 but want to be ready. I did not have time to have a turret made for the Backcountry so I had to fish one out of my bag that looked close. My 30.06 for Hornady 150 SST looked close all out to 400 where it drops about an inch more. So meet Kyler at the gate and follow him to the bench and start off with the Cooper. Just resting it on bags it rings the 300 plate no problem. After a couple shots on it the plate is hung up. He also has a board next to it for a group. I shoot a group at 300 as he watches through the spotting scope. It’s about 1.5″ at 300 yards. So time to try the 400. I hit the 400. Ask him to video and see if I can do it again. So happy to hear the distant ting and know I just put a round into 8″ vital zone of a Desert Bighorn. (volume up to hear the hit)

This is a great day and I shoot all five of my rifles. The two the really did well are my Remington custom rifle. This rifle was the original bargain basement ADL I took that pig with in 2002 with a Simmons 8 point scope and factory trigger. Since completely customized. It had no problem hitting the 400 and even the 500 yard plate. I didn’t try the Backcountry at 500 knowing that turret would be off. My other Cooper with the beautiful presentation grade stock has been sitting in my safe for seven years. It also hit the 500 yard plate! I’m a Cooper believer.

300 yard group with Cooper BackCountry (shot in black .270)

After finishing shooting all my rifles we decided to try to hit the 1000 yard plate with my Remington. My dial only goes to 600 and we could not even get it to the point we could correct from. Kyler asked me if I wanted to try his Cooper XLR Long Range rifle. Also in .300 win mag. Sure why not. He has it topped with a great NightForce scope. My first shot is near target and Kyler makes corrections on the dial. I have a clear image and my second shot is a hit. And my third shot hits again! Incredible to be making accurate shots at 1000 yards. That is a long way. Kyler tells me I hit it, and near center, all before I even hear the sound. I finish up by putting a bipod on the Backcountry to prep for hunting pigs at sunset. It should be fine at hunting distances. I lay down and hit the 225 plate, the 250 plate, and then the 225 again. Call myself ready. Well we saw a couple small pigs but not the boar I was hoping for. My freezers are full of elk and deer so we called it a night!

Kyler’s Cooper XLR Long Range in .300wm

I have a Cooper Jackson Excaliber rifle on the way in .300 Weatherby. I’ll be bringing that to the range when it’s all sighted in with turret. I will definitely come back again one more time before the Cady Mountains sheep hunt which starts right after Christmas.

Blacktail Rifle Hunt -October 2017

Sunset after the shot

Back to the Diamond C for my second CA blacktail hunt of the year. Not really looking for anything specific just out for a fun hunt and see what we can see. Friday night we’re out looking in the evening. Not long we see a big bobcat prowling the golden hills. We leave him be and keep looking. At one point between two distant stands of oaks a buck is silhouetted broadside on the horizon. He’s too small to chase but makes a beautiful picture. As the sun begins to set I’m thinking tonight is a wrap but Dylan spots a buck in the distance. It’s an old 4×3 that we’ve been looking for he’s in a great spot for us to make a stalk. So just like that we are switched on and that time I savor and so look forward to, between spotting a buck we want and making a stalk and hopefully taking a shot is now on. We grab our packs and are off towards a rising hill that we think will give us the vantage point to maybe make a shot. We get close and get low, scoot up to the edge. Dylan’s not seeing him. We keep looking and soon Dylan spots him. I lower my bi-pod legs and scoot my rifle forward. Dylan gives me the range 355 yards. I’m on him and turn up my scope but he’s moving. I’m tracking him and he is walking when Dylan makes some whistling sounds and he stops. I start to make the shot but realize my safety is on. I slowly click it off an now he’s on the move again. Dylan tries it again and when he stops I’m on him. The sun is setting behind us and he appears in my scope in an orange glow. He’s quartering too and I have a perfect hold on his body and squeeze off the shot. I see him collapse instantly even through the scope. My customer Remington ADL in .270 does the trick with the Barnes 130 TTSX bullet. The VX6 at 18 power with a nice red dot lit at the reticle made it easy to hold and I find my shot hit perfectly. Dylan’s son Clayton and his girlfriend Elizabeth come join us on the Rhino quad to aid in the recovery. By the time they arrive the sun has set and soon the large full moon rises to light our way. This buck isn’t the biggest but this kind of spot and stalk and shot is my favorite way to rifle hunt blacktail. He is a great old buck with a lot of character. Such a great time hunting with Dylan and the Carr family.

