gopher hunt mm16
Final list of attendees
CB900F , BEAR , IBD, Bachekermooni
Garou , Steve FIL ,Tom ,Lizard, jetman.
Here is how it All Happened all other versions are just a " pigment" of someone's imagination:
This year we had an unofficial Pre day. Some of the Boyz made arrangements to come in a day early and do a guided by me Coyote hunt on the "King" ranch.
I was nominated to be the unpaid guide and CB ,AKA King ranch Forman, was the pretend outfitter...
Like many , most, well ALL of MY hunts I rousted the Guideies out of the warm comfy motel rooms at 4 AM. To a wonderful morning of blizzarding wet snow. NICE!
After an hour or so finding a restaurant open at 4 and woofing down some food.
Well any way I woofed food most of the other gents after flying, driving, 1000's of miles the day before did not seem to have the same appetite ,but that's probably a different story I can't relate to.
We pushed off. The snow plows where plowing by now and the roads where passable.
At least Garou must have thought so, it was all I could to get the Sub to kinda keep up. Good thing I knew where we are heading...
At sun up we found our selves in a wide expanse of snow covered grass and calling.
What a screw up I was, as a guide. The Fox pro I was using, I had put new batteries, but not the remote. First the call fell off my case I was using to "Keep" it out of the snow then the remote went bad! On to the next set . Cb and I had called in a black bear last time we called together in this very spot, I had high hopes here. We have 6 hunters , most not in camo ,very hard to conceal 6 hunters but we did somehow, by spreading out in the brush on a hill side over looking a "BIG" valley. We had two, two ways, to communicate. I played a lot of "Coyote" sounds and shortly a Nice looking big Male steps out around 450 yards and was challenging us back. I just whispered in the mic coyote when the report from Bachekermoonis AR rattled the timber for miles around twice,,, the coyote ran over the hill humm, I think I could got him in closer. The" outfitter" decided we ,he , needed some coffee we ran back to the King headquarters. Bear and CB went in to do the brew, the rest of us though "what the heck lets try a call out back", "OFF THE SHOOTING BENCHES "! Ok Why not. I would never had picked an open summer fallowed snow covered SHOOTING range to try and call in a coyote but why not?
I just could NOT bring my self to sit at a bench so I trudged off to the side and set in the grass and hit the call. I no more then turned on the call and coyote jumped up and started to run in, WHAT?
That was not all, One was running in from a different side too. I did not see it and they did not see the one I had coming, no time for the two ways. Mine was near 100 yards but behind some junk and just out of sight. I here Garou's 7mm 300 go off, after I landed I turned around looking for a dead coyote, mine was gone, AND Off his "Home" bench a ,a , miss BUMMER. It was 500 yards and running when he shot a very Missable shot for sure there again a little more patients would have been prudent. I would never had thought we would see one let alone TWO Next we thought we should try in a spot some of you may remember from another post CB and I got really familiar with his fold up shovel and a come along and a mile long snow drift . This time the drift was gone but it was replaced with snow covered 6" deep soft squishy "MUD" . Crud!
We did how ever make it back out . Canyon Cougar for lunch, more gun talk At the ranch and we where finished, three coyotes called in is great with 6 hunters in tow .
Day two:
First day of the official Hunt.
Our elected outfitter , the guide stepped down, and was a guiedie now , Did his homework well and procured us some very prime gopher killing acreage. By now the full group was in the field with 4 very muddy 4X4 trucks Parked in the barrow pit.
Nine strong and very well armed gopher killing ninjas spreading out to eliminate the swarms of Richardson's ground squirrels, a donating task in deed.
For hours we tried, Hundreds and hundreds of shot fired and they kept coming. Ever direction the sound of war could be heard , the body count climbed. finally I was so over heated from the fight I had to come back to the squadron of battle trucks to refresh gather more ammo and take off my dam long underwear. This is where I broke periodical by leaving my back "SIDE" un guarded. As I'm standing there in just my briefs they charged ! I grabbed my 10/22 and managed to fend off the assault but I " bare " ly survived .
More ammo and the war went on . We called a truce for lunch and to let the survivors and scavengers clear the fields.
The Angus bar makes wonderful rations and beverages. We did a debriefing for an hour or so and back out .
