Today I decided to test out my new widget, the Varmint Stake posted here recently. The chucks on this ranch are skittish, and I saw four large ones loping back to the safety of their rock dens as I tried to sneak up to a fenceline to set up. My shooting hide for the first rock pile that laid 225 yards distant (the 20VT has such a quiet report, it doesn't even spook the stock):
Another hide down the fenceline a tad:
The rolling landscape full of chuck dens under the junipers:
A young one getting ready to jump into his rock den (taken with a 200mm telephoto):
"Scooter", my Cooper M38 VR in 20 Vartarg under a nice shade tree, waiting for the next chuck to appear:
An alert chuck surveying his domain from outside his den....as seen through my 200mm tele lens, not a scope....this time....
A big ole boy, right where he landed after doing a perfect flip off his stump:
The big guy back up on his stump....a bit worse for wear this time:
Ever wonder what a Nosler 32gr BT at this speed will do to a chuck's throat at 185 yards? Stop wondering:
I was not able to recover one chuck, a nice big boy too. He flipped in a 1-1/2 gainer, then dropped so far down in the rock pile, he was not retrieveable. No doubt though how hard he was hit:
After a hour of sneaking about and taking 9 shots, I had 8 rock chucks and one large sage rat (Skippy) that literally vaporized. All I found of him was part of his hide with part of his head attached. The not so willing victims that were recovered:
At the ranch, there's a depression at the base of a low hill where I place the chucks belly up so the eagles, hawks and buzzards can see them to clean them up. Today's crowd waiting for the birds:
All in all, I rate the new Varmint Stake a success. Easy to adjust when prone, works great for sitting, and also works well as a walking stick. If you don't have sling studs on a given rifle, making one of these will work dandy in the field. Attach a short piece of dental floss, and you've also got a wind flag at your disposal.
A parting shot of a happy rock chuck outside his den, checking me out on a nice sunny day:
Hope you enjoyed sharing part of my day......it was a good 'un!
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