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Post by sixshot on Apr 2, 2017 18:10:48 GMT -5
Went for another Rock Chuck hunt yesterday (April Fool's Day) and there were a lot more chucks out but still quite a bit of snow covering several of the lower lava reefs. The hard part about hunting the low reefs is that approaching them undetected is next to impossible. For me, I'm much like a SEAL, not a Navy SEAL but an Elephant SEAL, which means even when I crawl my head is 15" off the ground & they can spot me! Some of these old silver backs have played this game before & when they hear my 4 wheeler approaching from a distance they are gone. Some of these reefs run for miles so you need a 4 wheeler to get around, also some of them are several feet above ground & some of them are several feet below ground, actually craters. If you spread out your hand in front of you your fingers would be the lava reefs & the spaces in between would be either hay fields, grain fields or barley. If it's hay or barley you are in Rock Chuck heaven, grain not so much. Yesterday I got 8 shots & got 7 chucks, the distances were anywhere from 88 yds. out to 266 yds. & I had to shoot 4 of them left handed. This country is open & they can see me just as good or better than I can see them, any movement & it's over. I'm hiding behind my 4 wheeler shooting off sandbags on the rear seat.  Just to the left of the muzzle of my Custom Shop 223 is an old silver back chuck with just his nose sticking around a lava rock, me & him have been watching each other for 20 minutes & he finally makes a mistake. I really like this new 3X12 Burris but wish they had extended the lower cross hairs more so that us with aging eyes could see them better, for me they fade into the fur & it's almost impossible to see them. You can see my table top that I use for shooting off of, works great. Yes that's snow you are looking at!  Dick |
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Post by bushog on Apr 2, 2017 18:58:43 GMT -5
Get 'em!
Those guys are big and fat!
I went looking today and my favorite prairie dog town is still snow covered.
Gives me some more time to reload.
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Post by contender on Apr 2, 2017 19:44:30 GMT -5
I'm sure the farmers should be paying you bounty,,, but they likely can't afford it!  |
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Post by jfs on Apr 3, 2017 13:42:12 GMT -5
I`ll tell you this.....you had a better day then me........
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Post by dougader on Apr 6, 2017 12:42:39 GMT -5
Very cool, Dick! 7 for 8 out to 266 yards? Fantastic! I love your custom 223 and your gun rest. Very slick set-up.
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Post by sixshot on Apr 6, 2017 13:26:21 GMT -5
I hate retrieving them but have to get some for photo's, but it's really time consuming climbing around on these reefs, plus many times they fall down in the crevices & you can't get them anyway. If they are in the fields it's not so bad.
Probably told this story before but one year a farmer advertised in the paper for guys to come & shoot Rock Chucks on his place. I went over there & he said he still had lots of them & I told him I'd fix the problem & that I used single shot pistols. He told me I'd never get them because the rifle boys had only taken a few of them & had left.
I had 3 milk crates with me & I'd take back the dead Chucks to show the guy I was actually killing them. The third day I could see him walking towards me as I rode into his yard, he said, don't bring me anymore evidence, I believe you! I took 199 Chucks off his place & it wasn't very big but man did they stink & he was getting tired of the smell out past his chicken coop. My best day was 41 Chucks!
Dick
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Post by dougader on Apr 6, 2017 14:14:36 GMT -5
I hate retrieving them but have to get some for photo's, but it's really time consuming climbing around on these reefs, plus many times they fall down in the crevices & you can't get them anyway. If they are in the fields it's not so bad. Probably told this story before but one year a farmer advertised in the paper for guys to come & shoot Rock Chucks on his place. I went over there & he said he still had lots of them & I told him I'd fix the problem & that I used single shot pistols. He told me I'd never get them because the rifle boys had only taken a few of them & had left. I had 3 milk crates with me & I'd take back the dead Chucks to show the guy I was actually killing them. The third day I could see him walking towards me as I rode into his yard, he said, don't bring me anymore evidence, I believe you! I took 199 Chucks off his place & it wasn't very big but man did they stink & he was getting tired of the smell out past his chicken coop. My best day was 41 Chucks! Dick Sounds like some great shootin' and some great fun, Dick! I went with a buddy to shoot grey digger ground squirrels out NE of Bend, Oregon, one Saturday, and everyone said "ohhh, they're so close just bring a pistol." Sure glad I brought an AR15 with me... the grey diggers had gotten much smarter since the guys' last trip out to shoot. I only wished I had mounted a scope on the AR for that trip. |
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Post by bulasteve on Apr 7, 2017 10:56:11 GMT -5
A couple of cartoon quotes trying to get outta my head right now. "I hate mieces to pieces !" and "Iffen ya want ta catch a varmint, ya gotta think like a varmint !". Think I have a weasel here, am happy. Mouse catch went from 6-8 per winter to ONE, and something ate that'n down to skull and spine. Found little clawed tracks out around the garage/house foundation and central AC unit. I always liked weasels, except for the 2 legged elected kind.
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f3
.30 Stingray
Posts: 412 
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Post by f3 on Apr 11, 2017 16:04:08 GMT -5
Shot my first 4 ground squirrels of the year today, but I wasn't shooting them left handed with a handgun at 300 yards like Sixshot. I cheated and used a rifle.
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