This time knowing we where way out numbered we flanked them coming in behind and high on a ridge. A tactical error on our part we found out later,but we where committed and had to try. This put our targets at 200 yards or more away . Stretching our armaments, 22 long rifles, to the extreme. A half hour or so we could see our mistake we circled the wagons and headed back in to the teeth of our advisory back to the original killing field. I can't give a first hand report of this portion on the fight . I had my Daughters Birthday dinner to go to and SteveFIL and I left. I am assuming It went well they all returned the next day seemingly with all there appendages intact.
Day three
Second official day of the hunt.
After getting out Buts kicked we planed a trip North to see if we could fight a different group of Gophers. Last year we had decimated this group and felt we could go and clean up the survivors this year completely eliminating them. The weather was cooler and windier. The trip is a LOT farther and muddier then south hunt. Leaving some of the transport vehicles low on fuel. Lizard and IBD where on ten minute ,baby call and had to keep there truck running .
We apparently did a VERY good job last year killing gophers, and found very few descendants of the last battle willing to engage us. We struggled to find many targets. One truck had to go refuel later to return to find us retreating. The Baby petrol decided to head west and see if they could speed the deliver of Lizards new Grandbaby.
SteveFIL and I wanted to stay and kill ANY survivors the rest I hear went back south and do mop up Opps. That will have to be reported by them.
We had some tricks up our sleeves and tried to do a hat trick and kill a bunch of gophers.
I knew of a super secret training base for the gophers, a place so remote very few dare enter. but this was a desperate time we had to try. The two of us trudged in. We took in all our supplies on our backs no convoy for support. Each with a rim fire and a center fire rifle , ammo, lunch, water AND my Fox pro. What you think I would make a trek like this and not bring it ?
Just as we had hoped the sun came out we got in under the wind, the birds are singing and the gophers are running up to us to great us with open arms.
WOW a mile or so of virgin gophers.
Before we started in on the assumed slaughter of the dumb, I set out the call.
Hoping the coyote would over look all the free food and run through the field of dreams to engage in a fight with the sounds of an un seen rival . Just what he did . The SteveFIL's 22 /250 now has coyote blood on it.
We shot a few 100 22 rounds and 20 or 30 High powered rounds and left the field dripping in blood. I hope to see the report from the other end from the rest of the crew.
slugger and FIL.
Just some more pics.
Final list of attendees
CB900F , BEAR , IBD, Bachekermooni
Garou , Steve FIL ,Tom ,Lizard, jetman.
Here is how it All Happened all other versions are just a " pigment" of someone's imagination:
This year we had an unofficial Pre day. Some of the Boyz made arrangements to come in a day early and do a guided by me Coyote hunt on the "King" ranch.
I was nominated to be the unpaid guide and CB ,AKA King ranch Forman, was the pretend outfitter...
Like many , most, well ALL of MY hunts I rousted the Guideies out of the warm comfy motel rooms at 4 AM. To a wonderful morning of blizzarding wet snow. NICE!
After an hour or so finding a restaurant open at 4 and woofing down some food.
Well any way I woofed food most of the other gents after flying, driving, 1000's of miles the day before did not seem to have the same appetite ,but that's probably a different story I can't relate to.
We pushed off. The snow plows where plowing by now and the roads where passable.
At least Garou must have thought so, it was all I could to get the Sub to kinda keep up. Good thing I knew where we are heading...
At sun up we found our selves in a wide expanse of snow covered grass and calling.
What a screw up I was, as a guide. The Fox pro I was using, I had put new batteries, but not the remote. First the call fell off my case I was using to "Keep" it out of the snow then the remote went bad! On to the next set . Cb and I had called in a black bear last time we called together in this very spot, I had high hopes here. We have 6 hunters , most not in camo ,very hard to conceal 6 hunters but we did somehow, by spreading out in the brush on a hill side over looking a "BIG" valley. We had two, two ways, to communicate. I played a lot of "Coyote" sounds and shortly a Nice looking big Male steps out around 450 yards and was challenging us back. I just whispered in the mic coyote when the report from Bachekermoonis AR rattled the timber for miles around twice,,, the coyote ran over the hill humm, I think I could got him in closer. The" outfitter" decided we ,he , needed some coffee we ran back to the King headquarters. Bear and CB went in to do the brew, the rest of us though "what the heck lets try a call out back", "OFF THE SHOOTING BENCHES "! Ok Why not. I would never had picked an open summer fallowed snow covered SHOOTING range to try and call in a coyote but why not?
