The economic slowdown has my shop cut back to a 4 day work week, which is fine with me. I spent friday at the range doing some ladder testing for my newly installed Shilen barrel. It was a lot of walking out to 200 yards and back but luckily being a friday I pretty much had the rifle bays to myself. Shot my test ammo and then rezeroed it on some 32 Gr V-Max that were loaded for the previous barrel, they printed sub-MOA so decided to go ahead and shoot them rather than pull them.
Here is a pic of the business end of my new barrel. The bull barrel is not really necessary but I love the look.
Saturday was terrific weather just a light breeze most of the day, with a high of about 31 C (88 F) in the afternoon. Skippy was out and keeping me busy till the temp climbed up then I BBQed a burger and read a few chapters from a novel. Most of my shots were under 200 yards and this was the first time I had hunted in this little valley this year so I got 48 kills out of 50 shots using ammo developed for the other barrel, plus 15-20 more with my .22LR. Plus one magpie who was unaware that 150 yards may be safe from a shot gun but not a .204 Ruger. As the rancher described "The gophers are fat and sassy this time of year" so they made spectacular sights and sounds all day long. In this particular area they were all Columbian Ground Squirrels and some of the bigger ones would be nearly as big as a Prairie Dog, sadly I may only have one more weekend left before they go back underground to hibernate.
Anyways enough of that, I know you guys like to see pictures......
This fella left some baggage behind during his first flight.
He appears to be saying, "WTF! Why is my stomach over there??"
If his head were still attached he would appear to be peacefully sleeping.
Taking a note from Silverfox's I include a "Hero Shot". I had time and needed a bit of exercise so after every 5-10 shots I gathered up the bodies I could find for a good photo op.
Its not all carnage, see even a photo of a butterfly
I spent Sunday visiting my sister and her family at their new home then returned to the area for more shooting on Monday. Weather was fine in the morning, the rancher was moving a small herd of cattle behind where I was set up. It made for a nice photo with the wild flowers in the foreground and green hills in the background.
However by noon the wind picked up, temp dropped to 15 C (60F)and I decided to head back to the city. These pictures are just 25 minutes south of area where I shoot so you get an idea that wind is often a factor.
Its raining now, and the forecast is to rain all week long until Sunday, which is bad for my shooting plans and even worse for the rancher and his hay that is down. Hopefully it will change for the better and more varminting will be in store, I just hate it when a season draws to a close
.
No self respecting rat would be caught above ground in this kind of sweltering heat. Maybe those critters know something?
Thanks for sharing. Gary
