I went spend crazy this year, you only live once right.


Kimber Montana: Got 3 of them this year, 300wsm/7-08/260. Still on the lookout for a 7wsm. The Montucky is all that and then some. Simply perfect, light, stout and shoots bugholes. I have a sneaky suspicion that all these "bad" Montanas simply need a lighter pull and a bedding job. 9.5/10


DNZ mounts: switched to dnz lows for just about everything from 10/22's to 700's to Montuckys. I like them better than talleys. 10/10


Leica Ultravid HD 10x32: I switched to 10x32 binos a few years back and all I can say is that 10x32's are grossly underrated. Lighter, more FOV and they don’t give up anything in picture quality. I’ve owned them all, trinovids/ultravids/EL's/SLC's/LX's/FL's/Classics/Conquests/geovids/etc. The little 10x32 HD's are simply superb, side by side they trump the shit out of 10x40 classics even in the fuckin dark. 10/10

Leica 10x42 Geovid HD's: still a bit large for having them on your neck all day, I use them on short jaunts and out of boats and such and stick with much smaller ultravids. 9/10

Leica Rangemaster 1600: same as 1200 model but does range further, I have reached out to 1500yards when the 1200 quit on me. Ballistic functions they come with are garbage. 8/10

Marmot Oracle: Finally picked up a few jackets in black and green variety. Gave them a nice workout in out coastal monsoons, 40 minutes of steady downpour and I was damp, this stuff does breathe but not waterproof by any means. A bit noisy. Dries very fast. I still like marmots percip shell for raingear packing better, its light, doesn’t provide any insulations but keeps the water out. 7/10

Sitka 90% Jacket: Soft, quiet but soaks within 15 minutes in a heavy downpour. Maybe this shit works 90% of the time in Montana or something but not on the Oregon coast, I am packing a waterproof outer shell as standard. When the sun is out the jacket is awesome, pit zips, plenty of pockets and its warm enough for 30 to 60F. 8/10

Meindl Alaska hunters: Fuck these things are stiff; they make all other boots feel like running shoes. These shine on rocky climbs but I leave them at home for easy hikes. 9/10

Patagonia R2 and R3 fleece: very well made stuff, light warm and breathes well. A bit spendy but I haven’t seen a better fleece. 8/10


Shimano 2500 Ci4 stradic: lightweight version if the 2500 reel, I got it on my Loomis 1141, makes a killer bobber and jig combo. 8/10

Shimano Core 50: I love this thing; 5.5oz on Loomis 1082 is low water drift fishing perfection. 9.5/10

Abu Revo Premier 2010: This thing walks all over the old Revo and STX, lighter smoother and casts way better. I still like the ergos on shimanos better but this little thing is a beast. Build quality is alright. 8/10

Other than that got a whole bunch of new Ingram’s, got to be s30v as D2 stuff cant handle the water around here. Still searching for good fishing gloves and a true waterproof/breathable shell.

dat's a lot of good gear.....

Leica Televid 16-48x62MM: Better than my 15-45x65MM Zeiss only because it has enough eye relief to allow me to use my glasses. Optical twins other than that. I got them both new from authorized dealers, $775 for the Leica (Scheels close-out), $850 for the Zeiss (Sportsmans Warehouse close-out), both are worth it (grin).

Meopta Meostar 8x32: Well worth the $375 I nabbed them for outta the bargain cave. Optics are very good, crisp all the way to the edges and ergos are good for me too. There's a small cubby hole in my truck they fit perfectly in so I can leave them there and they're outta site, outta mind.

2006 F250 6.0L PSD: New to me, 32K on it. Loads of power, fair enough mileage, dogshit on soft ground (too heavy), amazing in deep snow (because of the weight).

Camoplast Tatou 4S Tracks for the quad: Goes everywhere, pushes snow amazingly, much more utility with the wheeler up here once the snow gets deep and the lakes freeze over. Weighs more, slower, needs quite a bit more room to manuver.

Fuck, you threw down!

fuck thats a steal for the spotters! got the geovid HD's for $1700 and figured i did good

I was pretty impressed with Sitka Accent pants, with Impertech over top when needed. I put some miles on those pants, and they didn't get shredded by the scrub like most pants I've used.

