Today was planned last Wednesday. Weather called for an end to the rain, clear skies and highs in the mid 50’s. Saturday was given over to going to the ranch and finishing the trailer re-deck. I did manage to sneak out yesterday and knock down a collared dove and 4 Starlings.
But today was my day, all day. I had planned a solo ground squirrel day. This morning I grabbed the M3, 22 slug shooter, The Crown MKII 25 slugger and the Maverick 25 Compact for pellets. Took them all out to the garage and was filling the bottles when the Nomad II did the expected and took a crap on me. Got the Crown and M3 filled but had to resort to my depleted tank to finish The Compact.
Weather failed me. Overcast with a light breeze and at 9:30 it was 36 degrees. Dang! Oh well, stay home and Mrs. Chukar will have chores for me. Head out and go shoot. Cursed the Nomad all the way there and the gods of the hunt smiled on me. Sun came out and it started to warm.
Had to drive back in further than usual because the motocross boys are out in full force today. No big deal. I wanted peace and quiet.
I found a draw that offered some longer shots at small clusters of mounds. The whistle pigs are being introverted and few showing. I manage two at around 90 yards with the M3 and the little 23 grain Zans showed their nasty side. At 970 fps they expanded well and delivered very good terminal performance on these small rodents. These were the first two I have taken with the Zans.
Down the next little draw and quarters are tighter so I grab the Compact and load it up with some 25.39 JSB’s. Take one squirrel at 50 yards, then another at about 35 yards. Then all goes quiet. Time to put the sling on the compact and go for a walk. Always uphill because it makes spotting the little buggers easier against the light versus looking down into the dirt and weeds. Spot and stalk time. Spot a stander and creep, crawl or whatever gets you in range.
The ”cover” out here consists of grass, and this time of year it is all brown and about 6-8” tall. I managed to take 4 in short order before I got nervous about a truck full of air guns and gear sitting out of my sight. Head back to the truck and take stock of the day so far. Having a ball stalking and shooting. Despite the Nomad, weather and shortage of whistle pigs, I am a happy camper.
While I am debating calling it a day, I catch movement up the hill from the truck. Grab the Compact because it is loaded. Mr. Ground squirrel is at 70-75 yards with a cross wind left to right. This compact scope has very little in the way of holdover and windage aids. Find the squirrel, check the parallax and verify distance. Take the shot and he goes down stone dead.
Pee on the fire and call in the dogs. Time to go home and end on a high note.
Nine ground squirrels isn’t much of a score but it was a great day and I missed very few shots.
Sorry, no pictures. The phone, camera and even the range finder stay behind on days like this.
But today was my day, all day. I had planned a solo ground squirrel day. This morning I grabbed the M3, 22 slug shooter, The Crown MKII 25 slugger and the Maverick 25 Compact for pellets. Took them all out to the garage and was filling the bottles when the Nomad II did the expected and took a crap on me. Got the Crown and M3 filled but had to resort to my depleted tank to finish The Compact.
Weather failed me. Overcast with a light breeze and at 9:30 it was 36 degrees. Dang! Oh well, stay home and Mrs. Chukar will have chores for me. Head out and go shoot. Cursed the Nomad all the way there and the gods of the hunt smiled on me. Sun came out and it started to warm.
Had to drive back in further than usual because the motocross boys are out in full force today. No big deal. I wanted peace and quiet.
I found a draw that offered some longer shots at small clusters of mounds. The whistle pigs are being introverted and few showing. I manage two at around 90 yards with the M3 and the little 23 grain Zans showed their nasty side. At 970 fps they expanded well and delivered very good terminal performance on these small rodents. These were the first two I have taken with the Zans.
Down the next little draw and quarters are tighter so I grab the Compact and load it up with some 25.39 JSB’s. Take one squirrel at 50 yards, then another at about 35 yards. Then all goes quiet. Time to put the sling on the compact and go for a walk. Always uphill because it makes spotting the little buggers easier against the light versus looking down into the dirt and weeds. Spot and stalk time. Spot a stander and creep, crawl or whatever gets you in range.
The ”cover” out here consists of grass, and this time of year it is all brown and about 6-8” tall. I managed to take 4 in short order before I got nervous about a truck full of air guns and gear sitting out of my sight. Head back to the truck and take stock of the day so far. Having a ball stalking and shooting. Despite the Nomad, weather and shortage of whistle pigs, I am a happy camper.
While I am debating calling it a day, I catch movement up the hill from the truck. Grab the Compact because it is loaded. Mr. Ground squirrel is at 70-75 yards with a cross wind left to right. This compact scope has very little in the way of holdover and windage aids. Find the squirrel, check the parallax and verify distance. Take the shot and he goes down stone dead.
Pee on the fire and call in the dogs. Time to go home and end on a high note.
Nine ground squirrels isn’t much of a score but it was a great day and I missed very few shots.
Sorry, no pictures. The phone, camera and even the range finder stay behind on days like this.
