Cant wait

[Bill K]

Glad you had a nice trip and shoot Backstabber and enjoyed it.
I am like Rick, I would not enjoy shooting with a bunch on a war wagon like that, but that is just me. And I would think you could locate some pivots and places, by asking around, and not have to pay and hunt in the manner you did. I am sure some ranchers in the area would just allow you in to aid in ridding their fields of rats.

I made a trip this morning into one of my area rimrock/sage/canyons and took out seven chucks and five large/fat ring neck squirrels. Shot the CZ in 17HMR and my one Savage in 20 Tac. Short shots, under 150yrds HMR did the trick, out from there to the 354 mark the 20 Tac.
Have a few photos of the area and wish I could walk up into the rocks to get photo's of the chucks, but being out there alone and if I fell, at my age, and was injured, no one would be able to help me, so no attempt.
And not being able to post photos on this site, other than in my album on header, as Rick would say, "No photo, did not happen" But it did, had a great morning, also saw several groups of mulies moving back in for summer range, a few pronghorn and even a flock of sage hen, just to help cap off the outing. Bill K

Was able to load a few shots of the outing.

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[BackStabber]

First off we have made a deal that we go on our own no guide. We have no more than 4 of us and we are all friends or work together, that part is fun some friendly competition and "did you see that" sort of thing. Shooting from the stand is ok, you have good line of sight but it is a little bouncy if to many people are hopping around. You will notice the white pickup that is mine, we are allowed to tow their stand around. There aren't to many people that get that opportunity. As far as paying I wont get into who pays but I don't know any one over there and you sure haven't invited me so that's what we do. I love to shoot and some one tell me about any other shooting you could do that is this much fun. I don't see my self driving around trying to find land owners who will let us shoot. May be some day I can move over in that direction but when your choices are limited you do what you have to do. Its something I look forward too all year. Maybe we can get together for coffee and discuss further in person a few phone numbers of these friendly ranchers would be nice as well. :{)

[Bill K]

Sounds like you have and made a better deal than what I thought. We all do what we must to enjoy this sport and to get out after those critters, for sure. Thank you for the better understanding and your information.

[Varmint Shooter]

BS,
Glad you had a nice outing with your friends, fun and enjoyment. That's what it's about.
To heck with those that don't like your way of getting out and enjoying the weekend.

[Rick in Oregon]

BS, Glad you had a nice outing with your friends, fun and enjoyment. That's what it's about.
To heck with those that don't like your way of getting out and enjoying the weekend.

VS: You're missing the entire point here. Every time a shooter pays these "outfitters" who run the "gang-bucket" style of pay to shoot, they are also helping tie up even more private land to local shooters who have shot these areas for decades. There are ranches we used to shoot for free for years that are now locked up to everyone unless you pay these guys to stand in a bucket with ten other guys, all trying to shoot squirrels at the same time, maybe the same rat. To us, this is not only a very crude way to enjoy the sport, but also problematic and the crowded scene destroys the overall enjoyment of the activity.

This is just another example of our sport being taken away from us unless you want to pay for something you've done for free your entire life. We understand it's hard making a living on these ranches, but the ranches we shoot on have a very negative view of those who charge for the privilege of rat shooting. We found the ranches we shoot on for free the old fashioned way, knocking on doors and introducing ourselves. If they like you, you get to shoot. It's not rocket science, and promotes free shooting for everyone.

Maybe walk in our shoes before disparaging us. How would you feel if your prime shooting areas all got locked up and you had to pay to use your own rifle?

[BackStabber]

Maybe walk in our shoes before disparaging us. How would you feel if your prime shooting areas all got locked up and you had to pay to use your own rifle?
[/quote]

I meant no disrespect and I get what you are saying. There is absolutely no way I have a chance at finding ground I have tried in the past. So what you are saying is because you live there that you should shoot and the rest of us that are from the west should stay home. I don't think there is an easy answer but if you would like to share your fields I would gladly stop paying. I think that there are a lot of people in Hardy county that appreciate the business. The restaurants, bars and ranchers not to mention the outfitters and those that work for them. If I lived over there I would probably say the same thing you are. I love the sport and and am passionate about it in fact I spend all winter getting my guns ready for a 4 week period. I guess what I am saying is that there isn't an easy answer that will make all happy. How would you handle it?

Again it is a difficult situation and I completely understand your view No hard feelings here. You guys did sound pretty negative in your replies so I can also understand where VS is coming from.


Last but not least I had a great time and a big part of that was being around the local people and there great attitudes.

[Rick in Oregon]

Last but not least I had a great time and a big part of that was being around the local people and there great attitudes.

BS, no hard feelings buddy, I also understand your point of view and feelings. No disrespect intended, and I'm glad you had a grand time of it. I've said for years "it's the most fun you can have with a rifle". And thanks for the kind words about "us locals" too.

It just pains us to see what we all love has morphed into. Sign of the times? Maybe. Not enough prime places left? Maybe. Too many of us trying to enjoy the same thing with different means and or expectations? Most likely.

Truth be known, I've probably hosted more of you from "over there" over the years than you will ever realize. Some of these guys have become some of my long time rat shootin' buddies over the years. I wish I could still invite others to shoot with us, but the truth is that now all our rancher buddies only want our 'core crew', that is basically four or five guys. In the 'old days' (not so long ago), we used to have our annual Rat Rodeo and have as many as 25 shooters all camped and shooting together for a week or more at a time. BBQ's, friends, beaucoup squirrels, great fun.

But now the amount of these places is very limited due to pay-to-shoot enterprises locking up entire blocks of ranches. So the places that remain are coveted as you'd imagine. All this is fine for out of towners, but not so great for all the guys who've lived here most of our lives, taken it all for granted, done it all for free and never gave it a thought.

Guess we'll all just have to sort it out.

[bronad]

Bill k: glad you’re getting in some good shooting, its been very good with the young one getting some size to them before we left for house hunting, but the alfalfa was growing. We are back and tomorrow I’ll shoot against some hillsides to overcome the alfalfa growth. Going out to some rim rock areas for the willy Rock Chuck also.

I will stay out of the war wagon/pay for play discussion, but will say I talked to shooters from Seattle, and other parts of Oregon and Washington not to mention Southern Ca. this year.