tperson

This weekend was our annual prairie dog shoot in western Nebraska and there was one shot that was made that’s almost too wild to believe. Heck, I was doubtful until we found the body…but first some backstory. P, our oldest son (now 18), and I have a longstanding competition to see who can make the longest shot. The current recordholding shot is documented with a silver sharpie on the scope with a date and distance, and the agreement is that the shooter “owns” that gun until the record is broken. My record of 463yds stood for 3 years until Saturday when P connected with a 500yd shot…and then on Sunday he moved the goalpost further yet. Conditions were tough…95deg temp with 10-15mph wind in the mornings and 15-20mph wind in the afternoons (both had gusts up to 30); we called it quits Saturday ~4:00 due to wind. I made the comment to him at some point that the cream always rises, and we’ll just have to up our game if we’re going to hit anything at distance. Sunday morning was a little better…still 20mph at 10AM (forecast lied) but only ~70deg which meant that the heatwaves coming from the ground were nonexistent (a real challenge mid-afternoon). P started glassing and found some 600+yds out…my comment to him was “you’re on your own…the 8x binoculars can’t see that far”. Took a few shots to get things refined, but ended up connecting…or so he thought. Now what? We don’t want to drive out there…the other guys are shooting and we don’t want to interrupt them...but it doesn't count without confirmation. At the last minute on Friday, P threw his DJI drone in the truck…time for it to earn it’s keep. After a little recon, he found it! Notice the distance in the bottom-left corner…1883ft (628yds) from where he took of from! Needless to say, that record is going to stand for a while.

I've noticed some aftermarket ones available from various sources...but nothing in this size.

as vtfireman said: "the sky is the limit"...you can really spend as much as you want ($500-$1500). Are the more expensive ones "better"? Maybe, depends on what your criteria for "better" is. I spend a significant amount of time and effort researching before buying the ones that I have, and I learned that there's several things that make some "better". Obviously, shooter sound suppression is the one that everyone thinks of, but bystander sound suppression is a real thing too; so it length/weight, user-serviceability, and backpressure for gas-guns. Personally, the balance of these for me in a centerfire round was the CAT Noah. I'm not going to tell you that it's the best one ever made, it's the one that met my criteria of suppression, backpressure, cost, weight, and flexibility. From what I've read, people are generally happy with CAT, Otter Creek, HUXWRX, and B&T...per the forums, DeadAir seems to making somewhat of a comeback, but people are still pissed about the customer service experience from long ago. I'm sure that there's other/better/new manufacturers out there that I didn't mention, these are just the names I see most often. My personal experience and opinion is that they're a game-changer for shooting/hunting with a centerfire, rimfire is a whole new level of awesome.

Not to nitpick but to add clarity for those that may not think about it: I would NOT shoot a 9mm through a 30cal can without first verifying the actual bore of the suppressor. 9mm = .358" which makes the bullet 0.058" larger than the hole in the muffler.

Having a heck of a time finding replacement bezels for the 6” sealed beam headlights on my IH544. These lights aren’t the correct ones for a 544 and I’m not sure what they came off…they appear to be IH, but I can’t seem to narrow down what they originally fit. The bezel is marked “John Hobbs a Division of Stewart-Warner Springfield, IL” and “Hobbs Part Number 4491”. The housing measures 6”, the bezel measures 6.75”OD and 5.25” ID. The light measures 5.625” OD with a 5.25” lens diameter. Any suggestions, leads, or information would be much appreciated.

Had a great time during our annual prairie dog trip this past weekend. Highlight for me was watching our 17yr old connect with 6 of the little vermin at 420yds with a 15mph (25mph gust) quartering away wind; first confirmed kill was with a cold bore. For reference, they were at the base of the third tree from the right in the top picture. Dogs seemed a little skittish this year, made short-yard rimfire shots (<200yd) difficult and infrequent but that didn’t stop the boys from trying. All-in-all, a great trip; the boys had fun and so did the adults.

that's a beautiful looking hornet! Finished up my 22 ARC build a month ago and roughly sighted in at 200 last week (stupid wind)...ordered a whisper pickle (CAT Noah, actually) a week ago that should work almost as well on the 22 ARC as it supposedly does on the 6 ARC. Be afraid prairie dogs, be very afraid...you're days are numbered.

IT FINALLY MOVES UNDER IT'S OWN POWER! Matt - thanks for the video link. As goofy as it was, it was a great reference and part of our problem...the other problem was that we swapped the left and right shift rods. While they look like mirrors of each other, they must not be. Still need to address a small hydraulic leak, replace the cr@ppy keyswitch, and build a new wiring harness. Getting closer.

That's what we thought initially, but the little ball looks pretty good. However, it has been "fixed" at some point in the past...the little cup with the shift pattern in it has been brazed, then cut apart and welded to the shift plate. I wonder if the little cup doesnt stick far enough away from the plate, allowing the shift lever to swing too far.

