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’07 Deer Season over: Observations

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ceylonc View Drop Down
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    Posted: January/29/2007 at 20:47

Deer season ended for me this past Sunday.  The good Lord smiled on me this year and I was fortunate enough to harvest a nice doe and a 6 point "cull" buck that weighed in around 175lbs.  The rifles I used this year consisted of 2 A-Bolts (one in .260 Rem. with a Zeiss VM/V 3x12 56mm, the other a stainless in .308 with a Kahles CL 3x12 52mm).  As it worked out, both deer were shot with the .308.  Took the doe @ 45yds and the buck around 80yds and each shot was LATE in the afternoon.  As a matter of fact, the buck was shot this past Friday @ 5:42pm CST while the doe went down @ 5:25pm the first Saturday in December.  

 

Throughout this season, I've been comparing the two scopes when I haven't been in the woods.  Here are a few opinions that MY EYES have lead me to conclude:

--the CL is an AMAZING SCOPE and an absolute steal price-wise;

--the VM/V is also an amazing scope BUT it is not better in low light than the CL (call it a draw);

--color & resolution are second to none with the VM/V; 

--having a scope that excels in low light puts meat in the freezer!  They are worth the extra you pay.

 

Just my $.02 based on what I'm seeing.  Other opinions will certainly differ but I'm very happy with both scopes.

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cheaptrick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/30/2007 at 03:22
Thanks, C!
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twofer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote twofer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/30/2007 at 07:52

An interesting side comment:  I spent about 10 minutes in a Cabelas comparing side-by-side a Zeiss 3-9x42 VM/V (I think it was a discontinued model, it was not a Conquest) and a Kahles 3-9x42 CL.  Except to say that both scopes produced a great image, I won't comment on the clarity, brightness, etc. because 5 minutes under flourescent lights in a store says nothing in that regard.

 

When looking through the scopes, however, I immediately noticed that the Kahles had a much larger "sweet spot" in which I could place my eye and still see the full field of view.  The Zeiss was much more constrained in where my eye had to be positioned in relation to the ocular to see the full field of view.  I am not commenting about the maximum distance I could place my eye, but rather the size (or volume) of the area (front-to-back, side-to-side, up-and-down) in front of the ocular where my eye could be without any part of the image not being visible.  To my eye, the Kahles felt significantly easier to use.  The Kahles just seemed to "vanish" from my awareness, leaving me with a great magnified image with crosshairs.

 

I think the larger sweet spot of the Kahles would be much appreciated in the field when shooting from an awkward position. 

 

I had been thinking about getting a new scope to replace a Burris 4-16x50 Signature on my Kimber 300 WSM, and after my experience with the easy-to-use Kahles, I orderd one from this forum's sponsor that night.

 

Ceylonc - I bagged two deer this year.  I used a Savage Slug Warrior (bolt action rifled shotgun shooting sabot rounds) with a Burris 1.5-6X40 Eurodiamond.  One shot was at a doe from 105 yds from a ground blind, and one shot was at a 5 point buck from 40 yds from a tree stand.  The doe received a double lung shot and ran about 50 yds, and the buck instantly fell to a neck shot.  The Savage and the Burris performed admirably.

 

--twofer



Edited by twofer
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RifleDude View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/22/2008 at 17:10
twofer,
Be sure and post follow-up impressions of your new scope once you get it mounted on a rifle and have a chance to use it for awhile.  The 3-9X42 CL is an outstanding scope!
Ted


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Tip69 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tip69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/22/2008 at 18:51
My season ended about 2 months ago...well the rifle season anyway.  Our muzzleloader season runs the whole month of December.  I did not bag a deer again this year, but my 13 yr old son got a nice buck.  I only saw one "shooter" buck this year and it was right about dusk.  I was using a Weaver Grand Slam 3.5-10X50 and it performed very well.  I was in a tree stand and was waiting for the buck to come closer, but he didn't.  I estimated he was about 215 yds away and took my shot.  Again, the GS allowed me to see the buck with no problems!  I missed and the buck took off.  The next day I ranged the distance and it was more like 265 yds.  Got a new, smaller range finder for Christmas, so that problem shouldn't happen again.
 
Can't wait to see how my new Kahles 3-10X50 works out! 
take em!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Focus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/23/2008 at 07:52
Sounds like you guys all had varying experiences. Would like to say my scope made a difference on mine but it was 40 minutes after sunrise (bright and clear) and the buck went right under my stand so the shot was about 15-20 yds. I was done in late october with lots of time to bring stands out(still wound up wading thru deep snow for two). This deer is the best eating buck I've yet shot.