I'm planning on spending a small fortune on good clothing for 2011. I'm currently trying out Merino Wool while out trolling, and I've been happy with it's ability to keep me warm thus far. I have a feeling a merino wool sweater will accompany me on all my overnights for those first few hours of crawling out of the tent.

I have come to the conclusion that most of this "waterproof" stuff is tested somewhere where precipitation is at a minimum. Over here (just like over where you guys are at) its more wet than not and shit straight up gets fucked up. Sitka makes killer stuff but Ascent/Traverse/Jetstream/90% all soak. Gore-Tex still sucks, and most of Marmots breathable shit will soak thought too after a couple or hours. Actually the best I have found is Simms G3/G4 material but it’s pricy and mostly good for fishing with the way the pockets are layed out. Impertech doesn’t breathe enough for long hikes, its great for everything else...

I've noticed that Impertech is very doable on long hikes if I have good cardio fitness and good overall fitness. But, a long hike is subjective and your version of a long hike vs my version of a long hike might be different. If I'm out of shape and my heart rate stays near the top end when gaining elevation and I'm covered in sweat in the 1st half mile, then Impertech sucks. When I'm in shape and my heart rate stays nice and low and returns to resting quickly and I'm not sweating a gallon a day, I can climb some damn big mountains in a short amount of time wearing the pvc and have it not suck. Your mileage may vary on that, as I'm sure everybody sweats/heats up at a different rate.

I became an Impertech convert in November. Had a scheduled 4-day hunt and the wx fcst was rain and wind every fuggin day. They had was I wanted in stock locally (amazing). I went with the olive drag pants and the IP-II camo top.





Have to slow down a bit when climbing to keep from overheating/sweating. Definately quieter than my Marmot shell. Not the best for still hunting thru the brush as it makes "that" noise when the branches whack on it.

Scored a Leica 1200 LFR for my sheep hunt. Very usefull instrument.

Also tried out some CMI instep crampons. Finally tried 'em out last weekend. Probably shoulda just wore my corked Meindls. They are a "strap on" device and I used them coming down a steep, slippery slope with a 55# pack. I'll post a pic of these later.

Buck Vantage Pro S30V folder was a pleasant surprise. Did 3 deer w/o even touching it up.

Just wanted to say, this material is quite slick. I had a near disaster when I lost a foothold trying to cross a gully. Had a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" down to the bottom. Lucky I didn't get hurt. Wet spungham moss or wet snow can be dangerous to your wellbeing.

Laffin! I did the same thing this Nov. I was hiking down an alpine chute and the mud was deeper than my corks; I went for a wild ride. The imper was like sitting on a sled. Luckly I had some scrub to grab on to! Didn't leave the trekking poles home after that. Those poles made the soggy Nov alpine much easier.

This year I got:

Badlands 2200 pack, like it alot, packed out 3 whole (boned or quartered) deer with it this year. My 4500 would have bean better for the loads, but impressed the daypack pulled it off as well as it did.

REI Taku rain gear, love this stuff, pit and thight vents, semi-soft semi-quiet. With my Ascent pants underneeth for lower and heat gear type shirt and thin fleece under the top it proved perfect for everything from painfully long and steep hikes in the snow to still hunting in a gusher.

Minox 10x40 bino's. Best glass I've had. I'm happy.

I just now got my .... tubes will let you know if they work.

The 90% jacket isn't made to be a stand alone garment when it's raining, as you found out. If your hunting in a diluge, then throwing an Impertech jacket over it will solve that problem.

I didn't buy much new stuff for hunting or fishing this year as most of the stuff I already have works just fine. What I did buy was some new clothing for riding my sled.

Klim Valdez jacket and Klimate bibs are the shit for riding snowmachines or anything else in cold weather. Proper layering will ensure you stay warm and dry. Expensive stuff but good shit pays for itself..............grins.

Snagged 3 sets of Geovids, sold 2 for handsome profits and got mine for free. Wifey got her Classics for $100, with a broken focus knob, Carl repaired pro bono.

Scored on 3 Gent Folders for $150, and 5 Benchmade Auto Strykers for $500.

