Up at 0500 hours! Sunburned. Windburned. Sore fingers. Irritated eyes. It was all worth it!

I think I got off a new one day record (personal record) of quality shots on Ground Squirrels today!

It was Varminter Valhalla! Nirvana and paradise all rolled into one long days shoot!

I shot today til I was sated! Then at the insistence of our host we had to shoot some more!

I also christened three new firearms as full fledged Varminters! And ran so much ammo through a couple of veteran Rifles that I was feeling guilty!

Lordy - lordy it was a hoot of a shoot!

First off my friend Ben shocked me when I met him at 0645 hours. He sheepishly confessed that two of his Rifles needed to be sight in verified! This caused a full hours delay but it was 33 degrees then and not many Gophers scooting about at that temperature. So we did the sight in and I chewed his ass for being lazy all winter and not having this done. This is rare for me to chastise my partners.

The sighting in did give me time to load my four clips for my Ruger 77/17V and my 10 clips for the one Ruger 10/22 I brought along today.

Upon arrival at our favorite secret Ground Squirrel cultivated field I was ahead of Ben and whacked the first Varmint of the day with my Ruger 10/22 (Lilja heavy long barrel and a 4X12 scope). Having won that traditional race between Ben and myself I immediately got out my big irons that needed christening. The first to draw blood was a Remington 700 VLSS in caliber 223 Remington. This all stainless limited edition Varminter with 26" heavy barrel and Leupold 4X12 scope literally mistified a large Ground Rat at about 150 yards! Great start here! No wind early this morning and I ran 10 rounds through the new stainless and gray laminated stock beauty and then put it away for the day! Next I got out its twin in caliber 22-250. This same limited edition model though has a Leupold 6.5X20 scope on it. I did the same regimen with it firing ten shots and doing VERY well with it out to 225 yards or so.

Next I got out the now one year old Ruger 77/17V with Weaver KT15 scope and ran four clips of Remington ammo through it from one stand! I do not recall a miss with this rig out of those 36 shots. They were easy shots though as the Gopher hordes were literally at our feet at times! Ben was howling at the spiralling Ground Squirrels whenever he saw one of my hits with the 17 HMR! Ben forgot his binoculars at home and it was way to far to go back for them. I gave him my 12X Nikons and I used my Leica M-800 rangefinder (6X?) to sort out the Gophers from the dirt clods and cowpies. This was early on in the morning. Later on the shooting turned so sensational that we literally just moved the Rifles scope laterally a few feet til another target was acquired! It was as good Gopher shooting this morning as I had ever seen! And that is saying something!

I switched from Lilja Ruger 10/22 to Ruger 77/17V and back and forth keeping them cool and keeping me entertained until I had done 100 rounds of ammo through the 77/17V. I then set it back into its case and Varminted on with the Ruger 10/22.

After our lunch respit which consisted of banannas, cold drinks and cashews I got out the other virgin Varminter. It was my new, NEW Smith & Wesson Model 647 revolver in caliber 17 HMR! Out of 12 shots with it I killed 4 Ground Squirrels! Poor shooting on my part but I have an excuse! I had not yet mounted the scope I have for it due to an error in purchasing the wrong base! It was still fun to shoot this pistol with the open sights. It was shooting right on left and right but was 4 inches high at 25 yards. I had sighted it in on its initial trip to the range for fire and function tests. The rear sight needs to be removed to mount the scope base and when I removed the sight I then found out the base was the wrong one! So I put the sight back on hoping it would remain sighted in. No luck there apparently. But at least it is christened.

We used my friends truck today to Hunt from and he shot from the flat bed using the roof as his shooting platform and I shot from the ground using the trucks hood for a shooting platform. I used the large size Dog-Gone-Good "X" style sandbag for all my Rifling today. I had two sizes of Harris bipods along but used neither.

Oohhh.. the shooting was sublime!

I even got the 22-250 back out to puff up a large black flying Varmint that made the mistake of landing about 300 yards distant! Grinning like a kid with a new bike I rebagged this beauty again. I was shooting the explosive Speer 52 gr. HP/FB bullet in it.

No Fox, Badger or Coyote were seen today which is very unusual for this area! Many Mule Deer, Antelope and Whitetailed Deer were observed though along with Eagles, Ravens, Crows, Magpies, Hawks and Falcons! A great day to be in the Rocky Mountains!

