A Winter Update

If there were any rats up now, they would have to be on snowshoes. Drifts are 3 feet deep at Jim's place in Crane. But, looking ahead, Jim shot his first rat on Feb 2nd last year. So, possibly only 2 months until shooting. I made my first trip last year on Feb 16th. But if you recall, pictures from early last season show that shooting rats in Feb-March is not for everyone. It can be pretty cold and windy. Of course the wind is a 12 month occurence in that part of the counrty.

Right now, we are checking on the rabbit population over in the Catlow valley. Might try a trip pre-Xmas.

We have had an early winter here near Sisters. Not very harsh, but winter snow and temps. One of picts attached shows my shop this morning. I have been spending time in my shop when I can, mostly working on building " Ratrouster"shooting rests. Trying to get enough ahead so I won't have to spend any time this spring during shooting season building more.

Going to try a new approach this year with the "Ratrousters". I will have them for sale ( going to have to raise the prices on the ones on wheels ) but, I am also going to rent them out. Haven't worked out all the details yet, but a rental will include a day of rat shooting with our group. Jim and I are going to team up and should prove interesting. Watch here for further info or you can always call me at 542-420-5342.

On a personal note: Last summer I developed what looked like a cyst on my lower lip. Turned out to be mucosal melanoma ( cancer). It was removed and then Sept- Oct, I went thru 6 weeks of radiation treatments on the affected area. Dr said only a 10% chance of it returning, Also had a skin cancer spot removed from my old bald head. Also OK. Saw my heart Dr. last week and he said with my new pacer/defib device I was on cruise control and he would see me in a year. I just need to lose some weight now. UGH.

Around the first of last month, I fished Lake Billy Chinook for 4 days over 2 weeks. Limited on Kokanee every day.

More later as things happen. Let me know if anything is happening in your world. Hoping to get a few more followers this year so we can share rat shooting and fishing info.

End of summer Recap

Well, haven't been out for rats since July. Some were still showing into August but I was spending more time fishing. Fished some from my 8 foot pontoon boat and then bought a 7 foot Livingston so I could keep completly out of the water. After I got a seat in it and balanced properly, it worked real good. We went to Carmen Diversion Res a few times with good results. Last time out I boated 17 nice Rainbows. It is only 42 miles from my house, so, we go about noon and fish the PM bite.

Also fished Ochoco Res with Grandson Brandon and Prineville Res a few times in my 16 Ft Tracker. Always have good luck there on Crappie and Bass. Usually do good trolling for trout, but is to boring.

Spent a week at Seaview Wa. and was able to fish 2 days with brother-in- law Matt in his 22 ft Sea Dory. What a comfy ride. We had 3 takedowns and boated 2, 13 lb Chinooks.

Now dealing with some melanoma on my lower lip with radiation treatments 5 days a week till Oct 19th and they found a couple of spots on my old bald head that need to be removed. So, most of the next couple of months will revolve around Dr. visits and we have 5 grandkids playing sports this fall that gives us something to do on Tuesdays, Thursdays,Saturdays and Sunday. Never a dull moment. See Ya

P.S. You might notice that I have shaved my beard. Had to for the radiation treatments. Get used to it. They said the whiskers probably wouldn't grow back in the treated area.

Crane, Or Hay is down & Rats are up

Just returned from 3 days at Crane. Most of the first cutting is down and raking and baleing is in full swing. Saw a lot of rats in the mowed fields. Now would be a good time to call your farmer friends and make one more trip shooting rats. We opted to go fishing instead, since my friend Jim had permission to get into some private bass ponds and we had only 2 dqys between Dr appointments. Getting old isn't for sissies. Kept enough bass for dinner.

Stopped by Great Basin Sporting Goods in Hines and said hi to friends Ron & Kate. Ron must have 250-300 guns in stock. Stop in if you are going thru.

I still have "Ratrouster" pivoting shooting rests in stock and am getting calls every week. Selling a few. You should try one.

