RWS 48 First Kill

[longislandhunter]

Well,,,, spent the entire day with wife going  from place to place taking care of errands  but when we finally got home I had just enough time to get in a real quick hunt at the duck farm with the new .20 cal RWS 48.  I knew I didn't have much daylight left so I got changed, grabbed the 48, a packet of FTS pellets and headed for the farm.  I quickly parked, loaded up the 48 and headed off to find a target....

I slowly made my way around the perimeter of the duck pens, staying close to the wooded tree line and out of sight as much as possible.  I did see a couple of really nice sized G-hogs out feeding but they spotted me first and kept an eye on me so there was no way to get close.  I continue to work my way around the farm, paying particular attention to the grain feeders.  The critters on the farm really love that duck feed and they'll cross a lot of open ground to get to one, especially in the late afternoon after the farm activities stop and the place becomes very calm and still....  

I was working my way past one of the large barns when all of a sudden I spotted a long eared grain thief enjoying lunch,,,well,,, we can't have that can we??  :)

The distance was about 15 yards and I had a clear shot.  Aimed for the eye, trigger pulled, pellet away....  At the shot the grain thief just flopped over and layed still,, not so much as a quiver.  The FTS entered his right eye and put him down instantly.....   On my walk back to the truck I did see a couple more big G-hogs but they also saw me first so there was no point...  

This was the 48's first hunt and she proved herself a capable hunter.....  

Got home and took a couple of pics of the 48 and her first kill.......

Bar-B-Q'd bunny for lunch tomorrow   :)

Jeff

[TCups]

Congrats, Jeff.  Good shot.  I haven't had the chance for a hunt with the "sister" of your Di 48 / 20 yet, but I did pull the trigger a couple of times this evening . . .  just because.  The Di 48 / 20 has that substantial feel of a serious air rifle and shoots an honest 20FPE.  The bunny never knew what hit him.  Does it look like the AccuShot mount is going to hold up to the recoil?

[WesCombs]

Very nice..and beautiful gun! I kinda wish I'd gotten one of those instead of the B30, but maybe I'll just add one to my collection someday.

[shadow]

Fantastic shootin buddy, her first notch in the stock. I was itchin to get out bad today but it poured rain all day, critter's will be out for sure after this. Great pic's of your new hunter and her first harvest, BBQBUNNY! good stuff. Ed

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Wes, thanks Ed,,, thanks Tommy,,,,

As for the Accushot,,,, yeah Tommy, it's holding just fine.  The other day I had a nice long shooting session with the gun and the mount hasn't moved at all, but then I didn't expect it to.  I have the same mount on most of my rifles, even the magnum springers, and I've never had one move on me, however I have to say I do take an awful lot of preparation when scoping my guns.  The only thing I had to do with the mount was to shim the rear cradle with a couple of pieces of 35mm film negative to compensate for the notorious RWS droop, but I had to do the same thing with my other RWS rifles so it was no surprise.  I first mounted the scope without the shims just to see if it would work,,, but it quickly became evident that I had to shim,,, so I pulled the scope off and went through the mounting process a second time.  

I really love this rifle.  I know it's rather large framed and a bit heavy but that's actually what I like about it.  When I was skulking around the duck farm this afternoon holding the 48 the gun just made me feel like I was really holding a  "serious piece of firepower".  Like you said,,,, it just has a "substantial feel" to it.     I'll probably install a sling on it for the long hunts as it would get a little heavy to lug around for a long time, but a sling will take care of that...   I can't wait for squirrel season to open up here, the 48 will be perfect for the shooting I do, slow stalking and hiding in blinds.....

Jeff

[Splash]

Nice way to end a day Jeff. Thanks for the hunt, buddy.

[TCups]

I didn't have to shim my Di 48, but it may not be optically centered as a result.  Surprised to hear that a side lever should still have "droop".  I hadn't thought about it, but you are absolutely right.  With the side lever, there is absolutely no reason not to go ahead and drill the stock for swivels and a sling.  Good thinking.  So where does one order the swivels?  Brownells you think?  Oh boy!  Internet shopping tonight for air gun accessories.

Whaddya think about this one:
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=1180

[PeakChick]

Fine shooting and a nice account of your brief hunt Jeff. The 48 sure does look like a natural hunter.

[tommc]

I'll add a good word for the UTG one piece rail made for the Diana's. Set my scope with low clamps to that. Only thing was that results changed if I changed my forearm hand even a bit. Sometimes the recoil bounce set targeting unexpectedly off, so ended up adding a simple 1 1/4" sling on to wrap around my forearm back to my shoulder.  Combination is that my 48 zeros within about 20-30 yards range, if I can brace myself steady.

[gamo2hammerli]

JustHAD to draw "First Blood" with that new RWS 48 huh? heh heh.....How many days did you have her.....2 I think? Good for you. Nice shooting and photo of the beautiful 48 with her bunny.....it's pelt really brings out the shine of the 48's stock. I don't think you'll be going hungry with your accurate shooting.

[longislandhunter]

Thanks all,,, I think I'll be doin a lot of hunting with this rifle  :)

Jeff

[J0HN]

congrats on the first kill with the 48 jeff and defiantly looking forward to more hunts with it, and did you aim for the eye just because its a quick kill or did you not go dirsctly for the head since its a .20? is it the same as a regular head shot?

[longislandhunter]

Hi John,,,,

My favorite point of aim in the area in between the ear and the eye.  On most animals the cavity in the skull surrounding the eye is quite large and is a prime target area.  The soft tissue in that area and the lack of bone permits the pellet to pass into the brain area, hence a certain kill.  On this paticular bunny his head was angled towards me just a bit so I aimed right for the eye to hopefully get into the "sweet spot",,, which I did.  

I'm hoping to get back out for another hunt this afternoon but the weather looks like it might not cooperate.  Can't take a chance on getting my new favorite hunting weapon wet  :)

Glad you enjoyed the story and pic.....

Jeff

[only1harry]

Congrats on your first kill with the beautiful Diana 48!  I 'm sure we 'll see a lot more of her :-)  

I don't own a .20cal yet but would like to 1 day.  How does she shoot?

[BPHurney]

Jeff,

Thanks for regaling us with the beautiful pic---great looking rabbit and rifle. What do you think?---RWS or gamo fan mostly? I remember a few years ago when I started reading here that you were a huge Gamo fan and now I see the 48. Do you get all of your gunslube tuned? and if so, how much difference does it make? I've dontthecdt triggers in the Gamos but that's all--I maytry to tune'em a bit this winter.

Thanks again for your descriptive stories and pics--keep'em comin--me and the boys love checking'em out.

BPH