SmallCaliberCentral

As any good Marine or any other dedicated rifleman knows, shooting from an elevated position is always desireable. Our rancher buddy is nice enough to let us use his old Chevy flatbed truck and his flatbed gooseneck trailer, and position the setup anywhere on the ranch we choose for the best shooting angles. This really makes a big difference in being better able to see the rats in the alfalfa, especially at extended ranges.



Here's a sequence of spotting/ranging a target, shooting same, and the inevitable grin from making a nice long shot (Silver Princess in the bags and Kimber 22/45 Conversion always ready for rats inside the wire):



Target acquired, on the gun:



Impact can be seen to the right of the wellhead at about 225 yards:



Closeup action at the intended target: (Squirrel can be seen in the center of the picture. Shot with 200mm lens)







Longest vital body part separation we noted was 41'. Can you say "violent expansion?"

This rat paused after running about 50 yards scampering for the cover of his hole in the sage (no match for a .204 39gr SBK at 3900 FPS):







"Got him!" The Silver Princess prevails.



Dan on the truck saying something like "this is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!"



The Rat CP flying the colors as always.



A parting shot of Skippy departing in pieces courtesy of the 204 Ruger and Sierra Blitz Kings:



This turned out to be a very good shoot, despite some pesky wind that came up every day. It's still early spring, so it was no surprise when we woke up our fourth day to a blizzard. We were shooting at 4,500' elev., and there is still lots of snow in the high country to our south:



The most accurate 204 I've ever shot, the Silver Princess of Death overlooking rodent rich aflalfa out to 700 yards; paradise to long range varmint nuts like us (sorry for the blur....no excuse):



This seems like a good squirrel hatch this year, and even though the ranch has been shot lately, there were always targets visible at all times. We headed home with clean rifles, lighter ammo cans, and big smiles, planning our next assault in a few weeks.

Looks like a lot of fun. You could never do that here in Jersey. Park that close to a road with big mean guns, oh that would be frowned on for sure. Love the photo's.

Darchell,
You need to come west! As we were shooting at skippy and his friends people would go by and wave at us.
Eastern Oregon is still what most of America used to be before liberalism took hold. Perhaps some day common sense will prevail.
Gary

Nice carnage Rick. Looks like fun for all. Nice pictures. I was over your way on the 21st thru 23rd. There were not that many out. I think that they were underground with the little ones. We shot a few fat mamas. We had some wind and it was cold and overcast the last day. I did enjoy a great bench I got from a really nice guy in Bend. BR Pivot, ever hear of it? My brother said that it was not right. That was because HE does not have one. Rock solid and you can put your elbows on it for looking for new targets an extended period of time. I thank you for letting me get your last one Rick. I really enjoy it.

Love the story and especially those "action" photos. I WILL be out soon, very soon.

[quote]I did enjoy a great bench I got from a really nice guy in Bend. BR Pivot, ever hear of it? I thank you for letting me get your last one Rick. I really enjoy it.[quote]

Sidewinderwa: Glad you're getting in some trigger time on the bench. I do indeed think I've heard of that unit...... You not only got the last one, that particular one was the prototype for the second and third generation (Lite) benches from the very start of the odyssey that started around 1996. Looks like it's still doing what it was designed for: sniping Skippy and is pals from afar.

Don't you just love this time of year? Good luck in the rat fields, shoot straight.

RIO...... I really enjoy and look forward to the "Skippy the flying sage rat" pictures you post. I am chomping at the bit to give skippy some flying lessons myself; but my trip west wont be until mid June. Im really impressed also by the pictures of the lightweight shooting bench. Who manufactures it and how can I order one? Keep up the great posts, as you have one anxious viewer.

git: Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoy the adventures of "Skippy the Flying Squirrel". We'll also be in the field in mid-June, so here's wishing us both good weather ju-ju for that period.

The bench you refer to sir, is the BR Pivot Lite, formally patented and made by yours truly here in Oregon (for ten years), now available from Battenfield or MidwayUSA known now as the "Caldwell BR Pivot". Velvet smooth rotation, stable as a rock. You can pan the entire shooting horizon through your scope for targets from the platform. It really adds to the hit percentage factor being able to bench the rifle properly. (I still like walkabouts though )

More shoots planned for this season, so we'll make sure Skippy and his pals fly for your viewing pleasure again.

My high-school age son was grinning from ear to ear while looking through the photos of your Skippy Shoot.

We've got rockchucks here, and he lays waste to 'em with his 6mm Rem or the .22, but a half-dozen in a day is a big take... Seeing and shooting dozens, or hundreds, of little sage rats is something he's really looking forward to. We've got a road trip to Oregon planned in June, after school is out - to whack Skippy!

That is my next investment a good camera . What kind do you have ? lenses? ext. Pm me when you have chance i would like a good camera set up.

Rick,
be careful with those nice panaramics. Some of us might try to figure out exactly where you are!
Good to see you guys out defending the homeland from vermin.

Guy: Good luck next month on the squirrels with your son. I don't mind if you "poach" a few of my Oregon rats!

maj: Nikon D40X SLR and various lenses. How was the weather this weekend when you went over?

bullfrog: Yep, the Motherland is safe from rodent infestation, at least for now. No worries on the panoramics either, even if someone actually did figure out where I was shooting, it would do them no good, as it's all posted. I'm blessed to be on the short list. Surgical removal of rats has endeared more than one shooter to landowners, I'm sure. Hope you get out yourself soon.

Pretty rough . Saturday morning was ok but soon the wind picked up and let me tell you it blew. But the rats were out Babys like flees. But not many adults, Then sat night rained and rained and rained until about 9:00 am sunday morning. Then for about 3 hrs it was increadiable shooting. The babys were crawling all over. then the wind started and blew and blew . This morning was rainy but inbewteen rain we shot a few. I found out a few things. When the wind blew and i mean blew the rats were still out it didnt affect them as much as i thought, and the cloads to they were still out. But when it rained they dissappered completly. Even just a drissel put them down. We mostly seen babys not many adults at all. I will post some pictures when i get a chance.

maj: Went out for four days last week, Thursday was 40 mph blowing wind and some rain, but the three days afterwards were like squirrel shooting paradise; perfect in every way. The crop will be getting too long to see the little buggers about now, but it should be great after the first cut coming up in a few weeks... that is if it doesn't get too hot for the rats in the meantime.