Last week I fished Prineville Res one day and Ochoco Res another. I would call it average. Couldn't find any Crappie.

Still Killin Rats

I thought it might be the end of the good shooting for this year, but I decided to head out to the ranch for a look. Besides, I knew there would be no crowds since only myself and one other guy are okeyed to shoot rats there. Well, the other guy was there with his old friend, so it was kind of crowded. The three of us had to share 1200 acres of pivots. We are allowed to take only one other shooter with us at a time. I elected, that day ( 5-30 ) to go by myself. Alfalfa was getting a little tall. My attached picture shows the height compared to a Pepsi bottle. The other guys were shooting off their 4 wheelers so I moved off to another pivot ( they got there first and had the pivot, loaded with rats ) to the East. I had my Hitch-Haul plugged into the receiver on the Excursion and had strapped my Ratrouster to it. I backed up to the field ( of course, driving on the Alfalfa now is to damaging ) and had a 180 degree plus field of swing plus some added elevation to see the rats easier. The weather was OK. Temp around 60, very light wind and just a few light sprinkles. One of the attached pictures shows a wind/dust funnel. After all, this is Central Oregon, so weatherwise, anything is possible. I did a little driving around as well on some of the ranch roads and took some shots from the rig when the opportunity presented itself. The pivots streach for some 5 miles and are all linked with maintained roads. I saw quite a few Antelope and even some young ones. By 4 o'clock it looked like the weather might sock in so I called it quits with 84 kills for the day. Now remember. I score kills by the "Ratrouster" method. I know some of you score by the " I musta killed method". In that case, I "musta" killed 350.

I'm sure some of you are trying to figure out where The ranch is and maybe some of you know. One of the requirements of me shooting there, by the ranch manager, is that I have to tell anyone I take out, do not contact the ranch manager and try to get on to shoot. He said the answer will be NO and he doesn't want to be bothered. Message delivered.

In the area you want to shoot, knock on doors and ask. Sometimes it pays off, bigtime. This last week, I talked to shooters from around Xmas Valley and the shooting was still pretty good.

I've been selling my Ratrouster pivoting shooter rests right along and because of the Sh***y weather have been making some more this Spring. Getting in lots of shop time, but no fishing. So I have a fair stock right now. I will keep up on any rat shooting info I come across and what fishing info I can. Check in often and comments are welcome.

Latest ( and probably last) Trip to Crane 2010

Looked like a break in the weather thie last week, so decided to give Crane one last chance for a rat shoot without wind. Stopped at " the ranch" on the way over to see how high the alfalfa was and wound up killing 129 while just passing thru. On leaving, I looked West to check traffic and saw a huge black plume of smoke. Wasn't very tall yet, so knowing something was amiss, I turned and headed back towards Bend. Sure enough, a tanker truck had rolled over and caught fire. ( See Pictures ) I talked to an eyewitness and he said the truck hit the other shoulder and over corrected and rolled. Second roll it caught on fire. I was surprised that the sage wasn't on fire. Unfortunatly, I think the driver was killed. Didn't hear for sure. On the way home I saw they were digging a huge pit for the cleanup.

That was Wednesday. I stayed thru noon on Friday and packed up the trailer and headed home. Weather was great but the alfalfa was growing fast and you had to find bare and dry spots to be able to see the rats. Still easy to get 100 kills a day but after 6 round trips to Crane and 24 days of shooting this spring, I was ready to call it good. There will be a couple of weeks of decent shooting after cutting. I am going to just make day trips to a closer location until it grows up high. In the meantime, I will unpack my boat and start fishing. A caller, about purchasing one of my " ratrouster" shooting rests was at Odell Lake and said the Koke bite was on there now.

Don't forget to go back thru my old posts for a look at the "ratrousters" and other Rat Info.

I'll keep posting on any shooting info I get and keep you up to date on my fishing success, or lack of it. By the way, to enlarge any of my photos, double click on them. Try enlarging the center pic to see how thick the rats were at "The Ranch".Bullseyes and tight lines.

