The Continuing Adventures of Skippy & the 204 (Pt II)
- Rick in Oregon
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The Continuing Adventures of Skippy & the 204 (Pt II)
After a good first day, a great dinner, watching the DVD "Smokin' Aces', and a good snooze, it was back to the rifles and Skippy.
We shot day two from the same position, then on the third monring, our rancher buddy moved the rig to a new position for a fresh area loaded with pesky squirrels.
I decided to start the day with my Sako Vixen in 17 Mach IV, as the wind was light and perfect for the little sizzler:
A freshly fireformed case alongside one fresh from the loading bench. Not much difference, 23 degree shoulder (like the 223) then a 30 degree shoulder after fireforming (like the 204 Ruger):
This is a neat little caliber. Looks like a big hole here, but it's only .172" bullet diameter, and gets an honest 3850fps using the Berger 25gr HP. Remington finally got smart and made it a factory round this year, known as the 17 Remington Fireball.
Another view of the little Rat-Zapper:
Skippy on his mound after meeting that Berger 25gr HP:
You can see the fresh annealing colors on these freshly formed cases. The bullet coating is WS2, or tungsten disulphide. It allows shooting up to 50 hot rounds between cleanings. Evidence of neck turning can be seen also. These necks have exactly .001" per side of clearence in the chamber neck area:
Skippy near the trench-style borrow entrance he had excavated in the alfalfa. Another 17 Mach IV victim. Amazing performance from such a tiny little bullet.
My new "Wind-O-Matic 2000" from Captqc. Knowing the exact wind speed sure does help that first shot long range hit probability! I'm certain Skippy does not approve, and considers it cheating.
Shooters view of the little Vixen prior to the next shot. Next round ready to chamber and send on it's way:
When Skippy gets a solid hit, he flies up about 6' - 8' in the air, spinning from the gyroscopic action of the spinning bullet. Here's the result when he lands, usually less his innards, but the two ends are still connected. Looks like he tried to make himself into rope!
Back to the Sako 204 the next day in a new position on the ranch. The shooting was pretty much non-stop, just time to clean and get back into the fight.
Cleaning time. During these times, one must remember to have your IPDW ready for those sneaky little rodents that pop up close to your position!
If Skippy is out there, he'll be seen and dispatched quickly. Here's Rat Force One scanning for rodents:
It just doesn't get much better: an accurate rifle, elevated shooting position, solid rotating bench, a target-rich environment, and good friends:
When the shooting is this good, it's hard to break away from the rifle and take some photos.
Sunset at The Rat Hilton. If our wives ever leave us, you'll find us all together here fondling our rifles, and loading ammo for the next day!
Back to the loading bench again now to get ready for the next extended trip coming up next month at the Rat Rodeo. I love springtime!
We shot day two from the same position, then on the third monring, our rancher buddy moved the rig to a new position for a fresh area loaded with pesky squirrels.
I decided to start the day with my Sako Vixen in 17 Mach IV, as the wind was light and perfect for the little sizzler:
A freshly fireformed case alongside one fresh from the loading bench. Not much difference, 23 degree shoulder (like the 223) then a 30 degree shoulder after fireforming (like the 204 Ruger):
This is a neat little caliber. Looks like a big hole here, but it's only .172" bullet diameter, and gets an honest 3850fps using the Berger 25gr HP. Remington finally got smart and made it a factory round this year, known as the 17 Remington Fireball.
Another view of the little Rat-Zapper:
Skippy on his mound after meeting that Berger 25gr HP:
You can see the fresh annealing colors on these freshly formed cases. The bullet coating is WS2, or tungsten disulphide. It allows shooting up to 50 hot rounds between cleanings. Evidence of neck turning can be seen also. These necks have exactly .001" per side of clearence in the chamber neck area:
Skippy near the trench-style borrow entrance he had excavated in the alfalfa. Another 17 Mach IV victim. Amazing performance from such a tiny little bullet.
My new "Wind-O-Matic 2000" from Captqc. Knowing the exact wind speed sure does help that first shot long range hit probability! I'm certain Skippy does not approve, and considers it cheating.
Shooters view of the little Vixen prior to the next shot. Next round ready to chamber and send on it's way:
When Skippy gets a solid hit, he flies up about 6' - 8' in the air, spinning from the gyroscopic action of the spinning bullet. Here's the result when he lands, usually less his innards, but the two ends are still connected. Looks like he tried to make himself into rope!
Back to the Sako 204 the next day in a new position on the ranch. The shooting was pretty much non-stop, just time to clean and get back into the fight.
Cleaning time. During these times, one must remember to have your IPDW ready for those sneaky little rodents that pop up close to your position!
If Skippy is out there, he'll be seen and dispatched quickly. Here's Rat Force One scanning for rodents:
It just doesn't get much better: an accurate rifle, elevated shooting position, solid rotating bench, a target-rich environment, and good friends:
When the shooting is this good, it's hard to break away from the rifle and take some photos.
Sunset at The Rat Hilton. If our wives ever leave us, you'll find us all together here fondling our rifles, and loading ammo for the next day!
Back to the loading bench again now to get ready for the next extended trip coming up next month at the Rat Rodeo. I love springtime!
Last edited by Rick in Oregon on Sun May 13, 2007 7:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Awseome story and pics Rick. I havn't even been out for the little sod poodles yet. I'm hoping I can head out on Monday and Tuesday. Keep those pics coming. By the way the size of your pics seem to be okay now. I also have "dial up" and it took less than a minute for the pics to download.
