We guide a lot of sagerat (Beldings Gound Squirrel) hunters in the spring. It's a high volume shoot with tons of targets. We also book some long range rockchuck hunts with a few riflemen who appreciate going long. Our small and scattered 'chuck colonies require some strict conservation and this is not high volume. It's about range. We had a father and son come down from Alberta, Canada. They both shot a bunch of SR's for two days then Eugene spent two days on LR 'chucks.
The first day of 'chucks was primarily focused fulfilling his goal of getting him into the VHA 500 Yard Club with a rifle he 'smithed himself. He took one rockchuck at 525 yards then got another couple at 635 and 645 with his .300 RUM. The second day we went further. He took several shots around 890 yards in a strong and tricky wind that crossed between us and the targets. The 'chucks were in the brush and the grass feeding and our recent wet weather made seeing impacts tough. Many of the shots had to be called by just a partial bullet trace. Eventually, the cold spring wind sent us after firewood and a break to warm up.
After thawing out, we spotted another chuck on a small rim at 866 yards. He had a rock behind him so it was a good place to call the shot. Adjustments turned out to be unnecessary as the first bullet clearly went centermass on the 'chuck. The rockchuck was laying two feet from where Eugene shot him. Eugene couldn't have been happier.
The first day of 'chucks was primarily focused fulfilling his goal of getting him into the VHA 500 Yard Club with a rifle he 'smithed himself. He took one rockchuck at 525 yards then got another couple at 635 and 645 with his .300 RUM. The second day we went further. He took several shots around 890 yards in a strong and tricky wind that crossed between us and the targets. The 'chucks were in the brush and the grass feeding and our recent wet weather made seeing impacts tough. Many of the shots had to be called by just a partial bullet trace. Eventually, the cold spring wind sent us after firewood and a break to warm up.
After thawing out, we spotted another chuck on a small rim at 866 yards. He had a rock behind him so it was a good place to call the shot. Adjustments turned out to be unnecessary as the first bullet clearly went centermass on the 'chuck. The rockchuck was laying two feet from where Eugene shot him. Eugene couldn't have been happier.
