Oregon Sagerats 2023 Season

[Rick in Oregon]

Best chuck huntin' I ever had and once saw two bobcats workin' the rim while we waited for the chucks to come back up. Way more I could flap about, but Yep, ... that's a time long gone!

Those chucks are still there....IF you can get permission.

 

[jxb]

As an Oregon native... I can echo all of that.

My favorite saying is, if you don't like how we do things here, you're more than welcome to go back to wherever you come from. Not much pisses me off more than those that come here because Oregon is such a wonderful place, then 6-18mo later they want to change everything because "it's not like it was where I used to live". The road runs both ways folks!

 

[fourpower]

I have been shooting sage rats in fort rock and xmas valley since the 60s . they used the cabbage and what a job it did on the rats! We went twice last year and in over 600 miles of driving we seen 3 rats and only 9 mounds. The place we used to shoot in fort rock the rancher said they had a 96 per cent kill with the cabbage.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

fourpower: Yup, the Ft. Rock area was at it's peak from the late 60's up until the early 90's. Some of the old timers passed, then some families shut down their places and restricted shooting. And we're all aware of one certain landowner who's literally bought-up almost the entire valley and only allows rimfire shooting on the property for rats. Now that the Killer Cabbage is on-scene, only those ranchers that don't want to use it will have property that supports the rats. Cost of the cabbage is one reason I've heard, as it's expensive, and some guys just like to leave things alone 'like it's always been'. We like those guys, and treasure the relationships we share with them.

Having nice accurate rat rifles is a good thing, but only if you've got a place to shoot 'em, and rats to shoot. In that regard, practicing good field-craft and good manners while on someone's property is now more important than ever.

 

[jxb]

I remember my father talking about him and a flying buddy used to drop into Christmas valley in the 60's or 70's for rabbits and sage rats. He'd talk about shooting them right off the runway as there wasn't much there back then. I told him some years back that it appeared the runway was more in town than out now, he was a bit shocked. Times change I guess, but here's hoping not too many adopt the cabbage and leave some for us to deal with.

 

[snert]

You're spot-on there, Ray. I arrived here from a logging camp in BC in 1975, and then it was literally perfect here. But as you surmised, it's not the same any more, having been 'Kalifornicated' years ago. Still some great rat shooting to be had, IF you're willing to drive over 100 miles to get at it.

If I wasn't so far into 'geezerhood', I'd be outa here faster than you could say "cat 'n the hat". Now too old with too much crap to think about moving. So I'll continue to enjoy what we've got left with all my rat rifles until I'm pushin' up daisies, when it's all going to be complete 'woke' by then anyway. Libtards: won't join 'em, can't shoot 'em either.

If we only could........



Do I sound like an old-timer longing for the Old Days? I should, 'cause I am.

Where do I find one of these? I need some bling for my new reloading room!

 

[jxb]

Have any of you run into places that only allow lead-free?

Asking because I've been picking up some lead-free Norma when it's on a super sale just in case I run into some land owner that will allow shooting and .22LR but wants lead-free. I haven't got a lot but I'd really be kicking myself to find a place only to not have anything I could shoot ;-)

 

[jds holler]

Have any of you run into places that only allow lead-free?

Asking because I've been picking up some lead-free Norma when it's on a super sale just in case I run into some land owner that will allow shooting and .22LR but wants lead-free. I haven't got a lot but I'd really be kicking myself to find a place only to not have anything I could shoot ;-)

I haven't met any land owners that stupid yet. I have had guys on the Kali side of our state line warn me that it is the law, but they don't care what I want to shoot.

I could broaden my shooting territory if I bought a Kali license, and abide by the Lead Free rules, but haven't done it yet. jd

 

[Rick in Oregon]

I haven't met any land owners that stupid yet. I have had guys on the Kali side of our state line warn me that it is the law, but they don't care what I want to shoot.

I could broaden my shooting territory if I bought a Kali license, and abide by the Lead Free rules, but haven't done it yet. jd

jd, some of the very best rat shooting I've ever enjoyed was in northern Kali, but with the commie/libtard rules of no lead when my shelves have thousands stashed, then add in that myself and my entire crew of five guys all carry legally here, and would be felons if caught in The People's Republik, so we just don't visit that place any more, don't buy their license, don't buy their gas, pay for a motel or visit any of their restaurants. We have plenty of good shooting right here, right at home. Screw 'em.

I know the effort is about meaningless, but we all have our own personal reasons for not supporting a state that basically hates us. And on the upside.......it's now March, won't be too long now.......

 

[jxb]

Yeah if I was you I'd have to be pretty hard up for a place to shoot before I'd go there. I just figure if it's only a couple cents more per round ($0.06-0.07) then I have no issues getting lead-free.

I'm not sure anyone is requiring it in Oregon yet, but wouldn't surprise me either so I thought I'd ask since lots of folks here have been out and about in recent years. If someone says yes I ran into a land owner that required it, I validate my thoughts on picking up some lead-free 22LR. I'm not going that route for other stuff until forced to, it's costly enough as is.

 

[jxb]

March... yeah I'm really wishing about now I wasn't so busy at work, really too far for a weekend of shooting. Speaking of, here we are, I'm looking out the window and it's snowing. We still have it in the yard too. I can't remember the last time we got snow this late, let alone having it stick around for nearly a week.