3 of the old Fenwglass 85c's, in new condition, to be salted away as backups for someday.

Best purchase of my year has been the Carseat/Stroller travel package......Wifey done slicked up the tires on it already from pushing it countless miles. The changing table is pretty fucking handy too, gets shittons more use than all the above gear.

3 M8 6x42's
Eberlestock J-34
Enough reloading shit to choke a horse
Puma Wapiti
Leica LRF1200
2 Jetboils
Bachelors Degree, at 40 no less.....

Needless to say, nothing has been used yet, due to item #7. Oh, wait. I ranged the neighbors cat at 53 yards and made my daughter oatmeal in the Jetboil....

2010 was a bit slow, sporting wise.

Bushnell elite 10x mil dot scope... fucking negative ten! first one windage didn't work, second one same fucking problem... got to send the piece of shit back to midway and get the MK AR that i should have in the first place..

burris Xtreme tacticool 3-12, tracks good but is like looking through a beer bottle...

Good on ya! Better late than never.

What field? Mine's in civil engineeing.

Appreciate it. Actually got my start in engineering umpteen years ago, back in the days of pen and ink. Wrapped it all up in Business Administration. Best part is buying myself a graduation present.....

I'm kinda in the same boat as 16bore...new job, can't burn any vacation until the week after deer season ends. I'll still have youth season for the kids that I can hopefully make.

I did pick up a Nikon 6x42 that I mounted today, going to the range tomorrow.

I bought a bunch of stuff in 2010 but most was a repeat of things tried and true..scopes, ingrams, rifles, etc.

The two things that stood out were my McHale pack and Glacier Outdoors Ice Bay gloves.

Not sure about fishing in these gloves yet, but for hunting and kicking around in the boat on cold days, they are my current favorite.

I've been meaning to ask you guys about the McHale. Is it everything its cracked up to be?

I saw at least a dozen packs on our gear pile during the Rut so I know I've had a few different kinds on my back the last couple years and I like the McHale best.

Trouble is, it's best suited for long trips and I generally grab something smaller for daytrips.

The McHale is damn comfortable when heavily loaded and seems to be high quality all around.

Dave,

How many CC's is your McHale?

6000ci if I recall correctly...

Thanks. I'm using my 6500cc Kifaru during the rut. A heavy daypack. Haven't found anything smaller yet that I'd want to haul a mature buck off the mountain with though.

Thanks for the review... They are certainly interesting packs. Kind of a leap of faith from the sound of things, but most everyone that's got one loves it.

There's so many packs around here, I think they might be breeding while I'm gone. I guess I probably shouldn't be in the market for a new one, but I'm curious...

Mine might be 6500ci, it's expandable with the bayonets...

McHales rock, but some Kifaru and MR models will fill the bill for most needs and cost a fair amount less.

If you need a serious pack for lotsa days on the mountain it's a good one.

For strictly a meat hauler I think a guy has a few cheaper options that will work as well.

Cooper Model 52 30/06

Zeiss 10X42 FL

Hanwag Trapper GTX

Whitworth Express 458 Win Mag

Spot2

Remington 513X Scoremaster

Browning BPS 12 Gauge Tactical

MH EV2 Support for my Bibler Eldorado

I really like my Cooper.

Sincerely,
Thomas

MR bighorn rates up there for a large daypack

speaking of merino wool, Ibex is THE shit

Win 52B
Wanted one for 47 years

My short list:

Original Ti in 7-08

Ti stock to replace the one that came on the above

700 ss ADL from Dick's, .270/AKA donor

Zeiss Victory PRF

Montucky, 7-wizzum

A couple of handy pocket knives. Both in S30V: Spyderco Native & a Kershaw Leek

A son!.....finally

Couple of year-end Merry Christmas to me things I didn't get to try in '10 were a Springfield V-10 3.5" Ultra Compact and a Double Whammer set out of the classifieds. .

I was a part of the Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park Elk Reduction program last week. I put the double whammer S30V set through 4 elk last week skinning and quartering. 2 in one day without even a touch up. Couple swipes on the ceramic sticks in the evenings and they were back to way sharp.