Went for crow but got something else

[only1harry]

The crows seem to be coming back for corn season..

I was making coffee in the kitchen and heard a couple of crows this morning around 7:30am so I got dressed and looked out the windows.  There are a few near the edge of my property on the tall trees (which are on a hill) about 80ft up and 45+yds out, making a lot of noise.  Problem was they 're on the side where my a*hole neighbor is and I 'd be shooting over his house.  I could not really see the crows even through the scope.  Too many leaves in the way.  Could not find the camo robe & slippers Tim sent me so I decided to go outside with my jeans on with the intention of going near or under those trees to locate the crows and shoot at one from a different angle in case the neighbor spots me.  That way I 'm not pointing the airgun towards his property but back towards and over the hill behind my house.  I wasn't but 25t from that tree when all the crows decided not to stick around and party with me.  I must have stepped on 20 branches making as much noise as them, before they flew off.  
 
Looking up for one last time before I went back inside and get ready for work, I spotted some movement about 60ft up on the tree.  It's a nutter!  That 'll do!  He 's jumping from branch to branch going away from me and now he 's on the other side of the tree muching on something.  Luckily he turned and faced me but he 's so high up I cannot get a clear shot at his head because all I see is his nose & chin with this hands in his mouth eating something.  He 's not looking downwards or concerned with me it seems, so he 's looking straight ahead.  I 'm looking up at ~23yds aiming off-hand about 15f-20ft from the tree trunk and my neck is starting to bother me.  Heart pumping, adrenaline running, I 'm shaking the gun like a can of shaving cream.  I decide to go for a chest shot since he 's facing me, besides there is a leaf covering about half his head but I have a nice clear shot of the neck and chest.  

Finally I stabilize the Condor a little and when he put his hands down from his mouth I had a nice chest shot and squeezed the trigger.  I lost sight of the squirrel from the scope for a sec. and then re-acquired him. He 's down flat on the branch and then rolls over to his side and doesn't even try to hold on before he falls off.  He hit quite a few branches on the way down and then the ground with a loud thump about 10yds away from me.  He was dead before he hit the ground.  No death dance, nothing.  Seems the 21gr Kodiak went through the heart/lungs again.  I snap a few pics for my buddies here and go back to my routine.  Only 7:40am.  Did not deviate from my regular schedule much :)  Now if that could only have been a crow.. but I 'm content.  Oh another squirrel was on the next tree closer to me because he started barking after I shot his buddy.  He ran up higher and was hiding from me when I looked at him.  I 'm saving him for another time.  I don't want to run out of squirrels so early in the season.

[shadow]

Fine shootin and pic's Harry, the Condor got breakfast this morning. I'm working on some Crow's myself, they have a flight pattern that they follow every morning at the same time. There's six of them and there last stop is where I hold up for squirrel damage control, they have fantastic eyesight and know something's down there but they haven't pinpointed me yet so I should be able to drop em one at a time from different hides. Ed

[longislandhunter]

Another outstanding Condor Kill,,,, doesn't get any better Harry...   Beautiful pic too.   You're killing me with all these great pics of dead tree rats,,,,,, for some stupid reason Long Island is the only place in the state where tree rat season opens on November 1st  :(      Next time I see my buddy the DEC guy I'm gonna ask him why that is....  The rest of the state opens up Sept. 1st,,, I just don't understand it.....

Anyway,,, keep whacken em buddy,,,, I love that Condor !!

Jeff

[only1harry]

Thanks guys.  

Ed thanks, I have not noticed a pattern or anything yet with the crows.  This was my first encounter with crows since March.  I 'm sure we 'll be seeing some of those pesty birds next to some of your guns soon.
I 'm hoping when the leaves start falling, and they don't have much cover, I can pick them out with the Condor from 50+yds away but that will be more me than the gun.  I know the gun is capable, but not the nutt behind the trigger :-)

Jeff:
Thanks I really really like this Condor too but starting to miss my Springers too so I 'll have to use them next for a couple of weeks so they don't feel neglected  :-)  BTW, I was shooting Crow Mags with it today and they have almost identical POI as the Kodiaks at 30yds!  I 'm going to try and do some 40 & 50yd shooting with them to see how they hold up.  Most Talon/Condor owners say they don't do well past 35-40yds, same with Springers, but they were very accurate @ 30yds.  With the 350 too (but more like >0.5-0.75" CTC).  The Condor was shooting CM's  in 1 hole about 90% of the time.  It really surprised me that they were as good as the Kodiaks.  I was checking the paper wondering where the pellets were hitting and by the 4-5th shot I realized the hole was getting slightly bigger every time.  After 10 shots I could still over the hole with a dime.  

