Clean Shot, Clean Meat

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Ezana4CE

Ezana4CE

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Jan 15, 2021
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Not much to it. We saw each other - it stopped, I kneeled and lined up my reticle for a brain shot. I shot into the left eye and as far as I can tell the projectile perforated a lower portion of the brain. It appeared to have exited behind the right eye and below the ear. It dropped where it was shot and movement ceased within a relatively short period. Shot with a .22 Prod topped with a Vector Veyron 3-12x44mm scope using Predator Polymag shorts. No visible parasites on the carcass. Heart, liver, and kidneys looked clean and healthy.
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Ezana4CE said:
Not much to it. We saw each other - it stopped, I kneeled and lined up my reticle for a brain shot. I shot into the left eye and as far as I can tell the projectile perforated a lower portion of the brain. It appeared to have exited behind the right eye and below the ear. It dropped where it was shot and movement ceased within a relatively short period. Shot with a .22 Prod topped with a Vector Veyron 3-12x44mm scope using Predator Polymag shorts. No visible parasites on the carcass. Heart, liver, and kidneys looked clean and healthy.
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I shall call you Popeye from now on!
 
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@Bootscreep I usually don’t laugh at the animals I kill, but that’s actually pretty funny.

@Gerry52 I’m really still trying to understand what pops them out of socket. I’m wondering if it is due to the sheer force of the projectile, displacement of tissue and fluids as the projectile rips through the animal, or a combination of these factors. I’ve seen it happen via blunt force, but with cranial shots I’ve seen this a number of times on rabbits and squirrels. I’m thinking about the Polymag having entered into the delicate fluid filled tissue of the eyeball, I can’t see it having expanded upon entry. If there was any expansion it had to have been upon exiting the skull. I never heard the skull “knock” that I usually hear when I shoot the front, side, or back of a skull. You’ve nailed enough animals in the head. What do you think? Any ideas?

@Ranchibi Thanks Randall
@Skydivingmiami, @beerthief, @Cheplicki Thank you.
 
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Swing360 said:
The Prod was the VERY first PCP I owned. It shot nice, and was a great varmint rifle to walk with.

I never put it on a target larger than a squirell in the short time I had it before I upgraded, but always wondered what it would do to a cotton tail/Jack. Those polymags did well and looks like it put some energy into the target. Well done!
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@Swing360 I like this platform. It is very well made and proven effective and reliable over time by many air gunners. I’ve put down squirrels, rabbbits, and a snake with this particular gun. It does ok with rabbits. I just have to be sure of my shots and place them well before taking them. If there is doubt I have to work for a better shot or pass. Occasionally I make a bad shot, but I do what I can to prevent animals from suffering long. With smaller calibers there isn’t a lot of room for error when you aren’t close up on them, at least for me. In my experience .25 caliber rifles and pellets are a more forgiving in this regard. My longest shot on a rabbit with this Prod was 52 yards. I’ve taken a rabbit with a single open-sight shot from a .177 springer before, so I can say from experience that shot placement is absolutely critical, especially with smaller calibers. I say all of this as a man who views himself as a mediocre shooter.
 
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JimD said:
The only bunny I've killed with an air rifle was with my Prod tuned to about 18 fpe. I shot it in the center of the chest and it ran about 50 feet and collapsed. I found the pellet in the back of a rear leg. I was surprised the little Prod shot the length of a 3 lb bunny.
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Lol, theyr'e soft lil cuddly bunnies! I killed plenty back in the day as a kid with a crosman 760 pump master un-modified using BBs. I almost feel bad when I smack one with a 45 fpe slug.
 
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HYDROSTATIC SHOCK in an enclosed area (cranium). The pressure spreads out in all directions & the eye orbits are the weakest point. I've hit ground squirrels directly between the eyes & have had BOTH its eyes do that. These are NOT TOYS that we are dealing with! They do the job they were meant to do. I always take it seriously when I'm out hunting.
 
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Gerry52 said:
HYDROSTATIC SHOCK in an enclosed area (cranium). The pressure spreads out in all directions & the eye orbits are the weakest point. I've hit ground squirrels directly between the eyes & have had BOTH its eyes do that. These are NOT TOYS that we are dealing with! They do the job they were meant to do. I always take it seriously when I'm out hunting.
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@Gerry52 I looked up and read a few things on the topic this evening. I’ve seen: pressure from displacement (cavitation), concussive impact, and hydrostatic shock. To me displacement/cavitation which is said to cause the fluid filed eyeball to seek the path of least resistance (out of the socket) seems to be the most logical explanation that I could follow. The rationale seems to be that this occurs because fluids can’t be compressed under normal conditions. It’s pretty much the same thing you said but I saw different terms used to define the event. Interesting topic. I’d never thought to look into the reason behind it.

The above rabbit’s eye bulge is the farthest I’ve seen one pop out of socket without completely exiting the skull and hanging on by the tissue and vessels attached to the back of the eye. Thanks for the response. I have yet to see two eyes do that simultaneously. That sounds like a lot of power, expansion, or a large projectile. Since you tend to use pellets, I’m inclined to think it’s either a large pellet, a lot of power, or both along with good shot placement.
 
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Gerry52 said:
I believe it was my FX Boss (.30) using Hades. The quick expansion of the Hades is devastating & their tendency to not pass through dumps all the energy in a small cavity like a rodent skull.
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@Gerry52 I thought you may have been using a .30, but I forgot about the expansion I’ve seen some folks get from Hades. I don’t use them often. Now I definitely see how that would happen with a head shot between the eyes on a ground squirrel, especially considering the impact during descent at the end of the arc on a long-distance shot. Without the pellet passing through it the animal’s head absorbs all of the remaining energy. With a little more understanding of what causes it, that’s insane, but humane.
 
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