TOPIC: prairie dogging

the temp was a lot warmer here this week end , so I was in my shop and started reloading shells for this spring prairie dog hunt. have to have 1000 rounds of 222 Remington, we camp out on the prairie and do not see anybody for 6 days. sure is a lot of fun. frog

Wish you all the luck. I'm having trouble seeing out my open sights. I need to shoot my 243 more but too many other things need bought. I used to shoot deer 300-400 yards and not bat an eyelash. I've carried this rifle since I was a kid. I have lots of peep sight guns. I will not mount a scope on them. 30-30's. 30.06 , 35 Rem, 222, 348 win. I always wanted a 270 and I always wanted a Henry. I'm a lever action guy.

Robert, that model 88 winchester is a very nice gun , and in a 243 cal it is rare. what cal is the big bore Winchester. i'm a single action pistol kind of guy, and I really like old lever actions. frog

The Model 71 only came factory in 348. It was refitted for bear hunting in a bigger caliber in Canada and Alaska. It is worth a few bucks. As for the 243 it broke on my three years ago. The lever poped off sending parts flying before daylight one morning. First Sunday after I took the metal detector out to find the parts. One big problem, It fell apart under a huge old oak tree that housed many wooden tree stands over the last 50 years or more. There must 4,673 nails on the ground. Since they no longer make parts and none are available I had them made. The gunsmith offered me $800 broken and when I refused he told me he would make 100% on that in parts. He did mention a trade involving a new Henry in what ever caliber I choose. But I do not really believe in selling guns. This one is very special to me. Every deer I ever harvested with it but two fell in their tracks. The others were both running. One hit a rib and ran about 30 yards. The other was my first buck when I was 16. It was luck I got it. I shot at it running full tilt up a very steep hill. When I shot he staggered but continued to run. I paced it off at about 350 yards. That deer went about 3/4 mile. His lungs were full of blood.

Back in 1987, when I had more money and less sense, I had the Remington Custom Gun Shop build me a Model 700 Custom Grade III in .300 H&H magnum. I got a pile of paperwork with it...all signed by John Remington, the man who built it. Everything about it is custom: length of trigger pull, trigger pull weight, drop at heel, 32 lines/inch checkering, claro walnut stock, rosewood fore end and grip cap. The receiver and the rear of the barrel are heavily engraved and I also had them engrave my name and the bolt handle. I fitted it with a 3x9 Leupold Vari-X III with engraved mounts. I actually hunted deer with it for several years but it's still in new-looking condition. I haven't hunted deer in over 15 years. Hand-loaded with .22x.30 caliber sabots, it would make a hell of a prairie dog rifle...probably 4,500 fps out of the barrel! I take it out of the cabinet every so often to make sure mice haven't moved into the magazine. So far, so good.

nautilus, sure is a nice rifle you have there. that would blow the h### out the dogs. it is a sick sport, but I enjoy it and will not quit. frog