Rock Chucks 2025

Sprinkman

Sprinkman

Well-known member
I've been able to get out a handful of times this year. It's been super busy with work, a wedding and fighting a cold. Pretty much just normal stuff keeping from being where I want to be, outside.
My first time to go rock chucking was late January. I saw two that day, but only choose to shoot one of them. I could see in the scope that the one shot was in bad shape. Its hair was all gone off of its tail and really blotchy on its body. Not sure if it was mange, the plague or just old age, but I thing I did it a favor.
25 Rocky 1-25-25 131.jpg

This one was only 131 yards out, but boy was it a mess. The picture doesn't do justice to how bad it looked.
 
The next time I got out was about a month later. I saw one chuck that day and lined it up for a shot. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, it ducked and I missed. This was also the first time I had used my new phone skope adapter on the spotting scope. Pretty cool to be able to zoom in on these and be able to see what went right or wrong. This was a 325 yard miss, figure I might as well show the bad with the good.
 
The next time I got out was about another month later. I set up below a rocky hill side and spotted a few rock chucks. I got the spotting scope set up for filming and than was able to hit the first one that gave me a chance. One shot and he was done. The next two that showed up were a different story :(. I have no idea how I missed them both, but I did. Too make myself feel better about it, they were misses by inches :rolleyes:. The first one was 229 yards, and so was the second one. The third shot was closer to 225.
 
Within minutes of the last two misses I spotted another one 360 yards away. Got set up on him and was able to hit him with the first shot.


Man, I really love the phone skope adapter!
 
I was able to go one time last week. I took a different rifle, my new coyote setup, with the new suppressor on it. Saw 11 rock chucks and I took two shots missing both of them high and right. So, I stooped and went home.
Yesterday I took the rifle out back and sighted it in for 100 yards. This is what that looked like.
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The first shoot was way high so I made an adjustment. The net two were still high but on paper, so I made another adjustment. Shot 4 was a bit high and right, so adjusted once more. Shot 5 was at the top of the bullseye, then I pulled shot 6. 7 and 8 were right in there with number 5, then I pulled shot 9. Shot 10 lined up with 5, 7 & 8 leaving about a 3/4" group at 100 yards.
Hopefully, the next time out I'll be on target.
 
Fortunately, Duhh, I only run into a couple rattlers a year. One of my sons caught a 3' Bullsnake out back with his wife and daughter a couple of days ago, but I don't mind them.
 
After sighting in the rifle with new suppressor I was able to get out on Saturday for a couple of hours. The wind was blowing 15-20 mph and a front was moving in. All I saw were 3 rock chucks. One was skylined, another was 175 yards but I only saw it for a few seconds and then this one:
25 Rocky Down 53.jpg

It did a couple of summersaults and flew a few feet, but it was only 53 yards. Still, it was the first with the newly suppressed rifle.
 
It's the Diligent Defense L-TI. It's my first one, so I can't compare it against anything else, but it's very quite. I'm running it on a 6.5 Grendel with 16" barrel, it sounds like a 22 without the supersonic crack.
 
That should be another good one. The DD L-TI was everything that I read it was and surpassed my expectations!
I just ordered an Otter Creek Labs Polonium for the 5.56. Reviews were all good for it, hopefully it lives up to the reviews.
 
Sprinkman said:
That should be another good one. The DD L-TI was everything that I read it was and surpassed my expectations!
I just ordered an Otter Creek Labs Polonium for the 5.56. Reviews were all good for it, hopefully it lives up to the reviews.
Click to expand...
Let us know how you like the Polonium. I thought about buying one for my 223s.
 
Got out for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. Only saw 5 rock chucks and only one that stood still. Unfortunately, that one was skylined and only offered a head shot. So, I never got a shot. While glassing for more rock chucks I saw a ground squirrel 150 yards out sitting on a rock.
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It was on that little rock clump in the lower left of the picture.

25 Ground Squirrel 150.jpg


Saw one more squirrel about 210 yards out, but didn't shoot. The other rock chucks I saw were 429 and 500 plus yards out. No shot on those either. It was nice to get away for a couple of hours into the solitude of the middle of nowhere.
 
I was able to go out again yesterday afternoon. It was 92 or so degrees, so I wasn't sure if I would see much. I ended up seeing 7 or 8 rock chucks. Most of them were running down the dirt road, though, as I drove through.
I got set up and started glassing when I saw one laying on a rock with just a head shot. Thought about taking the shot but then saw two more to my right. Both of them offered much better shots.
I just put an ATN X-Sight 5 on my rifle, for my first day/night scope it's okay but by no means great. I was hoping for better clarity during the day, but it's pretty grainy. It's hard to see rock chucks through it, but if you know where they are you can make them out. I can see shooting coyotes at 200 yards with it, but rock chucks are probably going to be closer in. I will say that it was pretty easy to zero.
Back to the two above, they were both 163 yards. I was able to capture them on video and hit both of them.


25 Rocky Double ATN 163 6-8-25.jpg


After these two I moved a half mile or so and got one more shot. Here that one is. It was 128 yards.


I like the ATN, but I don't love it. Not going to complain to much, though, I got it for $450.00 at Optics Planet.
One of these days I'll upgrade, but for now it will do.
 
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