The end of the day came when I could shoot no more. I had finished one whole 525 pack of Federal L.R. Hollowpoints, 100 rounds of Remington 17 HMR's, 11 22-250 rounds, 10 223 rounds and 12 leftover Hornady 17 HMR rounds in my S&W revolver! The wind did pick up in the early afternoon which really dug into the 10/22's success rate. I was tempted to get the 17 HMR Rifle back out when the wind began pushing 14 MPH but I felt sorry for its dirty barrel and did not abuse it! 658 rounds downrange in one day is a lot of shooting and a lot of fun!

I can't recall when I have had more fun and a better time shooting Ground Squirrels, ever! Maybe its just been a very long winter?

My friend Ben who relied mostly on his super accurate Clarke accurized Ruger 77/22 LR with Leupold 3.5X10 AO scope for the days Gophering says he shot at least 600 rounds of Remington Hollowpoints today! I could tell he was sated also.

What a day! High of 69 degrees! Nice dinner after the shoot and more icey beverages!

Aaahhh... Montana!

Supposed to rain tomorrow or I would be right back out there long drive or not, burning skin or not - it was well worth it!

Better go clean those Varminters!

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy

V.G.

Great report! I still think you should have some of your stuff published or at least consider making a web site. You are a great writer or story teller, and fill in those nit picky details that are like spices on a plate of food to us die hard shooters and varminters.

I was tempted to send you an email a few weeks ago and see what you had chose to mount as a scope on your 17 HRM.
15 x Weaver T 15 is an interesting choice. I have a Ruger Grey laminate heavy barrel on that has been a great shooter, but I have played with a couple of different scopes on it, still searching to get it "just right". Currently it has a BSA 4 x 16 mil dot on it, which is not a Cadillac scope, but it actually serves the purpose.

I had debated about the B& L 10 x with a Mildot for it, or thinking of taking a 3 x 9 Leupold and have it fitted for a Mil Dot set up and adjusting the parallex down to 75 yrds.

Spending too much on powder and bullets right now, to get a decent scope for some rifles I would like a better scope for.
And what I am spending on powder and bullets sure doesn't seem to last long. But after your day of shooting I am sure you can relate. LoL.

Cheers and Good shooting
Seafire

VG, Way to go! Wish I could have been there! Probably a bunch of us do!! GHD

VarmintGuy...

Chalk me up as jealous...

How do you like your Weaver KT15? Out of all of the predominantly variable scopes that I own, one of my favorites for varmint hunting turned out to be a fixed 12X Leupold. I'm thinking of getting some more fixed power/fairly high magnification scopes, and the Weaver stands out, but I haven't had a chance to use or even see one in person.

Seafire: Thanks for the kind words! In a former life my co-workers also became aware of my ability to relay details, nuances and perceptions that they would often overlook. And they would very often on important situations (when the chips were down) have me critique their statements, depositions and reports. I have no formal education other than graduating from the University of Skid Row class of 1969! CYA was my Doctoral Thesis and is still remarked about today in certain circles - I have heard!

I slept so well last night! Mostly dreaming about Varmint Hunting! This could have been induced by the lingering odor of Hoppes #9 and G96 on my hands! The Varmint wife is away for a few days and she never lets me near our sleeping chamber with any hint of those two wonderful elixirs on my hands. She does not understand me!

Now, to my choice of scopes Seafire, for my Ruger Model 77/17V. It was simply this set of circumstances that got the Weaver KT15 (straight 15X scope with Duplex crosshairs) onto my 17 HMR Varminter. I got a great deal on this scope at a Gunshow. I bought it for $100.00 from my gun trading buddy Ron Potts of Portland, Oregon. He had gotten it in an estate thing and did not realize the quality of this scope and I jumped on it right away. The Duplex crosshairs in this scope are just about perfect for enhancing my ability to use the duplex opening to determine "Kentucky windage" and "Kentucky elevation" in the field. Another factor in my choice of this scope was the current prices of my favored Leupold scopes (and all other top brand optics!)! Cost anymore is a factor in all my optical choices. Leupold used to make (and I owned several) straight 16X scopes. They were wonderful things and I used them for Colony Varmints for many years. Somehow they all got away from me. I also have a few Leupold straight 12X scopes on Varminters and indeed they are great scopes and great performers in the Varmint fields. I used to use these fine 12X scopes for Coyote calling in the sagebrush country of eastern Washington and Oregon. Variables eventually kind of took over there for me. Which brings me to the answer for your question as to what I would recommend to you for your Ruger 77/17V. I think I would stay with the 4X16 power range. I have two close Varminting friends that have the wonderful Weaver V16's on their Ruger 77/17's. I have shot one of them in the field and I can find no flaw with this choice. I even bought one here about 3 months ago to replace my Weaver KT15 on my 17 HMR. But just after I bought that Weaver V16 along came a screaming deal on a Remington 700 Classic in caliber 222 Remington! So the brand new Weaver V16 is now on that "deuce"! I may switch them this fall as my needs for the Ruger 77/17V also include night calling/spotlighting for Fox, and pelt saving of same! The 4X low end of that model Weaver would sure be better for night spotlighting than the straight 15X I have on it now.

