"The Curse" continues...

[DAA]

Man... My partner, Tim, really, REALLY does NOT like my .20-250!

We went and did some calling/filming yesterday. Gorgeous day to be out on the desert. More snow than I was expecting, but it wasn't crusted too bad, there weren't any really big drifts and it was cold enough to not see any mud all day. Wind wasn't bad either. With the sun shining on the snow, temps in the high 20's and not much wind, you just have to love that. Just a great day to be alive out there!

We didn't do so great calling though... Only called in three coyotes all day. And didn't kill any of them... Called one in late on the first stand that came from the back door around the curve of the hill we we were sitting on. I was running the camera and Tim was on the rifle. That coyote just did a quick buzz by and Tim never even saw him.

Few stands later we had one come sneaking in through the sage brush. Took awhile for him to sit still and show himself through the thick brush. But when he finally did, Tim missed the shot... It was a pretty tough shot, anyone could have missed it. But... That makes like a whole bunch of shots he has missed with my .20-250 now. He's still "oh-fer" with it, and the "fer" is into the double digits and approaching the teens! Never seen anything like it in all my years. I KNOW that Tim can shoot good. Hell, he is one of the best field rifleman I've ever seen. And during the time he has had this terrible miss streak going with my new rifle, he's grabbed my .17P and nailed several coyotes with it. And there isn't anything wrong with the rifle either. It's a tack driver. Balances well. Identical stock to my .17P, same barrel contour etc. During the time that Tim has missed like 12 shots at coyotes with it, I have killed 7 coyotes in 8 shots with the same rifle and loads.

Anyway... Normally after one of us gets a shot we switch the camera and rifle. But I really want to see Tim put an end to this curse, so I stayed on the camera and let him keep carrying the rifle.

Late in the afternoon we pulled in a coyote that came at us for a long way across an open snow field. Made for some good footage as I filmed the coyote coming in. When the coyote stood and offered up a good shot at about 140 yards, I zoomed in to 20x and waited to see the coyote go down in the viewfinder. Saw snow kick up underneath the coyote and the coyote light it's afterburners for the next county instead... That was a slam dunk shot. Missed...

Tim is just absolutely snake bit by this rifle. Missing a shot like that, after missing so many before it, he's just not wanting to even SEE the rifle anymore! Back in the truck, he complained bitterly about the .20-250, for a long time. Just plain damn strange, if you ask me! But I'm starting to accept the fact that there really is some sort of a curse going on here. We'll be putting out a new coyote hunting video in a few months, and I'd like to show some coyotes getting killed on it. I don't think I'll hand Tim anything but my .17P for the rest of the season :D.

- DAA

[Hu]

Handing that 20-250 to Tim again might get great damage done to it, or you!

I laughed out loud because this is totally ridiculous. Anyone that has seen Tim shoot or your video's knows he is a hell of a shooter and I have never seen one of your rifles that wasn't way more than adequate for the task.

Only suggestion I can think of is to send the 20-250 down here. I'll haul it to an old lady down in New Orleans and get the curse removed. I'll even test it thoroughly for six months or so before sending it back to be sure there are no problems, all in the interest of helping a couple of friends of course! :D :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Hu


Man... My partner, Tim, really, REALLY does NOT like my .20-250!

We went and did some calling/filming yesterday. Gorgeous day to be out on the desert. More snow than I was expecting, but it wasn't crusted too bad, there weren't any really big drifts and it was cold enough to not see any mud all day. Wind wasn't bad either. With the sun shining on the snow, temps in the high 20's and not much wind, you just have to love that. Just a great day to be alive out there!

We didn't do so great calling though... Only called in three coyotes all day. And didn't kill any of them... Called one in late on the first stand that came from the back door around the curve of the hill we we were sitting on. I was running the camera and Tim was on the rifle. That coyote just did a quick buzz by and Tim never even saw him.

Few stands later we had one come sneaking in through the sage brush. Took awhile for him to sit still and show himself through the thick brush. But when he finally did, Tim missed the shot... It was a pretty tough shot, anyone could have missed it. But... That makes like a whole bunch of shots he has missed with my .20-250 now. He's still "oh-fer" with it, and the "fer" is into the double digits and approaching the teens! Never seen anything like it in all my years. I KNOW that Tim can shoot good. Hell, he is one of the best field rifleman I've ever seen. And during the time he has had this terrible miss streak going with my new rifle, he's grabbed my .17P and nailed several coyotes with it. And there isn't anything wrong with the rifle either. It's a tack driver. Balances well. Identical stock to my .17P, same barrel contour etc. During the time that Tim has missed like 12 shots at coyotes with it, I have killed 7 coyotes in 8 shots with the same rifle and loads.

Anyway... Normally after one of us gets a shot we switch the camera and rifle. But I really want to see Tim put an end to this curse, so I stayed on the camera and let him keep carrying the rifle.

