When we got to our friend's ranch, it was dry, dry, dry and the prairie dogs were well into their emergence from hibernation. It was sunny but pretty cool at about 50 degrees with a "Wyoming calm" (that is a wind of only 20 mph). We had decided to do a little shooting, and to do it around the outer fringes of the pasture area where we have permission to shoot. We did want to take it easy on the critters in the main dog towns and allow them to have their young before we went after the shooting in earnest. But this time of the year, the itch to get out there and shoot overcomes all else.
We have permission to shoot on a pasture that is three miles by three miles – 5760 acres, and an adjacent one that is an estimated 12 sections – another 7680 acres. Now, that is a lot of land to shoot on, especially since there was a serious infestation of prairie dogs when we first started shooting there five years ago. During those five years we have taken over 20,000 PD's off the property and have pretty well gotten the critter population under control. We are now practicing conservation. That is because for every dog we take out this early, there would be five or six later after the young have been born. Some of this trip was to satisfy our need to get in some early shooting, but more to satisfy the rancher who really wants the prairie dog population to be under control as they eat a lot of grass that would otherwise be cattle graze.
The rancher allows us to drive the range and the Wyoming game laws permit varmint and pest shooting from a vehicle. And so we do drive the range, which, because of the distances, is really necessary. We would drive until we came to a prairie dog town, then either shoot it out the window, but usually shoot over the hood of the pickup. Either way meant we would take several shots on dogs at each town we came to. Early in the day, before the ever-present Wyoming wind started, I shot my new OTT .17 Mach IV, 14" Contender. Oh man, did it ever perform. And those 20-grain Vmax's really did a number on the PD's. It is a very good shooter out to about 175 yds with an occasional one beyond 200 yds until the wind starts, then that 20 grain bullet, even at 3500 f/s would be a bit off a little too frequently. So at that point, I switched to my favorite PD gun – the 22 K-Hornet carbine. John shot his 22 Fireball rifle, which he had just built up on a Remington 700 short action. It too was dead-on and he had a great deal of pleasure seeing it do what he had intended.
When we started shooting this property five years ago, we were shooting a 6 mm, 22-250's, 223's and I also shot a 22 PPC. Then, the more we shot the more we discovered we really didn't need all that power of those bigger rifles – or all the noise either. During the last few years we have gone to smaller and smaller cartridges. I have shot this little 22 K-Hornet carbine for three years now along with a 14", 223 Bullberry Contender and John has gone to a standard Hornet rifle, a 223 rifle and just now, to the Fireball. We find these smaller rounds to have plenty of power and are well able to reach out to dogs as far as 300 yds without difficulty. Then, my Remington 700 223 Varmint Special is well able to take the dogs at ranges well beyond 300 yds. All our shooting associates vigorously question whether these little chamberings have enough power, but our experiences of the past couple of years proves it to be readily workable. And yes, to shoot as much as we do, we really do need at least two and better, three guns each trip so as to be able to let one cool for a while when the shooting pace quickens.
This being the first outing of the season, I had a new set of brass for the K-Hornet. And for this, I take a standard Hornet case, load as much powder as I can get in the case and just fire it in the K-Hornet chamber. My regular load is 11.5 grains of Alliant 2400 powder with a 40 grain Nosler BT bullet. But with the standard Hornet case I can get only 10 grains of powder into it, so the velocity is a little off until the second loading after it has been fire-formed. But these reduced load work just fine and I didn't even see any ill effects in the accuracy.
Then how do we manage a 300 yd shot on a target the size of a beer can? It is called "know your gun", "know your load", "know your trajectory", "practice estimating the distance" and "dope the wind" – and it works! And to prove all this we had an experience this weekend that was worth a thousand words.
We had driven the range for several hours taking occasional shots at prairie dogs and just limbering up in general. All this – having a fun time just being out and enjoying the wide-open spaces. As we drove along over a small hill we saw two antelope does moving along at a trot keeping ahead of a coyote that was "doggin' them". And for the benefit of you guys who don't know of the wide-open range, wild game, survival of the fittest, situation, a coyote will come upon a pregnant antelope doe and just stay with her – doggin' her even for several days until she drops her kid. Then the coyote will move in, harass the doe until the he can grab the newborn kid, kill it, and make off with it. Pregnant antelope does will often travel several in a group so as to afford a little more protection against coyotes. There were two antelope does together when we saw them.
Well, right away, John said, "that's a coyote doggin' those antelope – shoot him". It was on my side of the pickup, so I took quick aim with the K-Hornet. About that time the coyote turned broadside and looked at us. Seeing that it was a pretty long shot I held about 6" above his back over the front quarter area and touched off. Man-O-Man – that coyote went down like a brick with all four feet straight up in the air! We drove over to where he went down, and there he was, dead with what looked like a shot through the heart, and no exit wound. I looked back to where I had shot from and thought it was quite a long shot. I decide to pace it off and guess what – it was 315 paces, which according to my calibrated stride at 107 paces per 100 yds is 294 yds. HOLY CATS!! 294 yds with a one-shot kill on a coyote with a reduced load 22 K-Hornet! Was that a lucky shot? You bet it was! Was that real performance from a small cartridge? You bet it was! And that coyote stopped doggin' the antelope.
What was the first thing John said? "Damn, that was a hell of a shot and we didn't bring a camera".
Don