Dylan Carr and the scene of my 355 yard shot to my blacktail buck

Blacktail Buck with Diamond C Outfitters

Bass Fishing at Lake Chabot

Have had so much fun fishing with my brother Tim over the years but catching a bass has completely eluded me. We’ve killed it on trout, catfish, kokanee, and salmon but I was yet to ever land a bass. Well our last fishing trip his boat was temporarily out of commission so we decided to go old school and rent an electric motor powered small row boat and try Lake Chabot. We trolled around for trout but no luck so we went off into a little offshoot and tried casting for bass near some likely spots. Eventually we decided to try an area bounded by reeds that was almost a perfect box. We anchored and not long after casting to the periphery Tim landed a little bass. Well after that we proceeded to hook seven bass and landed six. I somehow got my big one off just as we were trying to net it.

Was another great time with Tim and now I can say I can add large mouth bass to my fishing resume!

Tim with bass at Lake Chabot

Sean with a little LARGE mouth bass

Wagonhound Archery Elk Hunt

My 2017 WY Archery Elk

While at the Boone & Crockett Big Game awards I shared a breakfast table with Randy Newberg. While telling him about all my preference points and no idea how to best use them he recommended Wagonhound in WY for an archery elk hunt. Taking him up on it I drew the Unit 7 tag and eagerly awaited my hunt. Spent a great deal of time preparing both physically and at the archery range. Made the 2 day trip out by car to retrieve the meat if successful. I arrived Sunday and my guide Cougar Sanchez and Eric Mares went out that night. We climbed some steep hills and he would occasionally bugle to see if we could pin point a bull. I was admiring two 3×3 mule deer with my binos when Cougar says, one’s coming get ready! I get with Eric down in a strand of timber and wait. Soon I see antler tips emerge over the hill in front of us and soon a bull elk is standing in front of me at 40 yards. No shot but it is so exciting and happens just like you have heard it might. He’s with a cow and as they circle around they wind us and take off. This is pretty encouraging for the week ahead.

Lodge at Wagonhound Outfitters

The next day we have breakfast at 4:45 and are off to hunt by 5:30 arriving in the elk woods around first light. Each morning usually involves a challenging hike up some steep hills but I find I can stick with my 20 something guides and get to the top with just an accelerated heart rate. This first day finds another bull elk coming and he emerges off to our side at 42 yards. He stops broadside and I let loose, my arrow flies above his back. I used the orange 60 pin instead of my 40! Pretty rattled but glad not to have wounded him. We regroup and decide to spend lunch back at the lodge. Monday night is another incredible experience. We see a monster on the opposite side of the mountains but he’s not coming. We hike up and then down into a narrow draw. This ends up being a great spot as first a bull comes from the wrong side and winds us. Then two raghorns emerge from the upwind side and proceed to feed within 15 yards of Eric and I who stay motionless. Hope to get his video of that. Soon after a 5×5 comes in within 20, I could shoot but he’s too small. We head back down and now the big bull starts coming. He even walks right by where we were set up earlier but now the wind is wrong and he never comes in. After that four big bulls way up top in some aspens start coming to us. I can’t believe it as they are so far off yet with my binos I see one actually trotting down the mountain. We set up and first it’s raghorns again and some cows with the big one behind a large group of trees. We hear him raking but he doesn’t come in time before the elk get behind and wind us.

Tuesday morning starts out the same. A steep hike up the mountain until we emerge into some sparce timber. We set up again as there are bugles in the distance. Eric is right behind me with Cougar set up 40 yards back this time with a Montana Decoy cow. Soon we hear a bull coming but he passes across 50-60 yards in front of us. Eric and I decide to move forward 40 yards. We get settled and soon that big bull comes back to us. He’s facing us with a cow and soon spooks off. I’m thinking maybe this spot is now blown but Eric tells me to get ready, ‘some are coming fast’. He’s not kidding. It sounds like a stampede the crashing coming close and I draw as two bulls literally crash into the woods and stop right next to us. They are both good bulls. I try to shoot the closest one and he spooks a little and I shoot behind him. Amazingly they don’t bolt off. I knock another arrow. Now they are a little behind us. I’m able to draw and rotate my body and shoot the rear one at only 25 yards. My green nockturnal lights up perfectly behind the crease and he runs off. I can’t believe it. We both think it’s a perfect shot. Deep penetration. We just sit still and for the next 45 minutes the show continues. Not long after my shot at 7:17am another bull comes in to my left with a cow. We just sit and video with our phones.

