Rick in Oregon
Well-known member
First off, I love California. Love it for the beauty there, mostly good folks also, especially in the northern part of the state. But now it's a "no-go" zone for myself and my crew due to all the ridiculous laws and regulations that have been imposed over the years by the leftists that run the place. Can't legally carry there, lead bullet ban, uber high gas and food prices, so although we had absolutely stellar squirrel shooting in N. CA for decades, it's off our radar now.
BUT.....here's a brief pictorial of some of the great shoots we had there in the past when things were 'normal' there.
One ranch we shot had both flat and rolling terrain, over 2,500 acres, all planted in alfalfa and hay grass....favored food of the ground squirrels that live there and highly populated. The shoot location shown was on an elevated access road that offered absolutely non-stop shooting all day and gave a great panoramic view of the field below. My old '75 Chevy 4x4 also brings back fond memories. I hunted deer, elk and varmints for 37 years with that rig from BC to all over the western US.
Another shot of that location that also shows the distant horizontal rock formation at just over 400 yards from my truck and bench. You can all guess "who" lives in those rocks. While glassing for the next squirrel to teach flying lessons to, I never knew when a rockchuck would be out sunning himself, adding to the overall experience. I had my Ruger No.1 Varmint 223 out that day on the bench.
The shooting was so good there, we coined our annual event as our "Rat Rodeo". We could set up our benches to create a firing line and shoot all day at the rats.
These shoots usually took place in early June, so heat was a factor there. We used our shade canopies on a regular basis to stay cool during the day and stayed hydrated. The shot shown offered targets out past 600 yards, so even my old Ruger M77V 220 Swift got some use there at extended range. My 204's were my favored cartridge for the longer work though, being much more mild on the barrel.
Every once in a while, a rat would get launched in grand fashion and give a few chuckles at the flight characteristics. Sometimes the rat offered another grin when found out in the field. This one seems to be without critical body parts, but still grinning.....
That trip was one of the first outings for my then new Cooper MTV 204 Ruger. It proved her worth when the rats were out past 300 yards shooting the 39gr SBK over RL-10X at 3,900 fps.
We often talk about the advantage elevation gives us when out for Skippy and his pals. The day shown we were perched atop a hill overlooking a squirrel and mound rich field at about 100' above the rats. It was one of those days to remember for the shooting it offered from that high elevated setting. Rats really flew that day.
That trip was the day my hound dog girls, Rose and Lucy got acquainted with the ranch bovines. They both seemed to take interest in each other in quiet amazement.
Alas, that ranch got sold soon after our last trip there, and the new owner planted crops that the squirrels have no interest in. It's yet another memory of great shoots with good friends. Sometimes I look at all the old photos I have of these shoots of years past and realize sometimes we don't know how good we have it until what we have is gone.
I'm now preparing for some local rat shooting here with my buddy TheCZkid. So we should have some local adventures to share soon if all goes well. The rockchucks are now up too, and the young ones are almost 'ready' for prime time also. Ah, springtime!
BUT.....here's a brief pictorial of some of the great shoots we had there in the past when things were 'normal' there.
One ranch we shot had both flat and rolling terrain, over 2,500 acres, all planted in alfalfa and hay grass....favored food of the ground squirrels that live there and highly populated. The shoot location shown was on an elevated access road that offered absolutely non-stop shooting all day and gave a great panoramic view of the field below. My old '75 Chevy 4x4 also brings back fond memories. I hunted deer, elk and varmints for 37 years with that rig from BC to all over the western US.
Another shot of that location that also shows the distant horizontal rock formation at just over 400 yards from my truck and bench. You can all guess "who" lives in those rocks. While glassing for the next squirrel to teach flying lessons to, I never knew when a rockchuck would be out sunning himself, adding to the overall experience. I had my Ruger No.1 Varmint 223 out that day on the bench.
The shooting was so good there, we coined our annual event as our "Rat Rodeo". We could set up our benches to create a firing line and shoot all day at the rats.
These shoots usually took place in early June, so heat was a factor there. We used our shade canopies on a regular basis to stay cool during the day and stayed hydrated. The shot shown offered targets out past 600 yards, so even my old Ruger M77V 220 Swift got some use there at extended range. My 204's were my favored cartridge for the longer work though, being much more mild on the barrel.
Every once in a while, a rat would get launched in grand fashion and give a few chuckles at the flight characteristics. Sometimes the rat offered another grin when found out in the field. This one seems to be without critical body parts, but still grinning.....
That trip was one of the first outings for my then new Cooper MTV 204 Ruger. It proved her worth when the rats were out past 300 yards shooting the 39gr SBK over RL-10X at 3,900 fps.
We often talk about the advantage elevation gives us when out for Skippy and his pals. The day shown we were perched atop a hill overlooking a squirrel and mound rich field at about 100' above the rats. It was one of those days to remember for the shooting it offered from that high elevated setting. Rats really flew that day.
That trip was the day my hound dog girls, Rose and Lucy got acquainted with the ranch bovines. They both seemed to take interest in each other in quiet amazement.
Alas, that ranch got sold soon after our last trip there, and the new owner planted crops that the squirrels have no interest in. It's yet another memory of great shoots with good friends. Sometimes I look at all the old photos I have of these shoots of years past and realize sometimes we don't know how good we have it until what we have is gone.
I'm now preparing for some local rat shooting here with my buddy TheCZkid. So we should have some local adventures to share soon if all goes well. The rockchucks are now up too, and the young ones are almost 'ready' for prime time also. Ah, springtime!
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