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twofer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote twofer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/2008 at 14:36
Rifledude,
 
Just to finish the story of my scope purchase:
 
I joined a group of three guys for a drop camp elk hunt for 1st rifle season near Meeker, CO.  The three guys hunt together each year at this drop camp.  I had never met them before we met for the first time on the hunt.  They just needed a 4th person because one of the regular members of the group had to drop out at the last moment.
 
My shooting rig is a Kimber Montana (stainless steel, fiberglass stock) in 300 WSM with the Kahles CL 3x9 scope.

I ended up bagging a very nice cow elk on the 4th day of my hunt.  It was a 175 yd double lung shot at a standing animal out of a band of about 20 elk.  She ran about 75 yards before going down.  The elk were crossing through a small meadow heading to a ridge to go to a higher valley at about 9:00am on a perfect sunny morning.  I was set up in the weeds at the end of the meadow. 
 
The conditions when I shot the elk were perfectly bright clear sunny weather with the target standing in the sun - not much of a test for the optics of the Kahles scope.  However, looking through the scope during early morning light showed it to have outstanding optics.
 
However, I had hunted in an all-day drizzle the previous day and slipped in the mud while crossing a small creek.  I landed on my azz, with the front of the scope jammed deep into the mud.  The objective end of the scope had a big plug of mud solidly jammed in it rendering the scope unusable until the mud was cleaned out.  I didn't want to wipe the mud out because that would scratch the optics.  I ended up just dunking the whole thing -scope, rifle and stock - in the creek and swirling it around under the water to remove the mud.  I kept the muzzle end of the gun up so water wouldn't run done it.  Once done, I verified that the bore was clear, and toweled everyting dry with my t-shirt.
 
The cleaning worked pretty good with no ill effects on the scope or rifle.  A few hours later, I found a nice level spot and used my rangefinder to set up a make-shift target at 100 yds. to check zero.  One shot off a log showed everything was still spot on!  The rifle and scope performed great the next day when I finally had a shot at an elk.

The weather was perfect except for the one rainy day, the aspen were still golden, and it snowed the last day in camp.  The hunt was just about perfect, except a couple of the guys got into a fight in the tent one night.  It definitely put some tension into the camp and one of the guys ended up leaving camp early.  I was the only one out of our group of 4 to bag an elk.

All-in-all, it was a great trip.  And, the Kahles CL 3x9 withstood some nasty abuse with no ill affects.

--twofer
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote luv2shoot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/2008 at 14:45
Nice report twofer, I got a good visual of the fall and the wash job.Big%20Grin Congrats on the elk.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jackG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/2008 at 20:22
This was only my second deer hunting safari.  The previous year I used a Model 7 in 7mm-08 topped with a VX-111 2-7.   I borrowed it as part of grand experiement.  My brothers invited me and I couldn't resist.  I filled three tags on that trip.  A pronghorn, a mulie and a white tail.  The shots ranged from around 125 yards to about 220.  All boiler room, all through and through and, with one exception, all dropped just about where they were.  I used Rem Kore Lokt 140 gr ammo.
 
Based on that experience I decided I could use something with a little more pop.  So before this season I bought a Tikka T3 Lite SS, in 270 WSM and topped it, based on suggestions gotten herein, with a Sightron SII, 3-9X42.   We're hunting pretty open country, eastern MT, specifically and, I turned some shots down last year, because I was not sure how well the little 7 would do at those ranges.    My fellow hunters are using 300 WSM and 243 WSSM.   The could really reach out.  This year I filled five tags and the WSM has substantially more velocity and punch.  The longest shot was 322 yard, the shortest was about 150.  They really folded up when hit.  I used Fed 140 gr accubonds ammo.  We had to work harder for the animals this year because of unseasonably warm weather.  The previous year we saw some days in the 50s but we also saw snow and nights down near zero a time or two.  This year, it hit 80 one day.  It had us watching where we stepped. That's enough to bring the rattlers out. 
 
The first year I had no idea what was going on.  I'd spent a lot of time as kid, wandering in western Oregon forests with a single shot .22 so I knew how to creep and around and see things.  But it was a pretty dramatic to be packing a center fire rilfe and shooting at large animals.  This year I had some idea what to expect, so a lot of the frantic adrenilne filled days were replaced with more methodical ones. 
 
After seeing what a modern rifle cartridge is capable of, I'm ramping up my scope.  I plan on replacing the Sightron with a Kahles 3-12X52.   And I'm looking forward to the trip.   As an aside we had yearling Mule deer meat balls browned and covered in a stock, with mushrooms, baby carots, onions and basil for supper tonight.   I wasn't even sure I would like venison.  It's now a favorite at our house. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote antleraddiction Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/27/2008 at 14:36
JackG,
 
Looks like you had a good season!  Hard to beat a 270 WSM, my favorite all around rifle.  Have not toted my 270 since buying a 270 WSM a few years ago. 
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