2017 Trip #10, 5 – 7 Sept Wyoming

2017 Trip #10

Thunder Basin Grassland Wyoming, 5 – 7 Sept with Tom Fisher and myself

Thunder Basin Grassland at least one more time this year.  I didn’t plan to do to well on this trip, it’s been so hot.  I have a friend that was in an auto accident. He REALLY needed to get out for a few days.  This year the weather has been VERY HOT and VERY WINDY.  Most of the West has been under FIRE WEATHER warnings because of the heat, wind, and several brush fires going.  In other cases I couldn’t get on some land because of the high grass.  I sure don’t want to start a fire.

2017 Trip #10, going over 4,000 varmints

Finally I went over 4,000 varmints for the year.  With three months to go in the year I should have a 5,000 year.  I shoot every month of the year. I’ve been hit with blizzards, winds over 50 mph, but if the sun is out, the prairie dogs are out.  A good couple days in the winter is maybe 100 dogs per guy.  I’ve had trips go completely bust.  Getting up the next morning to a blizzard, rain, or snow.  OH! WELL! Head home.

2017 Trip #10, dirt roads in the West

The dirt roads in the West are pretty nice roads, endless it rains or snows.   Then they turn to about a foot of MUCK and are impassable for a couple days.  My Dodge ’06 has 135,000 miles on it.  I’d like to keep it for awhile.  Some of the places I get into if you get stuck your SOL.  As a result you would just have to burn it in place.  Probably cost way to much to get it out.

2017 Trip #10, rifles used

I shot two rifles for this trip in Thunder Basin.  My 22 KHornet (short gun) and my new 6 BR (long gun).  First of all the wind wasn’t bad.  That means it was under 30 mph.  That’s kind’a normal.  But the  ranch had been shot heavy this year.  We spent a lot of time driving around.  As a result finding small pockets of prairie dogs here and there.

We only shot about 3 hours the first day. The second about 5 hours.  As a result I let my friend shoot the most.  He didn’t keep track.  Therefore I only shot 117 dogs.

After the second day we decided to go North to Newcastle, WY.  In another area of The Thunder Basin to see if the shooting was any better.  It wasn’t.  We found one ranch that had one small area.  I let my friend do all of the shooting.  He maybe shot 40 or so.  Finally we headed home.