[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Binoc recommendation #14204

I have a pair from the scheels store, every bit as good as the brand that cabelas puts their name on. It was a toss up between those and the vortex. But for 150 dolors less with just as good of clarity, but not as good of warranty, I left the vortex on the shelf. The ones I bought are holding up well, but that piece of mind the no hassle warranty brings may well be worth the extra 150 bucks.

Vortex does have a great warranty and it really is a no hassle warranty, a friend of mine literally bounced down the mountain with his and chipped just a small piece out of the lens along the outside edge, you could still see perfectly with them and he used them the entire season, then called the # on the warranty card, the guy told him to just send them in with a note where the chip was and they would have a new pair on the way within 2 days of receiving the chipped pair. I really don’t believe a person could go wrong with a pair of vortex optics.

Good luck

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Colorado '13, from concrete jungle to aspen jungle! #14194

Wish I was going elk hunting this year but finances need to build up yet from last years hunt. 🙁

Have a great hunt!!:D

Ooh, and take a rain coat.

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: wool or camo? #14051

Doc,

I start to sweat even with minimal clothing in 30 degree temps just walking to the store a 1/2 mile away. The merino base layer wicks the moisture away and doesn’t seem to “stink” anymore than when I started. In warmer weather I did notice that if the base layer became wet/damp from my sweat that with the slightest breeze helped to cool me down. If I got cooled down enough I just put my outer shirt back on and the damp base layer still retained enough heat to warm me back up even when I was just sitting and glassing.

Wonderful stuff!!

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Looking to relocate: AR or MO–Any help? #14026

In South Dakota, We don’t have a lot of tree covered rolling hills, unless your along the river(Missouri), or out in the black hills, but we have good white tail sate wide, mule deer out west, turkeys in some county’s, a long waiting period to draw an elk tag(around 14 years of applying on average), antilope, and all the water fowling, pheasant hunting, and prairie chickens you want to hunt.

Plus the state is within 12 to 24 hours drive(dependent on were in the state you are) to areas in Colorado(Northern and SW), Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and many other states North, South, and East that have great nonresident hunting for big and small game alike. Mostly freindly people.

Out of the last 20 years living and hunting here I have only been turned down for hunting permission 5 or 6 times. And we have a lot of public lands.

Cost of living is fairly cheap. The worst thing is property taxs, but we don’t have a state income tax.

Annnd, our winters only last from, sometimes, Oct to June. on a poor year they could start in Nov/Dec and run into Feb/Mar. 😉

Good luck in your search.

Troy

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: wool or camo? #13494

Mike,

I love my first light kabob pants, I was lucky enough to find one clearance priced almost half off, anther one sized incorrectly so I saved even more on that one. One is tan and one is camo. I highly recommend their base layers also. They performed amazingly well on my elk hunt last year in very warm temps at peak of the day and very cool temps in the evening and early morning. I used a cotton red, blue and white plaid shirt for my “camo” outer layer. Worked well enough to get within 15 yards… of course all I could see was the south end of a north bound cow elk, since she wasn’t hoofen it for all she was worth, I’ll take 15 yards as counting coup. 😀

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: wool or camo? #13435

ausjim wrote: Multicam however is the ducks nuts and performs well across a wide variety of terrain.

HAAAAaaawww I love that one Jim! 😆

Being a water fowler since I was big enough to tag along with my brothers and dad, all those years I have never actually seen a ducks nuts…. Soooo I’m assuming Multicam makes you as invisible as ducks nuts, if that’s true I think I’m gonna look into finding some, or talking my brother into getting some so I can borrow them. 😉

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: wool or camo? #13422

Every thing I have to wear for hunting was purchased on sale, used, or borrowed(permanently as long as I don’t wear it around them) from my brothers, so I use what ever is in my box for the weather conditions, cool/cold damp/wet weather wool (some of the wool I have is camo’d), warm/cool weather first lite wool, hot/warm weather cotton/wool blend. Camo or not camo doesn’t matter to me, what matters is comfort and function for the elements.

I’ve been told that I look like a homeless guy that has been thruogh the out door store dumpster with the mix and match of hunting clothes I wear.

Fashion never was my long suit, although…. I’ve never worn socks with sandals. 😀

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Best wishes for the TBM family #59776

I’ll keep the entire family in my prayers.

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #56937

Ben M. wrote: 🙂

Well… Now we know where your bows really come from.:D

That’s smart, how’d you get those kids to make your bows for you? Most parents have to do the work so the kids can shoot.

