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.

SAGE RATS ARE SHOWING

LOCK AND LOAD! The sage rats are starting to come up. This afternoon, as I was driving just East of Sisters, I spotted my first sage rat of the year. I focused on the one to make sure I was not seeing things so didn't stop to count, but it was a sage rat for sure.

That prompted me to call my friend Jim over by Burns. He has spotted a few and even got a kill on one.

Last friday, I got out to sight in my Remington 552 s ( I've got 4 so if one jams, I just pick up another. I have them all sighted in for the same range. Get Ready, it won't be long now.

More later as I gather info.

Won't be long now

Soon we will be through the first week of Feb and the weather forecast calls for next week to be warmer and sunny. Ever since xmas, the weather here in Central Oregon has been pretty mild. The rats will be up earlier farther East then in Xmas Valley area. I have observed this for several years now. I will be getting in touch with my Crane contacts over the weekend and will post any good news I have. Ammo seems to be readly available now, at least at the Bi-Mart stores for .22 and .17HMR. At any given time they may be out of a particilar brand but there has always been some kind in stock. I prefer the Federal Champion 36 gr jacketed HP and have only them to shoot this Spring. I now have several Pivoting Shooting Rests in stock for sale. Hope to sell some. ( Gas Money )

Shooter Rests Price Change

Hey all. Of course there is nothing to report on any rats showing up. Mainly I wanted to inform everone that I have had to raise the prices on the deluxe shooters on wheels, due to increase in material prices, mostly the wheels. I will only be building 2 more on the 14" wheels and I will have to have $175 for them. I will have a few available on 10" wheels that will sell for $155. Basic model will still be $65 and the ones I am mounting on shop stools are $85. Welcome to "Hope and Change"
Just seeing the sun today for the first time in 5 days due to freezing fog. Matbe 6 (?) weeks and rats might be showing. Keep in touch.

New Model Shooter Rest

Just finished a new model of my pivoting shooter rest. This is complete with a base and a padded seat. It will sell between $85 and $90 ( have to figure out my final cost yet ). Remember, I sell the basic rest for $65 without a base or padded seat. Seems like a good value for the extra money. I have some of all models available now.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr Its been cold here near Sisters. Down to -22 degrees last week. Warming up today with the warning of snow. I'll bet those rats are real deep in the ground.

Check your local Bi-Mart store for .22 ammo. They seem to have lots of HP Remington and some Peters and Winchester round nose lead. Have plenty of .17 HMR too.

Rats can show up by the middle of February at Burns. Thats only about 2 months away. Of course, shooting rats that early is not for the faint of heart. Most of our shooting is done from inside the cab with the heater on. I remember one day early last spring when Bill and I were shooting from my rig and we couldn't roll both windows down at the same time. The cold wind blowing thru would tear up your eyes before you could focus on the rats. So we took turns rolling down our windows. Still beats sitting in front of the TV.

Ice fishing around Burns is pretty good in Feb also. Makes for a nice break.

I will try to post more often . Merry Xmas to all and have a safe New Years.