Post by Bullshop on Mar 24, 2018 13:46:55 GMT -7
Well even though we are still getting plenty of snow and freezing hard at night the gophers are out. From the reapers roost which is the name given my deer stand a tree stand in a large triple trunk cottonwood tree. I call it the reapers roost because doubles as my gopher stand in spring then when the grass is too tall to see gophers it becomes my woodchuck stand. The roost is equipped with a shooting bench complete with sand bag rest.
At the very base of the roost is the confluence of the Red Rock River and Little Sheep Creek. Across the river is a winter pasture meadow that extends 600 yards to an irrigation ditch then another 100 yards to the base of Red Bluff a steep rise of sheer rock that rises several 100 feet from the pasture edge. The very top of the bluff to where it rolls out of sight is right at about 1000 yards depending on the angle. I shot a coyote off the bluff this winter at 787 yards as indicated by my Swarovski range finder with a 6mm/06 custom rifle but that will be another story for another time.
The location of the big cottonwood tree is about 15 steps out my work shop door so travel time to hunt is minimal and frequent but short work day visits are possible. Anyway as usual I got this gopher season started off shooting a 22 Hornet. Anyone here that knows me knows that my hornet rifles get only a steady diet of cast bullets. The load I have been using so far is with the NEI #2 design at about 48gn being pushed by 11.5gn of surplus WC-680. This load is a top end hornet load doing in the neighborhood of 2500 fps. We are having a typical windy spring and because of the wind the hornet is showing its limitations. Even in the wind shots to 100 yards are about 100% hits but add another 50 yards and hits drop at about an equal percentage to about half. When my wind flag drops and I can get off a shot with less wind effect 200 yard shots are possible but then begins the hold high and off game that yields even fewer hits. Shots too 100 or even 125 yards though are positive and those gophers are eliminated early on in the season. At that point out comes the 221 Fireball and the hornet retires.
Now with the 221 what a noticeable difference, WOW ! Where my hornets with 1/16" twist rifling are limited to not more than 50gn bullets my 221 with 1/14" twist nicely handles 55 and even 60gn bullets, cast bullets mind you as cast bullets are shorter in length than jacketed bullets of equal weight and bullet length is what affects stability and twist rate. The load I am starting out with in the Fireball is using the 55gn RCBS spitzer over 9gn of Alliant 410. This is giving slightly less velocity that the hornet load but pushing a much more efficient bullet. Now with this load in the 221 I am getting the same positive effect at 200 yards that the hornet was getting at 100 yards. Push the range to another 50 yards and the same effect results in about a 50% loss in hot rate. The 221 though requires a little less hold off for wind and elevation.
It wont be long and I will have cleaned up most of the gopher within 250 yards just as I did with the hornet and its limit of 150 yards. I fired about 200 rounds of 22 hornet and so far about 50 rounds of 221. I suspect that by the time I burn through 200 rounds of 221 I will then need to graduate again. Remember the winter pasture allows 600 yards before the irrigation ditch. At that point a pair of 22-250 Ackley rifles will come into play. The first that will be put into use is on an FN supreme action with 28" Packnor barrel with 1/14" twist. That rifle should clean up everything to 400 yards though I should mention at this point jacketed bullets will be put to use. In this case the FN with 1/14" twist is shooting a 52gn Hornady V-max right at 4000 fps MV.
When the 14" twist FN runs out of range I have another 22-250 Ackley with a 9" twist that shoots a 70gn BTSP at 3600 fps. These are bullets I swage using Sierra J-4 jackets and brings the very edge of the pasture into range. At the 600 yard mark even 70gn 22's are nut batting 1000 but hits on the small gophers are still more than the misses.
By the time I get to the 600 yard line on gophers the grass will be getting tall enough that unless they are standing they are about impossible to spot. That is the time the big guns come out and I start scoping the bluff for rock chucks. The chucks usually start showing up about April 1 and though I have been looking have not yet spotted one this year. At that point the 22's get put to rest again and out come the 6mm and 6.5mm rifles and some serious long range shooting.
This all 15 steps out my back door and I do know how fortunate I am to have it. The ground across the Red Rock River is winter pasture and the gopher holes everywhere pose quite a threat to cattle wintering there. The ranchers here welcome responcible shooters to hunt gophers and gopher hunting is even held in a weekend contest with prizes to promote gopher hunting and keep the holes at a minimum. Anyone wanting to travel to Montana to hunt gophers if your destination is south west MT give us a holler and maybe we can help. If you want to make a trip and sit in the roost with me you are welcome.
