I went shooting in my favorite fields capable of providing hours continuous acrobatic and aerobatic entertainment, in vivid colors too… The source of the greatest entertainment came from my 204 in a std Ruger 77VT, topped with a B&L 5x15. I also brought along my 6mm Ack, a 223 and a 22/250. Shot em all, but did I tell ya the best was the 204?
Anyways, my brother in la (BIL), his brother, and an uncle headed out Thursday morning to some private land I had access to that has in the past provided great shooting. Upon arrival, saw 100’s of little furballs running for cover, at that point, thought “why they so skittish, nobody was have spose to shot em up yetâ€Â. But did not think much of it, plenty still running around… Uncased the 6mm Ack, found my preferred vantage point, set up and begin ranging doggies in the 3-500 yd range as I was gonna leave the lose up critters to the others.
Well things started out awesome for me, went 4 for 5 after I got dialed in. Took a break and went to talk to my cohorts and ask why they aint shooting. They said after one shot each and my barrage of about 10 shots, there were no more targets… Said to self, this was not expected. After a caffeine break, decided to move, chose another spot and set up. Doggies had settled down by then a bit and were coming back. Put my BIL’s bro behind the gun and found a few doggies for him to pop. Got about 4-5 shots off and the table was clear again. Man whats going on here? They really shouldn’t be this skittish, wx was acceptable? Hmm… Walked around to the side of where we were shooting and found my answer, couple hundred shiny empty brass casings. Someone pounded em hard b4 I got there. So much for private land being private. Okay, time to pack up and relocate.
Went to PD heaven # 2, looks great, doggies all over, wait, theres a truck. Okay onto to next preferred spot, #3. This spot was always a good producer, about 2 miles long and plenty of doggies, but this place looked vacant too. Hmmm,. I tend to follow the rules about no motorized access and respect the lessee’s rights so we parked near the field entrance and hoofed er in. Got over a ridge and saw that someone had setup camp and had 4 wheelers run all over running and gunning. Said to self, its sucks that someone is in here, but it sucks even more cause they are breaking the laws with the 4wheelers. However it will suck even more for them after the Game and Fish was called..
Okay, this happened once more than we got onto a spot that was not being shot up or was all that skittish, but by that time the wind was about 40kts and made it kinda sucky shooting. Never the less, was good to get back out. Time to pack er in for the day….
Day #2: Got up early, beat the “others†to a preferred spot. Held a Red Mist Conference on who’s going where and what direction is safe to shoot, loaded up the 204 gear and took off determined to make up for the previous day. I was not to let myself down. You could say I got into em. 90% of my shots were in the 2-300 range some farther and some closer. I got a couple of doubles and took out 4 brethren of 5 from one mound. Shooting was so good I had to practice serious restraint regarding barrel heat. I could have melted that tube right off the receiver. I had brought 160 rds in my pack and after about 4 hours, my ammo supply and water was gone. I was pooped, but smiling all the way back to the truck.
Upon getting back to the truck, there was some extra company that my BIL’s uncle had successfully kept out of the shooting zone for us. And they had these really big rifles set up. I said to self, those look like 50’s. Sure enough they were. To sum it up, the two guys had two 50’s and all but demanded we shoot em a couple of times. Well, who am I to disrespect others. Somebody had to go first and I bravely volunteered my BIL’s Uncle as he was dang near wetting himself being that close to such armament. After watching him pull the trigger a few times, we all manned up and took our turn. Twas fun and a good experience, but honestly, after 3 shots your head is rattled. Not from the recoil as it was near an 06 level, not from the big push as that was like shooting a 45-70, but from the freaking concussion. Whoa, if you ever get the chance to watch one being lit off, watch the ground in a 10’ dia circle. The dirt actually jumps about an 1†from the shock wave. Regardless, it was a heck of an experience and awfully nice of the guys to let 4 complete strangers play with their toys.
Day 3 was spent just laid back kinda shooting and a lot of exploring. We were lucky enough to be able to stay at a friend of the BIL’s family ranch. It was a working ranch and encompassed 35k acres. It was sure sweet glassing speed goats, mulies, whities, turkeys and beautiful horses. It was a fantastic weekend.
Man, I cant wait till next time..
My 204 performed like the flawless death ray it is, real happy with the 34gr Midsouth Varmint Extremes and I satisfied any urge I had to shoot a 50 BMG.. Oh yeah, I killed a big rock with the 50..
Just a fantastic time with friends and family in beautiful country.. Thanks for letting me share.
Nodak
