Deputy Al's Excellent Rat-Zapping Adventure

[BruceB]

Since Al won't be here for a few days yet, and in view of the way the other thread went, I don't think he'd mind if I gave a bit of an update.

I met up with NV Curmudgeon, Deputy Al and Ammohead at the Big Reno Show just at opening time, 0900, on Sunday morning...and with the added bonus of having Urny and his wife Linda along, too. That's a fair-sized gang to try to keep together in the crowded aisles of the Show, so we split into smaller groups and arranged to rendezvous periodically at appointed places. Just before lunchtime, I also bumped into Brazos, who came along with the rest of us to the Hilton's buffet for some good talk and grub.

Some very interesting artillery was on sale at this Show. One that caught my eye was a C. Sharps .45-90 with LEFT-handed stock and very fancy walnut, and the price of a mere $1850 included a fine target-quality vernier tang sight and spirit-level front sight. The rifle was in new condition, and if my pockets had been considerably deeper, I would have taken it home.

For once, I went to the Show with an actual rifle purchase in mind....I had decided that I "NEEDED" (y'all know how that goes, right?) a decent .223 bolt-action for occasions such as this varmint-blasting trek in which we were engaged. To my considerable surprise, there were very few .223 bolt guns around, varmint type or not. I had our heavy-barreled .220 Swift along, so I didn't feel a real need for another typical heavy-varmint rifle. What I found was an Interarms Mini-Mauser in .223, new condition, and a very sweet-handling rifle. I thought about it for several hours, then went back to that table and struck a deal. However, I was not able to find mount bases for this rifle anywhere in the Show, which was no surprise on account of the relative rarity of the rifle. This is one dandy light rifle, and it should be a fine understudy for the Swift. Dunno if cast bullets will be in its future, or not.

The first day in our "undisclosed location" found us restricted to our .22 rimfires by a land-owner who'd had a bad experience with another party some time back. Still, we had some fun "stretching the barrels" of our rifles (two CZs and an Anschutz) and managed to bump off a number of rats. Curmudgeon cleanly killed one at a range of at least 150 yards! We then made contact with another rancher, and got permission to shoot in his fields the next day. This gent had some very interesting old guns to show us, the first one being a decrepit 6mm Lee Navy, followed by a succession of variously Bubba-ized '03 Springfields and a couple of Winchesters which set us all drooling (a .32-20 M1892 and a .30-30 M64. The '92 lives in a loaded condition, being his wife's "yard gun" at the ranch-house).

Tuesday, and Wednesday morning as well, had us in a well-populated field but the weather was flatly miserable, dark, windy and snowing, and the rats weren't very active. Still, I managed to touch off about 70 rounds of .220 and MAYBE hit with 20% of them...if that. I did make a couple kills right out at 350 yards, which was pretty good for me anytime, and firing into the teeth of a COLD snowy wind to boot. Al and Curmudgeon had their own difficulties and hits, and I'll leave it to them for the story (C's computer is on the fritz, and it may be a day or two before he logs in. Al should be back "on" around the 22nd).

Ammohead was turned back by weather as he already told us, and it was indeed a dicey trip north to Susanville as early as Monday morning, with wet snow flurries causing glare ice for most of the way. Road conditions improved as we got further north after Susanville.

As usual, in spite of weather or any other complications, it was pure pleasure to be out with good friends and good rifles, enjoying the company and the chance to see new country.

[swheeler]

BB; sounds like a good time was had by all! congrats
Scooter

[Buckshot]

.............I'm sure you guys had fun. Last year Al and I had to pack it up early Thursday and head for Winnemucca due to the weather. Low heavy clouds, some moderate on and off breezes and the occasional rain shower finally turned into a steady rain. One of those that looked like it could go on for a week. We just decided to pack it up and head east. No snow though, thank God!

Still plenty of action until the rain started for real. Sure hated to leave! Thanks for the report and I wish I'd been able to tag along.

................Buckshot

[Urny]

We enjoyed Bill and Frans' hospitality, and the company of the Cast Boolit friends we met at the show, Deputy Al, Ammohead, Bruce, and then quite by accident, Brazos. That show is always full of interesting goods looking for a willing buyer. I bought two clones of the Lyman 311413, of which I have a single cavity; a Hensley and Gibbs No. 20 single cavity, and a Cramer No. 46 (?) double. Linda bought books, as usual, and a new hat, and proved able to resist a 99% Winchester 54 in .22 Hornet, replete with Unertl Small Game scope. Given her preference for Winchesters, and the hole in her gun cabinet where the Hornet should be, she showed remarkable restraint. Curmudgeon did really well there, but he can talk about that.

It was a great show and better company and what more can we ask? The drive east had it's challenges from the weather though.

[The Nyack Kid]

when you guys are on your adventures , do any of you bring along a metal detector ,to look for gold ?