Late in the afternoon we pulled in a coyote that came at us for a long way across an open snow field. Made for some good footage as I filmed the coyote coming in. When the coyote stood and offered up a good shot at about 140 yards, I zoomed in to 20x and waited to see the coyote go down in the viewfinder. Saw snow kick up underneath the coyote and the coyote light it's afterburners for the next county instead... That was a slam dunk shot. Missed...

Tim is just absolutely snake bit by this rifle. Missing a shot like that, after missing so many before it, he's just not wanting to even SEE the rifle anymore! Back in the truck, he complained bitterly about the .20-250, for a long time. Just plain damn strange, if you ask me! But I'm starting to accept the fact that there really is some sort of a curse going on here. We'll be putting out a new coyote hunting video in a few months, and I'd like to show some coyotes getting killed on it. I don't think I'll hand Tim anything but my .17P for the rest of the season :D.

- DAA

[Sid Packard]

and tell him where you hid his .243 ;) .

Sid

[Va. Boy]

the "The Curse of the nice girl" You said Tim had that new girl. The other description you gave was "She's nice" I was cursed with a few of them but the curse seemed to wear off as the alcohol did.

[Hitman]

...iff'n you need some extra cash, you could be "Dave the Invincible" and walk out a hundred yards and let Tim shoot at ya all day.....since he can't hit nuthin with it you could claim to "deflect the bullets with your magnetic personality."

Somehow I don't think you'll make it to first break. :D :D

[keithcandler]

with one of my rifles which was a 700 in 6 Remm. He had the exact same rifle and scope. The only difference between the two guns was the trigger, mine was set at 1 1/2 lbs and his was 3 lbs...he missed a lot of yotes in Mexico. Since you had to have a gun on a Mexican Gun Permit by Serial number, we could not bring his rifle. What is so wierd, he shot fine at the range, but put him on live targets, and his initial squeeze on the trigger got him in trouble.

I can't wait to get the new video that you are making!

[DAA]

Keith, the trigger on my .20-250 is the one thing that Tim has fussed about specifically. It was set lighter than my .17P. But, I readjusted it to the same 28 oz. as my .17P, just for Tim (I liked it better set lighter). Didn't seem to help! But, I do suspect that if there is one thing that could be pointed at as the seed of the problem, it probably was/is the light trigger. He definitely did not like it, and it probably got him into some sort of subconscious bad habit that is still there even though the trigger has been changed to suit him.

- DAA

[JRinKY]

I Just hope you put a couple of Tim's MISSES on the new DVD...It gets boring watching him make those impossible shots every time. Hate to bust yer bubble, but Tim is the Star of the Show; Hat, Long Hair and that "few words will do" personality. He would make a GREAT Hillbilly and that's a Compliment. JR

[DAA]

I Just hope you put a couple of Tim's MISSES on the new DVD...It gets boring watching him make those impossible shots every time. Hate to bust yer bubble, but Tim is the Star of the Show; Hat, Long Hair and that "few words will do" personality. He would make a GREAT Hillbilly and that's a Compliment. JR

There's gonna be one or two of his misses on there :D. It's not easy though. Hard to get the audio edited to use them though. He tends to get downright vocal about missing coyotes, LOL! Worse, he's been known to rewind the tape and record over those misses. Happened on Saturday! I was going to make a short clip out of his last miss to post, just because that coyote looked so pretty coming across that open snow. But when I went to get it off the tape, Tim had recorded over it :D.

Here's a couple frames of one that will make it on the DVD though. This one is a couple seconds before the shot:

http://photos.imageevent.com/daffleck/coyotes/websize/Yote1Adj.jpg

And this is a second or two after the shot:

http://photos.imageevent.com/daffleck/coyotes/websize/Yote2Adj.jpg

You ought to see how far that coyote went before he touched the ground again! He cleared a good twenty feet of sagebrush four feet tall in a single bound right there!

- DAA

[John]

He's still locked on and listening to you guys.

[John in CA.]

I know a lot of winter fur is helping him look big, but the shoulder and mass aound the neck is impressive. Too bad he didnt visit the fur stretcher:eek:

Back to Tim and the curse of the 20-250, Dave I know from experience that when using any new gun, what happens on that very first opportunity seems to set the stage for the next several. Sometimes one miss followed up by a hit is no big deal. But two misses, or worse yet three, and now it is a mental thing, and difficult to "unwind".

What helps me get out of those funks is this. Once you have the crosshairs on the coyote, tell yourself you want to see this bullet pass thru the dog, and come out the other side. Somehow that helps (me anyways). Sort of like reminding yourself to follow-thru on a golf shot. In other words, dont think "hit" think DRILL=THRU that animal. I tend to stay calmer, and more focused that way.

Tim is a great rifleman from all Ive seen and should be giving ME a lesson. :D

Im sure when he gets going again, he will rattle off a string of 15 consecutive hits or more.

[Vardoc]

Dave, do you think Tim might be amenable to a sports pyschologist?? NOT!! Hope his streak ends soon...

v.