GTA
General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Hunting Gate => : TCups October 04, 2008, 03:32:05 AM
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There seemed to be more than just a first hint of fall in the air this morning in the mountains. So after coffee, I decided to go for a hunt. Although the Diana 48 /.20 was at hand also, I hadn't sighted it in with confidence, yet, and I just wanted to get out in the woods. So I grabbed the CDT tuned GHE and a dozen Beeman FTS pellets, knowing I could put the pellet on te target. Rode the 4-wheeler out to a likely spot where I had previously seen both a few hickory nut trees and squirrels. In the mountains, even in the green of summer, there is an under carpeting of dead leaves and twigs that, unless there has been a heavy rain, makes any stealthy walking about in the woods unlikely. So I parked the 4-wheeler and hiked without any thought of being as quiet as possible 50 yards or so off the old CCC gravel road (crunch, crunch, snap, crunch. . . ) until I found a fallen tree next to an upright tree trunk that made a reasonably comfortable seat. Then I sat down and waited.
In about 30 minutes, the woods had come back to life and I could hear the critters going about their morning business. The leaves haven't fallen yet, and a heavy overhead canopy of southern hardwoods makes a challenging backdrop. I could hear the little nut crunchers all about but couldn't really see them. Finally, I spotted one high above and maybe 30 - 40 yard (?less) away, but in any case, only in glimpses between brief periods of nut munching and sounds of falling shells. And the trees are thick enough so that the squirrel can easily move about. Over about the next 20 or 30 minutes, the gray squirrel visited several trees, including the one I was leaning against without offering a decent shot. I just stayed as patient as I could and waited. Finally, I got a semi profile shot on my right side, and took a RH shot at about 25 yards ant an angle at maybe 45 to 50 degrees upward, and through a small opening in the foliage. Hold under a couple of inches, Pop! Clean miss. Grrrrrr. A quick scampering noise then quiet.
OK. Lean back and wait again. Sure enough, another 15 minutes or so and it is back to business as usual for the squirrels. Finally another shot presents itself, but this time to my left, a bit closer and a bit steeper upward. I shift the GHE to my left hand, find the squirrel on a horizontal branch in profile, This time, I hold under about 3-4 inches and squeeze a shot off at the torso. Pop/twhack! The hollow sound of a pellet hitting the target. This squirrel disappears into the adjacent foliage, but no sound of scampering. Only quiet. So I wait. Finally, about 5 minutes or so, I hear and see a bit of movement. The squirrel is hanging on with front legs, but dangling from the same branch about a couple of feet from the first shot. Pop/thwack, and gravity takes over. The squirrel falls to the ground stone dead, the second shot having done the trick. It looked like the first shot had been a bit too far aft, but through and through the abdominal cavity with lots of blood. The second shot traveled upward through the belly and exited near the neck.
Well, in the summer, when the tree rats are chewing on my house, they are varmints that need to be exterminated. But in the fall, when I am heading into the woods to the squirrel's territory, that's hunting, and the ethics are different. So here's the Gamo's first kill, marinating and soon to be ready for the grill. A nice morning in the early fall woods, at least for me
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Great huntin story Tommy,, that spot sounds absolutely gorgeous, the mental picture I got makes me wanna grab a gun and head into the woods. Great pic too..... that marinating squirrel looks mighty tasty.
Also, that rifle is a fine looker, I've always liked the aesthetics of that model......
Jeff
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Nice account of your hunt! I can picture the surroundings. Sounds very nice there. I 'm looking for a similar spot of state land but I 'm running into too many hunters. Still looking for something seclusive.
That marinating squirrel makes my mouth water :-) I 've always meant to ask you.. Which one do you like better? Hunting or feeling various "C & D-cups" all the time?! ;-)
Harry
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Marination looks like some top notched, vacuum sealed table fare to me!!!! Nice job T!!!!, and Great story too! tjk
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nice work Tommy,
by the time your ready to eat that nutter it will be extra tasty.
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Harry:
Both, of course, are just different varieties of hunting, one a bit more specialized.
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That shooter is a sweetheart Tom, nice shot and if we all could shoot em and get them to skin themselves on the way down and drop into a bag of marinade lol. Ed
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Tom thats a great story.. I've had to dispach a second shot on many occasions.. something about shooting up just throws me...
Living here in the big city makes for a difficult time finding a place to hunt.. houston is huge.. 50 miles in any direction to get to the woods....It would be nice to just jump on the 4 wheeler and go have a hunt..
Your very lucky...
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What a nice recount of your morning in the woods Tommy.
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Great editorial and nice marinade! That Hunter Elite I've got is my favorite gun! CDT tuned and shoots like a dream... taken many a squirrels with it. The cocking effort on mine is close to nothing and makes for a fun plinker too. I think mines blowing CP's at 947fps or so. Thanks for the story and the update!
Matt
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Yep, mine is in the high 900's, too. pretty flat. The high mounts and steep upward shots combine to require a lot more hold under than I first thought, but the resounding "pop" of a .177 striking the target at nearly 1000 fps is pretty distinctive, so you know instantly and with certainty when it connects. Guess I need to go outside and practice shooting upward at a few pine cones.
I did sight in the Di 48 / .20 with weighed CP's. At 14.35 gr., on level ground, it is pretty consistent shooting 1 in groups at 50 yds with quite a wallop. It has been tuned down a bit with the Maccari kit and is now shooting in the 17-18 FPE range instead of the harsh 20 FPE it was shooting out of the box. But it was a good trade off, I think. Next trip out to the woods to shoot some squirrels, I will likely be toting the Dianna 48 / .20.
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The Maccari spring makes all the difference in the world. Prior to the tune mine was sounding like "phbvvvvv" with a little buzz but was hiting pretty hard. When it came back from the Turbo Tune it now sounds like one solid "PHUT". My 350 Mag left doing the same thing but came back with some really quick lock time and the characteristic "phut" when fired.
I know alot of people seem to want POWER above accuracy at times and although the Maccari spring is less powerful it improves the gun immensely. I could've had the tune done using the stock spring but I don't think it would've come out the same(350 Mag). These are BOTH some really good shooters. Glad you like your Hunter... I try to give all of my girls a rotated try when the squirrels or grackles are out but if I had one GO-TO rifle it would be the Hunter Elite!
Matt
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Great hunt story. Yep, those upwards shots are difficult to estimate....