Took 2 rifles with me today to the duck farm, my .177 CFX and my .22 RWS 350 Magnum. My plan was to spend a couple of hours shooting starlings with the CFX and then switch over to the 350 for the last few hours of the afternoon and target some woodchucks.
As soon as I parked my truck at the farm I saw about a 1/2 dozen starlings perched in a group of large trees that were 30 yards away. I didn't even get out of the truck,,,,, I just reached into the back seat, grabbed the CFX, loaded a tomahawk pellet and aimed out my window putting the crosshairs on a bird that gave me a clear shot. Squeezed the CDT trigger and heard the pellet hit home with a "POP". The bird did a nose dive into the dirt.
Within 2 or 3 minutes I had 2 more shots from inside my truck and got 2 more birds. After that the birds got wise and wouldn't land in any of the trees near me, so I headed off onto the farm to find some more targets.
I roamed around the farm for about and hour and a half but I just couldn't get any shots. The birds were very wary today and would spook while I was still way off. I'd see a feeder with starlings all over it and as soon as I'd start making my way towards them they'd spook and all take off. Very frustrating but sometimes that's the way it goes.
As I was walking across one of the large duck pens I suddenly saw a small woodchuck sunning himself on top of a large round cement drainage conduit. I remember saying to myself it would be nice if he let me get close enough for a shot with the .177 CFX but I knew he'd run off long before I got close. Sure enough, while I was still about 60 yards away he scampered off the the top of the drainage conduit and actually ran inside the conduit. I remember thinking that this was a smart chuck, he actually had a man made cement bomb shelter for a burrow. As I approached the coduit, I was 15 yards away, I suddenly saw some movement inside the opening. I stood still and just watched. Within a few minutes the little chuck waddled to the very front of the opening in the conduit and was staring at me. I guess he didn't think I saw him. I put the CFX up to my shoulder, put the crosshairs on his left eye and pulled the trigger. Immediately I heard the pellet smack home and the chuck went limp and dropped right where he was dead as a stone. That tomahawk pellet sure did a great job putting that critter down. After the shot there was blood coming out of his mouth, nose and even the ear on the opposite side of the eye that I aimed for and hit.
I retrieved my woodchuck and returned to my truck to swap guns. I roamed the duck farm for the next hour with the 350 Magnum looking for more woodchucks but never saw any. Called it a day and went home to take my "trophy pictures".
Jeff
