The 12th Annual Rat Rodeo - 204 Style

[Rick in Oregon]

A Remmy VLS eh? Nice. Don't take this part personally Travis, especially the name calling.....but....



How about it? The rifle sounds like a nice setup, we just wanna see it!

[Clint E]

RIO nice story and pics enjoyed the reading .

[Rick in Oregon]

Clint: Thanks buddy. That was our last shoot of the year for our ground squirrels, now we're off into the sunset. We'll have rock chucks available for about another month, then it's time to think about big game again. You guys back in the central and east portions of the country are fortunate in that you have woodchucks available all summer. Funny how they're all varmints, but all have such different schedules.

Now it's time for tweaking loads, and loading up all this seasons fired rat brass......

[Clint E]

Actually RIO in our area we dont have many of those critters .A few g-hogs are seen every once in a while but scatter at first site.I think Melvin elimated them all years ago other than that we have tree rats and water rats. As far as big game all we have are whitetail deer cant even shoot them with a hpr.
Maybe one of these days i will make it out west to see those majastic mountions you always capture with your camera and hunt real big game like elk and ram.

[Rick in Oregon]

Well Clint, save those extra nickles for a trip out west someday. Only caveat I'll offer is that if you come out here to hunt or shoot varmints, you'll want to move out here as well. In truth, over 35 years ago, I moved here just for the excellent varmint shooting.....the fact that the big game and bird hunting was also spectacular just sealed the move for me, and I've been here ever since.

Glad you enjoyed the post, thanks for your kind comments. Now I need to see about some rock chucks not far from here that need thinning.....

[Silverfox]

RIO--thanks for the photos and narrative. I sure enjoyed the report.

I've only been out after prairie dogs two times this summer, on May 15 and again on June 15. Last year, I had been out five times by July 2!! I'm slipping!!! When I want to go out it is either blowing 30 mph or raining, so I stay home The two times I have been out, I have had other prairie dog shooters come into the dog town. On the first outing I had only one group come in, turn around and leave. The next time I was out, I had three parties come into the dog town I was in. I had my pickup parked in plain sight, so there was no chance they didn't know I was in the dog town. The first one came in on an ATV and took a few shots before heading back out of the town. The next fellow drove around in the dog town for about 10 minutes, took a few shots, and left. The last guy drove almost all the way up to where I had my pickup parked, turned around and left.

We have lots of oilfield workers from out of state. They make big bucks working and no doubt have spent some of that cash on rifles and nice pickups and spend a lot of their spare time in the North Dakota prairie dog towns. I long for the days when I was one of the few people out there pottin' prairie poodles. I have a several prairie dog towns on private land that I'll be heading out to the next time I go out.

Thanks again for the great report. I'll have to get the report on my huntst written up and posted.

[Malazan]

I just got back from my parents place in OR. My dad and I went to Fort Rock for three days and shot Sage Rats in the Alfalfa fields.

It was my first time shooting these critters, I'm hooked

I got to try out my new .204, and when I ran out of rounds for it, I went to my dads .17 Fireball.

Only trouble was, my dad got some reloads from my uncle that gave him some trouble when they were in MT. Hard to open bolt, popped primers, etc.

He thought he had gotten rid of them all, but when I asked for a new box of .17, he handed me one and low and behold he missed a box of those loads. I touched the first one off and something hit me in the face, and I tried to extract the shell and it wouldn't extract. The spent shell came out easy enough with a cleaning rod, so I chambered another round from a known good batch and touched it off. Everything was fine except the shell wouldn't again extract.

We examined the bolt and noticed the extractor was bent and would not grasp the shell. So the .17 Fireball was retired. I then had to go to my .17HMR. It was fun, but I had to pass on the longer shots.

My dad felt terrible about missing that other box of shells. But everything turned out alright, and I had a great time.

By the way, the .17 Fireball is a Cooper, and they told my dad not to sweat it, that they would take care of it. That's customer service.

Hey, Rick, where about's do you live? And where do you do most of your shooting? Fort Rock and Christmas Valley look like the surface of the moon compared to where your at.

Also, my dad has one of your benches you designed. I love it. He said I can't get one like it anymore though

[Joe O]

Good stuff Rick.Thanks.

[Rick in Oregon]

I just got back from my parents place in OR. My dad and I went to Fort Rock for three days and shot Sage Rats in the Alfalfa fields. It was my first time shooting these critters, I'm hooked

Hey, Rick, where about's do you live? And where do you do most of your shooting? Fort Rock and Christmas Valley look like the surface of the moon compared to where your at.

Also, my dad has one of your benches you designed. I love it. He said I can't get one like it anymore though

Malazan: Welcome to the addiction! I'm still 'suffering' from it now going on 42 years. All of our shooting is done on private property, but I don't give up shooting locations on the world-wide web....hope you understand. We shot the two locations you mention for years, but the shooting is just not what it used to be there, so I've moved on to greener pastures in the past few years with more targets and less shooters.

I also shoot a 17 Mach IV (Sako Vixen/Shilen/McMillan/Leupold), so understand the fun you had with the 17FB. It's another one of those perfectly tailored calibers for PD's or ground squirrels.....one of my favorites.

If you want one of the original style BR Pivots, you can still get the Butcher Block model from MidwayUSA. All parts are available from Battenfield Technologies if needed.

Glad you guys had a great shoot.

[Melvin Eades]

Rick,

Looks like a fun time. I enjoyed the pictures and story as always. Thanks for sharing. Thank goodness squirrel season starts here Sunday, it's been real boring here this summer with only moles in the yard to stalk but I have thinned the herd!

[Rick in Oregon]

Melvin: Glad you enjoyed the little adventure down in Calif. As for those moles.....I've gottem' too! Can't put mole bait out in the yard because of "the girls", Rose and Lucy. With their noses, they get into everything, so short of sitting out there in a lawn chair with my Beeman R-10, I'm out of ideas.....got any good "mole-be-gone" tricks to share?

Hound dog noses..............they find everything!

[Mike]

got any good "mole-be-gone" tricks to share?

Rick: These have proven to be quite effective. As long as the pups won't hurt themselves, I'd give them a whirl.

http://www.victorpest.com/store/mole-an ... ol/b0645-2

[Clint E]

Rick i didnt know you was a basset guy .
I use to compation rabbit hunt bassets when trained right they will run stride for stride with a good beagle.
Train them to kill moles it never hurts to have extra holes in the yard

How can you say no to those sad eyes

[Rick in Oregon]

Rick: These have proven to be quite effective. As long as the pups won't hurt themselves, I'd give them a whirl.

Mike....those things even look nasty! I may check them out, but they have to be "hound-dog proof", as the girls are 'free ranging Bassets' '

Rick i didnt know you was a basset guy .How can you say no to those sad eyes

Clint: Yep, been a houndsman for many years. I like the fact that I can come in the door, and just one look at their faces make me smile. As for saying 'no', that's why most Basset Hounds are so spoiled......but mine aren't.....no way.....not mine........

[Captqc]

Having visited the Casa de Rick on several occasions I can attest to the fact that those puppies ARE VERY Spoiled!!! Gary