My Tikka is a T3 Lite Stainless 300 WSM. Synthetic stock, Stainless Steel Barrel with a Bushnell Elite 3200 3X9 Scope on it. I reload and use Hornady 165 Gr Interbond bullets with Norma brass. The Tikka has a great feel to it when you hold it and is very accurate right out of the box. I would not hesitate to buy another one at all.

Damn Dude, That just gave me a boner!!! Excellent rifle. Never ever sell it and if you do, please give me a chance to buy it!!!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......... Popeye's!!!

You would like our kind of hunting. I would send you on many long walks and let you climb cliffs and go running up mountains to drag down my elk.

Last night was supposed to be the night where we were going to butcher the two deer hanging by the shop. But no, they are now frozen solid like a block of ice. Now I will need to either come up with a way to get them a bit thawed or wait for a warm spell!

I'd try thermal blankets or heavy tarps and a small space heater, just like thawing pipes in a pump house. I hope that you at least skinned them first

the rut is on around here and with all the does that hang around close to my house has brought a bunch of four and five point bucks along for the ride.

no bears this year came to visit the house. the late season for fruit trees may have something to do with it.

Is there anything in this world better than spending time in the wilderness with your dog? I think not.....

rich nice dog you got there. but you do know you are starting to look alot like him

Hahaha I only wish I was as cute.

So next week I'm going on my first deer hunt. I live in Ohio and am going to be using my Ithaca model 51 featherlite.

What are the absolute necessities that I cannot enter the woods without next monday morning?

Whatever clothing you need to stay warm with enough hunter orange to keep you legal and from being shot by mistake.

Ammo

Licenses

Good, very sharp knife. Seriously sharp. I get mine sharp enough to take the air off my arm. This makes a huge difference when you are field dressing your deer. A good knife is worth a few extra dollars as well.

I use a little T handled saw to saw through the sternum and pelvis. You can field dress a deer without that but it makes life SO much simpler.

I take a "Drag Strap". This is a strap that goes over my shoulders, like a harness, and attaches to a rope that I can put around the neck of the deer and then drag the deer out using my legs and not needing to hang on to anything with my hands.

If you are going to be out for a while yu also want to have water and some sort of high energy food sort of stuff as well.

You may not have to depending on where you are hunting, but, I almost always have some emergency stuff with me. This consists of a space blanket and several ways to start a fire. I have waterproof matches, a bic lighter, a magnesium sparking thing and some very cool Tri-Ox tablets that will burn and start a fire in the snow. I also normally have a 2nd knife with me just in case the primary knife gets lost or dulls up or who knows what.

Depends on the kind of hunting. Its a bit late, but I'd have gone and scouted today and see what the local culture is. Sometimes you go somewhere and its a bunch of idiots drinking beer before and during the hunt. Time to go elsewhere.

My packlist:

One multipurpose knife, one skinning knife, 10' of webbing to make a backpack out of a deer, orange tape to wrap around antlers for pack out, gps, map, radio, one rifle, 10 rounds of ammo (5 in the gun, 5 in my pocket), license, tags (bear and pigs are in season during at least part of the deer season here), landowner permission if private land, camelback, proper clothing, emergency fire starter (I make mine out of a disposable paper cup, paraffin wax, sawdust and a wick), lighter, and a banana.

a compass and know how to use it, along with a topo map of the area if you can possibly get lost.
if its real cold extra wool socks in case you step in water over your waterproof boots.
a small sharpening diamond file. some rope to drag you game. parachute chord for whatever. and of course toilet paper.
and a roll of that orange marking tape that surveyors use. for wrapping antlers so you dont get shot and marking your way out if nescessary in the dark. tp works for that as well or better.

Ya, more good stuff I forgot!
Black electrical tape for attaching the tag to the deer!
I also pack orange plastic stuff (tape kind of stuff) but have used it more to mark areas than wrap around antlers.
Can't believe I forgot to mention TP
I also generally bring the GPS along as well. i have a awesome overlay map that tells me private land vs. Public land and even who owns the private land. This alone has been invaluable for us the last few years!
Map and compass is not a bad idea either. Good to have in case the batteries in the GPS go bad. Of course I usually have new batteries in the truck but technology ca always let you down so paper is not a bad idea.
Another thing I added this year was a light that I can put on my head. Great little that has already come in handy more than once.

Forgot headlamp and compass in my list. Re: map and compass - if you don't know how to use them as second nature, take an orienteering class. The skill is going the way of the old guys with technology and whatnot, but it is still a nice skill to have to fall back on incase you drop your GPS over a cliff or something.

Re: TP - Get a copy of How to **** in the Woods. Plan accordingly.

How to **** in the woods:

Step 1: Become the pope.

Step 2: ???

Step 3: Profit.

NSFW (s-word)

Will be buying a Kayak this weekend if I get my bonus.

Going with this model since I'll mainly be using it for fishing/photography:

http://www.basspro.com/Ascendtrade;-...SELL_THUMBNAIL

Plan on adding a fish finder of some sort, and some extra storage.

I live < 5 mins away from the DesPlaines River and have always wanted to explore the backwaters etc.

. Looks nice, not sure you need extra storage but a milk crate bungeed to the stern works well.

i have a couple canoes and kayaks but use instead a small ten foot pram with an electric for slower rivers and ponds. i can stand up if need be and never get cramped.
you do get wet in a sit on top. from the paddle dripping and splashes over the day.

Meh, such is life. I don't mind a little bit of water. I'll probably be wearing my neoprenes as it's going to get mighty cold on the water now anyway

Any tips for kayak fishing/kayaking in general that I should know about?

I have a 270 bolt action that I like to use for deer. I prefer a 270 because if you have to make longer shots you can go with a 130 grain bullet and get a flatter shot than your going to get from a 30-06.

Nothing wrong with a 270. But as far as long shooting goes, I have killed an elk at 520 yards with my 30-06. Knowing your ballistics and sighting in your rifle for the proper range for where you hunt is more important in my personal opinion.

Where do I find this? I spend a lot of time in the high desert and am concerned about accidentally trespassing.

montana has maps out that show public lands amoung the vast amount of blm and other public land.

you can also access your county maps online and find out ownership of areas.

i have a 270 as well. but between that and a 30 06 the trajectory of similar bullets is close.

http://www.huntinggpsmaps.com/

This is the best thing we have found to make sure that we are not trespassing. We have learned that fence lines are basically meaningless. There are a number of places where we had looked at all sorts of maps and though we knew what the boundaries were and were fairly shocked to find out what they actually are.

Montana Land Ownership maps are available. Not sure if other states have the same thing or not. We used to follow these and they are good for identifying where there is public land in general. ut when it comes right down to it, the GPS program/Map was the only thing that has been accurate.