OTC washington is tough.. Killed a few bulls there.
In Utah, I would focus on the mid rifle LE tags, way better odds and still good hunts.
Idaho is going to get tougher and more expensive.
I've been hunted 6 states in the last 4 years all DIY and do multiple out of state trips a year. This was the first time I was legitimately uncomfortable on a hunt dealing with the locals and outfitters. It sounds like there are better places to be in the unit than where I was..
I was on a county road just glassing. I was able to make peace with the rancher and we worked it out so I'd rather just let it go at this point. We did find some elk, and a friend of mine got a cow (I wasn't hunting with him) on the other side of the unit I was hunting. What I realized is that...
I'll be there during second archery season and will gladly share whatever intel I have..
Hank,
Sent you a PM. I'm sure I can bring some food to bribe you with..
Great glass is like great electronics, except the glass will last a lifetime.
Great glass comes from Europe, with the exception of Kowa. I haven't seen a piece of Asian glass that is worth a shit. Go used, shop the forums, and you'll get your glass for a good price.
I've seen one on the Oregon Coast (565 at the locker hanging bone in, no hide no head), those in the pictures are huge. I'b bet every bit of 8-900 on the hoof.
Rosies are much bigger body wise than rockies. We killed a yearling a couple years back that weighed more than a mature rocky cow.
It was intentional and malignant behavior.
Even other sheep farmers were saying the same thing.
At a minimum he should receive 1 charge of poaching for every dead bighorn.
There is another rancher pulling the same shenanigans in the breaks currently over a dust up with the BLM.
Bill Hoppes deserves to be prosecuted for poaching for every dead sheep. His actions were malignant and intentional.
I hunt a lot of ranches and have a fair bit of interaction with ranchers. There are a lot of really good ones, but then there are shitheads like this that deserve to lose their land.
The problem is that there are whole age classes of buck missing on Hart. When the rabbit population crashes again, the fawn crop will be near 0 and the quality will be gone.
The thing about the Oregon Antelope hunts is that the units are empty by sunday afternoon opening weekend.
Opening day...
Yep, you really can't tell the difference that well in the store, but when you get them out and really stretch the distance (1 mile plus) its quite noticeable.
I will tell you that becoming an optics snob is a very expensive journey..
It starts with one piece of high end glass (nice spotter or...
As an optics snob, I'll give you my take.
A cheap spotter is about as useless at tits on a boar hog. The vingetting, loss of clarity at high magnification, and light transmission are all major factors.
I personally have a Swaro STX series with an 85mm lense. I have also used the 65 and 95 mm...
I love to archery hunt, but if I had the points you have.. I'd be rifle hunting. Killing a P&Y goat in Oregon is doable in almost any unit with a bow.
Heck a friend of mine killed an 86 5/8 out of Maury with his bow.