First Week In May, A Cold Windy Shoot

Drove to Crane on Monday morning with friends Gary, pulling a 32' toy hauler, and Jim, hauling a 11' camper. Luckly I was only driving my Excursion as the wind was crossway and on our quarter tail all the way. The prediction was for gusts to 50 and I beleive it. Arrived Crane about 12:30 and set up. Went out in the afternoon to check out the rats and found a few up in our favorite field. By up, I mean at least laying on the ground chewing on alfalfa shoots. Not much of a target, especially in a 40-50 mph wind. We got out our "ratrouster" shooting chairs and set up on the leeward side of my rig ( see attached picture). Notice the dust in the background. It settled in all around us a few minutes later, so we picked up and headed for camp.

The next morning, it was a little windy and 35 degrees. Wind chill-Brrrrr. Shot in one field till noon and moved to another for the PM shoot. About 3:30, the wind calmed down and I was in my T-shirt. Bill and I shot til 7pm. He had confirmed kills of 241 and I had 178. The other 3 had about as many, but they didn't count. Said it was easier to lie if there was no proof.

Next morning ( Wed) it was blowing hard again. We tried a little shooting,but, it was bitterly cold. Three of us pulled out after lunch and headed home and Bill and Ty stayed, The weather here near Sisters is nice with light wind this morning. I hope it is the same for the boys in Crane.

Best shooting yet

I just returned from a 5 day rat shoot in Crane, Or. We had a little rain, a fair amount of sun and lots of wind. 2 of the days were perfect shooting days. First of the two days, we figured that the group or 8 shot around 1000 rats. Some of the bench shooters weren't direct counting, so we had to estimate on what those of us that always count had done. 5 of the 8 were shooting centerfire off bench tables. The second terrific day of shooting ( Sunday) saw 2 of us on the "Ratrousters" on wheels and 5 on benches. The 2 of us did just what the wheeled units are designed for. We went out to the pivot where no one had gotten to and got into virgin rat territory. In 6 hours of shooting with our .22s, Jim and I had 498 confirmed kills. ( Remember my rules on what is a "kill") The others got quite a few also but towards the end of the day, three of them saw what we were doing and came out with their .22s and shot offhand for about the last hour. That day had to produce around 1400 dead rats. One of the best days I can remember.

Sunday Rat Shoot

Brother-in-law Scott and I headed out to "The Ranch" late in the morning and started shooting about 11:30. The rats seem to be up all day, so why get up early on Sunday. We shot in one pivot till 4 PM, killing 156. ( Check out the attached picture of a rat gut shot with a .17 HMR. Anything less, is not a kill according to the way we score kills.) 156 dead rats equals 2262 lbs of alfalfa saved for harvest. Added to the 100 kills I got on Friday,that means 3717 lbs of alfalfa saved in the two days. In the paper this morning, I saw some alfalfa hay for $110 per ton. So, we saved the rancher about $200. About the same amount I spent on fuel and ammo for the two days. Well, not really. Actually, I spent about half of that. Any way, Sunday was a great day. around 70 degrees and a little windy causing me to shoot below my average for the amount of ammo fired. Got home at 6 and caught the end of a neighborhood potluck dinner. All in all, a great day. Will probably head for Crane in a couple of days for a repeat of last years group from 3 states shoot. Bullseyes and tight lines. Dobe

Finally, Some Nice Weather

Friday, was a great day for rat shooting. Sun, temp 65 and no wind. I drove out to some new shooting grounds for me and found lots of sage rats. No babies up in that area yet, so the best shooting is yet to come. Jumped up a herd of Antelope, about 50-60. I was by myself, so I just drove around and shot out the window using my .17HMR. I quit when I got to 100 kills. I know, that doesn't sound like many, but remember, I only count the ones that are laying there ready for the birds to feast on, and there were plenty of them doing just that when I left. If you can get the attached picture to full screen, the Antelope show up pretty good. Good Shooting