[NVcurmudgeon]

I have little to add to Bruce's excellent report on our rodent safari, except my personal score. Actually, with my CZ 452 Classic American/ B&L 4X, I made two impossible shots. The first unlucky rat was about 100 yd. The second was at somewhere between 150 and 200, depending on whose estimate you believe. Position was the old kitchen door jamb thumb rest that I use at home. I do know I held about a quarter of the scope's field high. Naturally I killed both squirrels with a single shot each. How many uncounted "sighting" shots were there? Far be it from me to louse up a good hunting story with negative details. Suffice it to say that this was a performance that will become even more legendary with the passage of time. On the last day, when we could use centerfires, my Remington 700 Laminated Stainless Mountain Rifle in .260 got it's chance to add varminting to it's already sterling performance on an Alberta whitetail. Using 95 gr. Hornady V-Max bullets at 3200 fps, the .260 was equal to the task. In between snow flurries, and having to quit early to get out of Dodge, the pencil-barreled 700 managed to splat four, IIRC, squirrels. Best part of the trip? Enjoying six great days with good friends. Seeing some beautiful new country also rates very high. Before the varmint hunt, enjoying the Big Reno Gun Show with good friends who were happy to egg me into buying an excellent condition 1891 Argentine Mauser, was a high point. Frosting on the cake was finding a like-new discontinued Lyman 311466 Loverin type 152 gr. mould, a find that could have been better only if it had been a 311467.

Nyack, "bring along a metal detector, to look for gold"? No way, good times like this, in good company, are treasure enough.

[swheeler]

Bill; good post and enjoy that 91 mauser! Thing of beauty aren't they!
Scot

[StarMetal]

What's of interest to me here his that Bill killed some squirrels with a 22 rimfire up to 200 yards.....hmmmmmm....wonder whoelse said something to that effect. :Fire:

Joe

[NVcurmudgeon]

Joe, don't take hunting stories too seriously. While every word of my post was nothing but the truth, notice that I did not enumerate the misses. I hate to ruin a good story by telling the whole truth!

[9.3X62AL]

Marie and I returned late last night, kinda worn but very glad to be home. Only one car is on the "dead line'--the Nissan needs a new battery--so that department isn't too bogged down. Considering the 2-week long absence, that borders on the miraculous.

The Reno Gun Show was a very fine time--lots of neat stuff and some right fine company, how could it be any better? I only saw about 500 toys and goodies that I couldn't live without, but since I've scored 3 new toys in the last several weeks--political realities indicated that acquisition was NOT indicated. It's not like I'm "doing without firearms", ya know?

Almost-Scores of the Show--a K-frame S&W 5" marked as "32 Long". Given its fixed sights and 5" barrel, it just COULDN'T be a 32 S&W Long.......but I had to look. Well, it was a "32 Long", all right.......32-20 WCF. Had the bore and chambers been CLEAN, I might have snagged it. The price was pretty reasonable. #2 example in this category was a Colt New Service in 45 Colt X 5.5", and I almost deployed the plastic on that one. Mechanically very sound, about 90% or better, and a decent price........still kinda talking to myself over that one.

This brings me to a point about gun show sellers that has always mystified me, and I'm sure many of us here feel the same way. I looked at a couple dozen examples that had very nice exterior finish, a few of which showed evidence of buffing or other exterior surface prep for sale. Extensive surface prep is a red flag for me--and when it is joined by an UNCLEANED BORE AND CHAMBER(S), I will walk away. I refuse to purchase a firearm with uncleaned bore--period. I have bought a couple guns over the years that showed bore wear or pre-1950's-type corrosion/pitting--but their bores had been cleaned and showed the flaws honestly. HOW ABOUT IT, GUN SHOW SELLERS?--CLEAN THE IMPORTANT PARTS. "Paint job" don't matter a damn if the working parts are jacked up.

Rant concluded.

The rat hunting weather was--not productive, rat-wise. Some combination of hibernational hypothermic torpor and/or common sense caused the ground squirrels to have other sub-terranean matters to attend to while snow fell and boggy ground froze and thawed. It might have been a little colder in Alberta in October, but I'd call it a dead heat--which is a pretty poor description of the outcome, considering the layered clothing involved. Hunting time is too precious and too infrequent to waste, though--so unless conditions are absolutely miserable or unproductive--I hunt. Or fish. For further information on this species of mindset, see "Donner Party". I sure didn't make any spectacular shots like Bruce and Bill did--that 200 yard rimfire hit was superb--but I made a dent in the few squirrels that had the good manners to show themselves above-ground in sporting fashion. The Rem 581 x 22 LR, the Ruger 77RC x 223, and the Rem 788 x 22-250 all contributed to the harvest. The bag wasn't filled like it was in 2005, though--and the "batting average" shown by the spent cartridge count wouldn't get me past Class-A baseball level, even with flawless fielding.

