Oregon Ground Squirrels Hunt

HuntingGold · Mar 24, 2014

Each spring, especially March and April, the ground squirrels emerge from their holes and provide hours of opportunity to practice your trigger control. It is not uncommon for hunters to shoot over a thousand rounds a day. Elia and I were only out for about 2 hours and shot about 100 rounds each. She was banging away with a 17 HMR while I was getting after it with the first rifle I was ever owned, an old .22 that Grandma gave me for my eleventh birthday! Not a bad way to spend a few hours during the day!

Notice these two American shooter have no bench rest in sight! This is all about field work and trigger control.
The squirrels (the Belding ground squirrel) are quite small.

BRICKBURN · Mar 24, 2014

Looks like a fun outing.
Certainly good practice.

Cliffy · Mar 24, 2014

Got a friend of mine shooting them near Alturas CA this week

HuntingGold · Mar 25, 2014

Brickburn- It is wonderful practice! Both my daughters shot squirrels extensively just before our trip to SA last year. Both had one shot kills on their respective animals!

Cliffy - Alturas isn't all that far away at about 100 miles! I have a friend in Lakeview (closer to Alturas) who is practically begging people to come and shoot. Toughest part this year is finding the 22 ammo.

Diamondhitch · Mar 25, 2014

HuntingGold said:
Toughest part this year is finding the 22 ammo.

I have had that problem in peak gopher season (spring). Its easy to go through a pile of it that's for sure.

silverado · Mar 25, 2014

WE go up to Dorris every year and have a great time shooting squeaks.

HuntingGold · Mar 25, 2014

Dorris is less than 20 miles away and they do indeed have the critters in big numbers!
It was rainy and windy today and a good day to go to work!

toxic111 · Mar 25, 2014

I love shooting gophers up here... I tend to use my .223 the most right now, then the HMR & then the .22.

Haven't got much shooting in the last couple of years, as my main shooting fields have been shot up pretty good.

Diamondhitch · Mar 26, 2014

toxic111 said:
I love shooting gophers up here... I tend to use my .223 the most right now, then the HMR & then the .22.

Haven't got much shooting in the last couple of years, as my main shooting fields have been shot up pretty good.

the .22 is certainly the least spectacular to shoot them with. Last year the grass was real high so they were hard to find.

HuntingGold · Mar 26, 2014

The little 17 HMR gives a great report upon impact!

toxic111 · Mar 26, 2014

Diamondhitch said:
the .22 is certainly the least spectacular to shoot them with. Last year the grass was real high so they were hard to find.

Was the same up here...

Cliffy · Mar 26, 2014

My buddy uses a CZ in 17 HMR. Loves it! He's begging me to come up and do it.

toxic111 · Mar 26, 2014

Oh I love my HMR too... but the .223 gives redmist over 300yrds. At 250yrds the HMR just gives a pop and a dead rodent...

HuntingGold · Feb 14, 2015

They are out early this year! Just came in from a four hour shoot with my new .22. In the first one hundred shots, 48 confirmed kills and 10 suspected. In the last one hundred shots I had 57 confirmed kills and another 10 suspected. The field was just as busy with the little buggers when I left as when I arrived.

jeff · Feb 14, 2015

I've spent countless hours flinging arrows and many more looking for arrows shot at them around Silver Lake Or when I used to live in Or. Great spring and summer fun and practice, my best was 33 in one afternoon with my recurve.

HuntingGold · Feb 15, 2015

jeff said:
I've spent countless hours flinging arrows and many more looking for arrows shot at them around Silver Lake Or when I used to live in Or. Great spring and summer fun and practice, my best was 33 in one afternoon with my recurve.

Wow... 33 is a lot with a recurve!

One year, while living in Burns, I used my .54 caliber black powder rifle to shoot a few times. I got three in a row!
I decided to stop when I saw that the old round ball just bounced its way across the field was way more dangerous down range than my .22

jeff · Feb 15, 2015

You know how it is when every few years they are so thick at any one time there might be 8-10 in bow range at once. 33 sounds better than it really is as I probably shot a couple hundred arrows to do it.

HuntingGold · Feb 15, 2015

jeff said:
You know how it is when every few years they are so thick at any one time there might be 8-10 in bow range at once. 33 sounds better than it really is as I probably shot a couple hundred arrows to do it.

It all leads up to better shooting in the end! Nice work.

I just came in from another morning of shooting. .22 shells are scarce so I am limiting my shooting to a 100 per outing I am also trying to keep to only high quality shots. This morning, 100 shots, 67 confirmed kills and another 13 suspected. Not bad.

CAustin · Feb 15, 2015

That looks like a lot of fun.

HuntingGold · Feb 15, 2015

As soon as I posted the photo my wife told me that her parents wanted to go out. Sooo I turned around and took the in-laws and my wife out to do more shooting. This time most of my shooting was off-hand and with open sights since wifey-poo took the scoped rifle.
Looks like a good excuse to go buy another gun.

Oregon Ground Squirrels Hunt

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