Kenetrek Boots

EOY '19 - What Worked, What Didn't?

Worked:

OnX - worked yet again especially with the added photo attachment feature.

Child bicycle trailer for Mtn cycle - Some cheap Amazon purchase.

Slime tube for cycle tire.

Keen Summit County Hiking Boots. Love my Keen hiking shoes so tried these for mtn hiking boots. Surprisingly inexpensive compared to prior boots purchased and the most comfortable mtn boots to date.

InReach

Alaskan Game Bags (single use)

Great campfires with friends



Didn't work:

Right knee - triple tumble down hillside with backpack and rifle slung on back. = Meniscus tear/sprain Rt knee, physical therapy, light duty at work, banged up rifle scope, bent trek pole.

Klymit sleeping pad (not ember friendly /bit of humor due to my own oops)

Kelty Shock absorbing trek poles. (Should have guessed they are metal spring shock absorbing - squeak)

Some Phone Skope knock off. Pay for what I receive... #cheappurchasefortheloss
 
Worked:
1. I'll admit it too.... Randy11's Rainier
2. All my gear no complaints
3. My ability to slip into the hip pocket and stick with a herd bull & cows for a few hours. Albeit I about gave up several times, "saying this is impossible", "how do guys do this!"
4. Cherished time with great friends (I don't get to do enough stuck in Ohio)
5. Vortex warranty (new glass, new components new everything, cleaned, reconditioned, zero cost, 2wk turnaround).
6. Time in elk country

Didn't work:
1. Vortex Razor HD binos in low light (see above, sent in after season, I've learned how to care for binos now)
2. My freaking stupidity at the moment of truth (I'm getting closer to having the ability to talk about this)
3. Dealing with #2 daily
4. For some reason heal blisters, usually I'm good w preventative measures, but this year my heels got completely destroyed.
 
Worked:
-Scouting all summer, I was still one of the few people that did see elk
-Taping my knees! Patellar tracking taping is amazing
-Danner warranty. I know these boots will never be waterproof...but at least they sent me a brand new pair.
-Vortex warranty
-Actually eating throughout the day
-Earplugs (why did I never carry these around before?)
-Korker cleat...worked exceptionally well for just a bit more traction in the snow
-Stubborn determination
-Positive attitude

Didnt work:
-Old winter gloves
-Always socks
-Bad luck (how do I get rid of this stuff?)
-My first hunting knife
-Old truck battery
 
Worked:

1 Barnes ttsx
2 scouting for deer
3 kifaru pack (stuffed 2 bone in deer in there and it handled the weight like a champ.

Failed

1 msr micro lantern. Worked at home, not in the field, then worked at home again (wtf?)
2 truck battery took a crap and I lost half of a day from it.
3 not getting a flu shot. Missed the last 2 weeks of the season
4 old bow I had decided to break a cable just before the season. Made me sit out all of September 😕
 
Worked- Getting to go on a couple great hunts with some of the Hunttalkers Randy11 mentioned.

My Chocolate Lab, Hershey.
Duck hunting.

MR Metcalf pack. Bombproof and comfortable.

Komodo Akorn Grill
Whole Deer Sirloins on said grill
Brined and Spatchcocked chicken.
Caul fat on burgers

My incredible wife’s patience and support of my time outdoors.

Randy11’s cat stories.

Random Good Samaritans who put all our gear on a pile after a micro burst blew our wall tent and gear over the mountain.

What didn’t-
My wisdom in not staking and guying out the wall tent because we had been having calm weather.

My shooting skill when I finally saw a buck when I was hunting.

My tags bought to tags notched ratio.

My elk hunting gumption. I guess you gotta want it bad enough to make you push as hard as it takes. I have been hanging around some bad influences whose preference for deer is rubbing off on me.

Montana FWP’s deer and elk management strategies in general units.
 
