They're Cute Unless ya Grow Alfalffa

[snert]

ive traded cows, equipment, chicken litter, pipe, labor, even home grown tomaters...never a p. dog hunt--Im game for that trade

I think he has dibs, at least for now!

 

[jds holler]

I had a couple vacation days to finish off, so I put on my fleece lined everything, and headed out yesterday morning.

This pic looks pretty pleasant, but it was truly 30-30 weather. Thirty degrees coming at ya 30 mph. The reason I've got my Jeep parked that close is for a wind-break. I shot about twenty shots to kill about five squirrels, and decided I'd better save my ammo and my fingers for warmer times. The wind definitely wasn't making it easy for my tri-pod.

This field was poisoned last year, but my little buddies are coming back. I just need to leave a few for breeding, and in a couple months there will be a whole new crop. jd

 

[scubohuntr]

Ironically, we did travel thru Wy a few years ago. Now she is in OK in college. Discovered that we attended a concert in Rapid city in 2014 (just happened to be there for free Newsboys concert) and he was also there, same time. Weird how small the world is.
Hunts coyotes, fishes. So far, so good. (Ironically, my daughter shot one woodchuck, never had any interest beyond that, likes books...but likes a guy who shoots things. I must have rubbed off a little)

Now back to our regular programming...

So does the "friend" eat the coyotes?

 

[Lone Hunter]

I had a couple vacation days to finish off, so I put on my fleece lined everything, and headed out yesterday morning.
View attachment 1036419
This pic looks pretty pleasant, but it was truly 30-30 weather. Thirty degrees coming at ya 30 mph. The reason I've got my Jeep parked that close is for a wind-break. I shot about twenty shots to kill about five squirrels, and decided I'd better save my ammo and my fingers for warmer times. The wind definitely wasn't making it easy for my tri-pod.

This field was poisoned last year, but my little buddies are coming back. I just need to leave a few for breeding, and in a couple months there will be a whole new crop. jd

JD, what kind of set up is that on the tripod? I can't get the IPad to zoom in any closer. I would like to do something like that for the Ground Hogs around here.

 

[jds holler]

JD, what kind of set up is that on the tripod? I can't get the IPad to zoom in any closer. I would like to do something like that for the Ground Hogs around here.

It's nothing fancy, but it works pretty good, I'll see if I can find a pic. jd

 

[jds holler]

This is one of those Okie prototypes that I always meant to improve on. So far I just haven't needed to improve on it. This is a Bogun tripod which I love, and it has a quick-remove locking plate which easily attaches on -- anything. The holes down the center of the board provide adjustment for balance depending on rifle balance. jd

 

[daniel brothers]

I have that same tripod.... guess I need to make one as well... because come this June.... I'm heading out that way... North West area.... for some Pd/Squirrel action. I plan on roving around for that month... just chasing and shooting.

 

[Lone Hunter]

This is one of those Okie prototypes that I always meant to improve on. So far I just haven't needed to improve on it. This is a Bogun tripod which I love, and it has a quick-remove locking plate which easily attaches on -- anything. The holes down the center of the board provide adjustment for balance depending on rifle balance. jd
View attachment 1036420

Thanks for the pics. I will have to get something set up soon.

 

[snert]

So does the "friend" eat the coyotes?

Well, he is a kid...and not throwing him under the bus, but his photo calling coyotes included an orange vest...but he had some darn nice fish, a great antique car and a nice old Winchester...just saying.

 

[snert]

I really like that 40X stock...Numrich did ya good

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

Wow if you zoom JD’s pic they’re everywhere, at least 15 or 20 in the pic, looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Wow if you zoom JD’s pic they’re everywhere, at least 15 or 20 in the pic, looks like a lot of fun.

Why, 'yes it is', and we call it "the most fun you can have with a rifle"......and for good reason.

Here's one of the fields I shoot regularly, all alfalfa. See how many of the little critters you can see in the pic.



Of course, one like this below would not be hard to find in any field. Wonder how much alfalfa it takes to plump up a prairie rat like this one?



Supposed to snow today, but very, very soon it'll be time to load up and head out for more fun emptying brass cases en masse. Times like this always presents the yearly dilemma....which rifles to take? One that always goes no matter what else does, is my 20VT!

 

[Nature Boy]

I took my son on a PD hunt up in Wyoming a few years ago. He shot his .223 bolt action and I shot my M1A. Started at 8:30 and finished at 4:30 when the ammo was gone. Only took a 30 min break for lunch to eat a sandwich. We never moved. Shot several hundred from the same spot. Most fun I've had in years. A 30 cal 125g Speer flying at 2,800 FPS really bifurcates the little bastards.

It's relatively cheap too. Guided hunt, $250 per gun, no requirement for out of state hunting license.

If you've never done it you need to.

 

[SS427]

Rick, that fat one looks knocked up. We have rules in our group not to shoot the big fat ones early in the season. Anyone that gets caught doing a sage rat abortion has to fetch beers that night. The real fun and shooting starts when the pups are sitting on the mounds in groups of five or six. Those small target make it far more challenging.

We also have a rule that rats within the 100 yard parameter are off limits to centerfire rifles. Part of the Geneva convention...little known to most people. Otherwise it is like shooting fish in a barrel. If you have to, grab the 17 HMR and do some damage, but you could get crap about that later, especially if you are also fetching beers.

 

[mtnman31]

A life in the Marines pulled me away from my home of Montana. I have some very fond memories of hunting gophers while growing up in the Big Sky state. My first car (an International Scout) didn't have a radio, it had a bread pan bolted to the dash that was kept filled with .22LR bullets. In warm weather, I'd pull the top off the Scout and we'd spend days out clearing fields and emptying that bread pan. I try and get back home about once every year or two and visit family. If it's summer, I always set aside a day to go blast some gophers. That said, it isn't as easy to find places to shoot gophers as it was when I was a kid.

 

[284winner]

Nothing is quite as enjoyable as dispatching prairie dogs!

Except dispatching ground hogs.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Except dispatching ground hogs.

And maybe rock chucks.....



"The most fun you can have with a rifle!"

 

[284winner]

Hard to not love shooting but I think i spent about 4000 rds of ammo on my last prairie dog shoot and it was 80% waste walking bullets in to dogs in 30-40 mph winds. They don't have enough sense to hide from the first 8 bullets that just miss em. The 9th blows em up and that's cool but I sure ran thru the ammo. Ground hogs you basically get one shot. Then maybe another later in the day on that same hog. Certainly not the shooting but each kill was earned and at much longer ranges due to the size of the target. Love em both but ground hogs are my personal favorite.

 

[Timgunner]

Hard to not love shooting but I think i spent about 4000 rds of ammo on my last prairie dog shoot and it was 80% waste walking bullets in to dogs in 30-40 mph winds. They don't have enough sense to hide from the first 8 bullets that just miss em. The 9th blows em up and that's cool but I sure ran thru the ammo. Ground hogs you basically get one shot. Then maybe another later in the day on that same hog. Certainly not the shooting but each kill was earned and at much longer ranges due to the size of the target. Love em both but ground hogs are my personal favorite.

The only groundhog I’ve ever got to shoot at took up residence under my house in KY. I had to shoot him with a 22 Pistol to keep suspicion down since I lived in the middle of town.

 

[snert]

The only groundhog I’ve ever got to shoot at took up residence under my house in KY. I had to shoot him with a 22 Pistol to keep suspicion down since I lived in the middle of town.