Seriously it’s great to see kids doing something productive instead of playing video games. That’s good parenting! 😀 looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Troy

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Apparent Elk Die-off in New Mexico #54048

Smithhammer wrote: [quote=Steve Graf]That doesn’t look like a virus die off to me. That looks like a bunch of elk just fell down dead. Very un-natural looking to me.

That’s what I was thinking too, Steve. It seems very weird for EHD to drop an entire herd together like that.

Agreed… But we could be wrong.

We had a bad year of EHD here with the white tails and we never found more than one animal dead at a time near a water source. The game and fish said that even if animals are infected at the same time that it was highly unlikely that they would die at the same time, but could die within a few hours of each other, and would still most likely be separated by a short distance so it wouldn’t appear as though they died together.

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: A first harvest… #53076

What an awesome job Layla!!! 😀

Congratulations on such a fine hunt, to both Father and daughter!!

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Wild Shots #42989

Hmmmm yyyeeess I’ve had a few shots go hay wire. 🙄

The worst was in my shop shooting at at my indoor target during the winter, the max distance I can shoot in there is 9&1/2 yards, so imagine my immense surprise when a neat perfectly round hole appeared in the steal siding of the back of my shop 1 full foot up and to the left of my target. 😯 😳

I think I was getting tired and just didn’t get to full draw before auto reflex kicked in. 😕

There is now a 3/4″ 4×8 sheet of plywood behind my target and a 4″ gap filled with board insulation behind the plywood, and a carpet hanging over the board. 😀

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Sitka spruce and EFOC, failed experiment #40413

Ok, I found my tuning notes; finished shaft was just over 710grns, taper started 4″ behind point and went to 5/16 nock end, field tips were 250 grn and wolverine broad head was 160 grn. When they did break on impact they all broke about 1-2 inches behind start of taper. I did not figure the FOC but from memory they balanced about, and this is just an approximation, 3 1/2 to 4 inches forward of center, I would hedge closer to 3 1/2 than 4. Finished length from back of point to valley of nock was 28&1/4″. They flew just a hair stiff with the field point and perfect with the broad head.

Don’t know if that would help or not.

Troy

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Sitka spruce and EFOC, failed experiment #40213

Dave,

You may have already tried this, but….

I had some ash arrows and a few hickory, yes they are a heavy arrow all the way through and don’t lend themselves to EFOC. I gave a couple of each to a guy I met at a shoot in Iowa, I think he was from Nebraska, I ran into him again the following year and he had a dozen tapered hickory arrows he gave me in thanks, any way he tapered them past the usual ten inches that most every one else does.

I can’t say what the FOC would have been but the balance was an inch or More forward of my cedars with 200 grn field tips, they did fly great out of my 55# long bow with heavy heads, I believe I was using 250 grn field tips for the hickory’s, I’d have to check my tuning notes, they lasted for three years of 3D shoots, countless stumping shots at trees, around rocks, and hunting, I even shot one with an old broad head through a 3/4 inch ply wood and into a cement block (that particular arrow lasted three more experimental(read STUPID) shots at a steel post, a pile of rocks, and a car door before breaking about 4 inches back of the head), although I never got to see how they would penetrate game since those years I never got close enough to even contemplate a shot, the test shaft did penetrate the car door with half of the shaft.

It’s weird the things you’re willing to destroy a perfectly good arrow on just to see how tough they are.

They are all gone now but I thought it might be worth a try to taper a hard wood shaft more than usual like he did.

Sure wish I could remember his name, if I ever get back to that shoot I’m sure I’ll see him there.

Hmmmm I think his name was Tom or something like that, I never was any good remembering names correctly but it has gotten worse the last few years.

Just my cent and a half of ideas.

Good luck

[Troy Warner]

in reply to: Totems #40131

I haven’t shared this with anyone else except my close friend and hunting partner, from SW Colorado, that also knew and hunted with my brother.

When my brother died in ’95, my dad, brothers and I spread his ashes at his faverite nap taking pond in the mountains of SW Colorado. While spreading the ashes we were gathered around just remembering Steve through stories of our times with him, when a pair of Coyotes came out of the woods on the far side of the pond and went past us at a slow trot never seeming to pay us any mind at all, it seemed to us that they were welcoming our brother home. I have never been able to bring a rifle to my shoulder or even draw a bow on any coyote I have seen with the intent to do harm, even before spreading Steve’s ashes but especially since.

Ever since, just before seeing game, during hunting, or just after a good shot one Coyote makes an appearance.

I feel connected to my brother through this cunning survivor of human encroachment.

Telling this now brings fond memory’s to my mind and tears to my eyes…..

I also carry a “medicine bag” with special items in it.

[Author]

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