SHORT BLASTS
A menace to ranchers and farmers, sage rats
begin to appear in April and are available to hunt
through May in most places.
Practice Real-Life Hunting
Situations With Sage Rats
S
age rats, otherwise known as the
Beldings ground squirrel, can pro-
vide hours of shooting entertain-
ment and if done right can make
you a better shooter. These pint-sized ver-
min swarm the irrigated alfalfa fields of ru-
ral communities of Oregon, Idaho, Califor-
nia, and Nevada giving fits to ranchers and
farmers.
Farmers and ranch kids have long used
these critters as target practice, but today it
is no longer just a kid’s game with a .22. It’s
easy to have $1,000 wrapped up into a sage
rat setup and there are even services that
provide guided hunts. But in reality, any
sighted-in, light-caliber rifle is all you need.
And with a little bit of door knocking you
can still get you access to prime rat country.
And while sage rats are quite common, you
will run across rockchucks (yellow-bellied
marmots) scurrying about as well.
Sage rats, or “squeaks” as they’re of-
ten called, offer a target rich environment
where getting off several hundred rounds in
a half day is nothing out of the ordinary. It
would take countless trips to the range to
get that kind of repetition in whereas you
16
WESTERN HUNTING JOURNAL
can shoot that many rounds spending a
day or two in squeak country. Aside from
the sheer numbers of shots there is also a
big benefit to practicing in a real hunting
environment with live targets. This allows
you to employ as many different real-life
hunting scenarios as you want. Standing
at a whopping six inches tall by two inches
wide, a hit requires serious marksmanship
combining all the attributes of precision
Sage Rats 101
shooting: breathing, steadiness, trigger
squeeze, different shooting positions, the
list goes on.
While it might be fun to just show up
and start unloading your clip, I have always
made it a point to learn something with
each trip I take. Often, there can be 50 to
100 sage rats out at once ranging from 25 to
300 yards away. Finding one to shoot is pret-
ty easy, but I like to spot a specific squirrel
with my binoculars, then find it in my rifle
scope. They don’t stand still for very long so
staying on them and waiting for it to pause
is a must if you’re shooting at any distance.
On top of constantly moving they will often
dive back into their holes, at which time I
wait for them to show themselves. I treat
this as I would with any big game animal as
they move in and out of cover. As soon as
the shot presents itself, I take it.
This is the best form of practice for young
and beginning shooters. Every year, my son
and I travel to Central and Eastern Oregon
with a friend and his son for a couple days
of “squeak” hunting. It has turned both boys
into great shots. Throughout the weekend,
we shoot from a number of different setups:
sandbags, shooting sticks, bipods, standing,
kneeling and prone positions. Practicing
these real-life hunting scenarios can’t help
but make you a better shooter.
Do yourself and a farmer a favor and
shoot a sage rat. Or two.
TRAVIS MONCRIEF
Where to Find Sage Rats: Quite often, sage rats will be found in alfalfa fields, open
rangeland.
Rifle Suggestion: .22, .17HMR, or .223.
Scope: It’s recommended that your rifle be equipped with a quality scope.
Ammo: Bring between 300 and 500 rounds for each day in the field.
Season: Peak activity periods are from March through the end of May before the alfalfa
crops get too high; however they can be found throughout the summer.
What to Bring: Shooting sticks, shooting bags, bi-pod, shooting pad, binoculars,
hearing protection, eye protection, good boots, sun screen, hat.
Hunting License: If you’re specifically going to only shoot sage rats, a hunting license is
not required.