My neat home range setup under some oak trees.

Target is set up at 100 yards, but 200 is available from this position under oak trees...overlooking the family blueberry fields.




J. Picher

We don't have prairie dogs here, but before deer season, I was shooting from the bench and had paused for a minute to get more ammo from another box, when a doe stepped out of the woods on the right and crossed the field between me and the target. I just sat there and watched it, admiring its beauty.

This is the field that has an old concrete sitting bench about 180 yards at the left edge of the field (this side of the brush patch), where I shot two coyotes with the same .17 HMR shown. The first dog had been laying about 50 yards in front of me and I shot it from the sitting bench shortly after it stood up, surprising me while I was watching two turkeys feeding at the far end of the field. It kicked a bit and needed a second shot, so I stood up and took a few steps to deliver it. Just after that shot a farther one, about 75 yards stood up, looking at the turkeys also. That surprised me, but I managed a quick broadside shot and after it hit, the dog started running flat-out directly away from me, and I made a second offhand shot as it reached about 100 yards. It dropped at 120 yards and never quivered.

A year or so before I was standing at the same place with my .243 Tikka, when a fairly young fox popped up at about 130 yards and ran, quartering away to the left. Just as it topped a small rise, about 165 yards away, I fired, and it went down hard, somersaulting, shot in the back of the head.

A few years before we put the old bench down there, I was in my folding seat at the same location, but stood up to look around when a forkhorn whitetail came out of the woods across from me. It was in a slow "gallop" from right to left, apparently pushed out by a cousin, back in the woods. The rifle came up quickly, and as I put the crosshairs on the front of his chest at about 140 yards, the rifle fired. After I recovered from the moderate recoil, it had already disappeared into a low spot! As I approached, it tried to get up, so I finished it quickly.

Sorry for rambling.
JP

nhcruffler said:

Such a beautiful spot. I envy that nice flat space to shoot. And from what I've heard through the grapevine is that Picher had shot all the prairie dogs in the North East. That's why you only find em out west.

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We never had any prairie dogs, but used to have a lot more woodchucks before I started hunting them with my 30-06, then 6mm Rem and .22-250. I tried to line up four or five when shooting the '06, but they don't herd worth a dang, so decided to stop using the artillery. It only had a .2.5X Weaver on it anyway, so shots were limited to the one I got on the second shot...at 450 yards. I tried hitting one at over 600 yards, but a power line got in the way that I couldn't see at 200 yds. OOOPS! The power company wasn't pleased, but we used the farmer's phone to call them. The foreman who came out was named "Stanley Grimshaw" and he was one "grim" fella that Saturday. I decided I needed a scope with "MO" power (and a thinner reticle).

22250Rem said:

And here I thought the 300 Blackout was the first cartridge so named..... Didn't know you had a 30-06 Blackout way back then. Wonder how many folks lost power ? I'm sure that ruined Mr. Grimshaws day.

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I cut off the power to at least 5 communities in Central Maine. It was a pretty blue ball of electrical "fire" involving something like 33,000 volts, as I remember. The line doesn't exist anymore. It was there because of an old trolley line and it was probably easier to keep it maintained than to create a new one.

Milt1 said:

Picher, what makes you comfortable about shooting toward that tree line? Are you not worried that someone may be back in the trees?

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The boulder behind the target has a vertical "pocket" where I shoot. No ricochets. However, it's all woods for a mile between the field and the next road. If the granite boulder ever becomes an unsafe backstop, We'll take the front end loader and create a new one with contained sand/gravel. That should take quite a while because we don't shoot a lot of hunting ammo there, mostly rimfire. That portion of the blueberry field is out of production due to market conditions and so many boulders that it doesn't make sense to use mechanical harvesters.

That said, when the woodlot was selectively harvested last summer, we ceased shooting until it was done.

doubleh said:

That's nice but being a plains rat for my whole life I have a need to see----for long distances.

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When I first moved here, I set up a temporary bench that gave me 430 yards, before the rolling field stopped us. Mirage was pretty bad, though.

From our hilltop house we can see about 20 miles, but can't shoot more than 300 yards in that direction and the horses across the street go crazy. If I really want to, I can shoot down the access road to the fields and get about 500 yards, but don't have a bench or backstop there.

Offfhand said:

Having space that allows shooting at home is a blessing for serious shooters like Mr. Picher. When scouting land to buy for my new home ( 22 years ago.) I was determined there would be adequate acreage for a shooting range plus adequate forest cover for deer and other wildlife. I cleared enough trees for a close by 50 yd plinking range for two grandsons, plus further from the house cleared enough for 100 yard range for shooting shed with concrete benches for centerfire testing. Trees close on either side of narrow shooting lane are a great windbrake, almost like shooting in a tunnel. But take warning if you have two grandsons who love to shoot, a weekend of shooting will consume a gigantic amount of .22RF ammo. And the southern mountains are not always warm and sunny, as also shown in a recent pic... .

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My range is often very windy or there's tough mirage, so when conditions aren't favorable, I just pack my gear and go to the Club, about 10 miles away in Augusta, ME., or just wait a day or so for favorable conditions.

bluetopper said:

Things sure are green for January in Maine.

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Obviously not January. I just ran across the photo taken last summer. I haven't been down there for most of the winter. The guy who was trapping down there really chewed up the access when it was soft. (I think he has to visit his leghold traps daily.)