Anyway I have no idea why your squirrel season is 2 mos after ours.  That's crazy.. Maybe because it's always a few deg. cooler up here by me?  It's also possible that in your area they give birth later in the spring so they delay hunting until the young ones get bigger? Still doesn't make much sense because LI is not that far.  I race at Nassau Coliseum on LI and it's 1hr 35min drive with no traffic.  Try to pursuade your DEC friend to talk to others and change the law :)  It could be some 30-40yr old law and maybe someone miscalculated or misplaced some scientific or biological study and it was a mistake all along!  Wouldn't that be something?  :)  Lets not forget that LI is an island or has been for thousands of years.  This means the squirrels on the island have no contact with the squirrels on the mainland and may have a different pattern..  Still if your hunting season ends at the end of February like ours, they should let you start hunting them in Sept. too.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Well now Harry,, we both know Crows are true trophys that DO NOT come easily!!!LOL!! Nice "Nutter" Harry!! Course that Condor of yours definatly has the Ft. Lbs.  for MUCH bigger game.? Im not condoning nor niether "egging you on" Harry. He Mo Fo He!! How far can you place 70 Ft. Lbs. on an American Quarter?? Bet I beat Ya to it?? He He!!  course,, Im packing upwards of 300 ft. lbs.!!LOL!! Stand buy for a GREAT post here from me!! Just Funnin Harry,, I cant hit a gargage can lid @ 25 Yrds.!! On the other hand,, the Deer are BACK!! Kinda hard to miss @ 15 yrds.!!LOL!! Man I sidetracked into "stealing your thread" Buddy,, Sorry,, course if you had gotten a Crow,, I would have NEVER "Stole" your glory!! Just "Funnin" Harry,, Still Friends??  Tim.

[CFX Marauder]

Looks like a good thick nutter Harry,is that tail white?...What is the Overall length on that condor?...Ive started calling it the "Walking stick of death".......LoL

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Did you get your 350 back yet???????????????????????????????????????????? Just was wondering?? Im SUCH A SMART A$$!! LOL!! Hope he dont see this post!?!? Between you & I Harry,, Wghats up?? Tim.

[only1harry]

Yeah this thing climbs walls!  I love it.  You lean it up against the wall with the bipod very easily and it doesn't fall  :-)  It then climbs up the window when it spots the prey and it does all the work by itself! :-)  It's an auto-hunting walking stick of death :)  

It's 45" long with a 12" shroud.  It's only 1" longer than my Diana 36 so it's not that bad.  My 350 .22 is 48" long and that feels a little long..  Other Condors I 've seen are 50" long!  That's too much..  The Condor needs a nice long shroud, otherwise it's louder than a .22LR rimie (louder actually!).  A standard Talon with the 18" barrel like the one Jeff has, has the same report as a .22LR and some say louder..  So even though the Talon & Condor are nice and short like a carbine in stock form, believe me you don't want to shoot one in your back yard unless you want the cops at your door 2min. later.  Hek my stupid neighbor confused my 350 for a rimfire rifle when I first got it and called the cops (he 's a real idiot).

[only1harry]

I don't know where my 350 is.. you tell me! hehe  You talk to Curtis all the time :)  I left him 2 VM's in the last month or so and sent 3 e-mails.  No reply to either one.  Did he fix his lathe?  Why don't you ask him the next time you talk to him?  He seems to be avoiding me but loves calling you :)  

Oh for the record buddy I 've already chronied the Condor at 76ft-lbs at only PW setting 6 with 32 grainers!  6 more higher settings to go!  So don't give my gun a bad rep and say it only has 70fpe ok?  :-)   The pellet almost came out the back of the second 2x4" and pieces of wood flew all over the place from the back of the 1st 2x4 as far as 8-9ft.  Definitely not a good idea shooting indoors unless you have about 9-10" of duct seal which I 'm working on or wearing kevlar :)  

I know what you 're implying.. but the deer only come to my house after 10pm when it's dark.  I can't hunt deer after dark.. but I 'm considering setting up a tree stand in the woods and just wait for them to come buy and see what 80fpe can do in a deer's brain :)  That would make for a nice picture here.  I still need to find out if it's legal though.  I don't want to do anything stupid and get in touble.  I think there is a law that says you have to use centerfire or shotgun slugs.  I can always carry both rifles with me  :-)  Imagine if I get a big 6 or 8-point buck with an airgun!  None of my friends will believe me, hehe

[gamo2hammerli]

That beautiful Condor of your's put the HURT into that nutter. Of course there's no death dance!!!!!....getting hit with 70+ foot pounds and falling down 20+ yards will do that to you. heh heh Next time, I'm sure U will get yourself a crow.