GTA
General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Hunting Gate => : longislandhunter February 12, 2010, 08:31:50 AM
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Well, the wife has been out most of the day so as soon as she left I set up my camo netting over the opened bilco doors and decided to get in some backyard hunting. So far I'm doing real good !! :)
Gotta get back to my blind..... story and pics to follow later :)
Jeff
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Good to here! now waiting for what ya got! ( nice when the women folk are out of the house LOL)
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Okay, the sun has set and my backyard hunt is over, but I did good today. :)
I was busy most of the morning preparing 25 pounds of venison to be turned into jerky but by lunch time I was ready to start my backyard hunt. I opened one side of the bilco doors and draped the camo netting over the opening. I was ready.
About 30 minutes after I set up the camo I peered out the window and spied a starling hanging on one of my suet cages. I ran down to the basement shop, grabbed the .177 disco, loaded a CPHP and headed for the camo netting. The starling was still there feeding so I eased the barrel of the disco through one of the small openings in the netting and found the bird in the leapers 3x9x32. Crosshairs on his chest, trigger pulled and the pellet was on it's way. It slammed home with a POP and the starling flipped upside down, hung onto the suet cage with one foot for a second or two and then let go and hit the ground. I left the yellow beak where he laid hoping he'd bring in more of his kind.
An hour later I look outside and there's another starling at the suet. I Headed down to the shop but by the time I got there the starling had left. As I looked around I suddenly saw a nice sized gray squirrel working his way through the top branches of the maples and oaks in my backyard. I put the disco down and picked up my .22 Marauder which was loaded with a full clip of Kodiaks. Went back to the camo netting, looked up into the trees and saw that the nutter was still up there and he was sitting on a thick limb way up at the top of a large oak. Distance to the nutter was 30 yards. I dialed the scope to 12X, put the crosshairs on the side of his head and lightly touched the trigger. The Kodiak hit with a loud "POP" and the nutter slid off the limb and fell to the ground, hitting the thick snow and disappearing beneath the surface. I removed the camo netting and headed out to retrieve my harvest. A solid hit right near the ear that exited out the other side. I retrieved the starling along with the nutter and placed them near the bilco doors on the snow to keep them cool. I replaced the netting and waited for another target.
30 minutes later I look out and there's another nutter on the ground near the suet cakes. I found him in the scope and squeezed the trigger. The Marauder fired and the nutter leaped into the air about a foot, did a back flip and hit the snowy ground running. I watched him high tail it for the fence on the side of my yard, climb the fence and disappear into my neighbors yard. I checked the snow for any signs of a hit but it appeared that I pulled the shot just to the left of his head . The pellet may have grazed him but there was no blood of any kind and the way that he beat feet out of there I'm sure he's just fine. Oh well. I replaced the camo netting and waited for another target.
An hour later I look outside and there are 4 squirrels, 2 on the ground and 2 in the trees. I picked out one of the nutters in the trees as it proved the best shot. Distance was 25 yards. He was sitting right where a limb met the main trunk and he was all curled up into a ball, but his head was in full view. Worked the bolt on the Marauder, put the scope in between his eye and ear and touched the trigger. The pellet flew true and hit him hard. At the hit the gray rolled off the limb and plummeted to the ground. He hit the snow and just like the first one he disappeared beneath the crunchy crust. All I could see was the tip of his tail sticking out of the snow but it wasn't moving and neither was the rest of him :)
During the last hour of daylight I did see 3 more grays on the ground and in the trees, but the wife had come home which meant that my shooting for the day was over :(
I think the wife is spending a good part of tomorrow visiting with her mother so I hopefully will get some more shooting tomorrow :)
I took a couple of pics of the Marauder and her harvest as well as a pic of how I have the camo netting set up over the bilco doors.
I wish I would've gotten more starlings coming in today but I'm real happy with todays harvest and tomorrows always another day...
Oh, and BTW...... the jerky is coming along very nicely :)
Jeff
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Nice shooting there Jeff! Great pictures too!
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great story....... great shootin ...... great day.......love the stories....
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That's is an awesome setup with the net. I'm sure that it will continue to be productive for you.
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Thanks guys :) I really had a blast today :)
I'm already looking forward to tomorrow :)
Jeff
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nice haul
looks like a good day to me
good shooting
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Very nice shooting, pics and story Jeff! Great shot placement. I knew we were going to see a lot of backyard action from you very soon :)
You harvested with both your Disco and Marauder too. You should keep 3-4 riles on the wall and just keep switching after every kill :)
BTW, I read about 3 squirrels being hit, but only see 2 in the pics. Was there something I missed? Well you got enough for a meal (for 1) anyway, that's all that counts :)
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I did just graze one when I pulled the shot a bit to the left. He took off like a thief in the night and he'll live to fight another day.....
Jeff
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Well I look at it this way: He 'll live to be a target another day :)
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Nice shooting Jeff !!!!.
Remember, don't act too happy about how your day went in front of the wife ... she'll think your up to no good !!!! :D
Paul
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Very good advice Paul :) My wife does in fact get suspicious when I'm acting to happy LOL :)
Jeff
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Sweet shooting! Nice shot placement. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks all :)
Squirrel season here will end at the end of this month...... I gotta do my best to stock up on nutter while I still have time :)
Jeff
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One thing good about So-Cal ground squirrel season year around.... I bagged to today with the rimfire.
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good luck! cant wait to see the post and pics of some dead nutters and winged rats! lol
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Jeff, excellent account of your hunt. The Crosman PCPs ruled that day for sure. Great accurate shots to their temples....the .22s spitted out by your M-Rod whacked them hard. And the Disco is nothing to sneeze at too. Great photos too....your snow is whiter than the snow in my backyard.....haven`t had a good snow fall in awhile and all the dust and pollution is making my snow gray.
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How did I miss this hunt, must of been the camo over the Bilco doors hehe. Great account of your hunt buddy and super pic's. I've been trying to wrap up some airgun tuning work so I can get out here too. Seems like when I'm ready to go the sky drop's a bunch of new snow and the wind pick's up, gonna buck up and dive into Mother Nature to get a hunt in. Ed
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Thanks guys :) I truly enjoyed that hunt. I'm gonna make sure I get in a couple more backyard hunts before the nutter season closes at the end of the month :)
Jeff