Sage Rats, ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs.

ORBrit · Apr 14, 2009

I've been invited to join my business partner and his brother on their annual ground squirrel massacre in Eastern Oregon this month. His brother has privileges to shoot on some private land near North Powder - a couple thousand acres apparently!

I'm very excited and hope to also get some Coyote opportunity while I'm up there. They are Spokane Valley/Idaho born and raised and big hunters. I feel very lucky to be invited.

I'll be bringing my Savage .17HMR, Marlin .22 WMR, Savage .22-250 and 20" AR15.

Maybe also my Savage .22LR bolt rifle.... and my AR57.... and....

I need to stock up on .17HMR ammo! Any recommendations on which is best? 17 vs 20 gr? ballistic tip, TNT etc?

Frog · Apr 14, 2009

ORBit wrote:

I need to stock up on .17HMR ammo! Any recommendations on which is best? 17 vs 20 gr? ballistic tip, TNT etc?

Gee man, if you can find any, I wouldn't be fussy about 3grs!!

Hornaby 17 HMR was all Bi-Mart had left at the Beaverton store on Monday. Not sure of the weight.

Frog.

orduckhunter · Apr 14, 2009

hey, I've got quite a bit of 17hmr - maybe I should jump on the bandwagon and advertise it for $25 a box (of 50)
no, make it $50 a box

Frog · Apr 14, 2009

Actually Bi-Mart's price was only $9.95 per box of 50.

Sorry orduckhunter, but hang on to it. and keep it dry. Your price might not be out of line by November!!

Frog.

tomcat · Apr 14, 2009

i shoot the V-max and TNT....for gray diggers..and sage rats...and there starting to come out..

PeakResources · Apr 15, 2009

I went to Eastern Oregon not far from LaGrande last year, and will be going again in a few weeks. Here is some of the advice I can provide from my limited experience. People with more experience can chime in or disagree with me if you wish.

Farms:
- Look for farming / ranching area. We scouted some more forested land, and there were virtually no sage rats. We went to an area near LaGrande.
- We approached farmers. One time we approached two of them who were talking near a corner of their properties. They welcomed us, and said pointed out which lands they owned. For another, we drove up to his home and talked to him. This second guy pointed us to his field, and told us to wait for a bit after his cattle were moved. We set up there for a couple days (yes, days) and took out a lot of his rats. He was very friendly when he drove by.
- Be respectful, do not shoot toward any livestock, clean up after yourself so you don't ruin it for the rest of us. As stated by a post earlier, farmers and ranchers don't like the rats. But be aware, they don't want a mess or wounded cattle either.
- I've heard Christmas Valley is another area to shoot, but I've never been.

Timing:
- I heard about someone going a few weeks ago and having fun. By the end of May, it starts getting hot, and the rats spend most of their time underground. I think April-May is probably the prime time, depending on location. Farmer told me it's fun when there is still snow on the ground; you can see them better, so maybe it starts even earlier. Someone can tell me if I'm wrong.

Rifle:
- I suggest shooting cheap when you start out. 10/22 22lr is a great option for fairly close ranges.
- I have the most fun with the 17hmr. Good balance of accuracy, flat shooting, and lower cost. The last shot of our trip last year was with the 17hmr bolt, and resulted in a sage rat backflip. Fun stuff.
- Some people shoot optics, some don't. I shoot with optics.
- For higher power, I had more fun with a bolt than with a semi like the AR platform. I found myself slowing down, chewing through less ammo (cost), and enjoying it more.
- I enjoyed bringing a bench to shoot from. But I also enjoyed walking the fenceline with my rifle. I suggest bringing a bench, and maybe an ez-up so you can sit and shoot for a while.
- This year, I'm bringing only bolt actions, a 17hmr and a 204. Well... I may throw the 10/22 in for a backup too.

I say try it. I went last year by picking a place on a map. We scouted a bit for the first day, had limited success the next, but then fell into the right farms with permission and had a lot of fun. Perhaps we were lucky to get so much shooting in, but I suspect there are a lot of those rats out there in Eastern Oregon. Just pick you spot, be flexible with your plans, and I suspect you can get some good shooting in as well.

USMC1911 · Apr 15, 2009

Can anyone tell me if the pups are out yet? I no they come out a bit later then the adults but its gettin warm and the weather is looking good for this weekend.

ORBrit · Apr 15, 2009

Frog said:
Actually Bi-Mart's price was only $9.95 per box of 50.

Sorry orduckhunter, but hang on to it. and keep it dry. Your price might not be out of line by November!!

Frog.

BiMart on Royal in Eugene still has a bunch of Hornady 17Gr Vmax. Probably close to 80 boxes left - I just picked up 10 more boxes - the limit is supposed to be 4 but the guy there said they had plenty left so go ahead and take as much as I wanted.
I cleaned them out of the last 5 boxes of .22-250 while I was there.

Still no .22LR or .22WMR though

Trlsmn · Nov 7, 2009

Anyone here ever taste one? I would really like to cook one just for the heck of it.

eldbillbo · Nov 7, 2009

Trlsmn said:
Anyone here ever taste one? I would really like to cook one just for the heck of it.

Taste like rabbit which taste like frog which taste like squirrel which taste like Chicken why does everything other than beef pork and fish taiste like chicken

h

Please do cook some up and let post in the survival forum

what the heck they made you a moderator :huh::huh::huh::huh:

Trlsmn · Nov 7, 2009

eldbillbo said:
Taste like rabbit which taste like frog which taste like squirrel which taste like Chicken why does everything other than beef pork and fish taiste like chicken

h

Please do cook some up and let post in the survival forum

what the heck they made you a moderator :huh::huh::huh::huh:

Everyone makes mistakes!