20VT & 221FB Fun in the Rat Patch

[Rick in Oregon]

Rat season is here, and we've been doing our best to empty rifle brass for the landowners. My good friend, Steve just acquired a nice new-to-him Cooper M38 in 221FB. Great wood, stainless fluted barrel, shoots like a house afire.

Recently we spent a good day in the field shooting squirrels, and had the added bonus of a few jack rabbits to add to the mix. Here's a shot of the setup that day...perfect weather, accurate rifles, good friend along and a target-rich environment. What more could a guy ask for?



Steve's new M38 Cooper in 221FB. Great wood, and she shoots as good as she looks:



Looking downrange; the fence line is right at 265 yards and completely infested with squirrels. Using my Cooper M38 in 20VT, it was hard to miss at that range, and rats flew at virtually every shot....great fun!



We'd be scanning for squirrels, then in the top of our scope's view, we'd see a jack rabbit sneaking about in the sage along the fence lines. Here's Steve coming back to his bench with what would become the three "Bunny Amigos":



After shooting squirrels for a few hours, seeing a jack rabbit seemed like "big game" in comparison to a ground squirrel. The Three Amigos after receiving their daily dose of both .20 cal 32gr SBK's and 40gr .224" Nosler BT's:



My Cooper M38 20VT cooling off between strings. "Scooter" as she's affectionately named, did quite well that day with a hit ratio right at 97%....a very good day for me.



Here's Skippy after dealing with one my my 32gr SBK's at 246 yards. About as good performance as a guy could ask for, and a nice blood spray to boot. (Although the rat may not really appreciate the "nice" part and feel quite differently...... )



Yours truly with one of the unluckiest rabbits in the county that day. 20VT at approximately 246 yards:



After launching to dramatic heights, Skippy back on the ground showing he had a good time indeed. Only problem is: he only gets to do it once.



And just for fun, proof that a good time was had in the field that day:



With the ranges that day being mostly under 500 yards with available targets, I never uncased any of my 204's, saving them for the work over 400 yards. The 20VT and 221FB did everything we asked of them that day, and used less powder to get the job done. It's great launching rats all day using only 18.5 grs of powder from that little FB case. But as the season gets hotter and the rats get twitchier, there's no doubt the 204's WILL get their time in the sun!

Oh, how I love this time of year!

[RAMOS]

Nicely done and nicely posted, as usual! Just be sure and give your hands a good scrubbing after touching them rascals!!!

[futuretrades]

Nicely done as usual Rick, but ain't it kinda late for you out in the field. I can just see you dripping wet, and wiping the sweat of your brow just to make a shot!

[Rick in Oregon]

Nicely done as usual Rick, but ain't it kinda late for you out in the field. I can just see you dripping wet, and wiping the sweat of your brow just to make a shot!

Thanks Kevin, and 'yes', it IS killer hot out here now, and much too hot to be out in the field with a rifle. It's been 95* here every day for the past week, and a week of 100* coming up. Time to be in the gun room with the A/C running and an ice tea handy. Maybe now I can sit down and finish "American Sniper" finally.

The little adventure posted above was early last month before the killer heat arrived. Unless we get a cooling spell, I won't even be out after any more rockchucks this season. Even those guys are down by 08:00 in this heat.

I just returned from a quick trip to Costco, and my nice tan Glock operator's hat is completely soaked in sweat, and it's not even noon yet! Yikes! (No wonder why I don't seem to mind winter any more.......)

[Sidewinderwa]

What a nice way to end the sage rat season. Great looking rifles to do it with as well. It has been over 100 for several days at my domain. It is getting so dry I am concerned about practicing long range shooting due to a fire hazard. Great pictures and good shooting. Thanks for sharing.

[Jim White]

Nice outing there Rick. I was beginning to wonder about the time frame because it's been a mite toasty here on the west side of the Cascade's and its usually several degrees warmer in your neighbor hood than mine.

[Rick in Oregon]

What a nice way to end the sage rat season. Great looking rifles to do it with as well. It has been over 100 for several days at my domain. It is getting so dry I am concerned about practicing long range shooting due to a fire hazard. Great pictures and good shooting. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Hal. Hotter than blazes here too now. Today is supposed to hit 100*, and 101* tomorrow. Forget being outside with a rifle......for me, it's indoors with the A/C running full-tilt. I'd think even a piece of ejected hot brass could start a fire with these dry conditions.

Nice outing there Rick. I was beginning to wonder about the time frame because it's been a mite toasty here on the west side of the Cascade's and its usually several degrees warmer in your neighbor hood than mine.

Jim, "a mite toasty" is putting it mild. Looks like our "southern shoot" is toast for this year with these temps. When first cut happens in another week or two, the rats will all be down by 08:00 every morning, then up again just before sunset for a brief munch. For two hours a day of good shooting, it's not worth the drive time or fuel cost now that it's so hot.

Except for a casual rockchuck IF it cools down a bit, it appears our rat season has come to a very hot end, for this year at least.