Back from South Dakota.

[kenyonh]

First I'd like to say that I don't like to join forums because they are usually full of meatheads that would rather ridicule than advise. My hats off to you all for the support of the sport and the open mindedness. I've been pulling an enormous amount of info from these threads after I bought my Remington 700 VLSS in .204.
The one thing I did not learn was that hand loading 400 rounds for a 4 day trip to SD P-dog hunting trip(my first) was going to lead me to buy factory ammo up there (I'm in SW MO). The shooting was fast and hot. I'm hooked! Not so great at 500 yards but the kill ratio at 300-400 was better than 60%. Those under were hard to miss.
Once I figure out the picture posting, I'll throw some up. Don't have many because I was too busy shooting. I think I need another .204 for a "cool down gun".
Thanks again.

[Hotshot]

One 204 seems to lead to another and sometimes still another. Glad you had such a great time. I've only shot once in South Dakota and it was fun. That factory stuff will provide some more empties to load. Now you can start planning next year.

[Captqc]

Greg, welcome to the forum! If you want to save some money and still have fun while your .204 cools off try a .17HMR. They are good out to around 200 yards. Of course you could just get another .204 Gary

[Mike]

Hey Greg, you're a local!

Where did you go in South Dakota? Last year I went with some friends to Wyoming and had a great time shooting prairie poodles.

[kenyonh]

A friend of mine down here has a contact through the net up in Mobridge,SD(north central). He found some private land for us to stomp on and insisted that we stay at his place. All of his people up there were confused as to why a couple of Missouri boys here so excited about the "red mist". I guess since they see them all the time it's no big deal. Was to us, we're already talking about dates for next year. The hospitality up there was great, they don't see very many "out-of-towners".
We didn't know quite what to expect so we took a lot of guns (.204,.308,.22LR,.22 WINMAG, and a pair of .17HMR's) folding table,chairs, EZ-UP canopy bench vises, video cameras, spotting scopes and a ton of other misc. junk. Most of it stayed in the truck. All we really needed was 2 guns each, ammo, water, sunflower seeds and comforable boots. A lot of walking. I highly recommend a good hat because even though it was not hot (mid 80's), the sun is brutal after 3 hours and no shade for miles. Quite a bit different from the oaks I'm used to hunting.

[Glen]

Welcome to the Forum Grag!! Good to have you here. And you're right about the meatheads. We don't have em,,need em,,or want em here.

[Gube]

After using my first 204 (VLP) in a prairie dog field I was hooked. Went out and got another one (BTVSS) and now my kids are hooked as well. Now I have to go out and pick up another one.

[Keith in Ga]

Kenyonh, looks like you're way ahead of the curve already. I bought my first .204 Cooper last year before our Montana shoot. After putting over 500+ rounds thru it, I also decided I needed another rifle to compliment my .204. I did a lot of homework, called a bunch of folks, pondered over and over of what caliber I wanted. I settled on another .204 Cooper, Phoenix model this time, and both rifles are really accurate. Since I already had dies, bullets, brass, etc., and I wanted a gun to shoot alongside the .204......why not another one! I think you've made a wise decision. Keep us posted!