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The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:45 am
by Rick in Oregon
Been gone for a while down in N. California for our 12th Annual Rat Rodeo, held at a friend's 2,800 acre alfalfa ranch that's infested with our little friend, Skippy and his pals. This is no small matter, as this rancher looses over $200K a year to the squirrels, so removing them is his (and our) prime directive. As he says every time we arrive "kill 'em all!"

Our first setup was on a hill we shot from last year that overlooks rich rock chuck habitat via a huge acient rock outcropping, and many acres of fresh-cut alfalfa and cattle pasture grass. We use "surgical shooting techniques" in order to shoot near or around the cattle, as nobody wants hooves pointing skyward the next morning.

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To start the fun, I used my Cooper M21 VT "Rosa" in 223 Rem with 40gr Nosler BT's over my pet 223 load of 27.5grs H335 & Rem 7.5 in Norma cases for right at 3,700 fps.

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Matt working over the squirrels with his M700 VS in 223 and 40gr BT's. He got the rifle when in high school, we estimate it's killed over 8,000 squirrels in the 17 years he's been shooting it:

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Only bummer about this trip was it was freakin' HOT! Temps ranged from 88*F to 94*F in the shade, so keeping our barrels cool was a real chore. I ruin a nice hat sweating in no time, so it was "bandana-boy" for me the entire trip. Skippy didn't seem to mind a bit.

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Because of limited targets this year as a result of late cut and lousy wet weather, we had to split up into small shooting groups to ensure everyone got decent shooting. Here's Rat Force Once by himself in a vast squirrel infested new alfalfa pivot...talk about lots of room...

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That next day, my nephew Matt and I decided to shoot "the pennsula"on the lake to take advantage of the breeze off the water to cool us down. It also has a nice high hill for an elevated shooting positon (USMC style), and a good population of squirrels.

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From our sniping hill, we had a great view of Mount Shasta to the west:

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My Cooper MTV or "Wicked Wanda" in 204 was up for this longer shooting using 32gr SBK's over 26.5grs of RL-10X for 4,030 fps. We worked on some rats on the opposite shore of the lake at 528 yards, and both Matt and I got first shot hits using our come-up charts and SBK's.

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This is the view at 528 yards to the other shore:

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A squirrel's eye view of our benches up the hill through the wild flowers:

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What post would not be complete without some action pics of Skippy learning to fly? Well, here's some shots of his efforts. Skippy can be seen standing in the grass low right of the sprinkler head prior to his liftoff:

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Liftoff:

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Set glide path, prepare for landing:

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Back in camp in the evening, our host entertains Rat Force One and Futuretrades telling tall tales of cowboy stuff:

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Yours truly the next day out on the point looking for more targets of opportunity with Wicked Wanda close by my side. In all, I only fired 260 rounds during this shoot, about 1/3 the usual amount, all due to lousy spring weather and too much rain. It still beat being at home by a long shot though! ;)

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A parting shot of Skippy traveling in all directions at the end of the shoot.

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Skippy's Revenge: The wind came up 10 minutes prior to tear-down, and it blew Matt's brand new sunshade ($119) half way to the lake. It was toast, so he had to stand in the 94*F hot sun for his final cleaning....it appears Skippy got partially even....partially anyway. ;)

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We're already looking forward to next years shoot, but we'll plan that one earlier for better conditions at the ranch. Hope you enjoyed tagging along. :D Now to get all those nice shiny 223 and 204 cases out of the tumbler and get started all over again. Good stuff!

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:39 am
by ADH
great narrative and pics as always pops. glad you and matt had a good time together, someday in the future, i will be right along side you two. thanks for the trip into the field, even though it was through pictures.

andy

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:00 pm
by Ray P
RIO......... WTG Spectactular pics and a great a great write up. Glade to see you made it both ways safe and sound.
Rick ? You find the 32 fly better to the 500+ yards than the 39's?

Andy........you got to get in some of the pics with your dad! He need some competition!! :wink:
Thanks again for share......wish I could have been part of your RAT Rodeo..................60 or 260 shots its still a great time out with friends.
Later
Ray P

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:47 pm
by Rick in Oregon
Ray P wrote:Rick ? You find the 32 fly better to the 500+ yards than the 39's?
Ray - Nope, but I only shoot 32's through my 12 twist Cooper 204, and that's what was on the bench when the targets started to appear across the lake at 528 yards. I finished up the day shooting "The Silver Princess of Death" or my 11 twist M700 204 and 39 SBK's for the longer stuff in the afternoon wind. Now THAT combination really shines in those conditions. She also loves the 40gr Nosler BT. :wink:

Here's SPOD after cooling off while I was packing up for the day. The Jewell trigger makes shooting this baby a pure joy on very small targets. (Sorry about the dull pic in the shade, but was way too hot to be in the direct sun with warm barrels and fried bodies! )

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I need to talk to Captcq about those cabana girls to keep our barrels clean and cool though...... :chin:

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:29 pm
by bullfrog
Truly awesome pics. It helps us who's schedules don't allow much spring shooting to live vicariously through you guys, even if you didn't get to shoot as much as normal. Of course, now you don't have to reload as much for the next trip!
Glad you guys had a great time.

