My first groundhog

I got my first groundhog last week. This is the first one I've seen on our property but I wasn't about to wait until it fully establishes itself near our house. It took 12 days from the first time I saw it until the kill shot. I've had it in my scope sights a couple of times prior but I just didn't get a shot then. I learned its habits and schedules and waited for it on that faithful day. At first, I noticed that it was very skittish and well aware of its surroundings. It was very sensitive to even the slightest sounds. As time went on, it started to become noticeably more comfortable and more complacent being in our backyard.

Taipan Veteran Standard .25 caliber at 44 FPE shooting JSB King Heavy at 765 FPS. The shot was from 18 meters away from inside a window. One shot between the left eye and left ear.

Pardon the blurry face. I'm still not totally comfortable taking animals even for pesting purposes. Although, I do eat a lot of animals. 😅

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You definitely “blurred“ that ground hogs face…🤓 Congratulations on your first and particularly on the patience and observation on your part.
With pesting in the yard, I learned that if an animal keeps coming back out, it's only a matter of time until I finally get it. I always kick myself when I take a less than ideal shot and let an animal get away wounded. So nowadays, I'd rather wait days, sometimes weeks, to get as perfect shot as I possibly can on an animal I've been hunting.
 
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