Actually, it will be a much worse year for them. Cameraland delivered my new 10x42 Geovids Friday the 13th.
I still have a pair of very accurate Savage BV-SS single shots. My 223 is dialed in at 200 using the last 200 rounds of NORMA 69gr Match HP, that shoot under an inch at 300yds.
And the 7 STW has the last two boxes of (old) Hornady 162gr Match HP bullets loaded using an ice-creams scoop full of MRP.

223 to about 250, and the STW out to 700yds or a bit farther. Still sub-moa at 500, but a 5" wide target gets pretty tough past that.

It is time!

if your just starting your too late.
I have done in over 50 already this year and I'm starting in your direction looking for more next.
the 243 has accounted for most, the 25-06 for some and the 223 has dinged in a few while out squirrel hunting.

I have been using the 223 the last couple of years but decided to use it for the ground squirrels and break out the old 225 dollar 243 for this years rock pile stock scratching festival.
oooh that reminds me I need to load those hornady cases for the 243 and see if I have any more 86gr 25 cal bullets.

Let me know when you hit the first one past 600yds. That happened about four hours ago for me. The Geovids read 617, and my 7STW made the second shot a hit. What a mess...

I used my Geovid's today to range prarie dogs. I hit a pup about the size of a golf ball at 243 yards. That seems like a long enough shot for me. I will post a pic of the gun, a Cooper 223 with a Minox scope.

today was ground squirrel hunting day I need to find another spot again.
I picked over 60 from one small hole in the sage brush and over 50 more off the rock piles.
I scratched out a rock chuck at a bit over 250 yds.
at first I didn't see it as a chuck I seen it as a squirrel cause all I could make out was part of the head.
it didn't come apart like the squirrels usually do so I went and looked.
I haven't seen a chuck on that rock pile in 3 years.

Rich.
I don't shoot at anything that far away.
400 and under is plenty enough for me.

I get in a lot of exercise spotting and stalking in on them.
I will spook them into their hole then sit and wait them out then pick them off and move along to the next rock pile and scan for more.
then work into position for a shot again.
the best I have done is 4 from one rock pile.

but I hear the western side of the state actually has some good chuck numbers.

yes, it does.

do you guys have the Belding's Ground Sqirrel's like they do over in Oregon?

I really miss chuck hunting.

We have Richardson's Ground Squirrels, and the little guys. We call them "Picket Pins" because that is about how big they are.

we have both over here.
the Beldings are a bit bigger and easier to see. [a real big one is still maybe half the size of a P-dog]
the richardsons are almost like shooting golf balls on tooth picks.

using something like the hornady 50gr spsx or the sierra 40gr rn [for the 22 hornet] in a fast twist 22 cal barrel is about like watching a Bee hit your windshield only through the scope.
if I use a regular 50gr soft point in the 223 I can see them get violently shoved to the side on impact but a chest hit will usually open them up pretty well.
a hit to the head/neck junction with the softer fast spinning bullets is,,, well,,, it's something you have to see for yourself.

head shooting them with a 22lr copper coated round nose is so unspectacular you have to see that too.
if you catch them standing up.
they just go into a full body quiver stand stock still without moving for almost a full minute then just tip over, unless the wind is blowing.

I have made the trip over to Burns, OR to shoot sage rats (Belding's) the last couple years. Didn't go this year, going to Zim in Sept so I told the wife I would stay home. They are a lot of fun to shoot, but the drive is quite long. We saw a few rockchucks along the interstate in Idaho, but didn't stop and try and get permission to shoot.

permission?
they are just rock chucks and ground squirrels.
if your in a safe spot to shoot it's not a big deal.

most all of my hunting is on state or blm land I walk back in a way's and scout them out.
I know many of the ones I have shot have never seen a person before.
but that don't stop the chucks from running and hiding the instant they see you.

I have often had farmers stop while I'm glassing from the road and point me across their fields to some good spots.
they know what I'm out there doing and they don't like feeding them their crops.