Rookie Prairie Dog Hunt 2009

[Markbo]

This is not about a specific rifle, but it is rifle related.

Another online forum I belong to has a Rookie Prairie Dog hunt for 3 or 4 hunters every year. I was lucky enough to (finally!) be chosen to go this year. Here is a link to some photos I took. Let me know if you have any questions about them.
FYI minimal gore except in ‘Trophy shots since I am sending non-hunters to look at them.

Mark


s116.photobucket.com/albums/o10/Markbo_photos/Rookie%20hunt%202009/

[mt]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. It looks like y'all ganged up on them dawgs.

mt

[Len]

Prairie dogs are a lot of fun. My favorite set up are two ARs both 1/4" guns. I haven't been out for two years your photos make me want to head west tomorrow!

Always take a hand gun to hunt rattle snakes.

Len

[the priest]

spit it out. details. list of arms. etc. i know you've been preparing for this one for a while and want to hear DETAILS!

[Markbo]

Sorry I haven't looked in on this one for a while. I took quite a few guns and shot some way more than others:
Ruger 10/17HMR. Never fired a shot
Remington 40X varmint in .22-250. Shot maybe 100-150 shots
AR in .257 WSSM. Again about 100-150 shots. These two guns were for longer ranges.

The majority of my shooting was done in the 250-350 yard range with three .223s - all ARs. A 16" carbine that I quit shooting after about 200 rounds - the accuracy was fine, but the velocity was not there. A 20" Colt Competition HBAR Match and an RRA 20" Heavy barrel. Shot those about 400 rounds each.

If I had all bolt guns - particularly single feed like my hosts Coopers - I would have shot one heckuva lot less rounds. But having those ARs I could see misses and fire off very quick follow up shots. Sometimes 5 or 6 in a row. ;D

We hunted 3 days morning and evenings with a long 2-3 hour lunch break in the middle. We got rained out two evenings. I am pretty certain I killed a lot more dogs than the other 3 hunters. 2 from the West coast were concentrating on longer shots so they just shot a heckuva lot less and a younger fella from Indiana was shooting a .223 Stevens and a .223 AR - all with Wolf factory steel cased ammo! He was not a reloader so he just bought the cheapest factory ammo he could find.

He actually had the hardest time actually seeing them. The first morning out I bet he didn't fire 10 shots... he just couldn't see them. By the second day that skill came around but that ammo was not exactly match quality. He shot a lot though!

Our host was kind enough to let me get about 80 rounds total down range on two of his 16 or 18 Coopers - a .20Vartarg and a .204Ruger. The Vartarg gives up a little in velocity, but it's like shooting a rimfire. The .204 was simply amazing... I honestly felt like I could hit anything I aimed it at.

Then too, he had the correct optics where I did not. I simply mounted what I had and none were perfect. ALL of his guns (he took 10 out each day and tried to shoot them all) wore identical optics. Older and now discontinued Simmons VTac in 4.5-14X. They have without a doubt, the best varminting reticule I have ever seen. It is a crying shame they are discontinued. I would buy a bunch of them if they weren't! After some gentle cajoling he finally convinced me to quit messing with my higher power scopes and keep them on 12x-14x and sure enough my hit rate went up... even at longer ranges.

I had a goal of reaching the 500yd club, which I did not make. The wind is something that will take much practice to get better at. But I did make several shots in the 440yd range and all with my guns - not his. Got a couple doubles and lots of pups. I tell you what... a hand sized target at 400 yards off of a portable table in 20mph winds is challenging!

This obviously was my first trip, but it won't be my last... it was just too much fun! I am already planning to see how I can go back in September. Hopefully with some better suited optics.

[nobearsyet]

As far as your wind shooting goes, did you have any flags out?

[Markbo]

No Sir. It surely would have helped, but I never even thought of it. And you are not shooting one direction anyway. There is rougly a 140-180° field of fire and if you are on the end as I was a couple of times it is closer to 270°! I'd have needed a LOT of flags to cover all that area.

[wickerbill]

Yep, those Coopers are what I like to call scary accurate. I currently have a mod 57m in 22lr. I had a mod 21 in 223 and like you said, you feel like you can hit anything you shoot at. They are truly amazing rifles.
Bill