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#11
03-26-2018, 01:31 AM
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The sage rats have been out when the weather is good
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#12
03-26-2018, 02:50 AM
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Sounds like he's found a bunch of suckers to me.
WOW!: $275 a day just to shoot ground squirrels? That $275 would buy a couple days worth of ammo. Why not just knock on a few ranch house doors and do it FREE for the asking and make them happy too.?? Plague don't kill 'em all. Might be cleaned out for 10 miles around but, drive a bit and start glassing closer to home. We've seen that just about every year around here. Big towns, GONE. Drive down the road 5 miles and there's a whole pasture full of 'em. Thing I've noticed with prairie dogs is: IF they're not shot off by around 50% a year, the plague WILL clean 'em out. One town a dozen or more shooters worked over hard every summer kept going for well over 25 years. Soon as a new renter got it and stopped the shooting. Plague cleaned 'em all out. About the time he left they started building up again. Vestas built a big tower factory on that pasture and ended all access. I haven't been out there for years so I have no idea if they're fighting pr/dogs or not. RIDER?? You were there about last summer, what did you see? Dad used to tell me: "The plague is a rancher's good friend".
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George "Gun Control is NOT about guns, it's about CONTROL!!" Last edited by georgeld; 03-26-2018 at 02:56 AM. Reason: fixings
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#13
03-26-2018, 06:04 AM
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Well when the Feds step in and say you can’t shoot them, I am not driving 600 miles to knock on doors. I have put in some calls to a couple of other places, but without knowledge of dogs being around that are legal to shoot ... With ranchers leasing so much of their pasture they don’t want to do anything that would create issues with the BLM. Your last line was close to her words, the plague is great for us but bad for you. I thanked her for allowing me the opportunity to shoot previously and she thanked me for coming out. Growing up on a farm, with a nice dog town, I thought the same as you. Now I live in town and the dog town I shot almost every day on the way home from school has been poisoned and native prairie put into corn. Now the only choice I have is to travel and unless I can find another rancher in need of critter removal, pay to hunt on their land. $275 is a bargain compared to what most outfitter get, which is often $600 a day. I have no plans to spend that much, but for the volume of shooting at the Sage Rats, I could live with $275.
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#15
03-26-2018, 01:53 PM
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Ground squirrel hunting
Quote:
 (But you better dress warm..)
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#16
03-26-2018, 02:11 PM
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Orygun Sage Rats
moorepower: "How far can you shoot them?" The short answer is "as far as you can see them".
I've been at it for over 50 years now, and will add that snow does not really bother the rats, but they really will not tolerate the wind. That is what will put them down pronto. We've still got snow on the ground here in many places, but that does not stop the fun in the rat patch:  A good friend lets us use his rangeland fire trucks for rat shooting elevation, and it sure makes a difference in target acquisition. We call this "snow painting", and you can see why:  I no longer take any big boomers, as it's just overkill. My usual battery these daze usually consists of a 17HMR, 221FB, 20VT, 204R and a 223. A Rimfire belt pistol is always present for the ones that penetrate the perimeter, as their favorite tidbit is your Danner's!   If you go in April, you'll do very well, If you use Tim Titus at No Off Season, tell him Rick in Oregon sent you. I've never had a friend come back from shooting with Tim disappointed. What he charges is little compared to spending a full day knocking on doors instead of shooting. (And you might never get permission.....)
__________________
Rick in Oregon - The East Side, where common sense still prevails. NRA Life, OHA, VHA, Vietnam Veterans of America
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#17
03-26-2018, 02:59 PM
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Is May going to be too late in the year? I am looking at what the weather often brings in April driving through Wyoming and Montana to get there. I pull doubles through snow and ice all winter, so I would just as soon not drive 2000 more miles to go shooting! If it is the best, I would but if not.. I probably would bring more guns than needed, up to the 6BR, possibility even a PCP.
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#18
03-26-2018, 03:03 PM
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If you go in May, make it early in May, as by late May, the alfalfa is so long, the rats are very hard to see, even if they stand up.
By Memorial Day, the stuff is too long to see them at all, so the next option is after the first cut, but usually by then it gets too hot, and the little guys are down in their holes by 0900, up again around 1600, so not much quality shooting time that late in the year. Mid April, to mid May are your best opportunities with the best conditions. HTH  And as for calibers, shoot anything you want!
__________________
Rick in Oregon - The East Side, where common sense still prevails. NRA Life, OHA, VHA, Vietnam Veterans of America
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#19
03-26-2018, 03:41 PM
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Quote:
My longest hit on Potguts was 165Y or so with a 29ftlb 22 caliber. Next month I hope to extend that personal record to 200Y or so with a FX Impact in 25 cal. That place where I go is about 6 hours north in Utah. I live in AZ and think I should mention I'm willing to take a short vacation within a couple days drive to shoot "whatever" varmints, with any nice guy/s that's feeling extremely charitable! 
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#20
03-26-2018, 03:44 PM
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Linear Mode
