Got up early this morning and started doing some of the chores I've been putting off. By 1 pm I was finished and decided to get in another duck farm pest hunt. The weapons of choice for this hunt was my .177 R-9 Goldfinger.
Arrived at the duck farm and went immediately to the hiding spot I used during yesterdays hunt. Got 1 starling but the birds really weren't landing in those trees today so I decided to move.
There was alot of activity on the farm today. Workers were cleaning out feeders, they were mowing the grass near the buildings and one guy was even driving a bulldozer around, although I'm not quite sure what he was doing. Anyway, all the activity was spooking the birds so instead of staying in one place I decided to just sneak around the farm and shoot at targets of opportunity.
I'd sneak into a barn and shoot a bird or two, then I'd sneak over to another building and nail a bird in there. Then I spent some time sneaking through a large wooded section of the farm where large flocks of starlings were roosting in the very tops of the trees. The shooting was tough due to all the branches, but I got a few more birds that way. My two best shots of the day were two starlings that I nailed at 50 yards with one shot kills. I was hiding behind a large tree and used the tree as a brace but I couldn't believe I hit those birds. It was awesome. Of course I also missed several birds from the same location but I got those 2 :)
I finished out my trek through the farm by sneaking within 40 yards of a flock of pigeons. I picked out the biggest bird in the flock, aimed just a tad high, pulled the trigger and heard that loud "POP" of pellet striking feathers. Bird lifted off the ground just for a second then did a nose dive into the dirt. Picked up my kill and started walking back to the truck.
I was standing next to my truck putting my gear away when all of a sudden I saw some movement to my left. I looked and there, feeding in the grass 30 yards away, was a small woodchuck. He hadn't seen or heard me and there was enough cover for a stalk so I loaded a CPL into the Goldfinger and began my stalk. I got within 15 yards of him and he still didn't know I was there. I leaned the rifle on top of one of the wood fence posts that support the 3 foot high duck fence and waited for him to turn and offer me a head shot. Finally he turned and gave me a perfect head shot. Put the crosshairs between his eye and ear and squeezed. Heard the "POP" of the impact and he shuddered for a second and then rolled over on his back dead as a rock. He was my first woodchuck of the year, but he won't be my last as the farm is infested with them. Next time I'm bringing the GAMO 1250 .22 cal so I can spend the last few hours of daylight stalking the bigger woodchucks.
Anyway, here's some pics of the days hunt........
Jeff
