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.

Dateline Princeston

Brother-in-law called today to report that he killed 69 of those nasty sage rats in about 2.5 hrs shooting last Friday. Shot 100 rounds of .17 in the cold wind. Not to bad for the conditions.

Couldn't get into the Redmond Gun Show. All spaces sold out, but I will be there in the crowd and will have shooter rests with me. If you want to contact me call 541-420-5342

First Rat Shoot of the Season

Shot 2/16 thru 2/19 South of Burns. Weather was pretty cooperative with mild wind and moderate temps. Foggy in the AM but cleared by noon. Rats were up, but, not by the hundreds. I shot my .17 HMR the first 3 days and the .22 on the last. We didn't put in any long days as the rats were down by 3PM all but one day when we shot till 4:30. I promised pictures but the batteries were dead in my camera, so I only got a shot of one field just this side of Burns, I think the weather gods are just screwing with us. Winter isn't over yet.

Sold two "Ratrousters" on wheels and one on the barstool base today. Might take some to the Redmond Gun Show next weekend. Starting to get a lot of calls, but I want to shoot rats, not spend all day in my shop building rests. We'll see. More later

Going on my first Rat Shoot of the season

Leaving in the morning for my first"rat safari" of the year. Rats are starting to show in the Burns area and I'm going over to check it out. The weather is still a little iffy and probably a lot of the shooting will be from inside the truck. I'll try to get some pictures and will post when I get back.