Hey everyone,
I just got back from my gopher trip and just thought I would share a few photos of my gear. I have been going for 4 years and my gear had evolved a lot since I started.
I spent a week in Warner County Alberta. We normally go in early May but unfortunately this year had to go at the end of the month. The taller grass made things more challenging and my preferred spots had longer grass. Fortunately I also had access to fields with nothing planted on them which helped considerably. The photo is deceptive. I was able to shoot up to 500 meters but my furthest shots were only 250 meters. There were so many gophers that were closer in the majority of my shots were under 150 meters (more on why that distance is significant later). I could not load my magazines fast enough. When I do reload my magazines I was using a MagnetoSpeed Rifle Kuhl to help cool my barrel.
I use a Stevens 200 with a Lothar Walther 26 inch .223 barrel that I installed. It has a Timney trigger, an MDT LSS-XL chassis, and a Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24 FFP MRAD. I have an EZ shoot bubble level I bought off Amazon for $20 that has been on my rifle for 2 years and it has held up fine. I just loaded up the last of my WC 735 powder with Lake City brass and Speer 223 50 grain HP TNT bullets. I get 3200 fps. I use a 3 Bucc brass catcher. I hate losing brass, especially with all the brass prep that I do!
I use a BOG death grip with an adapter I found at Little Crow Gun works so I can use an ARCA ball head. I have a 3 legged collapsible stool that I use since most of my shooting is sitting with a tripod. I put down a surveyor marking flag nearby so I know wind direction and use a Kestrel for wind speed.
The tripod in the photo is my spare tripod I use for optics. On the day I took the photo one of the screws was loose on my ball head and my allen wrench set was back at my AirBnB about a 2 hour round trip away. I remembered to bring them the next day!
Using Strelok Pro I decided to use a 150 m zero (which I confirmed at the range). This way I am 1 cm high or low out to 160 m. I calculated my drops and wind corrections (5 and 10 kph) in 25 meter increments and put them on a card which I carry on a wrist coach. I went with 5 and 10 kph so I can add them easily if needed. One some days we had 20-25 kph winds. I also created a diagram so I could reference using the reticle for holdovers and wind corrections.
I also carry a white board with dry erase pens that keep nearby. When I start I use my range finder to get the range of prominent landmarks which I put onto the white board. This way if I see a gopher I can refer to my white board instead of wasting time with my rangefinder.
Other suggestions: I bring a portable BBQ because it's nice to take a break and have a hot meal. I used my immersion circulator on a bunch of steaks so all I had to to was sear the outside and heat them up. I even brought a salad to go with it.
My cooler was full of drinks because it's easy to get dehydrated. I remember from my army days that if your pee isn't clear you are not drinking enough. I also used a cooling towel I bought off Amazon. I thought it was a gimmick but I kept one wrapped around my neck and found it made a huge difference!
Please let me know what you think or have any suggestions/questions.
I just got back from my gopher trip and just thought I would share a few photos of my gear. I have been going for 4 years and my gear had evolved a lot since I started.
I spent a week in Warner County Alberta. We normally go in early May but unfortunately this year had to go at the end of the month. The taller grass made things more challenging and my preferred spots had longer grass. Fortunately I also had access to fields with nothing planted on them which helped considerably. The photo is deceptive. I was able to shoot up to 500 meters but my furthest shots were only 250 meters. There were so many gophers that were closer in the majority of my shots were under 150 meters (more on why that distance is significant later). I could not load my magazines fast enough. When I do reload my magazines I was using a MagnetoSpeed Rifle Kuhl to help cool my barrel.
I use a Stevens 200 with a Lothar Walther 26 inch .223 barrel that I installed. It has a Timney trigger, an MDT LSS-XL chassis, and a Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24 FFP MRAD. I have an EZ shoot bubble level I bought off Amazon for $20 that has been on my rifle for 2 years and it has held up fine. I just loaded up the last of my WC 735 powder with Lake City brass and Speer 223 50 grain HP TNT bullets. I get 3200 fps. I use a 3 Bucc brass catcher. I hate losing brass, especially with all the brass prep that I do!
I use a BOG death grip with an adapter I found at Little Crow Gun works so I can use an ARCA ball head. I have a 3 legged collapsible stool that I use since most of my shooting is sitting with a tripod. I put down a surveyor marking flag nearby so I know wind direction and use a Kestrel for wind speed.
The tripod in the photo is my spare tripod I use for optics. On the day I took the photo one of the screws was loose on my ball head and my allen wrench set was back at my AirBnB about a 2 hour round trip away. I remembered to bring them the next day!
Using Strelok Pro I decided to use a 150 m zero (which I confirmed at the range). This way I am 1 cm high or low out to 160 m. I calculated my drops and wind corrections (5 and 10 kph) in 25 meter increments and put them on a card which I carry on a wrist coach. I went with 5 and 10 kph so I can add them easily if needed. One some days we had 20-25 kph winds. I also created a diagram so I could reference using the reticle for holdovers and wind corrections.
I also carry a white board with dry erase pens that keep nearby. When I start I use my range finder to get the range of prominent landmarks which I put onto the white board. This way if I see a gopher I can refer to my white board instead of wasting time with my rangefinder.
Other suggestions: I bring a portable BBQ because it's nice to take a break and have a hot meal. I used my immersion circulator on a bunch of steaks so all I had to to was sear the outside and heat them up. I even brought a salad to go with it.
My cooler was full of drinks because it's easy to get dehydrated. I remember from my army days that if your pee isn't clear you are not drinking enough. I also used a cooling towel I bought off Amazon. I thought it was a gimmick but I kept one wrapped around my neck and found it made a huge difference!
Please let me know what you think or have any suggestions/questions.
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