Squeaks Snuffed in the Snow
 

I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon and stopped and talked with a local rancher that allows me access to shoot. I dropped off a case of beer (as a thank you), shot the breeze for a few, then started work on continuing the break-in of one of my new Kimber longmaster classic 223 rifles.
https://i.imgur.com/WGuuhgM.jpg




I Killed around 40 squeaks on the snow, longest shot a lasered 285 yards.
Shooting Fiocchi Factory 50gr V max loads, because they are $.035 delivered and they shoot almost as good as reloads.
https://i.imgur.com/NKWTAHF.jpg




Had a nice few hours in that field. Not many squeaks out due to lack of feed and frozen, crunchy snow covering the entire 150 acre parcel. In a few weeks, it will turn on. I did however, manage to get a sunburn on the left side of my face. The bright sun on the snow was blinding.



Then, I went over to meet up with my dad in his hometown. I spent a few hours with the Kimber Montana shooting rocks and confirming my "dope" from 150 out to 600 yards.

I have a Leupold VX Freedom 3-9 on the Kimber Montana with a MOA Reticle that has hash marks for holdover, spaced an even 1 MOA apart, with 20 MOA hold over lines in total. Great scope. 13 MOA hash mark is dead nuts at 600 yds with the Factory Fiocchi 50gr Vmax load.

I was able to kill two squeaks with the montana........two for two.
https://i.imgur.com/W8lfyUs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CH0JW9N.jpg



All in all, a long over due, start to the spring. Next week is in the mid 50's......wooooohooooo!!!

https://i.imgur.com/V6HJKOt.jpg


Little Bugger launched 5 feet left summer-salting...............Gotta love the 223 on squirrels!

That is a good start. Wishing they would start showing around here, so I can get to getting also. :D Thanks for sharing those photo's. Bill K :)

Can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon, beautiful and accurate rifle/s, a few ground squirrels to shoot, what's not to like. Well done!

Thanks guys....cheers to the start of springtime fun. I hope you both enjoy some action of your own real soon. Sunny weather welcome!!

Good read, enjoyed the photos.

Tom

It's definitely warmed up but I still have 8+ inches of snow in my front yard.

Forecast shows highs to be in the mid to upper 50's so it should start burning off fairly fast, but we all know what follows. MUD! And that's not really something I'm looking forward to.

I've talked to some friends that live down around the Boise Id. area and it sounds like they have more and more ground crawlers showing up everyday. Lucky b*stards!

One of these days I need to head over the pass with several of my KoO rifles in tow and meet up with you for some pasture protection.

John

Great work with the Kimbers! Now I really want to move home. I did get my new 1885 Browning 223 sighted in. It sends three touching with my standard H322 load. I have never seen ground squirrels in the snow in Morrow county, maybe I should have looked closer. I am retired now, maybe I can stop and see the squirrels, through a scope would be best!
Bill

That looks like fun. :)

B23:

Got a note from a fellow hunter near Boise a couple days ago.

"almost no snow this winter, when you got that 4" in Pueblo we
had the same 4", since then just a few dustings and inch or so
plumb dry around here, very rare".

IF' you're gonna go, it'd be a good time.

Nice!. We still have 3 feet of snow in the fields and up to yesterday it was still running -25 for a daytime high, still going to -20 at night but day time it is up to freezing this weekend. Going to be a month or two before any gophers show up around here.

Looks like you are having fun with those Kimbers. Saw a woodchuck or two out here the last two days. We don't have the numbers here we used to so I don't shoot them until memorial day when the little ones are self sufficient. Snowing again today so even that would be a no go.

Our rats are starting to poke their little rodent heads up too, but with the 3 FEET of snow we had here a couple of weeks ago, some has settled and melted, but all the fields are a virtual mud-bog now. The ranchers are not fond of our 4x4's out making field ruts.

Some sunshine and warm temps sure would help. Mother Nature.....are you listening? I've got powder and bullets destined for Skippy and his pals and am starting to go through withdrawals! :eek:

I’m getting excited about the season also! Thanks for the pictures.

Now that it is warming up a little, I have to finish reloading, to be completely ready for some shooting.

Warming up here now, still lots of snow and our Columbia Ground Squirrels don't come out until the end of April, then go down before 24th August. Trying to get in a lot of fishing and shooting - well, one of them suffers. I do love fishing.