218 Bee VS Sage Rats

[dale2242]

I just got back from a sage rat hunt in SE Oregon.
I normally shoot jacketed bullets but decided to take the closer shots , up to 100 yds., with my Marlin 218 Bee with cast.
My load was 225415 cast from lino and 4198 at 2100 fps.
The load killed quite well sometimes tossing them 2-3 ft. in the air.
I had great fun with this little cartridge and rifle. Got at least 50.
Rats are up WAY early this year. Now I need to get my ammo reloaded.
What fun.....dale

[richhodg66]

Cool. I recently found a nice hollowpointed 225415 in an old gun shop. Haven't cast with it yet, but curious to see what it'll do in the hornet. Thus far, I have focused on very mild loads in the Hornet and had good results. The gas checked HP ought to make a fine 100 yard varmint load.

[TCFAN]

I have a 225415 HP mold that I use with my 222. Using Win.748 powder i shoot it at 2500fps cast out of linotype sized .225 with a Hornady gas check.Pure poison on groundhogs. Haven't had a chance to try it in my 218 Bee yet.........Terry

[sav300]

What is a sage rat?? pics please.

[Screwbolts]

I know I am not the OP, but I believe they are referring to the "Prairie Dog" they reproduce like rats and form colonies that can cover miles. Mounds and holes to destroy pastures and fields.

[dale2242]

Google Belding Ground Squirrel.
They are not prairie dogs.
They eat tons of hay in fields of Eastern Oregon.
Heavily infested fields can have thousands.
Most farmers welcome responsible shooters.....dale

[Screwbolts]

OK, They may be slightly different. I stand corrected.

[waco]

Dale. Where were you hunting? I was just in Christmas valley over the weekend and all he alfalfa fields were still brown and dead. We only saw 5 or 6 rats all day.
Waco

[BruceB]

There have been days when our party of four or five shooters as fired IN EXCESS of one thousand rounds on ground squirrels here in Nevada...... without moving from our original positions.


We have a shoot coming up in April as mentioned previously, and I already have over 900 rounds of .223 and .22-250 ready to go. Does wonders for the bullet-makers' business, and yes, we have used cast bullets occasionally.

[dale2242]

Waco, I was hunting sage rats along the US140 corridor between Klamath falls and Lakeview.
I have hunted farther north but they seem to come out of hibernation later up there.
All the hay fields are brown and dead looking now. Makes seeing the rats easier.
If you hunt them much, you know that when the hay gets much more than 6" tall they are hard to see....dale

[waco]

Waco, I was hunting sage rats along the US140 corridor between Klamath falls and Lakeview.
I have hunted farther north but they seem to come out of hibernation later up there.
All the hay fields are brown and dead looking now. Makes seeing the rats easier.
If you hunt them much, you know that when the hay gets much more than 6" tall they are hard to see....dale

I know that all to well! Thanks for the heads up!

[GooseGestapo]

I've got an older Lyman 22541 mold. Same as 225415, casts to 49.5gr.
I use mostly in .22Hornet. Killed most every thing there is to shoot in these parts to include gray squirrels, ground hog, coyote, crows, and deer.
I usually use 5.8gr of #2400 for around 1,900fps but have used 6.8gr of SR4759 for ~2,100fps from 24" Stainless Ruger.

I also have used 7.5gr of Unique from Rem. Mod-7 in .223 for ~2,100fps. Above these speeds, accuracy falls off with my alloy. (typically air-cooled w/w, occasionally with ~2%) tin added. I prefer to size to .225" with SPG lube.

I bought a Lee 50gr Bator mold. Don't really care for it. Not nearly as accurate as the Lyman mold/design.

Id jump on a HP version in a heart-beat ! Just would dread making 500, though !!!
Maybe an NOE 3 cavity version is in the future!

I also like 1.7gr of Bullseye. Essentially duplicates .22lr. Except I have essentially an unlimited supply.
.22lr are still essentially "unobtainium"...

[dale2242]

The problem I am having is getting the 225415 to stabilize in My Marlin 1894 CL as it has a 1-16 twist.
I chronographed all my loads and found this boolit needed to be going over 2000fps to stabilize in the Marlins barrel.
I am considering the NOE 45 gr FN.
It is shorter and should stabilize at a lower velocity in the slow twist....dale

[TCFAN]

Dale,you might also consider the NOE 225107. In my 218 Bee I get better accuracy at slower velocity than with the NOE 45 WFN.I use gas checks on both,and my barrel is 1-14 twist............Terry

[richhodg66]

"I am considering the NOE 45 gr FN"

That's a great bullet in my Savage 219 in Hornet with the squirrel loads I have been shooting in it. It doesn't want to feed through the Stevens 322 bolt gun I bought though.

[runfiverun]

heck Dale: just speed em up..

Waco: watch out, shooting those little buggers can get addictive.

the last nvcb shoot we went to I spent a considerable amount of time looking for a spot to shoot ground squirrels, once I found a field we slowly worked it over for a couple of day's.
I think we went through 600 rounds of varmint rifle stuff, a bunch of 22lr, and a whole bunch of cast boolit rifle rounds ranging from the 308 up through the 0-6 and several other non varmint type guns, taking plonking shots with them and just laughing at each other.
a Win made 1917 enfield is not much of a squirrel rifle at 200+ yards, neither is a 44 mag lever gun.
unless your the squirrel.

[skeettx]

Technical name = Belding ground squirrel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY43QA3UzUw

[quilbilly]

After the shoot ends after dark, the cleanup crew (coyotes and badgers) comes in and by morning, you would never know the shoot happened and you will think there are just as many squirrels still there.

[triggerhappy243]

I looked at 2 of the video's and there is a distinct difference between the belding and the prairie dog. Prairie dogs are bigger.... And look like obama

[BruceB]

After the shoot ends after dark, the cleanup crew (coyotes and badgers) comes in and by morning, you would never know the shoot happened and you will think there are just as many squirrels still there.

Very true. Not only that, but ravens, crows, hawks, eagles etc will hang around for munchies DURING the day.... I occasionally take a looooong shot at a crow just for variety. A .22-250 teaches them proper respect rather efficiently.

What really surprised me was finding out that the squirrels are cannibalistic, dragging the carcasses of their erstwhile pals to cover for leisurely dining.

Yes, the prairie dogs are a clearly-different species from the ground squirrels.