What is on your hunting agenda this year ?

Oh man I am sooooo ready! My plan is to head out to the mountains on 10/15 and not return until my elk tag is filled or the season end 12/1 which ever comes first. I will take at least three rifles a 280 Ackley for open country a 375 Whelen for timber hunting and the little 6mm BRM for calling coyotes. The two elk rifles are tuned in as well as the coyote rifle. If it so happens since I am shooting 100gn bullets in the 6mm if the opportunity arose and the range moderate I could employ the 6mm for elk so all bases seem covered.
I may even take a fourth rifle the 50-90 rolling block which covers the timber nicely and I have sight settings to 300 yards but that rifle gets heavy by the end of the day when I'm tired and starting to hurt. Sure would like to tag an elk with it though since it took such a nice WT buck last year. Its all tuned in too with the 650gn Ballard pure lead paper patch bullet.
I have been working with the 375 Whelen more than ever before and have learned a lot more about it when using our 375gn bullet. I went through the full range of powders from too fast to too slow and what it taught me is that just short of 2300 fps is absolute max and trying to reach 2300 will start blowing primers. At 2200 fps no blown primers but accuracy though acceptable for hunting is not up to what I know the rifle will do. At 2100 fps the rifle is doing its best for accuracy. My final preferred load at 2100 fps is with 60 gn of WC-852 which is exactly the same as the old discontinued H-450. A three shot string yesterday gave 2104, 2106, 2102 fps for a 4 fps extreme spread and about a 2.5" group using the Lyman receiver sight.
I had previously put this barreled action in a high comb stock and scope sighted it but I never really liked it that way. For this year I went back to the original Husqvarna stock with more drop for iron sights and I like it ever so much better this way. Its lighter and handles better for timber hunting where a long shot might be 75 yards. This pre war Husqvarna with Euro style 26" barrel is at its best just the way it was made a long time ago.
When / if I am successful at filling my elk tag I will return to the valley and then if any season remains and Lord willing try to fill my two deer tags.
I am already way ready and anxious!

The thing I like about the 50-90 is there is no ruined meat. The 375 Whelen is not too bad in that regard but unless they are about 400 yards out the 280 Ackley is really bad for ruined meat. Thats why I have the 280 set up for long range and there are places where I hunt outside the timber where you can see way farther than you can shoot. I dont have a cell phone so cant use real time data but I do bring a data card calculated with average atmospheric data. It gives 25 yard intervals out to 800 yards but that is certainly an extreme I want to avoid but I have taken elk at over 600 yards, 637 to be exact using this system. The 637 yard shot was with a 65.x06 Ackley but the 280 Ackley is no less capable. The previously longest shot at 637 was fired over cross sticks which provided a very solid rest from sitting position with trigger elbow to knee for added support. At about 500 yards the 280 settles down and acts like a meat harvester rather than a meat grinder.

i like the close cover too. 60ish yards is about as far as i see. i kill many deer at 20-40 yards with archery (i don't do that anymore), muzzleloader, rifle and revolver.

I do await to read the results.
Being owners of several caliber .50 rifles I am convinced of what those big bore slugs will do. Failure is not part of the issue.

that buck on my avatar, i shot at 11 feet thru some of the thickest brush i've seen. i have a bottles of earth scent that was made locally. i put a drop or two on myself and a drop on my hat and i almost touch deer. i used to one of tree stand types, but my stroke doesn't like it when i go up a tree...lol. so i sit on the ground on a swivel chair in a ground blind (sheets of camo cloth stapled to a 4"x4" and vertical sticks). i can't go to deer anymore, so i let them come to me.

i used a crossbow after my stroke. its been 2 years or so, since i put it away. dang thing was heavy, even if i gimped it 60 yards to my ground blind. i have a Barnette crossbow with a device that pulls the string. they have lighter crossbows, but then they cost mucho dollars.