I've done a ton of backpacking, and a ton of hunting, but this was the first year combining the two. I'm the opposite of being dialed in

What worked:
-Slumberjack Rail Hauler 2.0. Handles bulky and very heavy loads well. Breathes well, sturdy, adjustable and cinches down great.
-Caribou Carnivore III game bags. Worth every penny.
-Vortex Ranger 1000 (rangefinder) with illuminated display. Absolutely love this device
-Burning half a day to help another backpack hunter recover his animal and pack it out. This was unplanned, but I had just as much fun being a part of his success as enjoying some of my own.
-Consuming endless hours of Big Fin's content, learning from the expertise of other HT members, and otherwise using the internet to expand my hunting knowledge.
-Prioritizing more of my time and money for hunting, rather than spreading it around to multiple hobbies
-Spending 50% of my time afield scouting
-Combining kid duty with scouting time
-Whisker biscuit. Worked great for stalking game
-Wet/dry auto sandpaper to get G5 Montec broadheads scary sharp. Hit my buck in the very edge of a liver lobe, and he still bled out in less than 20 minutes.
-Paper tuning my arrows to achieve pass-thrus on game.
-Wearing limited camo to force myself to focus on wind/thermals, keeping to shadows, avoid skylines, and reduce unnecessary movement.
-First pair of 9" tall hiking boots. I've always bought 7" tall ones, but the taller boot keeps the brush out and easier to forge streams, navigate mud, etc.
-Extensive archery practice during the summer

What didn't:
-I need a dedicated daypack that can haul meat. I have two small daypacks that work fine for gear, but top out at 20 and 25 lbs. I also have a single compartment daypack, but it's hard to access gear, and maxes out at 45 lbs. The rail hauler worked OK as a daypack, but with the biggest drawback being that it doesn't fit the profile of my body and made close stalks and navigating thick brush a challenge, so I had to drop it and backtrack to pick it up a lot. Something along the lines of MR Pintler might be in order.
-Spot and stalk fall archery turkey. Holy crap was this hard. Got within bow range several times, even 5-15 yards four different times, but I couldn't pull off drawing back without being busted.
-Tru-fire wrist release. Complete garbage and waste of $75. Will be moving on to a different company
-Deciding not to bring my trekking poles one day...the day I had to carry a 120 lb pack uphill.
-Glassing without a tripod...an exercise in stupidity. I'm getting a tripod before the end of this year.
-Need a system to secure my bow to my pack. I know nothing about this, so will be trying to figure out a solution before next year.
-Bow string on either side of the serving got very frayed from rubbing against brush, thorns, grass, etc. when stalking, especially belly crawls. Anyone have a solution for this?

To be determined:
-Having a multiple year hunting plan
-Jumping in the points game
 
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Worked:

Crispi Idaho boots- Every time I lace these boots up I’m amazed at how they managed to make these so light while keeping a stiff sole.

Meopta Meostar 12x50: 12x on a tripod was life changing.

Bob Dozier drop point: Still hasn’t broke or cut me like my Havalon

Outdoor Research Firebrand Mittens: I don’t know what changed but I have the wimpiest hands ever anymore. Once it gets below 40* I lose all function in my fingers. These mits combined with a wool liner still haven’t reached their limit.

Rustico Hunting Journal: Started keeping this a couple years ago and really enjoy it, wish the pages were a little bigger.

Didn’t Work:

Headlamps- Why can’t I keep a headlamp for more than one hunting trip?

SG Avail: Love the pack for scouting, just too little for general season

New Gear for 2020:

Gonna try the Outdoorsmans Palisade 90 Pack.

Hot Tent: Going back and forth on selling my Tipi for a wall tent or Cabelas Outfitter Tent.
 
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Gerald Martin said:
My elk hunting gumption. I guess you gotta want it bad enough to make you push as hard as it takes. I have been hanging around some bad influences whose preference for deer is rubbing off on me.
Click to expand...

