3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Experiences and effectiveness in hunting with the 204 Ruger.
joghotrod
Senior Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:34 pm
Location: Baton Rouge Area

3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by joghotrod »

Here is a few pictures of my latest trip to shoot PD's. I hope a little carnage is still ok on this forum. :mrgreen: I still have 2 more days of shooting if the weather stays good.

Jimmy

Image
Image
Image
Image
.204 Ruger M77 Mark II Weaver 6-24
.222 Rem. BDL Varmint Leupold VX III 6.5-20
.204 Dtech AR 24 in. 1/9 twist SS Fluted Shilen Barrel with Compensator, Leatherwood 8.5-25 uni-dial Also 1/12 twist Shilen. NRA Life Member
6BR Dtech Upper, Shilen 1/8 twist.
acloco
Senior Member
Posts: 1708
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:53 pm
.204 Ruger Guns: 12FV, 12BVSS -S
Location: Nebraska

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by acloco »

mmmm...looks great. I can see crosshairs now!!!
User avatar
Silverfox
Senior Member
Posts: 937
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:51 pm
.204 Ruger Guns: Savage 12VLP purchased in June 2004 + 2 other custom .204s
Location: NW North Dakota

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by Silverfox »

joghotrod--Thanks for the short report. Looks like you have had a little fun at the expense of a few prairie dogs. Keep the photos coming and let us know which rifles you list in the signature area of your posts are working bese and what bullets are doing the job for you.

Are you hunting on private or public lands? Do the PD populations seem pretty high or has the number of PDs in your hunting area decreased over the last two years?
Catch ya L8R--Silverfox
WaltherP99
Senior Member
Posts: 320
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 4:54 pm
.204 Ruger Guns: Savage Model 12 VLP
Location: Berks County, Pennsylvania

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by WaltherP99 »

Excellent! Hope the rest of the trip goes well for ya! :wtg:
joghotrod
Senior Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:34 pm
Location: Baton Rouge Area

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by joghotrod »

Silverfox wrote:joghotrod--Thanks for the short report. Looks like you have had a little fun at the expense of a few prairie dogs. Keep the photos coming and let us know which rifles you list in the signature area of your posts are working bese and what bullets are doing the job for you.

Are you hunting on private or public lands? Do the PD populations seem pretty high or has the number of PDs in your hunting area decreased over the last two years?
Yes, I am shooting on private land, thanks to one of our forum members. SKB hooked me up about 4 years ago and we go to his sisters place. The number of PD's are about the same as they have been before. But some ranchers are starting to poison some of them now.

I use 39 grain SBK's in my Ruger and 12 twist Dtech AR. I have been using 50 grain Bergers in my 9 twist AR and they all do pretty good. I think I will switch to 40 grain Bergers for 9 twist in the future. I think they will shoot flatter.

Jimmy
.204 Ruger M77 Mark II Weaver 6-24
.222 Rem. BDL Varmint Leupold VX III 6.5-20
.204 Dtech AR 24 in. 1/9 twist SS Fluted Shilen Barrel with Compensator, Leatherwood 8.5-25 uni-dial Also 1/12 twist Shilen. NRA Life Member
6BR Dtech Upper, Shilen 1/8 twist.
skb2706
Senior Member
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2005 1:13 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by skb2706 »

Never mind the "where"....I have Jimmy sworn to secrecy. I can assure you the pics don't do justice to some of the carnage shown in them. Jimmy is a "go and see" kinda guy...lol. Me, not so much. He walks more in one outting than I do in a month, not bad for a guy as young as he is.

Personally I believe the numbers are on a steady decline. More shooters, more poison and plenty of access...not to mention trespassers. A few short years ago in the same fields we could pretty much shoot all day and just pivot around the table. Lately we see fewer animals, shoot farther, spend more time looking and move much more frequently than ever.

We set up basically right in the middle of pd mounds. What I generally look for to have an informed opinion is active mounds vs. abandoned mounds (covered in spider webs or no fresh dirt on top, weeds growing). Also seeing less mounds with multiple targets on top. This time of year there should be dozens of said mounds, small ones all around where now I only see a few in each setup.

Regardless, good shooting Jimmy, hope you had fun. I know I did and look forward to getting back.
TC Contender Carbine
23" MGM Shilen SS barrel
Weaver KT15

TC Contender G2 Carbine
23" factory CM barrel
Mueller 4.5 x 14 Eradicator
joghotrod
Senior Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:34 pm
Location: Baton Rouge Area

Re: 3rd Annual Trip To Co.

Post by joghotrod »

skb2706 wrote:Never mind the "where"....I have Jimmy sworn to secrecy. I can assure you the pics don't do justice to some of the carnage shown in them. Jimmy is a "go and see" kinda guy...lol. Me, not so much. He walks more in one outting than I do in a month, not bad for a guy as young as he is.

Personally I believe the numbers are on a steady decline. More shooters, more poison and plenty of access...not to mention trespassers. A few short years ago in the same fields we could pretty much shoot all day and just pivot around the table. Lately we see fewer animals, shoot farther, spend more time looking and move much more frequently than ever.

We set up basically right in the middle of pd mounds. What I generally look for to have an informed opinion is active mounds vs. abandoned mounds (covered in spider webs or no fresh dirt on top, weeds growing). Also seeing less mounds with multiple targets on top. This time of year there should be dozens of said mounds, small ones all around where now I only see a few in each setup.

Regardless, good shooting Jimmy, hope you had fun. I know I did and look forward to getting back.
We had fun also and we ate good too. What's not to like? I have a lot of reloading to do for next year and I hope the PD's have a very productive year.

Jimmy
.204 Ruger M77 Mark II Weaver 6-24
.222 Rem. BDL Varmint Leupold VX III 6.5-20
.204 Dtech AR 24 in. 1/9 twist SS Fluted Shilen Barrel with Compensator, Leatherwood 8.5-25 uni-dial Also 1/12 twist Shilen. NRA Life Member
6BR Dtech Upper, Shilen 1/8 twist.
Post Reply