Rock Chucks

[Ernie]

I was able to do some rock chuck shooting in the Bighorns with JW & Kim early last week.
It was good to have a pack on and get away for a bit.
First location was just over 7000 feet in elevation and the last one we went to we were at just over 10,000 feet. The one in the middle is the biggest rock chuck I’ve ever shot before hands-down. I took 11 in all. We had cloudy weather, sunshine, and some light rain at the lower elevation, then when we got up to the the top, we had rain, sleet, snow, and high wind for a while. After that cloud passed over, winds for from about 8 to 13 miles an hour and gusty. Temperatures were in the lower 40's at the higher elevation.
Pulled out a neglected specialty pistol for this endeavor. 22 Creedmoor with a 8 T (Krieger...I think).
Michael DeLoach of Nine Run Gun did the build.
I had some Unknown Munitions ammo for it (80 grain ELD-M), that uses Peterson brass at 3154 FPS.
Shots were just over 100 yards, to just under 600 yards.
Longest kill was just under 500 yards.
It had been a number of years (7) since I had shot chucks, so that made the outing even more enjoyable.

 

[MDT31]

That's a wild hunt. Congrats.

 

[FAAFO]

What did you do with them after you shot them?

 

[Ernie]

Left them.
I don't eat them.

 

[xsn10s]

Left them.
I don't eat them.

I don't eat the mice or rats I get in mousetraps either.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

How do you shoot that pistol? Arms extended elbows locked or???

 

[sierracharlie338]

Awesome stuff Ernie. I still need to get up there with you for the shoot in June

 

[Ernie]

How do you shoot that pistol? Arms extended elbows locked or???

It kind of depends on the cartridge, bullet weight, and weight of the XP. Whether it has a brake or not is a big factor too.
Sometimes I will see a full field of view and other times, I back it off with a partial field of view.
Some examples:
22 Creed with 80's

284 Winchester with 162's

6XC with 107's

6.5-284 with 141's

 

[Ernie]

Awesome stuff Ernie. I still need to get up there with you for the shoot in June

That would be great.
The info is below. I don't have the website completely changed yet.
We had our largest group ever this summer (31). Which is a big number for WY-SHOT.
Had a lot of first time shooters. It always starts the day after, Father's Day.

WY-SHOT 2025 is June 16-18

Looking forward to WY-SHOT 2025! WY-SHOT is a Handgun Only shoot that is designed for folks of all ages. There is a two-part component that makes this shoot unique. It is a prairie dog shoot and a …

sebrests-usa.com

 

[Ernie]

Got into double digits again a week ago last Thursday.
We were in the 9,000 to 10,000 feet elevation, the majority of the time.
Temps in the 40’s. Rain and fog (especially fog) plagued us for much of the day.
From 77 yards to 643 yards.
22GT center-grip XP-100 by Omega Precision/Peter Angelos. 15.9” 1-7 Twist Hart barrel, Holland Radial Baffle brake.
88 grain Hornady ELD-M at 2940 fps. Leupold Mark 5 3.6-18.
As we got lower, we finally drove out of the fog for a little bit and saw the bull moose and the mule deer doe close enough for a decent picture.
The two pictured chucks were in the 240 yard range, but the fog was so bad we couldn’t see them for over 30 minutes.
Waited it out, and it finally cleared enough to shoot.

 

[FAAFO]

Left them.
I don't eat them.

That’s a bummer to senselessly kill them for no reason. They are fascinating animals to watch and do no harm to anyone. Except the occasional snack bag in a tent.

Nice shooting though!

 

[TaperPin]

That was nice of you to leave the rock chucks as a snack for the coyotes and other majestic/fascinating carnivores in the area.

Cool pistolas!

 

[xsn10s]

I like to use VMAX's and ELDM's. But it seems like I turned more of the chucks inside out with a 22-250 and Nosler BT's. Anyone else see this?

 

[Duh]

That’s a bummer to senselessly kill them for no reason. They are fascinating animals to watch and do no harm to anyone. Except the occasional snack bag in a tent.

Nice shooting though!

I can %100 percent tell you that they’re really not great eating. Super greasy and have a very distinct taste that’s not great.

They reproduce at a pretty good rate too so they need to be thinned out.

 

[xsn10s]

I can %100 percent tell you that they’re really not great eating. Super greasy and have a very distinct taste that’s not great.

They reproduce at a pretty good rate too so they need to be thinned out.

Some of them carry the plague too. I've seen some recipes for them in old cookbooks. Some videos on them being cooked. But since they can carry the plague I'm not interested in cooking them, or having them as guests in my tent.

 

[BigJBigbore]

Thank you for sharing....AMAZING handgun!

 

[Soj51hopeful]

I just shoot them with a .22, little fkers dig holes all over my ditch. City boys just don’t get it.

 

[TaperPin]

8th grade me heard of an old geezer that buys one or two rock chucks a month - that summer I brought him a couple - $5 each in the late 70’s sounded like good money to a 12 year old, but my business plan suffered from low volume. Lol

He was old old, and lived alone on a homestead out in the sticks, probably an adult during the Great Depression and those guys seemed to eat everything. Someone said he cooks one up once in a while to remind him of the old days. Eating ramen noodles reminds me of saving money for reloading components in my 20’s so I kinda get it.

I just remembered he also offered $1 for two prairie dogs, but they had to be skinned and gutted, and that seemed like more work than it was worth. Working at the local hardware store paid $1.85/hr. Lol