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:27 pm
by Sidewinderwa
Rick, another good trip, thanks for taking us along with you. Always look forward to your pictures and stories. I did not get to shoot any sage rats this year. My trip to Baker was a bust, too late in the year I think??? Will give it a try in Montana at the end of the month. Thanks again for the post.

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:26 pm
by majcl5
Great story and pics Rick. We havent been back over east and our farmer said he hasent seen many rats i dont know why w/ as many as we seen earlier this year. Its not like they had a bunch of hot hot weather to keep the rats down. We may head over in a week or so if the hays not to high.
How does S.P.O.D do in comparison to the new Cooper?

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 8:13 am
by scootertrash
Thanks for the report and pictures my friend! Looks like a great place to shoot, and glad you all enjoyed. By the way, you're looking good these days.......maybe it's the "do-rag"!

Mike

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 8:40 am
by Rick in Oregon
majcl5 wrote:How does S.P.O.D do in comparison to the new Cooper?
If you mean compare in terms of accuracy, they're both sub-quarter minute rifles with their respective loads. I only shoot 32's in the Cooper ("Wicked Wanda"), and SPOD was built soley for the intention of shooting 39's and 40's, so it's hard to quantify a comparison....one is nice wood, the other synthetic....hard to compare, know what I mean? But I do love 'em both. ;)
Sidewinderwa wrote:Will give it a try in Montana at the end of the month.
Good luck with the weather on the trip, be sure to remember your camera!
bullfrog wrote:Truly awesome pics. It helps us who's schedules don't allow much spring shooting to live vicariously through you guys, even if you didn't get to shoot as much as normal. Of course, now you don't have to reload as much for the next trip!
bullfrog: I'm still making up for lost time from a couple of years ago. I figure the "Rat Gods" owe me at least a few 'courtesy shots' to make up for all the time spent wishing I was upright and vertical and out there with a rifle. I'll try to get out more so "we" can have a time of it.
scootertrash wrote:Thanks for the report and pictures my friend! Looks like a great place to shoot, and glad you all enjoyed. By the way, you're looking good these days.......maybe it's the "do-rag"!
Mike
Thanks, Mike....feelin' good too. 'Course I always feel better with a nice varmint rifle in my hands. That place is like shooting in Varmint Valhalla. I sure wish you could have joined us, but know well the reasons why not. You were there in spirit, and a few rats were launched in your honor. Don't know about the 'do-rag' though, truly, it was more of 'sweat rag' the entire four days. :eew:

Hope you're feelin' okay. :D

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:33 am
by majcl5
Yea i was just wondering on accuracy between the two rifles

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:17 pm
by Gube
As usual nice write up and pics Rick. I'm currently in BC right now chasing "chinook salmon" for a couple of weeks. I still plan on chasing skippy at least one or two more times this season when I get back. :twisted: I found a new field that's just crawling with the little buggers. :eek:

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:14 am
by Rick in Oregon
Gube wrote:As usual nice write up and pics Rick. I'm currently in BC right now chasing "chinook salmon" for a couple of weeks. I still plan on chasing skippy at least one or two more times this season when I get back. :twisted: I found a new field that's just crawling with the little buggers. :eek:
Gube: "Poaching" salmon in BC eh? How do the locals feel about this transgression? :lol: Hey, when you get back over the hump to that new field, don't leave us out....remember your camera!

Remember too.....we love smoked salmon........ ;) Hope you have a great time of it during your trip.

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:38 am
by hueys66
Nice work, Rick! Looks like it was a great trip

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:06 am
by Rick in Oregon
Okay hueys66, now that we know you have a 204 in addition to that Swift, are you going to use it to teach Skippy to jump? We already know you can shoot...... ;)

Really Travis, what 204 did you end up with? :chin:

Re: The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 6:53 am
by hueys66
Rick, I am always willin to learn to tricks to shootin. I ended up with the Rem 700 VLS with a Lupy 6.5-20 w/ M1's. A good friend suggested them to me ;) . It is almost too nice of stock for me, since I spend most of my time if not all in the back country. It is a go to the field and shoot kind of rig. Them rats think I am a gymnastics instructor with it :lol: