THIEF!

[only1harry]

I was going to post some coons I shot with a frontal shot but Ed beat me to it  I actualy shot most of them with a frontal shot.  When they put their head down to eat it's the best time for a frontal shot between the eyes (a little above that).  The 350 will do fine as long as you are not like 60yds out.

Ok now we 've seen about 200 pics of critters at your bait site and still no kill of a possum or coon.  We keep hearing about the son or daughter or how you were putting the cat or dog to sleep, and all that.  Enough already!  Turn that ding donger on early around 8pm, and by midnight you should have that possum or coon which both came in before 10pm.  No excuses now, ok?  Just do it!!!  hehehe  :p    Next post should be of a dead medium-sized night critter!   I mean it now!!  :emoticon:  

[atchman2]

ROFL!  I actually went out just before dark and re-sighted in the 350 after my tumble in the woods. This time I sighted it in with Predators.  I'm just waiting for the house guests to leave  

Hey I got a squirrel today......sorta

[Bogey]

shadow - 1/27/2010  6:33 PM

You nail between the peeper's directly or just above them and those Bandit's will go down, dropped my share of them with a third eye shot. As mentioned though always reload and approach with caution, give em a poke poke with the barrel to check for those possum players. Here's some harvest that had a third eye installed by a Predator.  

Nice pics Shadow.....think I'm gonna swoon now.

[jake]

WHY DIDNT YOU TAKE THE SHOT BETWEEN THE EYES???!! thats the best shot placement for me. i never aim between the ear and ear becuase its to risky. lol anyway, nice shot on the squirrel but that stinks the cat got it! goodluck tonight

[shadow]

Here's the result of a shot to the side sweetspot. Notice the hole in the skull made by a Predator pellet, shut down the fusebox quickly. Ed

[atchman2]

NICE! Might not get to shoot tonight.  I have to be at a customer site at 7 AM for surgery training.  The Bible study group turned off my dinger!  I didn't notice it until around midnight when I turned it on and it went off.  Chased a skunk away with the Daisy  

Pretty sure I'm going to order a Skunk trap.  Those things scare me to death with the idea of getting sprayed and the fact that so many of them carry diseases.

[atchman2]

Well I had to be in surgery at 7 AM to assist with a biopsy.  I just turned the dinger off and went to sleep.  The only thing I missed out on was a possum at around midnight. The rest were skunks and cats.  

I went out to look before I went to bed and caught sight of a raccoon but I didn't have a gun with me and he was moving too fast anyway.  

Maybe tonight is magic

[1377x]

good luck
better get to the trophy before the next hunter does this time.HEHEHE

[atchman2]

I had a shot at a possum at around midnight.  I'm not sure what happened but I missed him clean.  He bolted for the brush at high speed.  I also got to run off about five or six skunks. Unfortunately it seems the old Daisy is leaking air. I benched it in favor of two pumps from the Blue Streak.

My Sheridan is already pumped and ready for either first shot or a second depending on how much time I get.  I did get the possum on video though including my embarassing miss

I'm headed to bed but I'm sleeping with my head on the dinger!  

They have already called off schools here due to bad weather coming in tomorrow. That means even if I do stay up late I can sleep in as late as I want!

[1377x]

be patient their time will come
good luck on the next outing

[atchman2]

Well I managed another shot last night.  I thought I hit him but I'm not sure.  I had the nightshot camera going so you guys can see my shame  :0

There is some entertaining game camera footage of a duel between a skunk and a Bandit!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNZ76ZomsYU

[only1harry]

I need to pay you a visit!!  Where do you live?!?  hehehe

Very nice video.  I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that you hit the large possum.  They don't go down to the ground like that and shake around a bit unless they are hit.  it happened very fast, but it looked he was trying to shake a predator off him, which is what they do sometimes when they get shot.  Only thing I didn't understand is why you took a shot from the back.  That is a harder shot and more risky than shooting them with a frontal shot.  Next time shoot them in the front above the eyes (the eyes are too low and too forward by the nose, you want to aim 1-2" back above their eyes) when they put their head down to feed, or if you can get a broadside shot, wait until they stop moving their head and squeeze.  Aim closer to the ear than the eye.

I don't know what the distance is, but you might want to consider moving the bait staition to within 25yds, preferrably 20yds to ensure a clean kill and not risk wounding the animals.  I also think you hit the little one too by the way it went down, but it was probably just a scratch and it didn't phase him.  They normally don't react like that from the gun's report.  They usually just take off very fast, unless they are hit.  I would really bring that bait station closer since your shots are "hit or miss" sort of speak, or purchase a PCP like the Marauder or Talon/Condor and ensure a good lethal hit every time.  Another choice would be to get your Springer tuned so it is a lot more accurate.

Great video!  The raccoon-skunk encounter was great.  The skunk usually does not spray because it knows the raccoon is there for the food on the ground, and not interested in taking a bite off him.  So it looks like the skunk just backed off and left the area?  If the coon can put up with the smell, it can easily kill that skunk in a matter of seconds but they don't do that.  They 2 co-exist very well and usually don't bother each other.  Same with the possums.  Coons are much bigger and weigh 4 to 6X more than the skunk but they don't attack animals that big or take the risk.  Thanks for posting that!

[dk1677]

That was a great video! Thanks!

[atchman2]

What I don't understand is there is no blood sign anywhere down there?  I'll go back down and track around to see.  

I took the shot at the back of his head, thinking that would work.  I thought maybe he had heard me and was headed away.  I"m going to setup my blind down on the fence.  It is about 35 yards down to the bait area from my deck.  

Glad you liked the skunk versus raccoon.

[only1harry]

Yeah I would not have attempted that shot 35yds out on a tough critter like the possum.  It's hard to judge their head and brain placement from the rear..  You may have hit neck tissue, etc.  There is more skull bone (and brain matter) exposed with frontal and broadside shots.  For me the possum is more challenging than a raccoon and requires more careful shot placement.

BTW, how do you light up that area?  Flood light from the house?  You certainly have enough critters to keep you busy for a while.  Those skunks are hard to chase away.  I usually have to get within 20ft of them before they decide it's time to back off.  I found out they leave faster if I hold a broom stick or a bat and wave it around or hit it on the ground   It's always a little nerve racking though walking up to a skunk that's has a defensive posture with the tail up in the air