Also it would sure work better for shooting running Jack Rabbits and such! Anyhow I highly recommend a good adjustable objective scope that has the power range of 4X16 or a minimum of 4X12 for the 17 HMR!

Yes ranging crosshairs are a great aid in Colony Varmint Hunting!

The more I think about it that KT-15 Weaver I have now on my Ruger 77/17V has sure suited me well for the Colony Varmint Hunting I have done so far with it - as well as all the Walking Varminting I have done with it! I guess what I am saying is it has a pretty wide field of view for a 15X scope and is not really that big a problem when I try to find a Varmint quickly in that scopes field of view. I am so impressed with this Weaver KT-15 scope that I have been actively seeking others to buy! No luck as yet but I am still looking! Yeah the KT-15 Weaver would do well on my Remington Classic 222 I am sure!

If you could ever find a killer deal on a Leupold 4.5X14 scope I am sure they would really perform well for you (or me!) on Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs and all manner of other Varmints. I really like the Duplex reticle in this model of scope for all around Varminting. Its another scope I am always looking to pick up from the used market!

By the way have you ever seen one of the Ruger 77/17V Rifles with the bright shiney stainless finish? I have only seen a few of these (3) and mine is one of them. I really like its looks but it does shine in the field and the gray finish like you have certainly would be more conducive to Varmint calling and Walking Varminter duties!

I just have a feeling a good deal will come your way scope wise here real soon!



Got the bug: I really like the Weaver KT-15 for both Varminting and range work. Its the first one I myself have owned but several of my friends have owned them and speak highly of them. Like I told Seafire I am actively looking for others to buy and use for Varminting. I saw one recently at a Gunshow but the guy wanted $250.00 for it and I thought that was to much. This particular Weaver KT-15 of mine has precise and immediately activated click adjustments. No lag time at all when adjusting for bullet point of impact! And again I can not speak highly enough of how well the Weaver KT-15 Duplex design aids me in windage and elevation allowances in the field! Unfortunately the Weaver folks quit offering this KT-15 model a few years ago. The used market is the only source for one now.

I also have great respect for the fixed power scopes in Colony Varmint Hunting situations. Leupold used to make a straight 20X scope that was also a humdinger for Varminting!



Thanks again you guys and keep after them!

Hold into the wind

VarmintGuy

Varmintguy,

$250 is way too much for a used KT15. Natchez have new ones on sale for $219.

Turtle71: I am glad you pointed out the Natchez site to me! It corrects information I had received that the Weaver folks had quit making the KT-15. I also went to the Weaver site and the KT-15 is prominently advertised there!
And at $219.00 (on sale from $249.00) the Natchez offering is sure tempting!
Thanks again for the update!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Curiously (or not!) an old KT-15 sits atop my CZ in 17HMR. It assisted in the demise of, uh, MANY eastern woodchucks when it graced a Savage 223 and I bought it so long ago that I haven't a clue as to what I paid for it.

Aside from being occasionally surprised by a very close gopher and having to quickly focus the objective, it works really well for me.

I went afield this morning during a grey, cloudy day of rain and flurries and managed to only kill a handful before my bud and I adjourned to the neighborhood roadhouse. Too damn cold!

Redial

Dang that sounds like you had some fun. We had a rifle like yours in the store (Axmen) a while back and it does look interesting. I prefer the grey stainless in the rugers.

How is that rifle for accuracy? I have been mighty tempted by the little .17, and the CZ's are calling my name..

Great post, you got me thinking spring, and the gophers in Missoula taunt me daily...

Matt