Squirrels, Rock Chucks & the 327 Maggie

[sixshot]

Decided to make a late afternoon run to check out the Ground Squirrel & Rock Chuck population. After picking up Callshot (32 maggie & 44 special) we headed out of town to see if we could draw some blood. I had my 8 shot 327 Maggie, the Bisley 45, a 44 flattop & my 9mm, well, you never know, we've got Bears, Coyotes, Snakes, Wolves, Mountain Lions & Utah fishermen, it can be dangerous out there.
Within an hour we had busted 6 Ground Squirrels, and before anyone starts complaining about shooting them, they are not protected, farmers & ranchers absolutely hate them because they are so destructive to pastures & other farm ground, plus they carry more disease than a retired hooker. You are always welcome to shoot Ground Squirrels or Rock Chucks, read on.
After working over the Squirrels we headed to another favorite spot & ran into a local rancher working on a loading chute (cattle) he said to have at it & also told us of another spot on his ranch that had quite a few Rock Chucks & we were more than welcome to work them over. It was getting late but we hustled right over & within 15 minutes I had taken 5 hay munchers & Steve had got 2. The rancher came by & was very surprised that we had taken them with iron sighted sixguns.
I took one at 74 yds after missing him twice. They are so hard to see with iron sights when they are hunkered down in the Lava Reefs or heavy brush. You can see them over the top of the sights but when you look through the sights they pretty much disappear, it is not easy with irons.
As we were leaving an adjoining farmer & his wife came by on a 4 wheeler & as we talked they invited us to hunt 2 pieces of their property. I told you these guys hate sqirrels & chucks!
This little 327 Maggie with the 135 Gr. Ferminator HP is a bad dude on small game, it took the head competely off one of the Rock Chucks, gone!! Three of the Ground Squirrels & the 327 Maggie.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01150/100_3672_zps2da0c958.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01150/100_3672_zps2da0c958.jpg.html)
More Ground Squirrels, they dig some awful holes in pastures & the 327 puts some awful holes in them.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01151/100_3670_zps128e48c5.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01151/100_3670_zps128e48c5.jpg.html)
Some of the most beautiful country on earth & not a Utah fisherman in sight!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01152/100_3674_zps2a2fff54.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01152/100_3674_zps2a2fff54.jpg.html)
This old girl had Boobies like Dolly Parton, she must have had lots of pups before she headed for that giant hay field in the sky.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01153/100_3675_zps67f75f02.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01153/100_3675_zps67f75f02.jpg.html)
Big Bertha (Dolly) in my right hand & 2 pups in my left, one of them is minus his head, I donated 135 grs. of lead posioning to his noggin as he peeked over a lava rock. Many times when you whack one they fall into the large cracks in the reefs & you can't reach them, oh well.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01154/100_3676_zpsd2a0a282.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01154/100_3676_zpsd2a0a282.jpg.html)
Miles of breath taking country & we only spotted 2 other trucks in 4 hours.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/6shot_01155/100_3673_zpsb9f3b036.jpg (http://s84.photobucket.com/user/6shot_01/media/6shot_01155/100_3673_zpsb9f3b036.jpg.html)

Dick

[dk17hmr]

That's great....Rock Chucks are by far my favorite varmint to hunt.

[runfiverun]

well you now know what is on tomorrows agenda for me.
I know of two big ol males that I have been able to stalk in on, but haven't been able get a clear shot at either one yet.
I'm thinking I'm gonna have to lie in wait at the edge of their fields with the 25-06 to get these two.
they are beginning to run away at the sight of my truck. :lol:

[Djones]

I never knew Dolly had fuzzy boobies.

Well I'm just joking around. Thanks for posting the great pics and story.

[nagantguy]

Great shooting and pics. Nice hog legs. What's is a Utah fisherman?

[FLHTC]

Boy I'd be doing some long range shooting there.......nice shooting

[A pause for the COZ]

Now wouldn't it be nice if some gun makers would make us a Lever gun in 327 Mag to take out there too?

[sixshot]

Lamar, put that dang rifle down, get out of the truck & hunt them with a sixgun, I know you can do it, I've seen you shoot, do it & leave the rifle for your daughter.

Utah fishermen are also considered varmints up here, hard to find a place to even reach the water sometimes without seeing a Utah license plate parked in the way. And for all my Utah pals out there, I was born in Logan, we never lived there, just delivered there! Two good buddies come up a couple of times a month & they catch fish!

Dick

[NVScouter]

Great read! Wack those things all day long and get new access! I've made a few ranch friends that way before.

I read once that a survey found one ground squirrel would each $4 a month of hay. With rifles and a couple buddies we usualy knocked out 50-200 ground squirrels a day. Ranchers love you if your responsable and watch livestock/equipment and leave gates as you found em.

Love that .32!

[John Allen]

I love taking my Smith 17 out for squirrels. It is so addicting with iron sights.

[NVScouter]

Great use of the glove. No glove no love on those rats!

[daniel lawecki]

You have beautiful country out west all we have east is blacktop and cars not many places to hunt.

[sixshot]

Daniel, I know what you mean, my dad was a Buckeye, we lived in Columbus, Lebanon & New Boston, Ohio before returning to the west back in the late 50's.

Dick

[Idaho Mule]

Good shooting there sixshot. My sons and I blasted a few ground squirrels this past weekend too, no chucks here in our neck of the woods tho. We were usings carbines, not pistolas, but ranging from 75 to 200 yds and open sights and of course cast boolets. Oldest son whacked an unfortunate Snowshoe with his Ruger 44 carbine, removed one side of it's head, range was about 70 yds on that one. Other guns were Marlin 1894's in 32-20 and 357. Thanks for the story and pics. JW

[MT Gianni]

When I lived in Grace an old rancher in Niter talked about Indians coming off the Rez to camp and hunt rockchucks every spring. He had a few pics from the fifties of them camped out after coming down from Fort Hall. The chucks were the first fatty animals to come out in the spring and they ate them and jerked them. He said they stayed for 3-4 weeks with a dozen lodges set up. I have shot a few but it takes a brave man to pick them up, they are generally crawling with lice and ticks.

[sixshot]

Mt Gianni, I was shooting chucks one time & an Indian kid about 16 yrs old walked down where I was laying prone on a ditch bank & ask me if he could have some of the dead rock chucks. I told him sure, he could have all of them, before I left I ask him how they cooked them. He said they placed the chuck over an open fire after packing the entire body with mud, the mud would bake & when they pulled it off the fire they broke the mud (clay) off & the hair would come with it. Then they ate it & no, they didn't gut it. Thats what he told me.
I'm used to fleas & ticks, I'm around Callshot all the time! Still wanting to shoot a whitetail up your way if possible.

Dick

[runfiverun]

the few I have talked to [that eat them] say they have a beef flavor to them.

I leave the truck far behind most times when hunting the chucks, I use home made bullets and quite often cast boolits in the 223's.
I wander the long rock piles up by china hat as I don't really have access to any other places.
this usually means a 3-5 mile walk and maybe 1-2 chucks a day.
I got two rock chucks this afternoon, both of them at about 300 yds, I did pick off a few ground squirrels along cow camp road today on the way home.

seen a doe and a cow elk today, both of them alone, which I thought a bit odd.

[crowbuster]

Boy that sure looks like some fun. Nice shootin there.

[osteodoc08]

I'd love to use my 22-250 on them. Maybe one day.

Nice shooting

[ammohead]

A native american friend (nevada shoshone) told me the same thing. Put them right on hot coals guts and all.