Squirrel Roundup Surprise Valley

CEDARVILLE, CALIF.  Squirrel Roundup & Banquet March 18, 2023

Cost: $55 approx.

 surprisevalleychamber.com

Registration: surprisevalleychamber.com, registration required and limited usually to 70 people, give or take

Squirrel Roundup Hosted by Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce Cedarville, CA is A Party -- Join the Fun! BBQ, Hat Prizes, Gun Raffle, Silent Auction. Location: Fairgrounds in Cedarville at 8:00 a.m. Social Hour at 4:30 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. Door prizes, raffle, silent auction.

The squirrel round up is an annual event designed to get rid of some of Surprise Valley's pesky residents. The event has a limited number of participants, registration required. Entry includes BBQ dinner, gun raffle, silent auction and more. You Are Responsible to Secure a Place to Hunt If you make arrangements to hunt on someone's property and for some reason are not able to show, please call your host and cancel so he/she can make arrangements for someone else. PLEASE do not register at more than one ranch.

Accommodations: Cockrell High Desert Ranch, Guest House, Fair Grounds RV Park, Fandango Guest Ranch, JnR Hotel, Sunrise Motel & RV Park , SV Hot Springs, The Bunkhouse, and Winje's Farm Cottage.

The alfalfa and crops don't have to get very high for the ground squirrels to hide. If you're lucky you'll hit the area about the time the alfalfa has been cut, but as long as the grass isn't too tall you can see the squirrels and you'll have a good time.

Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce in Modoc County has hosted an annual Squirrel Roundup for 25 years in 2016. The event involves bringing your guns and shooting the pesky varmints known to eat crops. Held usually in February or March, you come and plan to spend a day or weekend. The Chamber of Commerce may help you with making arrangements and filling in the details on the event, which involves getting permission to shoot squirrels on the locals' property. Apparently the event is designed mostly as fun, but it also serves the purpose of thinning out the overpopulations of ground squirrels especially.

The event is held one Saturday and includes a dinner at the Modoc County Fairgrounds where your options are chicken or beef only (no squirrel).

From the gun forums people have discussed going to the event and the types of guns to take. Some suggest that you take 1,000 rounds of ammo for a day. One woman said she was bringing her school age daughter and she needed a little guidance on which guns to bring. The forum told her to remember not to shoot from a car or even touch the car when shooting, as she'd be cited and would have to pay a fine if caught doing so.

The event has a maximum of 100 entrants which is actually quite a lot for the remote area north of Redding near the border with Nevada and Oregon. They say the winds provide a cold chill factor and indeed, we saw the temps can be around 40's.

Gun talk: R25 is overkill and that you'd probably be better off with a .223, 17HMR, or something like that. Some of your targets can easily be as much as 300 yards out there so the .22 rimfire rifles will be disappointing at those ranges but for the 100 yard opportunities they'll prove to be a lot of fun. Take lots of ammo. 1000 rounds could be too much, but then again it may not be enough. 1000 rounds per day is probably right on target.

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.