On the up side, I'm really hoping it and the gray rainyness drive some of those to go back to their beloved Kali. I'm like Rick, I have lots of reasons why I don't need to visit their messed up state. No carry, no cans, stupid costly fuel and sales tax on top of it... ok enough with my rant.

 

[B23]

Unfortunately, Oregon and Washington have a couple very densely populated libtard counties that dictate our elections and those counties are keeping officials in office that have some kind of desperate need to follow or mirror Kali. Yeah, there's a brilliant plan because Kali has been so wildly successful. NOT!

Be nice if we could start at Canada and use the Cascades down through Wa. and Oregon as the divider.

 

[jds holler]

I'm so lucky to have my best fields just a couple miles from my house. Even though they were poisoned last year, the squirrels are making a pretty good come-back. Not a "couple brick's of 22's" kind of comeback, but a "nice relaxing couple of hundred shells" comeback. jd

 

[jxb]

See there ya go, perfect for high power. Built-in barrel cooling and you won't go broke keeping them in check so the land owner won't feel compelled to cabbage them again.

 

[B23]

I'm so lucky to have my best fields just a couple miles from my house. Even though they were poisoned last year, the squirrels are making a pretty good come-back. Not a "couple brick's of 22's" kind of comeback, but a "nice relaxing couple of hundred shells" comeback. jd

I'd say that farmers misfortune is your good luck because generally when they cabbage a field it flat wipes them out and takes a couple years or more before you see any.

 

[jds holler]

Those little fellas can really get it on throughout the summer. I guess they can pop out a litter every 21 days. (I believe that's the same for most rodents)
Given that they start popping up in January around here, that's a lot of breeding and birthing that happens from January to July. And depending on water conditions and heat, some of em keep going through the full summer.

That cabbage works good for killing 99 % of them, but --- I'll let one a you mathematicians figure out how many squirrels might be born in six months of unchecked breeding. jd

 

[jxb]

This is totally off-topic, but for you reloaders out there... tip of the day...
'www.sgammo.com/catalog/reloading-components'
note, that page is NOT searchable, they disabled it. You'll just have to check and scroll. It's pretty limited but if they have what you're looking for the price might just surprise you.

 

[Ray123]

Smokejumped outa' Redmond in the early '80s and lived in an old farmhouse on the O'Neill (sp?) Highway along the Crook River. Best chuck huntin' I ever had and once saw two bobcats workin' the rim while we waited for the chucks to come back up. Way more I could flap about, but Yep, ... that's a time long gone!

Yes good old Redmond, did a little rifle competition on their shooting range...bought guns at their spotting goods store. Spent time in the National Grass Lands. Remember Crooked River Bob the salesman cowboy selling off parts of the Crooked River Ranch to Californians in small lots to build homes. Two lesbian lovers threw their kids off into the deep Crooked River Gorge, killing them so, they could be alone, free of kids to love each other...very strange occurrence in those days. Watched a Clint Eastwood double feature at the Redmond Drive In Theater, a Fist Full of Dollars, and A Few Dollars More. Buy a brand new Colt Single Action Army for $199. Huge Brown Trout if you know where to fish for them....almost every cast, a fish on, and a small one was 12" to 14", just like Alaska. Sage rats galore, jackrabbit, coyote, rockchuck. big mule deer, hunting opertunities everywhere. Bow hunted the cascades for elk and deer many hours spent in the mountains, all the way up to Broken Top, down past Davis Lake and Ranger Butte... Ranger creek flows out of the ground from a lava tube..starts from nowhere it seems.. like Metolius River.
Watch out for rattlesnakes, stepped on one and it rudely introduced me to my first rattlesnake bite 2.5 hrs out of Bend to get treatment, didn't know if it was my last day on earth.....the rattlesnake didn't rattle like it's supposed to...found that fairly common...better rattlesnake hunting out towards Hampton, even used to have a rattlesnake round up. Grizzly bear were recently introduced into the Cascade range of Washington State, and I expect in so many years will migrate to my back yard shooting area. That State Game Commission is woke and don't like hunters, so Grizzly bear will keep the big game population in check instead of relying on hunting, along with the increasing wolf packs, already roaming the mountains. Times definitely have changed, and I've been lucky enough to enjoy some of the most free and scenic outdoor areas available, almost like Lewis & Clark...no fences.

 

[centerlineseal]

Times definitely have changed, and I've been lucky enough to enjoy some of the most free and scenic outdoor areas available, almost like Lewis & Clark...no fences.

A#1 Brother!

 

[searcher]

As an Oregon native... I can echo all of that.

My favorite saying is, if you don't like how we do things here, you're more than welcome to go back to wherever you come from. Not much pisses me off more than those that come here because Oregon is such a wonderful place, then 6-18mo later they want to change everything because "it's not like it was where I used to live". The road runs both ways folks!

I'm all for changing things that piss me off too - like getting rid of the guys yelling at me for putting gas in my own truck. What's the deal with that? Can't blame everything on the Californians, though - especially killing all the animals. Heck - there are only nine of us that know how to shoot!