We did some serious "Skippy Flippin" Wednesday

[futuretrades]

On wednesday of this past week, my shootin buddy and myself, finally got out for our first shoot this year. the weather was absolutely marvelous. clear day, with just a little breeze. when we got set up, i opted for the 204 w/39 sbk's. first time using on skippy, and i am very pleased with results. i also shoot 32 gr. vmax in the same gun with exceptional results, but the wind does play tricks on the lighter bullets. anyway the shooting was very good. a couple times i had 2 hot barrels that i needed to cool down. my 204 and the 223. overall i went thru about 120 rounds between the 2 rifles, plus anthe couple hundred with the 10/22. i took some pics, but my battery went dead after just a few pictures. i will try to post them here.

here is our setup between 2 fields.

some damage from the 24



this guy last his whole body


another lost body. never did find what, if anything was left, of the lower body


this little fellow just lost his head



another head shot


another shot of our shooting position. this picture is looking to the north. we were set up on a high spot between the 2 fields. makes for easy spotting of skippy.


unfortunately, after this picture is when my camera battery took a dump on me. my extra battery was here at home on the charger i guess thats what is meant by the old saying "stuff happens"

[bullfrog]

Very nice skippy carnage!
Not a bad way to spend a wednesday.

[futuretrades]

Very nice skippy carnage!
Not a bad way to spend a wednesday.

glad we went when we did. its snowing here right now and cold as heck!

[Glen]

Purdy cool!! The groundhogs are out around here but with
everything being so short they're just too spooky right now.

[Rick65Cat]

Just what I need to ease my winter blahs....

Friggen weather just won't let up...
Heres what I'm dealing with...just took this pic at 1130 today mtn time.

[Rick in Oregon]

Kevin: It's good to see some early season "squirrel puzzles" already, albeit with some pieces missing..... It looks like you had a good setup between two fields, and like you there, our rats are up when the sun is out, then it's a few days of rain and/or snow, then they dive back down to their livingroom burrows, all snug and warm. Love the shot of Skippy missing his lower half. When you hear that distinctive "pop", and the top half flies 12' into the air, you just can't help the big grin that results.

In the mornings, I usually start out shooting the 32gr SKB's in one of my 12 twist rifles, then go to the 39's later in the day when the wind becomes a factor. That's when the "Silver Princess of Death" with her 11 twist barrel really comes into play. I'm still in the load development process of trying Nosler and Hornady 40's in her, but hope with my much better access to the Nosler's, SPOD likes them better.....we'll see shortly, as we leave in two weeks for our first four day Rat Extravaganza at the ranch. We'll post some pics when we return.

Thanks for the post.....I'm glad someone is already at Skippy and his pals!

Rick65Cat: Be patient bud, I feel your pain. Your time WILL come, I promise. Be sure to share the fun when it does.

[Rat Force One]

Good show Kevin. My jelousy meter is rising. We missed a shoot last week due to the weather. I'm glad you were able to get out between artic blasts. As Rick mentioned we will be out soon enough. And dang I can't wait. I even went through my gear AGAIN in anticipation today. I told my wife I was going to "clean the garage".

Dan

[Sidewinderwa]

futuretrades, great pictures. I see your shots are getting the red mist effect! What part of the country are you having a blast in? Which caliber do you like the best?

[Gube]

Nice pics. I can't wait until all of this snow is finally gone. I was out back yesterday replenishing my bait pile and in many places the snow is still at "mid thigh".
I'm heading out to Cuba for a one week hiatus on April 2 so I'm sure that when I get back, the "grass maggots" will be out in full force.

[futuretrades]

hey guys, thanks for the comments
Rick don't know if i told you, but i did get the 40 gr. vmax to shoot in my howa. i had to go to H4895 and had some groups under 1/2 in at 100. but my go to loads are 32 gr vmax with benchmark and the 39 gr. sbk's with re10x. both of these loads are real close to max charges.
i do have 1 question for you, Rick, how temp sensitive is the re10x. not to big of a deal because when the temps start rising i keep my ammo in a cooler, and if too high i will add an ice pack just to be on the safe side.

What part of the country are you having a blast in? Which caliber do you like the best?

i am in northern Kalifornia, shooting over the same fields for almost 15 yrs. as for my favorite, my Howa 1500, in 204R gets the nod by a long shot. but i do like my Vangard, in 223 also. i have never shot anything thru either rifle except my reloads. and both rifles shoot way way better than i am capable of. but its always fun and challenging to try and shoot as good as the rifle.

DAN good to hear from you. as you know, i am single so i don't have to make any excuses for doing anything i do, but i do really understand where you are coming from. best of luck on you guys' shoot in a couple weeks, and may the rat god smile upon all of you and give up some super shooting for all!

[Racr350]

Nice shooing futuretrades! Love the effect the 204 has on skippy. What was your longest shot of the day?

[Captqc]

Hey Kevin,
Nice going!!! I'm going nuts waiting for my first outing. I sit in a darkened room holding the Remington and chant "Here Skippy, Here Skippy" into the wee hours of the night.
Gary

[futuretrades]

Nice shooing futuretrades! Love the effect the 204 has on skippy. What was your longest shot of the day?

i know you guys wont believe this, but this is the absolute gods honest truth. my budy, on this trip only brought his 10/22, and he told me he went thru 3/4 of a brick of 550 federal hollow points from wal mart. his farthest kill was 312 yards. like i said this is no bull i walked with him to the dead rat and we both ranged back to our shooting position. with 2 different rangefinders we both got 312 yards. skippy was hit right in noggin!
as for myself, i did quit a bit of close stuff. most of my kills were under the 300 yard mark. but i did some shooting between 500 and 600 yards. couldn't confirm any kills at that range, but after impact, skippy was no where to be seen on some of my shots. and some of them i saw skippy makin his escape, for propagation and getting fatter for another day. my excuse for missing what i did was simple; gotta let some of them escape so they can make babies!
i am gonna try and get up there again on friday of this week

hey gary, i was thinkin of you guys during some of my shooting. your time is near, my friend!!!!!

[Rick in Oregon]

Rick i do have 1 question for you, how temp sensitive is the re10x. not to big of a deal because when the temps start rising i keep my ammo in a cooler, and if too high i will add an ice pack just to be on the safe side.

Kevin: I really can't comment on the temp sensitivity of RL10X, as I have not shot it in any extremely hot environs to date, the highest outside temp was about 90*F, and the primers all seemed to be the same as when the load was worked up or shot in lesser temps while "ratting". I haven't noticed any nasty effects of temp changes so far using the stuff.

(I always keep my ammo in military .50 cal ammo cans in the shade though.)