SmallCaliberCentral

Just got back from a 5 day shoot in Montana and thought I would post a few photos for other guys who are stuck in the east like me most of the time.

1) Here is our defensive position for attacking waves of rabid dogs:



2) Here is my dad with his Weatherby after he stole my new cowboy hat:



3) One of the guys in our group making a sneak attack with his Cooper through the high grass:



4) Our whole group ready for whatever the dogs can throw at us:



5) Last but not least, my buddy's very first shot with my Browning Varmint Stalker .204 (this sequence of 3 shots lasts 0.3 seconds in real time). He showed up for this hunt with only a .17HMR but after shooting my .204 he's on his way to the gun shop.





I've got a bunch more "launch sequences" of the dogs going anywhere from 5 to 15 feet off the hill, but this particular sequence is the essence of the "red mist".

thanks for the pic, looks like it was a great hunt, what kind of camera or video camera do you use to take such clear and graphic pics, thanks for the info, Jason

Nice camera work!!!

Unbelievable camera work! I've never had any luck getting pics of the shot. How do you do it so well??

goody523, Wow. That middle photo is just incredible. I would like to see the photographic particulars also.

The camera used is not something that most people would likely have laying around - a Nikon D2Hs. This is a professional digital SLR made primarily for shooting sporting events where high frame captures are needed. It shoots 8 frames per second which is how I was able to capture sequences like the one shown (those are 3 consecutive frames which means that the elapsed real time is .375 seconds for all three). The shutter speed needed to capture the dogs in mid flight seemed to be about 1/800th of a second, but to capture frames like the second one you needed about 1/2000th of a second which is even a little slow as it didn't totally stop the explosion (although I think the slight blurring effect makes it even more dramatic).

The way I was doing this was sneaking to within about 50 yards with my Nikon 200-400mm f/4 on a tripod and having my buddies right beside me with the rifle. When I was set up and focused and they were ready to shoot, I would press the shuttter in high speed capture mode and the shooter could hear the motor drive take off and then shoot. I ended up with a lot of frames before the impact, but that was the only way you could make it work. I have dozens of other sequences like this, but this was the only one where that second shot was at exactly the right moment and the shooter made a perfect shot with the rifle. I have one other sequnce where I was shooting at a 1/8000th of a second shutter speed and I actually caught the bullet in flight (just missing the dog to the left by about 1/4" - it's hard to see if you just look at one frame, but if you look at the srquence you can see it moving by the dog and then exploding behind him.

If you did this enough times with any decent SLR you would eventually end up with the right frame, but the super high frame capture of my particular camera makes it a lot easier. Unfortunately, you are looking at around $8700.00 for the camera and lens I used to take these photos, so I doubt you are going to run right out and buy one for this purpose (I make part of my living through photography in case you are wondering).

If you guys want to see more launch sequences let me know and I'll post a few more.

Awsome photos

Cheers Mick

Absolutely, we need more photos!

Keep those prairie dog "action" photos coming. That middle picture is truly one of the best RED MIST PHOTOS I have ever seen! Thanks for posting that sequence.

ahh the 204 really launches em...LOL

Ouch.

I'm just glad I'm not the dude laying in the grass in front of those other two dudes' rifle muzzles in the first picture. Even with good ear muffs on.

Actually I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to mention the guy laying out in front of the other two in that photo. That shot is actually a posed photo - I arranged it that way because it makes for a nice composition (photographically speaking) but I would never actually shoot that way because of muzzle blast and safety in general.

I will post some more launch sequences when I am back at my home computer and can sift through to find some of the better ones out of the thousands that I shot while out there. Glad you guys like them-

goody: Absolutely awesome camera work there, bud! Some of THE best red mist I've ever seen anywhere, even in the Nosler ballistic lab!

It shows that you're a pro with a camera, and as far as I'm concerned, feel free to post away with more. We're all always in need of good red mist photos, and yours are supreme! Looks like you all had a good time, and that's what it's all about anyway. A trip like that leaves memories that last forever....good stuff!

You are absolutely right about having a good time - met up with my dad and brother and a few other hunting buddies and had a blast for five days. My dad and I have had the good luck to hunt together all over the world for big game (Africa, Alaska, Montana, Texas, Quebec, etc.) and we both agree that we have more fun on our varmint shoots as there is way less stress about everything and you get to spend a lot of time BS'ing with each other that you can't get away with in a serious big game hunting situation. My dad has clearly stated that he will go out west to shoot prairie dogs every year that he can get to a shooting bench until the day he dies - even if he has to have someone roll him out there in a wheel chair!

The other upside of this particular trip was that we met some really nice guys who live out in Montana (I swear the people out west are the friendliest people on the planet - and I've been to a lot of places on the planet for work so I know what I am talking about). They invited us to come back out for a prairie dog, coyote, antelope, mule deer combination hunt next year when my son is old enough to get a tag in Montana. If there is a trip that sounds any better than that combo I don't know what it is. I'm not sure my son is going to sleep for the next 18 months thinking about it!

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