Savage Vaporizer
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- Sidewinderwa
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- Earl Three Beavers
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- Rick in Oregon
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- Posts: 4942
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:20 pm
- .204 Ruger Guns: Sako 75V, Cooper MTV, Kimber 84M, Cust M700 11 Twist
- Location: High Desert of Central Oregon
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VA Varminter: I don't anneal factory standard caliber cases until after six or seven firings, as they are freshly annealed from the factory (40 years of handloading has told me it's unnecessary).
BUT....when forming wildcat cases from a parent case, you'll get split necks about 25% of the time on the fireforming process due to work hardening of the brass, and you'll lose many on the 2nd or 3rd firings if not annealed, so I anneal as the final step after detailing and the final forming step. Have yet to lose a case as a result.
Smokin' Aces was a decent movie, contained a 1500 round firefight in a Lake Tahoe hotel, complete with a Barrett M82 .50BMG. If you want a really good new movie, check out Blood Diamond....better all around movie with more substance.
Gube: Be sure to keep us posted with your PD adventure! Glad to hear the pics are coming through ok now for dial-up users too (are some of you guys still actually ON dial-up? ) I'd imagine soon everyone will be on a high speed connection.
Robert H: It's surprising how many times we see Skippy in the "twisted" position. It's no wonder though, imagine a 12 ounce critter being smacked at 3800 fps with a frangible bullet rotating around 200,000 RPM's! Yeah baby, let's do the Twist! Glad you enjoyed the pics.
Sidewinderwa: Funny you should mention that....we always comment that the only thing that could make the experience better would be to have Cabana Girls there to clean our rifles and bring us drinks! A buddy here who is part owner of the Budweiser distributorship, smiled when we said that, and told us if we ever wanted to put on a "real" Skippy Event, he'd bring over The Budweiser Girls for a photo shoot.......now THAT comment really has us thinking now!
Oh, the 17 Mach IV is one of my favorites, 'yes', but the 204 would have to be considered my 'go-to' varmint caliber. Every time I'm getting ready for a trip afield for a few days, I stand in front of the gun safe pondering what rifles to take.....too many calibers, too many rifles.....decisions, decisions. Yeah right, we have it real tough, eh? Makes me glad I'm an American! Now how about those Cabana Girls?.......
Earl 3B: Glad you enjoyed the post....I'm also glad Skippy has no internet access too! I wonder what he does have down those burrows?
BUT....when forming wildcat cases from a parent case, you'll get split necks about 25% of the time on the fireforming process due to work hardening of the brass, and you'll lose many on the 2nd or 3rd firings if not annealed, so I anneal as the final step after detailing and the final forming step. Have yet to lose a case as a result.
Smokin' Aces was a decent movie, contained a 1500 round firefight in a Lake Tahoe hotel, complete with a Barrett M82 .50BMG. If you want a really good new movie, check out Blood Diamond....better all around movie with more substance.
Gube: Be sure to keep us posted with your PD adventure! Glad to hear the pics are coming through ok now for dial-up users too (are some of you guys still actually ON dial-up? ) I'd imagine soon everyone will be on a high speed connection.
Robert H: It's surprising how many times we see Skippy in the "twisted" position. It's no wonder though, imagine a 12 ounce critter being smacked at 3800 fps with a frangible bullet rotating around 200,000 RPM's! Yeah baby, let's do the Twist! Glad you enjoyed the pics.
Sidewinderwa: Funny you should mention that....we always comment that the only thing that could make the experience better would be to have Cabana Girls there to clean our rifles and bring us drinks! A buddy here who is part owner of the Budweiser distributorship, smiled when we said that, and told us if we ever wanted to put on a "real" Skippy Event, he'd bring over The Budweiser Girls for a photo shoot.......now THAT comment really has us thinking now!
Oh, the 17 Mach IV is one of my favorites, 'yes', but the 204 would have to be considered my 'go-to' varmint caliber. Every time I'm getting ready for a trip afield for a few days, I stand in front of the gun safe pondering what rifles to take.....too many calibers, too many rifles.....decisions, decisions. Yeah right, we have it real tough, eh? Makes me glad I'm an American! Now how about those Cabana Girls?.......
Earl 3B: Glad you enjoyed the post....I'm also glad Skippy has no internet access too! I wonder what he does have down those burrows?
- Rick in Oregon
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- Posts: 4942
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:20 pm
- .204 Ruger Guns: Sako 75V, Cooper MTV, Kimber 84M, Cust M700 11 Twist
- Location: High Desert of Central Oregon
- Contact:
maj: Our ranchers cut in early June too, so like you, we're waiting now until the first cut. The alfalfa at this time of year can grow 2" per day! Skippy can hide in the tall stuff, run around at will in complete safety.
The next major outing for us is mid-June on a very large ranch we all meet at every year. This year it will be the 9th Annual Rat Rodeo....can't wait!
The next major outing for us is mid-June on a very large ranch we all meet at every year. This year it will be the 9th Annual Rat Rodeo....can't wait!
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Our Farmer is going to keep in touch with us, he said probably mid june he will be all bailed up and give us a call . My .204 performed flawless . And my sons 22-250 was working well also. My son launched one ( no bull) 25' What a blast.
ps IS IT JUNE YET
LETS GIVE SOME FLYING LESSONS
[img][img]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/ ... gerat3.jpg[/img][img][img]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/ ... gerat2.jpg[/img][/img]
ps IS IT JUNE YET
LETS GIVE SOME FLYING LESSONS
[img][img]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/ ... gerat3.jpg[/img][img][img]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/ ... gerat2.jpg[/img][/img]