A few chucks

[Verminator2]

Now that it is May, my dad and I and a friend went out and shot some rockchucks. The first two Gary shot with his 17 HMR at about 120 yards. I took the next one at 150 with my .243 AI, there wasn't much of its head left after that Then we moved down to a pivot with rimrock surrounding it. My dad took one out at 250 and Gary got one at 200, both with my dad's Cooper and 39gr. Blitzkings. Then it was my turn again. I spotted this chuck at 630 yards sitting on a dirt mound above the ranch's garbage dump. I dialed up the .243 AI and guessed on the windage, hoping to get close. My first shot nailed it The chuck squirmed down into the garbage and we couldn't get him out, but there was blood on the mound. We were all VERY surprised I hit it on the first shot. Then Gary took one chuck out with my .243 AI at 484 yards on the 3rd shot, and my dad got one at 480. It was a pretty good day of shooting chucks. We could have had more but decided to leave some for seed.

Here are a few of the chucks.

[Ryan S Albright]

630 yrds Thats a great shot good going. I just sold my 243 along with a sack of ammo loaded with 65gr Hornady bullets. I think I am going to suffer sellers remorse after hearing this story. Good going. I used to work for the rail road there in Bend and along the tracks that went through some of the pastors lived some of the oldest and largest Rock chucks I ever saw they where giants.

[WaltherP99]

Great shooting!

[Verminator2]

Thanks. I really like this .243 AI for long range work. Heck, even for short range work. And these 87 Vmaxs do a number on vermin. The one Gary hit at 484 looked like a squirrel shot with a 17 Hummer. I've seen some of those rockchucks in Bend, they do get to pretty good size, and they live a good life. I want a job shooting rockchucks on the golf courses with 22s and 17s, that would be great fun.

[Captqc]

Verm, nice shooting! Glad to see you had a good time. Gary

[Lenard]

Verminator2, I shot a chuck down in the Klamath Falls area some 4-5 years ago. It was a huge female and she was 28" long from the tip of her nose to the base of her tail. I have some pictures around somewhere of the chuck.

She had her head sticking out of a hole in a pile of rocks and we would never have seen her, except we were using the spotting scope to scan the area. I shot her in the head with a 223 and was just dumb founded at the size. Did not have a scale, so weight was not recorded. Distance, 200 yards.

Lenard

[darchell]

Very nice shootin

[Verminator2]

Thanks guys.

Lenard: My dad shot a chuck a few years ago that was pretty dang big. 11.5 pounds, but we didn't measure it.



I shot a chuck last year that was 12.5, but it wasn't near as big as his.

[Lenard]

Darchell, Thanks for the compliment.

Verminator2, those are big chucks in my opinion. Anything 10 lbs and above are large. Some years ago, I had a good discussion with the owner of the ranch, where I hunt. He told me that he has seen them so big and fat, that they could hardly walk around. He was talking about later in the summer.

I will share something we have found out about hunting them in hot weather. They are out at daylight and then heavily in the late evening when it begins to cool. We've found the larger ones are very wary and not often seen during the normal day time. But, as the sun starts to move behind the mountains, they come out in large numbers. I started zeroing in on the chucks in about 1993. I have only seen three of the monster sized ones in all those years. Most years I will shoot about 50, plus or minus a few. Only the last few years have I stayed late trying to pickup some of the bigger ones.

I would like to go sometime in late july or early august, but traveling close to 5 hours to hunt only in the evenings is not worth the time or money.

Keep aftere those chucks. Wish I had the opportunity to shoot when I was young. Do you go to school in Crane or Burns?

Lenard

[Verminator2]

Yeah, that's what we think too. Anything in the double digits is a hog around here.

We have also noticed that there aren't as many chucks in the middle of the day in the summer, big or small. We did gain access to a guys place that will have multiple double digits chucks that have ground to old age living next to a stream with lots of grass behind his house.

I go to Burns, was thinking about going to Crane this year as I have friends there and my cousins go there, but I have gone to Burns my whole life and most of my friends are there. Not to mention nobody in Burns likes the Cranies

[Rick in Oregon]

Verm: Nice chuck array for certain. Nice when you can get in some early chucks, then go after squirrels during the daylight hours, then in the evenings, go back to chucks. A perfect world, eh? Appears your 243AI is running well.

The largest rock chuck I've shot weighed in at 16.5 lbs. He was grey around his muzzle, and waddled in the field when he walked. Popped him in the early 80's with my pet Sako Vixen sporter in .223 with a 50gr Nosler Solid Base (pre-Ballistic Tip).



That's a new Ruger 77/22 Mag in the photo, first time out that day, so got it's picture taken with the chuck. He was a fat boy. Below is the "real" rifle that did the deed along with Chuckie's buddies that came out to play that fateful day years ago.



Don't you just love this time of year? (Leaving again for another four day shoot......easy to say that. )

[Verminator2]

Thanks, and yes it is

Dang that is a huge chuck!!! You oughta come out and shoot a chuck or two sometime this year with us.

[Lenard]

Some years ago, my partner and I got a tip about a place in N. California that had lots of chucks. It was like a field day, as there were rockchucks running all over the place. I was shooting a Sako HB 243 with 75 grain Hornady bullets. There was no question on whether the chucks were hit, as they flew thru the air in pieces. A very dramatic sight.

[hueys66]

Rick, that is back when they grew bigger. LOL