I realized that there wasn’t anything wrong with my rifle. As it turned out, my rifle was just about perfect for those hunting conditions in New Mexico and Wyoming.
Instead, I realized I USED THE WRONG TOOL FOR THE JOB on my Washington elk hunt!
Looking back on things, I had done a terrible job of analyzing my needs as a hunter and picking the best tool for that hunt. Indeed, I made a giant mistake by picking the “shiny object” instead of what I actually needed.
I realized that I had put too much focus on the long range performance of that rifle at the expense of other, also very important characteristics. So, while I had intended to buy a versatile rifle that was still capable at long range, I’d actually bought a more specialized rifle that was very capable at long range, but that WAS NOT a good choice for hunting in thick conditions.
With a bit more experience under my belt, I realized that I needed better way of analyzing the capabilities of my hunting rifle and then matching the appropriate rifle to the hunting situation.
So, I put together a framework where I decide exactly what firearm I’m looking for based on the type of game I’m hunting, the location of my hunt, what is legal to hunt with there, and the prevailing conditions (open country vs thick woods etc).
Then I select the right firearm, cartridge, scope, and ammunition to fill those goals.
After I put that framework together and started applying it, I eventually got my elk! I’ve also used that framework to take a couple of pronghorn, mule deer, a Himalayan tahr, a coues deer, and a couple of javelina over the past couple of years as well.
As exciting as that is, I’ve also shared this framework with lots of other hunters. Among others, I’ve helped new hunters harvest their first ever deer, I’ve helped veteran whitetail hunters from the east coast make a new rifle selection that they used to successfully harvest elk, mule deer, and pronghorn, and I even helped a guy select the firearm he used to take a mountain lion.
As you can see, I’ve been much more successful on hunts outside of my comfort zone after I figured out that framework.
But what was even cooler than that was that I’ve been able to help countless other hunters find success on their dream hunt as well. Using this framework, I’ve been able to help all of those hunters sort through the gigantic mess of information out there on firearms, ammunition and hunting, much of which is incredibly biased, misleading, out of date, or sometimes just plain wrong.