I haven't been on the GTA forum for several months. Quite frankly, I have found another hobby that has taken much of my time (I got me a Stratocaster!) and I haven't done much shooting at all.
However....
This morning, I was sitting on the back porch, enjoying my first cup of joe and was suddenly startled by three tree rats scrambling around in the branches along the back edge of my property about 30 yards away. The dog took immediate notice and raced out to the base of the tree. These were some of the group that chatter at the dogs; teasing them and getting them all riled up.
Inside the house I went, in search of an old friend, my S1K.
It took me almost 5 minutes to find my tin of pellets. I had forgotten where they were! My S1K is an easy gal to please as she shoots the Crosman Premier hollow points nicely and consistently. I made my way back to the porch, removed the lens caps from the BSA scope and broke open the breech. Mind you, this is the first shot with my S1K in almost 6 months. I loaded the hollow point and snapped the barrel back into position. The tree rat closest to the ground was intent on the dog who was watching him from a distance of about 10 yards. This vermin had no clue what was about to happen. Apparenly, he was part of the new crop of tree dwelling pests that had replaced the group I had eradicated early last year. It was nice not having a torn up yard for the summer. Now it is time to prepare for this year. With the reticle lined up nicely on it's left eye, I squeezed the GRT-III and immediately shut off the switch to his fusebox. One down, two to go.
The dog was going nuts! We have an invisible fence in our yard and the quarry fell just outside the perimeter of the fence. Poor guy.... he really wanted a piece of that rodent. I called him back to the porch and offered up a biscuit. Suddenly, the red mound of fur in the yard wasn't as appealing as the dog treat in my hand and he came running.
Well, Mr. Pest had two friends he was galavanting around with. As they were Gamo ignorant, they were unaware of what fate lay in front of them. The second required two rounds as the first one simply grazed the top of his melon. He scramled up to a higher branch, looked back to see what had happened and I dropped him about 4 feet from where his recently deceased buddy lay.
Three shots and two kills. Not too shabby. Now.... where did that third nutmuncher run off to?
Ah! High above my garage, hunkered down on a limb close to the trunk of the big walnut tree in my yard, I spotted him. He was looking at me, not the dog. He was laid low on the branch with onlyl his head visible above the top of a knot in the branch. This was a good shot: if the pellet hit him at all, it would be right in the skull. Breathe, Ron, breathe.... I took aim at his forehead, right between the eyes. Don't grip the Gamo too tightly. Rest it easy in your left hand and gently against the shoulder. Let the recoil do it's thing... squeeze...
WHAP! Lights out for this red furball.
Thus, ends the story of a trio of tree rats who made the mistake of entering the no-fly zone while I was trying to get my caffiene fix. I am a not a nice guy before I have had my first cup.
Good got be back at the GTA. Spring is on its way!
Ron
