- Messages
- 1,822
- Reactions
- 2,060
I promised a report on the MT prairie dog trip so read on if you have nothing better to do. After several months of homework, I found a place to shoot and stay and an experienced rifleman to go with.
So this is a firearms forum so here is the rifle detail. 7 rifles total. 2180 rnds of ammo.
I took:
Savage B-17 Bushnell 3-12 Suppressed 17HMR with 500 rnds of Hornady 17gr v max.
Howa 1500 mini mauser with Burris 6-24 Suppressed 204 Ruger...500 rnds handloaded 32gr v max vel= 3950fps
Savage target action, 27" straight barrel, Burris 8-32 22BR 480 rnds handloaded 60gr v max vel= 3450
My buddy took ... all 700 Rem custom rifles
222 with 52 gr HP
6X45 Nosler (22 Nosler necked up to 6MM) mix of 70 & 75 gr bullets at est 2800 fps
6XC mix of 70 and 75 grn bullets at est 3000 fps
6.5 Grendel
Scopes were a mix of Leupold, Burris, Bushnell, Redfiels and Nikon. All are SFP...most have fine or fine duplex reticles. Did not use reticle dots for wind and elevation.
Use a Sig Sauer 2000 rangefinder ... no wind meters. Took a 10-30 spotting scope but did not use.
My centerfire trifles were zeroed at 200 yards ... took dope cards out to 600yrds. most all the rifles are 1/2MOA or better.
Both of us had swivel shooting benches, mine on the ground, my buddy in the bed of his pick up.
Both of us used large "Dog Gone Good" front bags and rear wedges.
Leaving the rain in PDX we made Great Falls the first day... just a stunning drive though some of the most beautiful country in the US...they were in stage 2 so food and cheap motel were not problems. Made it to our destination by 11AM the next day. 70 degrees....and then there was the WIND. This was not a guided shoot so we were left to find the dog towns on the ranch and it did not take long. My buddy was driving so I was the gate b&$tch. Finally we had the benches set and rifles out to take the first P Dog. We shot that spot for 4 hours going thru about 200 rounds. The closest was 140 yards the long shot of the day was ranged at 348.
THE WIND From p dogs shoots years ago I expected wind the be the biggest factor on % kills.. My bullet choice and loads were developed with wind in mind. The first afternoon winds were a sustained 20-25 mph with gusts and long periods of 30-35mph! Mostly quartering from behind but we were swiveling 150 degrees so wind was from different directions. Almost no way to use a wind meter or a wind reticle with changing wind force and direction. Our hit % past 200 yrds was probably 20% at first...then we really got a feel for our rifles and did better. Spotting for each other was the best way to learn the windage and vertical holds. The 204 and 22BR both drop about 5 1/2 " at 300 so vertical was easy. As expected the 32 gr from the 204 got pushed around quite a bit with wind holds of 15" not uncommon at 250 yards. The 60gr v max from the 22BR was the clear winner of the entire trip with regarding wind bucking and terminal performance. The hardest, most destructive round I've ever seen on P-dogs...blowing dogs 6-8 feet at over 300 yards was common. The 22BR made the long shot of the trip at 364 .... really not that far but the wind made longer shot tries a waste of ammo. Even with heavy shooting benches the wind moved our rifles in the heavy bags.
Day 2 of shooting was a different town ... wind brutal again. We picked up to move and had a ball driving thru a portion of the town shooting dogs out the window with the suppressed 17hmr. These dogs had not been shot this year and the suppressor really confused them. We shot ten from 50 to 100 yards in 15 minutes. I've shot a lot of s rats with a 17 but was surprised how well the little 17gr bullet hit with no dogs mortally wounded crawling back down the holes. Great fun.
WEATHER...the forecast for MT the day before the trip was 70 degrees all week. But the rain moving in on us the second afternoon...not good. It rained hard into night and although it stopped in the morning, the roads in this country are pure gumbo making any travel off pavement impossible. I walked out from the ranch house with the suppressed 204 and shot 3 for 3 at 180 yrds off a fence post...then it was over. We pulled out a day early and headed for OR. We did not keep track but guessed we shot just over 200 dogs. Not the volume we hoped for...don't like bringing ammo back home.
We came back a southern route thru Billings, Bozeman and down the west Yellowstone entrance, Idaho Falls and west to Ontario OR .... a pretty good run of 780 that day. Spectacular drive now that the sun was out.
But we weren't done .... we called the sage rats guides in Burns and they said come. Up early we made the Ontario to Burns run in short order and were killing sage rats by 9:30. The alfalfa was stilling being raked and the rats paid the price for being in the open. We went thru 500 rnds in about 5 hours. The wind gods were no longer mad...making long strings (35 or so in a row)of hits with our centerfires from 150 to 180 yards. The 17Hmr barrel was also hot and had to cool off the suppressor on the 204. Hard to describe the impact and destruction with the 60gr v max...might be overkill if there is such a thing. Decided not to spend the night and motor'd west over the pass ... got home before 1AM. What a trip and adventure.
What I would do different? The guns and gear I used worked very well...I will probably also take a 6BR with 75 or 80 grain bullets for an even better wind gun and better for making some 500-600 yard shot that did not happen on this trip.
My shooting friend had never used his 6 and 6.5's before in the field. His loads were very mild and bullet performance was not as explosive and you might expect. He is going to try some lighter 6mm bullets next time. The 6XC should have been the hands down winner in the wind and long range. We learned that you need to keep velocity high to get the best exterior ballistics and terminal fun.
Rats and dogs in the same week...can't imaging a more fun thing to do. (Maybe coyotes out of a helicopter) I have the next trip already planned for Dogs this Sept.
Hope you all get out to exercise your 2nd Amendment rights this 4th of July!
So this is a firearms forum so here is the rifle detail. 7 rifles total. 2180 rnds of ammo.
I took:
Savage B-17 Bushnell 3-12 Suppressed 17HMR with 500 rnds of Hornady 17gr v max.
Howa 1500 mini mauser with Burris 6-24 Suppressed 204 Ruger...500 rnds handloaded 32gr v max vel= 3950fps
Savage target action, 27" straight barrel, Burris 8-32 22BR 480 rnds handloaded 60gr v max vel= 3450
My buddy took ... all 700 Rem custom rifles
222 with 52 gr HP
6X45 Nosler (22 Nosler necked up to 6MM) mix of 70 & 75 gr bullets at est 2800 fps
6XC mix of 70 and 75 grn bullets at est 3000 fps
6.5 Grendel
Scopes were a mix of Leupold, Burris, Bushnell, Redfiels and Nikon. All are SFP...most have fine or fine duplex reticles. Did not use reticle dots for wind and elevation.
Use a Sig Sauer 2000 rangefinder ... no wind meters. Took a 10-30 spotting scope but did not use.
My centerfire trifles were zeroed at 200 yards ... took dope cards out to 600yrds. most all the rifles are 1/2MOA or better.
Both of us had swivel shooting benches, mine on the ground, my buddy in the bed of his pick up.
Both of us used large "Dog Gone Good" front bags and rear wedges.
Leaving the rain in PDX we made Great Falls the first day... just a stunning drive though some of the most beautiful country in the US...they were in stage 2 so food and cheap motel were not problems. Made it to our destination by 11AM the next day. 70 degrees....and then there was the WIND. This was not a guided shoot so we were left to find the dog towns on the ranch and it did not take long. My buddy was driving so I was the gate b&$tch. Finally we had the benches set and rifles out to take the first P Dog. We shot that spot for 4 hours going thru about 200 rounds. The closest was 140 yards the long shot of the day was ranged at 348.
THE WIND From p dogs shoots years ago I expected wind the be the biggest factor on % kills.. My bullet choice and loads were developed with wind in mind. The first afternoon winds were a sustained 20-25 mph with gusts and long periods of 30-35mph! Mostly quartering from behind but we were swiveling 150 degrees so wind was from different directions. Almost no way to use a wind meter or a wind reticle with changing wind force and direction. Our hit % past 200 yrds was probably 20% at first...then we really got a feel for our rifles and did better. Spotting for each other was the best way to learn the windage and vertical holds. The 204 and 22BR both drop about 5 1/2 " at 300 so vertical was easy. As expected the 32 gr from the 204 got pushed around quite a bit with wind holds of 15" not uncommon at 250 yards. The 60gr v max from the 22BR was the clear winner of the entire trip with regarding wind bucking and terminal performance. The hardest, most destructive round I've ever seen on P-dogs...blowing dogs 6-8 feet at over 300 yards was common. The 22BR made the long shot of the trip at 364 .... really not that far but the wind made longer shot tries a waste of ammo. Even with heavy shooting benches the wind moved our rifles in the heavy bags.
Day 2 of shooting was a different town ... wind brutal again. We picked up to move and had a ball driving thru a portion of the town shooting dogs out the window with the suppressed 17hmr. These dogs had not been shot this year and the suppressor really confused them. We shot ten from 50 to 100 yards in 15 minutes. I've shot a lot of s rats with a 17 but was surprised how well the little 17gr bullet hit with no dogs mortally wounded crawling back down the holes. Great fun.
WEATHER...the forecast for MT the day before the trip was 70 degrees all week. But the rain moving in on us the second afternoon...not good. It rained hard into night and although it stopped in the morning, the roads in this country are pure gumbo making any travel off pavement impossible. I walked out from the ranch house with the suppressed 204 and shot 3 for 3 at 180 yrds off a fence post...then it was over. We pulled out a day early and headed for OR. We did not keep track but guessed we shot just over 200 dogs. Not the volume we hoped for...don't like bringing ammo back home.
We came back a southern route thru Billings, Bozeman and down the west Yellowstone entrance, Idaho Falls and west to Ontario OR .... a pretty good run of 780 that day. Spectacular drive now that the sun was out.
But we weren't done .... we called the sage rats guides in Burns and they said come. Up early we made the Ontario to Burns run in short order and were killing sage rats by 9:30. The alfalfa was stilling being raked and the rats paid the price for being in the open. We went thru 500 rnds in about 5 hours. The wind gods were no longer mad...making long strings (35 or so in a row)of hits with our centerfires from 150 to 180 yards. The 17Hmr barrel was also hot and had to cool off the suppressor on the 204. Hard to describe the impact and destruction with the 60gr v max...might be overkill if there is such a thing. Decided not to spend the night and motor'd west over the pass ... got home before 1AM. What a trip and adventure.
What I would do different? The guns and gear I used worked very well...I will probably also take a 6BR with 75 or 80 grain bullets for an even better wind gun and better for making some 500-600 yard shot that did not happen on this trip.
My shooting friend had never used his 6 and 6.5's before in the field. His loads were very mild and bullet performance was not as explosive and you might expect. He is going to try some lighter 6mm bullets next time. The 6XC should have been the hands down winner in the wind and long range. We learned that you need to keep velocity high to get the best exterior ballistics and terminal fun.
Rats and dogs in the same week...can't imaging a more fun thing to do. (Maybe coyotes out of a helicopter) I have the next trip already planned for Dogs this Sept.
Hope you all get out to exercise your 2nd Amendment rights this 4th of July!