The weather didn't improve a great deal after Bruce and Bill left for Reno mid-day Wednesday. I don't want to say it was "cold"--but in our haste to seek warmth within Bruce's Suburban, I left behind my folding chair in the last field we hunted. This was noted about 10 minutes after Bruce and Bill left with the sole 4WD vehicle on the expedition.

Ah, well.

I went back out to the field after I finished thawing in the motel room, and considered driving my 2WD F-250 out to the shooting site. For about 4 seconds. The 2-track roadway bordering the field had about 2"-4" of thawed mud overlaying frozen mud/soil, yielding a driving surface like axle grease-coated Teflon. I confirmed this on foot, and in doing so have discovered a mud species more pervasive and pernicious than that found surrounding the Salton Sea's New River delta. I was able to negotiate a route past the more recalcitrant bogs on foot, and arrived at the snow-covered folding chair with no further amendments to the soil samples gathered at the start of the hike. I took a seat, and awaited developments. A few rats emerged every so often, I think mostly to laugh at the frozen fool with the rifle across the field. I let drive on most such candidates, and might have hit a couple. I'm not sure as to that--all of them fell over at the shot, but the absence of a THWOCK sound after a number of the shots likely means "rat doubled over in mirth" instead of "rat dispatched forthwith". For this reason, a body count was not attempted.

The rats stopped emerging--the snow was accumulating--and the wind was freshening. This was known as a "clue" at my old jobsite, so I gathered rifle, ammo, folding chair, and Bill's sandbag and wandered off toward the truck. 2 planned stops for rest breaks and one unplanned halt to refresh the soil samples, and I was back at the truck and its warm cab.

Thursday morning showed very little new snow since Wednesday sundown, so I repaired off for one last rat blast. This went well--the ground re-froze overnight, and I was able to drive into the field easily. I got a few shots, but the sun came out about 10 A.M.--so I got me hence out of the field before getting the truck stuck. One last breakfast at the cafe in town, and off I went to Seattle.

Chapter 2 to follow.

[9.3X62AL]

I was a little worried about the "pass" on SR 299 between Cedarville and Alturas regarding ice, but the chain controls weren't posted--so off I went. There was some ice, but Cal-Trans in northern CA is not nearly so stingy with gravel as their southern counterparts seem to be--so the route was pretty trouble-free. As I descended into Alturas, the whole valley as far as the eye could see was covered in snow. I was treated to one of the most sublimely beautiful drives of my life along both SR 299 and SR 139, through Modoc County and into Oregon--snowy and gorgeous.

I took Oregon Rt. 66 over to Medford, which was as pretty a drive as the previous route through CA. Emerging from the mountains approaching Medford, I "lowered" out of the snow zone for the first time in a week. I jumped onto I-5 and got to Kelso, WA where I spent Thursday night.

I slept late Friday morning, and got to Sea-Tac to pick up Marie in good order. The rest of Friday was spent getting settled into the Tacoma hotel, then went out for some Seattle night life. Since it was St. Patrick's Day, there was no lack of that. Drunk/wild/idiot drivers were out in some force, and one carload of rowdies tossed beer cans at my truck as we drove through the downtown area, shouting something about sex acts with California. They did seem confused.

We attended my daughter's wedding reception in Federal Way on Saturday afternoon, which was a lovely event. She has a new dining room set, called a "gathering table"--a little higher than most dining room sets, and it seats 6. Wouldn't you know it, Marie just thought the world of the thing--so nothing would do but to go out Sunday morning and hunt down the same set in Puyallup--load it into the truck--and haul it home. 1200 miles. The things we do for love.

My overall impression of the Seattle area was that it's a cleaner and straighter rendition of San Francisco, with right to carry and lots of coffee places. If I had to live in a city--Seattle would be the place. Small wonder it's so full of Californians. Pike Street Fish Market was GREAT.

The drive home down I-5 was done in leisurely fashion--late sleep-ins every morning, followed by Marie shopping for an hour or so while I fueled up the truck and searched for gunshops to check out. On the road ~noon to 1 P.M., then drive for about 8 hours and crash at a motel. We stopped to see friends and family in the Bay Area, and finally slogged into our driveway about 2 A.M. Thursday morning.

That's the story.

[swheeler]

Al; glad you made it home safe and sound! The gravediggers are confused up here, weather can't make up it's mind if it is winter or spring. That's OK, they can run but they can't hide-forever!!!

[waksupi]

Al, from past experiences in Seattle, I would say you just met up with the common drivers there, and they can be found any day of the week. They do give old, beat up pickups from Montana, with NRA stickers on it, a little more breathing room. :Fire:
Pike Place Market is a saving grace of Seattle, and certainly worth a day or two of exploration. All the little shops, hidden at all levels through the catacombs, the antique shops in the alleys , the Old Curiosity Shop, and the street musicians on the weekends, make it a great experience.