That's why my only communication with said bad influence can be via text from September through November. @Randy11
 
Tried and true that worked as usual

Kennetrek mountain guide
Mystery ranch metcalf
Berger 168 hunting vld
Vortex razor 16-48
Garmin Montana
Outdoor edge knives
Everything Sitka


New for 2019 that worked

Christensen ridgeline in 7 rm- love this gun , topped it with a set of Talley 1 piece rings and a vx3i Lrp, this gun is a shooter. Brought it out to 1120 yards on steel and my daughter took a lope at A good clip not worth mentioning on this site. Gun holds under a half moa with 168 vlds

Atlas brass- first time trying it, Es on rifle above with 69 grs of h1000 and 168 vlds .010 off was 8 FPS with this brass. Same load in Norma brass was 12 FPS. Not a big deal for practical hunting purposes but it’s good stuff.

Nikon d500- worked as expected but don’t drop it on the lcd as it will cost ya 380 bucks

Bow tech realm SS- worked great, no complaints, being honest though every two years I buy a new bowtech and I liked my reign 6 better, just can’t pinpoint why.

Cascade mountain tech Trekking poles from Costco- wife got em for me, thought I would never use em, asked a buddy to help me pack out my bull and he said we’re gonna get it in one trip just the two of us, couldn’t have done it without these.

Alaska game bags- wife got me these at Costco as well, we packed several animals and washed and reused them. They are awesome for the money.

OnX on my i phone- first year running it, use it as my primary now and my Harmon Montana as a backup when I don’t have a area saved

Didn’t work as great as I hoped

Leupold rx 2800 tbr - not that it doesn’t work, and admittedly maybe I need to read up on the settings, but this thing ranges all sorts of crap. All season I struggled to get proper ranges. Literally if anything is in between you and your target in the viewfinder it will pick it up. Don’t seem to matter if it’s in the crosshairs or not. On several occasions we had animals we were trying to range and it would pick up blades of grass 10-50 yards out even though they weren’t in the crosshairs. As it sits I would trust it to range a boat on a lake and that’s about it. Gonna screw with it in the off season though and see if it’s settings. luckily my daughter was carrying my old rifle hunter 1000 and we used that to confirm ranges.


Didn’t work at all

Motel in middle of nowhere Montana, if they offer to upgrade you to the “cabin” for 160 a night just sleep in your truck. Think the people from the hills have eyes renting you a room at the wrong turn motel meets ND man camp... 4 stars don’t mean crap when it’s the only place to sleep for 200 miles... needless to say we will be bringing a wall tent to that little talked about unoccupied section of Montana next year....
 
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I had an amazing season this year, put in a lot of work and in the end it paid off in spades. Some thoughts:

Worked:

- First and foremost, awesome friends who gave up significant amounts of there own time to come scout and hunt with me. They have all been listed previously, and this season just would not have been nearly as much fun without them. I look forward to our next adventures....
- Crispi Colorado GTX - put some serious miles on these boots this year from summer scouting until the snow started dumping. I put in Superfeet insoles and kevlar laces right off the bat. They are some bada$$ boots. Did a 16ish mile scouting trip with the last 13 miles in soaking boots, zero blisters....
- Kahthoola K-10 hiking crampons - These things paid off big once the snow started flying.
- Nemo Hornet 2p - I spent a night in that thing up on a ridge this summer with 40-50 MPH sustained winds and nowhere to get cover, just had to set it up, pointed into it and let-r-buck. If that tent can withstand that night it is good in my book. The weight to space ratio is pretty impressive too...
- Stone Glacier Sky 5900 - I had put a lot of miles on, and humped out a lot of animals in my Mystery Ranch, but decided this was the year I would give a lighter backpack a try. It was a great choice. Between June and the beginning of October I probably had it on my back for close to 30 days either scouting or hunting, and it was super comfortable with camp on my back or hauling out a load.
- 140grn E-tips out of a .284 HT. They just kill stuff....
- Recovery drinks: Vitamin R, Hopzone, ...

Didn't:

- Work tried to make things hard at the end, but still got the job done.
- Too much country to explore, not enough time....
- Improvised double log bridges built built over a swollen creek by @Gerald Martin . Especially when it is only 3 miles into a 16ish mile round trip.... I can't quite figure out why he doesn't like me to have dry boots....
 
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