Sage Rat Hunting

Step outside Multnomah County and the geography, climate and political convictions of Oregon change rapidly. The topography of eastern Oregon opens, light pollution drops and the distance between places increases exponentially.

I love the expansiveness. A poignant reminder of our insignificance: instilling a righteous humility.

It had been several years since I had been this deep into Malheur area while birding, looking for sage grouse. This trip was out past Burns, Oregon to Crystal Crane Hot Springs.

Crystal Crane Hot Springs facilities are an amalgam of tipi, RV hook-ups, bunk houses and a common mess hall. It attracts bird watchers, communal hot-springers, and hunters. I went there to hunt sage rat. Hunting is a misnomer: guided slaughter is a better description. The guide drives a trailer-mounted box into a field which serves as a firing platform to improve the view and angle of fire.

The sage rat is a pest for the farmers (who would otherwise poison them) and the hunters bring an economic influx that the locals need. But that would be post-hoc justification – the truth is that it is good visceral fun.

An adult rat is about 9″ in length, and they blend well with the ground cover. They are prolific breeders and are everywhere. Once set up in the field, it doesn’t take long before they come out of their burrows, but usually 150 yards and often at more than 200 yards away from the platform.

The platform comfortably holds eight and the lines of fire are 360-degrees. In close quarters, suppressors are a blessing for the higher-pressure rounds. The rifles ranged from .17, .22, .204, to .233. Shooting small targets at relatively long ranges made good spotting and a good scope imperative.

A red dot with a 3x magnification may be adequate for man-sized silhouettes but proved difficult for sage rats. The dot more than covered the target, making precision shooting a game of guesswork.

But missing was almost more interesting than hitting the target. Walking shots in and chasing a moving target was as rewarding as a direct hit.

I was invited to the hunt through business connections but had the great fortune to hunt and bunk with Tuhon Harvey Elmore. Search for his YouTube content and see his connections.

How did we both get there? I was invited by one of the general contractors I employ frequently, and the owner’s son-in-law works with one of those 3-letter agencies that directs our operators in foreign theaters. He and his buddies couldn’t make this year’s hunt, but the word got around that it was great target training and constant action.

Tuhon Elmore has had a contract with the DOD for 18 years teaching Sayoc to those who need to use blades in dire circumstances. So Tuhon Elmore and one of his senior students made the trip.

Our group was just one of many. This is an industry, and hunters roll through the area in droves. With a dearth of natural predators (we screwed that up already), hunters are filling a void.