Thought I'd update the thread here since some progress has been made...some, not a lot. I found and purchased shims on ebay, which the USPS promptly lost somewhere in North Carolina and, with no others listed for sale, it forced us to really examine what was wrong...turns out there was an assembly error on the bottom shaft. After pulling final drives, diff, and transmission guts for the 3rd time, it's all back together. We even started it 3 weeks ago and (almost) everything worked! The new problem is that it appears that someone messed with the gearshift and now the shift lever can move too far and pop out of the slot on the shift forks. I suspect that this is the root cause for the chipped transmission gears and the smoked clutch. Anyway, we're getting closer to sending this basket-case down the road and I'm one day closer to having the space back in the shop.

you ain't a kiddin'!

Searcy – I saw your post on shooting prairie poodles and I am happy share any learnings from our annual shooting trip. Below is a random smattering of my thoughts: Our primary rifles are 22’s sighted in for 60-75yds, I bet 60% of our shots/kills came from a little ol’ 22. Last June, I took ~2K rounds of 22LR with and probably came home with ~500..cheap and easy to walk in a shot. Start close with rimfires and work your way out. Once the big guns come out, you’re stuck making long shots. Beyond 22LR range, our group transitions to 22WMR, 17HMR, or 22 K-Hornet for shots 150-250yds. After 250yds, the ‘big’ centerfires come out (223/556, 243, 6mm ARC, etc.). All of the centerfires are zeroed at 200yds and we’ll shoot to 400 without much hesitation…some shots 500+ No crazy-fancy rifles here, just a collection of good shooting rifles that get exercised and are understood. You should pack your sunblock and water bottles before you pack your ammo…and TP, throw a roll of that in too. A decent rangefinder is key to successful shots. Your fancy scope is a good as a cheap one if you don’t know the range of the little critter…and dope charts, don’t forget your dope charts or ballistic calculator app (I like Vortex’s app). Elbow pads are nice…after 3 days of laying prone, your elbows will be raw (and your neck will be sore, pack some ibuprofen). Decent binoculars help the spotters, spot; we run cheap Vortex 10x32. Bring a set of sunglasses, your eyes will get sunburnt from looking the the binoc's. Brass/ammo management is important…partly for range cleanliness, partly for knowing your inventory as the day(s) progress. Don’t know what your shooting, but I really like the Hornady 50gr V-Max bullets in anything 22cal. VRBO’s and AirBNB’s are cheaper than hotels…especially if you cook your own meals. It can get pretty desolate in western Nebraska/Kansas/South Dakota…put fuel in when you can if you’re less than ½ tank. Throw in your coyote calls for an evening/morning treat…they’ll likely be eating breakfast on yesterday’s dogs as you pull in the next morning. Chiggars, ticks, and snakes, oh my…take some OFF and spray your ankles/waistband for tiggers and chicks…you’ll have to keep your eyes open for snakes. Trust me, they’re out there. A shooting mat from Midway is worth every penny for the shooter…throw in a bag/folding chair for your spotter. From 300yds+ burrowing owls look A LOT like a pup, don’t shoot the cute little owls. We typically go the first weekend of June, the pups are out and haven’t been educated yet. Camp rule: I don’t care how awesome the shot was, if it wasn’t witnessed and hasn’t been confirmed, it didn’t happen. Keep track of doubles, shortest/longest shot for rimfire and centerfire, most aerobatics, etc…this is what everyone remembers, especially if you’re taking grandkids. Barrel heat and bullet drift are real. If you’re rifle starts to wander, switch guns and let it cool down.

Picked up our oldest's early christmas gift...a Taurus TX22 (22LR). For a sub-$300 pistol, it feels great in your hand, cycles flawlessly (so far), and is an absolute riot. Vermin beware!

I read a little bit about the 560/660 Standards/Wheatlands and always wondered if there was a 460W. Found one article years ago that said that 460W's were generally a 460U's that the dealers installed the fenders and operator platform on...and are an odd bird. Our oldest son found this on an internet auction, could be be the needle in the haystack? Dad currently has a 560W and 2x 660W's, this could/would be a nice addition (after a mountain of work, from the looks of it).

Mac - Thanks for the ebay lead and suggestion to make them...dunno why that never crossed my mind, duh. MMI - I apologize if I gave the impression that this was a collectable tractor with some sort of sentimental value...it's not. It's an opportunity for some father/son shop-time working on something that a 16yr old can afford with his own $$ and fits comfortably with his FFA small engine repair SAE. While he'll never get rich from his SAE, he has turned $8K in net profit in the past year twisting wrenches on similar "basket cases". I appreciate your comment, but your outlook on this project differs significantly from ours.

