to the entry gate he wanted me to use, told me to have fun, and to check with him when I was leaving to head back to Texas. Sure enough, I never saw him again until then. What you might call your basically “unguided” hunt. Absolutely perfect, in my opinion. By 9:00 the next morning I was sitting at my portable
shooting bench, which I set up in the bed of the truck, and began shooting over the first colony. I concentrated on the closest ones first, working from left to right. Then I’d go out a hundred more yards or so and work them from right to left. There were targets from 35 yards out to as far as I could see with my spotting scope. Around noon I headed into town, had lunch and a quick nap, and by 1:30 was back in the field. This pattern was repeated each day as I moved from dog town to dog town. Only one afternoon’s hunting was lost. A truly gigantic thunderstorm cloud came building in from the northwest. I watched it carefully, and decided I didn’t want to chance being caught out in the open, so I headed for the motel. Just about the time I pulled into the parking lot the storm struck, and it was every bit as impressive as I thought it would be! Rain, hail, sleet, and straight-line winds of 60 miles an hour came roaring through. It was over in an hour, so I headed back out to the ranch, only to find the road blocked by downed trees, power lines, and “dry” creeks running out of their banks. I decided that the prudent thing to do was turn around and go back to the motel. Throughout the week, the “A” team performed su-
perbly. The Swarovski was an absolute delight to work with. Through cloudy skies, clear skies, blowing dust, and late
afternoon mirage, I was able to see my targets clearly, see my misses clearly and crank in correction as needed to get on target. The Hornady bullets were deadly, with all kinds of acrobatic displays by the prairie dogs that were struck by them. I used the 32-grain bullets in the morning, when the wind was down, and then switched to the 40s during the af- ternoon. I could detect no discernible difference in accuracy between the two. Not surprisingly, the Cooper held up very well, with no failures at all. I put 1,000 rounds through it (and 300 through the back-up rifle). I cleaned it twice a day, and, though I didn’t punch any targets to verify it, I don’t think the accuracy I got on the range at home suffered at all by being on the High Plains. I verified this when I got home and took to the range again – I got the same excellent groupings. I estimate my success rate at around 90 percent. This is quite high (for me) but the longest shot I took was only 328 yards. In the target rich environment I was working, there really wasn’t any need to push the range envelope. I did take one 480-yard shot at a loping coyote, but missed him cleanly and he disappeared over a ridge before I could set up on him again. I finished up the last afternoon, drove to the ranch house,
and talked with the owner for a half hour or so. He said a couple of his ranch hands had seen some of my handiwork out in the dog towns, and he was most appreciative! He asked me to come back any time and help myself to his prairie dogs, and I assured him that I’d be back, maybe in early fall. After spending so much time and effort to assemble an “A” team, I might just as well keep the team employed.
These caps take you back! Comfortable to wear and the perfect pick for those casual days. Available in Faded Green or Brown.
$15.00 each plus shipping See page 189 for ordering information.
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