ITS OVER

K-State 84, KU 75

The "Streak" has ended.

Rejoice.

Goodnight.

BW

Biodiversity in Kansas, continued...

Racoons
Turkey

Sorry for the poor picture quality - I had to stick my camera up to my binoculars to get any sort of zoom.

Rattlesnakes Crawfish

Biodiversity in Kansas

Unlike what some people from Lawrence, KS like to say, there really is diversity in the state. There is even biodiversity, and if the hippies from KU would ever take the time to stop berating the state, they too could see some of these animals. This is by no means a definitive list, just some of the animals I've come across when I've had a camera.



Horny ToadElk
Mule Deer (at least I think these are mule deer, not 100% sure)
Some variety of small fish (this is a whopper in my books really)
Whitetail Deer
I live in the suburbs of Kansas City, there is a small creekbed behind my house, and sometimes guys like this show up. 20 yards past him is the next house, hopefully I see him again next year. He was chasing a doe that frequents the area.

The .243 Win vs .30-06 on prairie dogs

I find myself posting over at the Cabelas talk forums from time to time (probably more than is healthy), and sometimes the conversations there lead me to thinking about how they apply to my own experiences. The topic of what is the best all around caliber came up, and it somehow got me thinking about prairie dogs. I had a chance to recently compare the difference between shooting a prairie dog with a .243 Win, and a .30-06. Both shots were at roughly 150 yards, and both shots were head shots. The .30-06 was loaded with a 150grn bullet, while the .243 was loaded with a 70grn bullet.

The .30-06 Springfield

You will notice in the picture below that death was quick and clean for this particular critter. The bullet struck the animal somewhere above the shoulders and didn't even pause to say "hello", instead it just proceeded down range on its merry way. You will notice that there is very little blood in the picture, and the complete lack of a head (I tried to find it, but had no luck - not even a blood trail to follow).


The .243 Winchester

What a difference bullet selection can make. This bullet clearly entered the head via the mouth. The head has been pulled apart - almost as if somebody held the bottom jaw in place and pulled the top of the head up and back, opening the little guy up wide. There are bloody flecks all around this animal, and while death was quick, it certainly wasn't as tidy and peaceful has his (I think it may be a her) little buddy's.

And another thing...

I got lucky, and hit these 2 with one shot (.243 @ 75 yards). Some people call that luck, but not me...okay, it was luck. (one is on the left, in the foreground, the other is a little to the right of me). They were standing right next to each other when I shot them, but they got blasted back a bit.

My Loser Brother

My brother has taken it upon himself to work in South Africa. I'm not sure what sort of work he does, all I know is that I get pictures like these from him from time to time:

Yeah buddy, you look like you're working hard - what was it coffee break time?

I think I see a telephone pole in the background - so its possible you're close to a job site.

I'm headed out there in March of this year - my company was nice enough to give me 2 weeks off (I hope they don't realize how replaceable I am while I'm out). When I return I promise to post some pictures of whatever I manage to bag (likely just malaria, but I'll share pics just the same).

I also plan on doing a little diving in Cape Town.....

(Its a good thing I'll be in a cage and underwater - that way when I piss myself, nobody will know)

....and Mozambique:

Kansas Bucks

I went out hunting with my buddy Aaron this past fall. We went to a patch of land not too far northwest of Kansas City. We had fairly good luck....

To get an understanding of the size of this deer, keep in mind that I'm a hair or 2 shy of 6'6", and weigh in around 260lbs (yup, I'm a fatty).

This nice sized 13 pointer walked in front of Aaron at 20 yards. I don't have that kind of luck, maybe next year.

A Bit About Equipment:

• My deer was shot at 85-100 yards with a Ruger M77 MII, chambered in .243, topped with a Bushnell Elite 4200 riflescope. I roll my own rounds, and use a 100grn Sierra Pro Hunter (#1540). The velocity for the load I use is a little low - coming in around 2800 fps (I think) - a little low compared to the people who like to throw lead at 3500fps (What I lose in speed I gain in accuracy - a fair trade I believe).

• Aaron's deer was shot with (if I remember correctly) a Schmidt-Rubin K31 Carbine, 7.5x55 Swiss, also topped with a Bushnell Elite 4200. He was firing store bought rounds - so I know nothing about the velocity or anything else. I know the overall accuracy on the gun is pretty darn good though, as he and I took it out to western Kansas this past spring and shot prarie dogs.