Happy Hunting
At the very base of the roost is the confluence of the Red Rock River and Little Sheep Creek. Across the river is a winter pasture meadow that extends 600 yards to an irrigation ditch then another 100 yards to the base of Red Bluff a steep rise of sheer rock that rises several 100 feet from the pasture edge. The very top of the bluff to where it rolls out of sight is right at about 1000 yards depending on the angle. I shot a coyote off the bluff this winter at 787 yards as indicated by my Swarovski range finder with a 6mm/06 custom rifle but that will be another story for another time.
The location of the big cottonwood tree is about 15 steps out my work shop door so travel time to hunt is minimal and frequent but short work day visits are possible. Anyway as usual I got this gopher season started off shooting a 22 Hornet. Anyone here that knows me knows that my hornet rifles get only a steady diet of cast bullets. The load I have been using so far is with the NEI #2 design at about 48gn being pushed by 11.5gn of surplus WC-680. This load is a top end hornet load doing in the neighborhood of 2500 fps. We are having a typical windy spring and because of the wind the hornet is showing its limitations. Even in the wind shots to 100 yards are about 100% hits but add another 50 yards and hits drop at about an equal percentage to about half. When my wind flag drops and I can get off a shot with less wind effect 200 yard shots are possible but then begins the hold high and off game that yields even fewer hits. Shots too 100 or even 125 yards though are positive and those gophers are eliminated early on in the season. At that point out comes the 221 Fireball and the hornet retires.
Now with the 221 what a noticeable difference, WOW ! Where my hornets with 1/16" twist rifling are limited to not more than 50gn bullets my 221 with 1/14" twist nicely handles 55 and even 60gn bullets, cast bullets mind you as cast bullets are shorter in length than jacketed bullets of equal weight and bullet length is what affects stability and twist rate. The load I am starting out with in the Fireball is using the 55gn RCBS spitzer over 9gn of Alliant 410. This is giving slightly less velocity that the hornet load but pushing a much more efficient bullet. Now with this load in the 221 I am getting the same positive effect at 200 yards that the hornet was getting at 100 yards. Push the range to another 50 yards and the same effect results in about a 50% loss in hot rate. The 221 though requires a little less hold off for wind and elevation.
It wont be long and I will have cleaned up most of the gopher within 250 yards just as I did with the hornet and its limit of 150 yards. I fired about 200 rounds of 22 hornet and so far about 50 rounds of 221. I suspect that by the time I burn through 200 rounds of 221 I will then need to graduate again. Remember the winter pasture allows 600 yards before the irrigation ditch. At that point a pair of 22-250 Ackley rifles will come into play. The first that will be put into use is on an FN supreme action with 28" Packnor barrel with 1/14" twist. That rifle should clean up everything to 400 yards though I should mention at this point jacketed bullets will be put to use. In this case the FN with 1/14" twist is shooting a 52gn Hornady V-max right at 4000 fps MV.
When the 14" twist FN runs out of range I have another 22-250 Ackley with a 9" twist that shoots a 70gn BTSP at 3600 fps. These are bullets I swage using Sierra J-4 jackets and brings the very edge of the pasture into range. At the 600 yard mark even 70gn 22's are nut batting 1000 but hits on the small gophers are still more than the misses.
By the time I get to the 600 yard line on gophers the grass will be getting tall enough that unless they are standing they are about impossible to spot. That is the time the big guns come out and I start scoping the bluff for rock chucks. The chucks usually start showing up about April 1 and though I have been looking have not yet spotted one this year. At that point the 22's get put to rest again and out come the 6mm and 6.5mm rifles and some serious long range shooting.
This all 15 steps out my back door and I do know how fortunate I am to have it. The ground across the Red Rock River is winter pasture and the gopher holes everywhere pose quite a threat to cattle wintering there. The ranchers here welcome responcible shooters to hunt gophers and gopher hunting is even held in a weekend contest with prizes to promote gopher hunting and keep the holes at a minimum. Anyone wanting to travel to Montana to hunt gophers if your destination is south west MT give us a holler and maybe we can help. If you want to make a trip and sit in the roost with me you are welcome.
Happy Hunting