Shooting on Private Property, A Reminder

Just a reminder on some guidelines on shooting on private property. Refer to my Blog of March 7th, 2009. Thanks

Three Things I shot At Crane

I arrived at Crane Tues morning to wind and cold. Jim and I shot from my Excursion at our old standby field. High temp was about 44 degrees. Thats where I scored my first kill of the MIRROR ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. If you are swinging on a rat while shooting out your window, make sure your rifle barrel, as well as your scope are clear of the mirror. I have proof that although you have a clear picture thru the scope, you may shoot the corner of the mirror.

Wednesday morning was clam and clear. I scored my second kill on a Badger at about 50yds with my .22. He was peeking over the top of a mound with the top part of his head showing from about the top of the nose up. Put one thru his left eye. Later in the PM we got out the pivoting shooter rest on wheels and treked out into a pivot about 300 yds where most shooters don't get to and cleaned up on the hardly shot at rats. That's where I got the third kill of note. My friend Jim is holding the first kill of the baby rats. Yes, THE BABY RATS ARE UP, and that means shooting will be hot and heavy from here on out. On Wednesday, the wind was calm and temp was 55. Perfect weather. Good Shooting.

Don't forget to check out Great Basin Sporting Goode in Hines. Tell Ron you saw it on Sage Rat Central.

Crane 3/27-3/31 A Cold,Windy Rat Shoot

Saturday was a travel day, and a nice one. Stopped at Chicky Res for lunch. Windy and cold. Water looked like a thick chocolate milkshake. Made a stop in Hines at Great Basin Sporting Goods ( more on that later) and then on down to Crane and set up my trailer. By then it was windy and late PM, so didn't try any shooting.

Sunday was windy and cold (43) so we shot out of the pickup. The wind was keeping a lot of rats down but we bagged quite a few.

Monday morning the wind had picked up and a lot of real estate

was changing hands. I drove into Burns and on the way back, a half of a manufactured home had been blown clean off the road and was just a pile of lumber and etc in the ditch. I knew the wind was bad, but later the radio said gusts were to 60 mph. We did find a field that was kind of protected and got in a little shooting. I had to reset the stab jacks on my trailer 5 times that day. The wind was rocking it and the jack pads kept digging holes.

Tuesday morning saw us looking out at 4 inches of fresh snow and it was still coming down. Still windy to 25 mph. Started to let up, so, being dedicated rat shooters like we are, we headed out to our spot. Beleive it or not, rats were up, although in limited numbers. We shot from the Excursion, like the day before with Bill shooting from the passenger side, out of the wind, and I assuming my position as tail gunner in the rear.

Wednesday morning. Another fresh 4 inches of snow and I decided to bag it. We were going to stay till Friday and Thursday was supposed to be better weather, but enough is enough. Headed home about 10 and hit hail, wind, snow,rain and every other kind of weather you can think of. I left my trailer and will go back at the first sign of decent weather.

Great Basin Sporting Goods is a fairly new store in Hines, owned by Ron and Kate Redding. It is located on the left as you enter Hines not to far past the truck stop. Ron has a cutout of a sage rat about 8 feet tall out front. The store is full of guns for sale and shooting supplies and they even have a wood stove to back up to, fresh coffee and usually cookies. Ron also repairs guns and conducts daily rats shoots. They are open 7 days a week and you can call 541-573-6197 for info. I highly recommend this as a "fer sure" stop if in the area.

Latest From Xmas Valley and Crane

Shooter friend drove to Crane on Monday and reported rats up, but a lot of 100 yd plus shots. Seemed that they were pretty skittish. Maybe shot a lot. Said he didn't see a lot of other shooters.

Another report from Max who drove to Xmas Valley. Dinsdale pivots are temporally closed for the next few weeks. No specific reason given or definate opening date. Said rats were kind of scarce but worth the 10 minute wait between shots. He knocked on doors and found another place to shoot. That's what you have to do. Looks like Sat will be a pretty nice day, but then wind and showers for the next few days, so says our local weather garu. ( Darts and blindfold)

Good luck, and let me know how you do.

