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Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 11:16 am
by Rick in Oregon
After only a couple of weeks at this time of year, the fields really green-up quickly, and alfalfa grows and starts to obscure the squirrels. As mentioned earlier, the shooting becomes very challenging and offers only "head & shoulders" shooting. Hitting a squirrels head at 400+ yards really becomes an effort with a CF like the 204 or any other caliber.

We shoot from fixed bench positons for as long as the crop length will allow, then resort to "drive-by" shooting out the truck windows using our Ruger 10-22's and WW 40gr Power Points, which really tears up the squirrels, launching small ones a foot in the air inside of 40 yards. This type of shooting is legal here, but only on private property, which all of the ranch is of course. We normally drive the edges of the irrigation pivots, taking targets of opportunity when they poke their little heads up....quick action, ALOT of fun. :D

Now that the fields have really greened-up, the shooting is harder, but the place is beautiful:

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Yours truly on an early morning at the bench on the hill:

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Some might wonder about all the gear "necessary" just to shoot squirrels from afar:

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With a severe back injury long ago, bending over for every little thing is not possible for me, so an "accessory table" keeps everything at hand. My mates liked the idea so much, they all use a table for their extra gear now too. No lost camo accessories in the grass now. ;)

A shot of our last day of bench shooting, as the alfalfa was now too long to make it worth setting up benches any longer, as the squirrels were just too hard to see out there any more:

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We stowed our 223's, 204's, and 20VT, got out the 10-22's again for the remaining four days. THEN we got the best news ever.......we now had permission to shoot "The Valley of Death", a beautiful valley hidden away in back of the ranch that HAD NEVER BEEN SHOT! It was infested with squirrels from end to end, and we had four days to work it over, along with the alfalfa pivot edges. We were in Rat Heaven. :eek:

Here's a shot of our 10-22 battery.....all are tricked out with Volquartson innards, some with graphite/SS barrels for walkabouts:

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During these rimfire shoots, we each can easily go through 1,000 rounds of ammo in a couple of days, sometimes sooner, the shooting is that hot. We have raptors circling above all the time waiting for their meals. Here's a hawk sitting on an old corral post at the top of the hill at the enterance of The Valley of Death:

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Cresting the hill into the valley, Dan (Rat Force One) acting as tail gunner in the back:

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Bottom of the hill in the valley bottom at the H-bar gate. The valley got it's new name that day.....and for good reason. Sure was a nice place to spend the day with friends and rifles (and LOTS of squirrels!):

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A young squirrel wondering what all the fuss is about (he found out shortly thereafter...... ;) ):

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Garth takes a turn at tail gunner:

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Yours truly as waist gunner, using "Heavy Helga", my Clark Custom 10-22 with Boyd's thumbhole stock, 16.5" Douglas Match barrel and Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8X......great squirrel medicine:

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Helga resting on a fence post between shots:

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At the bottom of the hill entering the valley, there's a gate with a steel H-bar gate. We dismounted and used the post tops with our window bags and proceeded to snipe squirrels on both sides of the valley. Dan saw a squirrels WAY out there, so started working on it with his Ruger. Not sure how many shots transpired, but the WHOO-HOO told us all he made the hit........at a lasered 255 yards no less!

Here's Dan working on that unlucky squirrel:

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And the proud shooter with his LR rimfire trophy. The steel H-bar gate can be seen in the background.....255 yards distant:

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To illustrate just how good those WW Power Points work on these varmints, check out this large adult squirrel hit at 45 yards with one.....he didn't go far at all....pretty good performing 22LR HP ammo:

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"Lola" with a 141 yard squirrel, the last one shot that day...not much expansion at that range though:

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I had shot a large squirrel at 65 yards that flipped and went down his hole on my walkabout. When I got to his hole, this is how he appeared:

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And the last squirrel shot during our ranch stay with 'Lola' during my walkabout that day:

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We usually end up each day with some defensive pistol drills at the gravel pit, now dubbed the "pistol range". Garth is hot with his Glock or one of his .38 revolvers, having trained at Thunder Ranch on many occasions. Here he is with his Glock, giving the steel bad guys a bad day:

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And a parting shot of yours truly, thumping the steel meanies with my Kimber daily carry piece, my Ultra Carry CDP II in .45 ACP, shooting 230gr ball handloads. If ya carry, ya gotta practice!

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It has been a grand rat season so far, but now the alfalfa is too long to see the little critters, so now it's on to rock chucks. Time to warm up my "walking 204", my Kimber 84M Varmint on the local beasties. Hope you all are having a great 2012 varmint season, and enjoyed taking the time to check out ours. :D

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 11:22 am
by Bill K
Thanks for sharing.. Looks like a blast. Bill K

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 11:59 am
by RAMOS
Do you guys hit it again after each cutting of hay?

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 12:43 pm
by Rick in Oregon
RAMOS wrote:Do you guys hit it again after each cutting of hay?
By the time the stuff is cut, it's so bleedin' hot, that the majority of the squirrels have gone down for the season, and the ones that remain all go down by around 09:00 because of the heat. It's not worth the fuel costs by then for the amount of shooting usually available by that time.