After 45 minutes we decide to look for blood. He left with my arrow but we soon find a good blood trail. After about 75 yards we crest a rise and see him laying in the distance. I am overjoyed, my first bull elk with a great shot and clean kill. We take lots of pictures and then Cougar and Eric skin and quarter him out. They are intent on packing him out in one trip which seems nuts to me but to their credit we somehow do it. It’s about a mile down to a road that we can bring the truck to. We rest every 100 yards or so with them doing the lion’s share and me with only a shoulder precariously on the bow holder of my day pack.

Scene of my 2017 WY archery elk

We get my elk meet back and hanging in the Wagonhound cooler within hours. Am so pleased as getting the meat is a big part of the experience for me and I know it will be perfect. Many times in archery if the shot is not perfect you need to leave the animal overnight which would have made a big difference for the meat. Am so pleased with this experience, greatful for Randy’s advice, all the great help from Wayne and Roger at Archery Only, without them I would not be a bow hunter. All the people at Wagonhoud. I leave Thursday morning and spend the night in Wendhover, NV. Up early and back to Los Gatos Meats & Smokehouse by 3pm. They know me well there and wrap up the tenderloins for me to cook that night. So grateful for another incredible hunting first. Now turning my attention back to rifles and prep for my California Desert Sheep hunt in December.

2017 Blacktail Hunt

Time for my annual Blacktail hunt with Dylan Carr. Had been practicing with the bow every night in hopes of taking a huge buck from a blind again. Well got laid off from work the day before I left so plans adjusted to management buck to be thrifty in case my job search goes longer than planned. Part of me hoping it doesn’t happen too quickly. Still Dylan had offered a try at Q-Tip a huge 5×4 so a little disappointed to let that chance go. Still hunting a management buck is often much more fun. Have been sighting in my rifles to prep for my Sheep hunt and selected the Sako 30.06 as the most reliable. It’s still set up for lead rounds which I can use in B Zone, 150gr SST Hornady Superformance.

I get to Dylan’s mid day Thursday. Alan is there and had taken the big 3×3 “Lopper” the night before. They weren’t sure of the shot and left him overnight. He was done but the coyotes got to him first ruining the cape. I end up donating mine for his mount. That night cruising we see a group with some huge bucks. Wart Head is the star along with Inline and Skyscraper a super tall 3×3. So cool to see these bucks out and about. Up by the gate we find a buck people had been telling Dylan about. He’s a 4×4 with kickers on both sides. I am sorely tempted to shoot him but keep to my plan and budget.

The next morning we are out again. It is so nice and cool for July. Wearing a light jacket even. Fog down below so we head up top. It’s not long until Dylan spots a buck feeding out on one of the golden hills in the distance. He puts the spotting scope on him and says he is a management buck and a good shooter. Almost a 3×3 but older buck. We decide to make a stalk on him. We back the truck out a ways so we can leave under cover and make our way down the hill. As we’re closing he’s eventually staring our way and we think he’s busted us. We decide we really can’t go one more ridge and set up by a dead three that gives us some cover. The range is 370 yards. I settle in and dial my turret. Set to 14 power I have a great view and am on him. He’s facing me so I wait and wait for him to turn. Finally he’s showing a lot of body and I start to squeeze holding right on him. At the shot I get the ‘who’s your daddy’ from Dylan and know he’s down at the shot. Those SSTs really drop em, kind of like the ballistic tips. We find him dead right there and the shot is perfect. Alan takes the truck to the road below and we have a fairly easy quarter mile drag at least mostly down hill.

We put him on the gambel and he weighs 130. We recover my bullet from just inside the hide and Clayton finds the separated lead core while skinning him. I’m super happy with him and glad to have tried a longer shot in prep for the sheep hunt. 370 is my farthest shot on a deer to date. Hopefully I’ll get a great new job in a few months and be back for a giant Blacktail next time.

July bucks on Trailcam

Finally have a few bucks on the trailcam. The first is the same wide buck from May who now is starting to look like an 8-Point Whitetail deer. I’m calling him ‘Whitey’

Whitey -wide 3×3 looking like an 8 point Whitetail

This asymmetrical 3×3 I have nicknamed ‘Goofy’

Nice tall fork horn. Seen him before. He is ‘Twin Peaks’ Love the tongue out in this one.

Looks like a Scrub Jay captured in flight.

New Trail Cam

My old Trailcam finally gave up the ghost so have a new one and my first few pics for 2017 are coming in. Usual does and fawns but one nice buck starting to grow and the same old coyote.

Wide buck starting to grow on the trail by my house

Coyote on the prowl.

3 bucks in the grass across from my front door.