Rat Repoet

I haven't been out shooting for about a month now. Having to take care of "non fun" things, responsibilities. The first of this last week, I had to make a trip to Redding and all the way down 97, I didn't see one rat. Go figure. After I got back, I contacted a rancher near Fort Rock. Said the rats were out, but, they were all booked up with shooters clear thru next week( spring vacation ). Another rancher by Silver Lake said he had seen a few rats in the field on Thursday but figured it would be a week yet before any good shooting.

Spring vacation is always a busy week for sage rat shooting. We are waiting another week and then hitting it hard.

Ammo, or the lack of it, doesn't seem to be an issue, at least here locally, with plenty of .22 and .17 HMR around. Check with the local Bi-Mart.

I sold my Kawasaki 650 Brute Force so I won't have it to haul my fat ass around the fields. Guess I will just use the ole "Ratrouster". See ya in the pivots.

Rats Up In All Areas

From the info that I have been able to gather, rats are up in all the usual places. I have had lots of inquiries about farmers poisoning rats. The info is sketchy, but it is happening according to my sources. Just how good it is doing remains to be seen, and not all ranchers are poisoning though. Again, it is one of those things that takes some research by knocking on doors and asking. As the popularity of shooting sage rats increases we are faced with the inclusion of the " idiots" that have no common sense when shooting. If you find a rancher willing to let you onto his property, treat his place with respect. Refer to one of my earliest entries last Spring about the unwritten rules to follow.

Attended the Central Oregon Sports Show yesterday. I ran out of gas after a couple of hours due to me having a bad cold so I can't give a fair assessment, but it is worh going to. Not much free stuff, but if you want a free Les Schwab camo hat, get to the booth early. I didn't make the cut.

I'll be tied up this next week, but plan to back on the shooting line by the 22nd. Look for my rig, and hey if anyone needs a "Ratroster" pivoting shooting rest, let me know.

Is this your first visit to Sage Rat Central?

Seems like I get a lot of new viewers here, which is good. I don't have all the info, but I try to keep up as best I can. Be sure and check all the previous posts. Especially if you are new to sage rat shooting. I have been shooting them little varmits for 60 years and maybe some of my hints and suggestions will be helpful to you. Sign up as a follower ( n0 Spam) and then be sure and comment and give your own suggestions and hints. Serious rat shooters are a brotherhood and should band together. And please, be a serious shooter. Get yourself a good, portable rest and shoot to kill. After all that is why the rancher let you onto his property. Count the kills. No one cares how many boxes of shells you shoot. Maybe you are just a poor shot with an itchy trigger finger. Thanks for stopping by. Ratrouster

Central Oregon Gun Show

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday at the Gun Show in Redmond showing my pivoting shooter rests as best as I could since there was no room left inside. I have never seen so many people at a Redmond gun show. About a 100 people were still lined up to get inside at noon on Saturday. I sold nada rests, but met some nice guys and had some good visits. ( Shout out to Gary and John from Eugene) Talked to guys from Rufus, Fossil and Burns. I didn't realize they would come from so far away. Although the turnout was large, I don't think sales were that good. On Sunday I talked to one of the larger gun vendors and he said they only sold 4 guns on Sat. Saw lots of guns being taken in by individuals, for sale. I think a lot were there to sell their guns or just look. On Sunday some idiot took in a loaded 9mm pistol and when trading it in, fired it into the floor and bounced up into a table.

The weather might be a little iffy this week ( always is in Central Oregon in the spring) so don't know if i will go out shooting or not. Jim called last night. He shot up 2.5 boxes of .17 mach 11 Sunday PM in about 3 hrs. Said rats were up "real good".

P.S Just a little FYI. Last time I checked in Burns, a brick of 525 .22 LR shells were $28.