I shoot some small local ranches here for squirrels and chucks through the summer up until about early July just for "rodent removal" from horse pastures and the like, but no more full-scale rat patch assaults like the ones we do at the ranch out east of here. By that time, the squirrels are about all gone, and only the rock chucks remain for about another month. By mid-August, all the chucks are down for the year too. Time to go fishing/camping unless I can talk wifey into a "prairie dog vacation" in Montana again. (For many years we went to MT, SD & WY for PD's when fuel was 'reasonable'.)

You guys out east have some great summer shooting, as I've shot chucks in TN and VA in the dead of summer there, thinking all the time that all our rock chucks have already gone to sleep. Then there's the PD states get targets all summer too. So many targets, so little time....... :chin:

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 2:39 pm
by RAMOS
Interesting, we have sage rats here in Sherman County, never really gone after them for lack of free time so I don't know their habits. Other than coyotes for me, it is mainly California Ground Squirrels (yes, in Oregon. We call them grey diggers) and rockchucks. Although it slows down when it gets hot, it is usually pretty good until the mercury pushes past 85. Next door, in Wasco County there are no rockchucks but, the grey diggers are like ticks on a dog! When I was a kid it was common to go through a brick of Blazer 22LR's in a weekend w/ a bolt action rifle. Now, much of that ground has gone from hay to orchard and it is much harder to hunt. The diggers have adapted well and are still there, however. More like being an urban vs. long range sniper.

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 3:45 pm
by Sth Oz Dan
Nice selection of Rugers! Those short barrels must make it easy to swing out the windows.
Never been shot before :eek: There must have been a few BIG grins when you heard that. Lucky boys.
Thanks for taking the time to do the write up - much appreciated

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 6:44 pm
by bow shot
Beautiful!!! Thanks for the pics RIO!

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 9:42 pm
by WY-NEvarmints
I bet that raptor would take up a collection for your fuel costs if he could. I never tire of seeing that CF on your bench, she's a beaut! Sad to hear your rat season is nearing the 'just wait until next year' phase but glad that you guys were able to get out there and do that in our great country that allows such things.
The little prairie dogs are out good now and just as ignorant to the ways of the varmint hunter as they always have been. The boss is heading to his home state of MT to shoot the Richardson ground squirrels this weekend and needed his 22 hornet loads fire formed to the K chamber. I couldn't help but plop a few little ones and their parents in doing so for him. It just seems like a party foul not to when they stand there and watch you with a weapon in your hands.
We are planning to have a hoot shooting em full of SBKs, V-Max, and what ever else we have loaded up. It looks like Mother Nature is going to stick to her guns and give us the traditional Memorial Day rain that all the farmers and ranchers have been hoping for, along with the wind that all but the windmills could do without. Either way, I am looking forward to meeting some fellow 204UM members and having a great time out doors. We may have to fill the time waiting for the sun to pop out, should that happen, calling in a yote or two.
Hopefully we will have a bunch of photo's and stories to post on here in the next few days. Enjoyed reading yours and looking at the great pictures.

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 9:53 am
by Rick in Oregon
WY-NEvarmints wrote:Hopefully we will have a bunch of photo's and stories to post on here in the next few days. Enjoyed reading yours and looking at the great pictures.
WY-NE: Thanks buddy, and I hope your PD season goes well, and the Weather Gods smile on you for a good shoot. Looking forward to seeing your adventure soon.

Oh, and I too wish those raptors would take up a fuel collection! Sheesh, the stuff is like liquid gold any more. But they eat for free.....at one time when we returned to the field the next day after shooting, there were an estimated 200 crows, hawks, golden and bald eagles circling and chowing down on the moribund rats left from the preceeding day. Those guys got it good, but hey, they're the namesake of our little crew:

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Have a good shoot feeding your raptors there! :wink:

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 11:07 am
by Song Dog
Nice PICS!!!!!

Also love the flags!!!

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 4:58 pm
by hemiallen
Looks like tons of Fun Rick. Thanks for the 2 part story.


Hoping I can get another hunt in this year, back in Upstate NY right now, home for a week and back here again makes planning another trip before it gets too hot difficult, but hoping in 2 yrs retirement will fix that problem.

If my 17 Cooper doesn't respond to a range day, it may go back and if they deem it needs a new tube I may get my 17 FB sooner than later. That 10 Oz trigger swap was a good purchase, but not as nice as my Jewells at 8 oz.

Are your settings in inches or clicks for your tall cap Leupolds? I was good setting my gun zero at 200, but we didn't try any of them in the neighbors fields in Alturas...lol


I did see a field the day after some others shot, all we saw were crows everywhere. I wonder if the next day a person needs to launch a few to get the "leftovers" to come out for the second day of fun? We found one that wasn't gun shy and entered the path of a bullet , landing where we were still killing vermin.


Allen

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 5:19 pm
by 204cat
thank you for the story. and the good pics.

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 8:22 pm
by Sidewinderwa
Wow, what a trip! Great pictures. Other than being so jealous, I feel like I have been on the trip with you. Thanks for the fix, it has been pretty dismal around my area. So which rifle / caliber was your favorite for this trip?

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 12:17 am
by Bodei
Be careful shooting "crows" unless you are an expert in bird ID between ravens & crows. Check your local state laws re:crows, CA has a season. If you're on private, it may be possible to do it under depredation laws.

Re: Fun with Skippy in 2012 Pt. 2 (The Valley of Death)

Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 6:30 am
by ryutzy
Thanks 4 sharing Rio! Looks like a lotta fun