Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Experiences and effectiveness in hunting with the 204 Ruger.
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

maj: Wait till at least mid to late March when the males will all be out in better numbers, weather permitting. Don't shoot too many of them early though, as you'll infringe on the "seed crop", and thereby eliminate the breeders and you'll soon be devoid of targets. That makes the alfalfa ranchers happy, but sure cuts down on the target-rich environment.......
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by majcl5 »

Much agreed i will miss a few to help our cause( probably not on purpose though). We need am much as we can get. I think we are going the last weekend in March. And then end of april begining of May when all the babys our out in full force. Going to shoot today check out the rifles see how there shooting.

How do the Oregon numbers compare to the Mid west and Rockies P-Dogs?
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

maj: I used to go to either MT, WY, or SD every summer for a week of PD shooting. Considering the driving distance, fuel costs and rodents numbers, to us here in Oregon, it is better shooting right were you and I go every spring. I know exactly where you shoot, and promise you have better all day shooting there than you'd ever get in any of the PD states mentioned above.

Now I just stay here and try not to melt barrels in the spring instead of going PD shooting, when after a few shots, every rat within 300 yards bails down their burrows, and won't come up again to join the fun till you're back in your truck and down the road. Our squirrels are much more dumb than PD's, and for that reason, give us shooting all day long.

Save your money, gas and time, stay here where you can get more and better shooting. Although you should experience PD shooting at least once. The first time I saw those critters standing in the sun, I told my buddy it is like shooting house cats, they're so big, and also have a great "splat factor" too. ;) After shooting our squirrels at ranges up to 500 yards, hitting an adult PD is much, much easier, and you look like a real pro in the field to others present. "Wow, you hit that dog at 600 yards"......."yeah, I do that all the time"..... :lol:
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by majcl5 »

If you can hit the Baby Rats , they are tiny little buggers you can hit anything. It must be like seeing a Jack rabbit in the feilds they look like a Kangaroo's out there. I hear that the dogs are out for much longer thru the year than our Rats so i would love to go sometime after our spring shoots. And yes the size of those dogs does appeal to me and my buddys.
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Verminator2 »

My dad and I shot about 100 of them today with the .17 Hummers, good fun. Also saw 4 other troops set up in different pivots. Let the Games begin!!!
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by futuretrades »

i am gonna try to get out later this week, when the weather gets a little better. right now its raining like cats and dogs, and is supposed to turn to snow wednesday. but after that its supposed to warm up a bit. we'll see. i don't have to drive as far as some of you, to do some "skippy flippin", and i'm down here in northern Kalifornia. but like most of us shooters, my trigger finger is just a little bit itchy, and we all know the cure for that. now if the CRS doesn't get to me, i plan on posting some pics, if i can remember how to do that again!
happy shooting and like was said by verminator 2, let the games begin!!!!!!
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

Two from my crew took a chance and went last Friday - Sunday. They got excellent shooting on Friday, but got rained/snowed/blown out the rest of the time. Skippy and his pals are out, at least the males right now, but ONLY when the sun is out and the wind is down.

I't snowing here right now like crazy, more on the way, but I'm planning on a four day trip the first weekend of April...IF Mother Nature doesn't screw things up for us. We'll see......(oh please don't rain.....puleeze!.... :eek: )
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by broper »

Hey everybody,
I've been a member here for quite awhile but this is my first post. I've been shooting them here in s.w. Idaho since the last week in Jan. Not a lot at first, but more every week. Last week the day I went out was a little breezy and cooler, didn't see to many. Sheep herders are in there now with their flocks so we have to watch where we shoot. I've been using mostly my .218 Bee but .204 also. They both make flying squirrels out of them sometimes. Really messes up their day. Have fun, be safe.
Bob
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Verminator2 »

I'm gonna pick up some more ammo this weekend for the 22 and hopefully go shoot some more the weekend after this one. It's just too much fun. Good luck with the shoot Rick, I'm pretty stinkin tired of the wind and rain and snow, it's the middle of march for pete's sake. That's harney county for ya.
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by majcl5 »

Were Hoping 4 a 3 day trip either the last of march or 1st of april. Cant wait Pictures maybe videos to follow.
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

broper: Welcome to the forum, fellow rat shooter! Anybody who like to launch Skippy is welcome here. ;)

Verm2: Yep, we're all fed up with this "spring" weather. Time for rat-killin' type weather!

maj: We'll be there first weekend in April....good luck to us both in regard to weather. Let's hope the "weather talkers" get it right soon.
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by majcl5 »

I hope so I AM READY

p.s Good Luck
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Captqc »

Verm2,
Good luck on finding .22LR ammo! On this side of the big hill it's as scarce as hens teeth. The only stuff on the shelves is American Eagle and a few small boxes of Remington.
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Verminator2 »

Hopefully I'll find it in Bend, Bi-Mart or something. American eagle and remington is fine with me, I'm a poor highschool kid. Cheap is good (unless it's solids) :lol:
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Any Rats poking there heads out in SE Oregon?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

Verm2: You should have no trouble finding 22LR HP's in the Bend area. Saturday we purchased the last three bricks of Winchester Power Point HP from Cent-Wise in Redmond. I was surprised they had that much on the shelf. I saw quite a bit of CCI HP at Bi-Mart last week also.
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