I just could NOT bring my self to sit at a bench so I trudged off to the side and set in the grass and hit the call. I no more then turned on the call and coyote jumped up and started to run in, WHAT?
That was not all, One was running in from a different side too. I did not see it and they did not see the one I had coming, no time for the two ways. Mine was near 100 yards but behind some junk and just out of sight. I here Garou's 7mm 300 go off, after I landed I turned around looking for a dead coyote, mine was gone, AND Off his "Home" bench a ,a , miss BUMMER. It was 500 yards and running when he shot a very Missable shot for sure there again a little more patients would have been prudent. I would never had thought we would see one let alone TWO Next we thought we should try in a spot some of you may remember from another post CB and I got really familiar with his fold up shovel and a come along and a mile long snow drift . This time the drift was gone but it was replaced with snow covered 6" deep soft squishy "MUD" . Crud!
We did how ever make it back out . Canyon Cougar for lunch, more gun talk At the ranch and we where finished, three coyotes called in is great with 6 hunters in tow .
Day two:
First day of the official Hunt.
Our elected outfitter , the guide stepped down, and was a guiedie now , Did his homework well and procured us some very prime gopher killing acreage. By now the full group was in the field with 4 very muddy 4X4 trucks Parked in the barrow pit.
Nine strong and very well armed gopher killing ninjas spreading out to eliminate the swarms of Richardson's ground squirrels, a donating task in deed.
For hours we tried, Hundreds and hundreds of shot fired and they kept coming. Ever direction the sound of war could be heard , the body count climbed. finally I was so over heated from the fight I had to come back to the squadron of battle trucks to refresh gather more ammo and take off my dam long underwear. This is where I broke periodical by leaving my back "SIDE" un guarded. As I'm standing there in just my briefs they charged ! I grabbed my 10/22 and managed to fend off the assault but I " bare " ly survived .
More ammo and the war went on . We called a truce for lunch and to let the survivors and scavengers clear the fields.
The Angus bar makes wonderful rations and beverages. We did a debriefing for an hour or so and back out .
This time knowing we where way out numbered we flanked them coming in behind and high on a ridge. A tactical error on our part we found out later,but we where committed and had to try. This put our targets at 200 yards or more away . Stretching our armaments, 22 long rifles, to the extreme. A half hour or so we could see our mistake we circled the wagons and headed back in to the teeth of our advisory back to the original killing field. I can't give a first hand report of this portion on the fight . I had my Daughters Birthday dinner to go to and SteveFIL and I left. I am assuming It went well they all returned the next day seemingly with all there appendages intact.
Day three
Second official day of the hunt.
After getting out Buts kicked we planed a trip North to see if we could fight a different group of Gophers. Last year we had decimated this group and felt we could go and clean up the survivors this year completely eliminating them. The weather was cooler and windier. The trip is a LOT farther and muddier then south hunt. Leaving some of the transport vehicles low on fuel. Lizard and IBD where on ten minute ,baby call and had to keep there truck running .
We apparently did a VERY good job last year killing gophers, and found very few descendants of the last battle willing to engage us. We struggled to find many targets. One truck had to go refuel later to return to find us retreating. The Baby petrol decided to head west and see if they could speed the deliver of Lizards new Grandbaby.
SteveFIL and I wanted to stay and kill ANY survivors the rest I hear went back south and do mop up Opps. That will have to be reported by them.
We had some tricks up our sleeves and tried to do a hat trick and kill a bunch of gophers.
I knew of a super secret training base for the gophers, a place so remote very few dare enter. but this was a desperate time we had to try. The two of us trudged in. We took in all our supplies on our backs no convoy for support. Each with a rim fire and a center fire rifle , ammo, lunch, water AND my Fox pro. What you think I would make a trek like this and not bring it ?
Just as we had hoped the sun came out we got in under the wind, the birds are singing and the gophers are running up to us to great us with open arms.
WOW a mile or so of virgin gophers.
Before we started in on the assumed slaughter of the dumb, I set out the call.
Hoping the coyote would over look all the free food and run through the field of dreams to engage in a fight with the sounds of an un seen rival . Just what he did . The SteveFIL's 22 /250 now has coyote blood on it.
We shot a few 100 22 rounds and 20 or 30 High powered rounds and left the field dripping in blood. I hope to see the report from the other end from the rest of the crew.
slugger and FIL.
Just some more pics.
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