2016 Trip #13 Limon, CO 10/4 – 10/6

2016 Trip #13

Limon, CO 10/4 – 10/6 with Tom Jansen – Gunsmith and Myself.  The weather had changed almost overnight to cool sunny days, instead of the HOT days of Summer.  This year in July, August, and September it was just to hot even for the prairie dogs to be out during the day.  The grass had done all of it’s growing in our kind’a wet Spring for the West.   We had 58 days of 90 degrees or over, not a record, but hot and dry.  I was looking forward to some shooting with the weather a little cooler, we got it.  I shoot every month of the year here in Colorado, even with snow on the ground.  You just have to take what weather you’re given.  If it turns bad, pick-up and go home to shoot another day.

Limon, CO is only 1 1/2 hours from my house.  We managed to get on the first town a little after 8:30 in the morning after having breakfast in town, nice.  We meet the ranch manager and he drove us around to the different dog towns in the five sections he managed.  That’s 3,200 acres with 3 different dog towns.  At the last town we split up because he had things to do.  The sun was out bright and it was a little coolish with just a light wind.  The first town hadn’t been shot on for a long time.  After we got set-up and ready to shoot the prairie dogs didn’t pay us any mind, they were to busy eating, big mistake.

I nor Tom had shot our rifles on target for two or three weeks.  To our supersize they didn’t hit where we thought they would.  We took a break and set up a target to fine tune them.  I was shooting one of my Rem 700s in 222 Rem and Tom a custom 6mm BR.  Both were off an inch or so, not much until you start shooting beyond 200 yards or so with a little cross wind at a prairie dog that’s only about 4 – 5 inches wide when it sets up.

We shot that first day until around 3:00 PM and headed to town to find a Motel.  We made some plans for the next day and got some sleep.  The next day was a little better as far as the shooting.  But the weather was getting colder.  We shot until 5:00 PM and did much better with a total so far of around 376, I shot 206 of them.  I used my 20 Practical all day with a 6 – 24 x 50 Mil-Dot scope.  Both days I had rifles with the Mil-Dot scopes on them, they are a must in the wind.  Once the wind is doped it’s relativity easy to hit a prairie dog at 200 yards plus.

The next day was a TOTAL BUST.  We got up to 35 mph plus winds and a temperature of around 40 degrees.  We drove around checking out all the towns, not many dogs were out and it was just to cold, headed home.