Yesterday morning I re-zeroed my scope down to 12yds to do some close quarter ratting with some friends when I return from my nephew's graduation from high school up in Chicago, and whilst on my way to my friend's property who has the vermin problem, I passed by my neighbor some of you may be familiar with. He's the one that had the squirrel problem of them nesting in his brand new gutters [refer to http://www.airgunnation.com/topic/squirrel-shooting-when-pest-animals-stop-being-pests-for-good/ if you wish to take a gander at]. Anyway, he waved me to his curb being out in his yard picking up branches from the storms and told me he's got a new pair up there, and as we chatted what do I see? One of the grays scurrying over the brim of his roof to the backside with a mouth full of bedding material. With a smile and a nod I told him I had the time then and would take care of them.
Now when it comes to the back of his ranch-style house, the rear has a pool and surrounded by a large elongated lanai (screened structure), and to the right of that just open space and a cement walkway. Did I mention any trees in his yard? Well no, because they are all towards the rear of his property, with 4' high shrub bushes just inside his fence around the yard. For me, this meant zero concealment save his small utility shed some 40yrds from the back of the house. For my rifle 40yds is no problem so I took one of my homemade bean bags out of my kit (made with real kidney beans that I backed and loaded into a tube sock), shirt pocketed a small handful of my H&N Baracuda Hunter rounds @ 10.65gr, my water bottle and took myself a stroll.
With the neighbor going in to put on a pot of coffee for us for post-extermination, I no more got set up with the bean bag resting over one of his saw horses, my cap turned backwards, gun cocked, loaded and safety engaged, and me sitting on an upturned 5gal pail, when the sow came over the roof yet again with a mouthful of bedding. She was moving quick and I knew I couldn't draw a bead on her, so I waited as she ducked into the gutter and out of sight. Come Monday this won't be a problem because he's having gutter-guards put in, but for now they are a serious problem.
After a few minutes and already sweating buckets in the little shed and Florida humidity, she came out, started up the roof and did one thing she shouldn't have: she stopped to take a nice scratch for fleas and then froze, checking her surroundings. With my scope--a UTG 3-12.44 AccuShot SWAT--I knew I had to give her at least a 1mil-dot hold under, give or take a smidgen, and with a long exhale of breath, I had her dead-to-rights between the eye and ear, disengaged the trigger, and slowly squeezed, and what does she do as I squeeze? She turns!
Now I got chance to see the turn just as the final draw on my trigger pull was happening, but it was too late then. I saw her take the hit and took it hard, but as she rolled off the roof to the walkway below, I expected her to be alive and kicking and attempting to scurry off, but no, there was nothing, not even a twitch! With the gun in position for me to break the barrel again I paused perplexed; there wasn't even a kick.
"Must have gotten knocked up," I thought to myself as I left the shed toting the gun low as I approached her, only to discover this:
Now when it comes to the back of his ranch-style house, the rear has a pool and surrounded by a large elongated lanai (screened structure), and to the right of that just open space and a cement walkway. Did I mention any trees in his yard? Well no, because they are all towards the rear of his property, with 4' high shrub bushes just inside his fence around the yard. For me, this meant zero concealment save his small utility shed some 40yrds from the back of the house. For my rifle 40yds is no problem so I took one of my homemade bean bags out of my kit (made with real kidney beans that I backed and loaded into a tube sock), shirt pocketed a small handful of my H&N Baracuda Hunter rounds @ 10.65gr, my water bottle and took myself a stroll.
With the neighbor going in to put on a pot of coffee for us for post-extermination, I no more got set up with the bean bag resting over one of his saw horses, my cap turned backwards, gun cocked, loaded and safety engaged, and me sitting on an upturned 5gal pail, when the sow came over the roof yet again with a mouthful of bedding. She was moving quick and I knew I couldn't draw a bead on her, so I waited as she ducked into the gutter and out of sight. Come Monday this won't be a problem because he's having gutter-guards put in, but for now they are a serious problem.
After a few minutes and already sweating buckets in the little shed and Florida humidity, she came out, started up the roof and did one thing she shouldn't have: she stopped to take a nice scratch for fleas and then froze, checking her surroundings. With my scope--a UTG 3-12.44 AccuShot SWAT--I knew I had to give her at least a 1mil-dot hold under, give or take a smidgen, and with a long exhale of breath, I had her dead-to-rights between the eye and ear, disengaged the trigger, and slowly squeezed, and what does she do as I squeeze? She turns!
Now I got chance to see the turn just as the final draw on my trigger pull was happening, but it was too late then. I saw her take the hit and took it hard, but as she rolled off the roof to the walkway below, I expected her to be alive and kicking and attempting to scurry off, but no, there was nothing, not even a twitch! With the gun in position for me to break the barrel again I paused perplexed; there wasn't even a kick.
"Must have gotten knocked up," I thought to myself as I left the shed toting the gun low as I approached her, only to discover this:
