I have to tell you, I mentioned the fact that I have got to get myself into some sort of shape for this bull elk hunt that’s coming.  I have plenty of time, but I need to get after it.

Both yesterday and this morning I did a 30 minute workout on the wifes tread mill.  Hers has an option where you can dial in a “mountain hike” and off you go.  It starts out at a speed of 2.5 and an incline of 1 and before it’s over you are jogging up a 6 incline at speed 4 and maintaining that for over 5 minutes.  The cool down time takes the last 5 minutes and by the time I’m done, I’m sweating like a fool, my legs are burning and I’m dizzy as all heck.

Am I out of shape or what?  I’m very glad I started when I did.  My game plan is to get used to this type of work out for a week or so and then start to put on more bulky clothing, like I’ll be hunting in.  Heavy boots, jacket, back pack with stuff loaded into it.

I changed things up a bit this morning after the tread mill deal, I know I need to stretch after the workout and so this morning I stretched by laying on my stomach and getting into push up mode, pushing my hands away from the head of my body so as to stretch the calf muscles out.  While in that position I went ahead and did 10 push ups and then held my body up until my arms turned to mush.  Game over for that workout.

I feel great and I can feel my hips are the worst.  I can’t imagine packing out 75 to 100 pounds of meat without it breaking down your body big time if you aren’t in some sort of shape (besides round) and have endurance and some stamina built in.

I’m not keeping track of weight as that is not my goal, my goal is to be able to hike a mile up the mountain without stopping at perhaps a 3 mph pace.  I think if I get to that point I’ll be in good enough shape to pack out a bull elk.

Bears Butt

August 16, 2013

Yesterday was a very hot day, right at the 100 degree mark, but that didn’t discourage Sherry and I from making the trip up to the Logan Gun Range to try out my newly bore sighted Ruger.

I was feeling very confident on having the barrel floating and the scope bore sighted with the Bushnell bore sighter.   Remember that I had used the lazer sighter first, got the scope in on top of that little red dot out at 25 yards and then put the Bushnell guy in the barrel and adjusted the scope over to zero using the grid system that is built into the Bushnell.  Also, remember that I started moving over to zero from 6 squares right and 3 1/2 squares up (it’s important that you remember this).

I took plenty of time putting the cross hairs on that bulls eye out there at 100 yards and slowly moved the trigger until the gun went off.  I just knew that when I put my eye to the spotting scope there would be a hole very near the center.

My eye pressed closely to the eye piece of the spotting scope and the paper was just as clean of holes as when I stapled it on the back board.  My eye scanned the large cardboard backing for holes…none….I looked at the wooden frame around it….no holes!  Where in the heck did that bullet go?

I sat back down at the rifle and out of frustration picked it up and sighted down range through the scope.  My mind was racing…now what?  I could throw another round down range, but it would go where the last one did and I still wouldn’t know where the barrel was pointing.  And then I remembered reading about the old fashioned way of bore sighting, that’s right, looking down the center of the barrel.

I positioned the rifle so it would be easy to look down the open breech at the target and then slowly raise my head and see where the cross hairs of the scope were looking.  To my surprise the scope cross hairs were pointing very much low and to the left of the target, like OFF THE PAPER entirely!  I employed Sherry to do the adjustments as I held the rifle in place.  She slowly moved the left/right adjustment until the vertical “hair” was under the vertical line of the target.  I kept checking “through the bore” and then the scope.  This took a few minutes.  And then the same for the horizontal “hair”…pretty soon the two worlds came together.  Time for another shot.

The shot was made with the same precision as the first one and when the eyeball was put up against the spotting scope there was a hole, high on the target and directly above the bulls eye!  I was becoming a happy guy.

I lowered the reticle (see I’m getting better at the scope stuff) and fired another round.  The bullet hit 1.8 inches above the bull!  Now we are getting places!  I pulled the next shot and it hit about 5 inches high and to the right.  My next shot hit just to the right of the one above the bull about 2 inches.  I was pretty happy about all of this.  Sherry convinced me to let the barrel cool and take one last shot.  I waited about 10 minutes and fired one more, it printed right under the last one!

My thoughts now went to the holes on the paper.  All of them are either right above the bull or to the right.  I need to move the vertical reticle to the left a bit…I move it ever so little and then fired shot number eight!  2 inches high and 1 inch left of the bull.  That could have been me moving as even on 9 power it’s hard to hold that scope on the target exactly.  I’m sighted in!

The ride home was pleasant with lots of good thoughts running through my pea brain….I remembered what I was going to do once I got home…put that Bushnell bad boy bore sighter back into the rifle and check the position of the cross hairs against its grid.

Looking through the scope, the cross hairs were on the Bushnell grid at position 5 squares right and 4 1/2 squares up!  That’s one square left of where it was after lazer bore sighting and one square up.  I could have saved myself a whole lot of pain and bullets had I just left the scope set at the lazer sight in position!

So, for all you Bushnell bore sighter believers and followers of good equipment…I’d chuck the Bushnell type and get myself a good old lazer bore sighter and save yourself head ache and frustration and bullets.  Especially when bullets are $1.50 each!

Bears Butt

August 16, 2013

Today is Thursday and Sherry wants to go with me to sight in the old Ruger.  Remember I sanded down the stock and bore sighted it.  It will be very interesting to see if it will print holes one on top of the other like it should.

Ever since I bought the rifle it has been rather erratic and for a quality rifle it hasn’t been spot on like I expected it to be.

It has brought down two deer and an elk, but I’m not so sure those weren’t just accidents.

I need it to be consistent and bring home two more elk this year.  Not much time left to play around with it.  Next Wednesday will be our qualifying day for the antlerless elk tag we have up at Deseret Land and Livestock property and I have to have the rifle I’m going to use to qualify with.  If something happens and I’m unable to get it to print consistently, I’ll have to resort to my muzzleloader, which wouldn’t be a bad deal anyway.

Bears Butt

August 15, 2013