In search of….help. The long story is we purchased an early LoBoy (SN 011607) in March/April and have yet to move it from its unloaded position. Not from lack of trying, but due to finding additional unexpected problems that prevent its mobility. Initially, the clutch drivetrain was missing…snout to tail and everything in between. The driveshaft, clutch, pressure plate, crossmembers, etc were all known to be absent at the time of purchase. What we didn’t expect was a broken shift fork and chipped gears in the transmission. A straightforward, but painfully slow, fix…until we determined that the bottom shaft front bearing needs to be shimmed to accommodate the ‘new’ 2nd gear. Found a set of shims on Ebay and purchased them…USPS promptly lost them after picking them up…they’ve been 3 weeks ‘in transit to the next location’ and I’ve given up hope. Here’s the request: where (other than the dealer because I’m frugal) might I find a set of shims? If someone on the forum has a spare set, I’m willing to pay for parts + shipping…we’re so far upside down on this tractor we’ve never driven that money barely matters anymore.

This was excellent advice, thank you. I just got off the phone with them and their advice was simple: check the oil per the instructions on the stick, change fluid and filters (already done), make sure the oil cooler is as clean as possible, and do your best to stay within the blue line (makes significantly more heat once you get above it). He mentioned that if the oil on the dipstick is aerated, it's likely the supercharge tube in the rear end leaking and an easy 'fix' is to simply overfill it.

This tractor became our fall project last year, too late to make it to the show and threshing bee, but certainly on the radar for this year. The show/bee is a short 15 miles northwest and we typically meet up with the tractor-cade on the highway and drive in with the group (100+?). My question for those with hydro experience is: what do we need to know about before we depart? Any do’s or don’t for roading this tractor 15 miles? Any adjustments that need to be doublechecked or made? Fluids and filters were changed, but that’s about where our experience with hydros end. Any advice or suggestions is welcome.

No after-action report this time, but I wanted to share this: I saw a jackrabbit just on the north side of our house on Tuesday. Found it odd to see one 25 miles west of Beatrice, NE. I spread the word to the prairie dog shooter pictured above: he's safe, too odd...stick to cottontails.

Spent the weekend in western Nebraska sharpening our precision rifle skills…ok, more ‘throw enough lead out there and something will run into it’ and less ‘precision rifle’. The boys’ saying for the weekend was: we’re going to shoot oodles and oodles of prairie poodles…and we did. We shot Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and a couple of hours yesterday until the wind become un-shootable. Pretty proud papa, our oldest son connected a shot on a young one (same size as one of those mini-pop cans) at 412yds, his longest shot to-date. We almost connected on a couple others yesterday in the wind at 680-700yds. Yeah, I know “almost” doesn’t count…but we were spot-on for elevation…the stinking wind was gusting and raising cane. Looking at my dope card, that rifle drops 147” at 700yds, that’s over 12 feet! Based on the elevation knob to compensate for 12’ of drop, we were cranking the windage knob to account for about 8’ of windage! The rifle is fun to shoot (6mm ARC), but the real star of the show is definitely the scope (Vortex Venom 5-25x56). Takes a little futzing around to get it set: determine range, estimate windage, make corrections from the dope card, adjust the parallax and sqeeeeze the trigger…then make corrections. Notice the 1/2 a pup at the bottom right of the hole and the pickups in the background.

Took a while, but I finally found it...as I was getting ready to load another batch. 11.3 gr LilGun Remington 6 1/2 primer 40gr Hornady VMax (boat tail, ballistic tip)

Was in Ankeny for work this week and I needed some stuff from the Man Mall (Fleet Farm) for home so I stopped in Wednesday evening. Thought I’d cruise the sporting goods just for funzies and stumbled on 4 packages of 22 Hornet brass! I tossed them in the cart and started looking at bullets…they had 40gr and 50gr VMax bullets too! Went over a couple of isles and found a Magpul X22 Hunter stock for one the kids’ 10/22 at home, $20 cheaper than anywhere else! Walked in for $5 worth of wire and walked out for a little less than $400 total spent. Word of caution men: this may be one of those times that it’s best to take your better half with you as a voice of reason, that place is dangerous.

yeah, that aligns with what I think I've learned. It seems that the Banish 30 is pretty popular, but it's also pretty expensive (1K). I found some 3rd party testing results at Pew Science that can be sorted by suppressibility...the Banish 30 ranks midway through the pack of the 50 30cal cans tested, about 15dB behind the leader (Hyperion, Nomad was #2). Looking at the list, I've honed in on the Aero Lahar-30L or the Nomad. They're both more efficient and $2-300 cheaper than the Banish...opening the door for a nice little rimfire suppressor addition. In your opinion, how important is serviceability for a centerfire can? The interweb is mixed, I'm leaning towards not important since they're supposed to be "self-cleaning" from the heat and pressure. Is yours direct thread or does it have a fancy mounting system? Happy with the mounting option you have?

not to derail the topic, but it's fairly relatable to varmint vaporization: has anyone taken the plunge and purchased one of those very popular NFA items that looks like a muffler? If so, what's your experience? I understand the wait times, I'm more interested in your review of the process and your purchase? What should I know before I buy?

I greatly appreciate the looksy...crossing the fence shouldn't be a big deal for inert stuff like brass...they're just a small gold-colored piece of metal. We'll worry about that next time. Thanks again!