Talon Bags A G-hog

[longislandhunter]

Got home from work a little after 3pm and since the weather was so nice I told the wife I was going pest hunting at the duck farm. Got changed into my hunting clothes, grabbed the Talon .22, a container of CPH's and headed for the farm. I hadn't fired the talon since last week when I first sighted her in so I went into one of the large barns and decided to take a couple of practice shots just to make sure the gun was still "on". I backed up 30 yards and picked out a quarter sized knot in one of the wooden boards in one of the barns half walls. I took 3 shots and all three shots were touching right in the middle of the knot. That was good enough for me :)
 

There was a huge flock of pigeons raiding the grain feeders so I decided to take a whack at them first. For about an hour I tried stalk after stalk, trying to get within range, but each time I got busted by the birds and they would take flight and move over to the grain feeders in the next duck pen. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I got close enough to a small flock of birds for a shot. There were 6 birds pecking away on the ground near a grain feeder that had been turned upside down for cleaning. I estimated the range at 50 yards and the birds hadn't spotted me. I put the crosshairs on the biggest bird in the bunch and squeezed the trigger. The Talon fired, sending the CPH on it's way. At the shot all the birds took flight,,,, all except one that is :) The bird I targeted was lying on the ground motionless. I walked down and retrieved my bird, pacing off the distance as I went. Turned out to be 55 yards. The CPH had hit him at the top of the breast and blasted it's way through the bird, exiting in the middle of his back.  I guess the sight of one of their brethren getting whacked was too much for the pigeons because after that they left for parts unknown and never returned, so I turned my sights on getting the Talon her first G-hog.

I skulked around the farm for about an hour, checking all the locations the G-hogs inhabit, and while I did see 2 G-hogs they saw me first and went underground.  As I was working my way back towards my truck I suddenly saw a possible target in a small field directly across from where my truck was parked. The G-hog hadn't seem me so I had the edge. I plotted my stalk, using trees, some old farm equipment and a couple of conveniently placed empty grain feeder for cover. It took me about 30 minutes but I was finally in a shooting position approx. 40 yards from the still grazing G-hog. I had worked my way to an old dump truck so I leaned against the truck frame and put the crosshairs on the G-hog. He was a young one and while he was completely out of his burrow, offering a great shot, he was grazing right next to his burrow. I waited until he worked his way another foot or two away from the burrow and settled the crosshairs on the spot in between his eye and ear. I took a breath and squeezed the trigger. The Talon fired and the G-hog immediately slumped flat out on his belly and started to shudder violently. I quickly loaded another CPH and with the gun shouldered and ready for another shot I quickly approached the G-hog. As I approached he stopped shuddering and expired. The pellet had slammed home right where I aimed and the amount of blood that was pouring out of the G-hogs head was amazing. After being shot he never even moved one inch towards his hole,, the CPH had done it's job. When I paced off the distance it turned out to be 45 yards. The Talon had her first G-hog kill and she had performed flawlessly.

I got home and had my daughter take a picture of me and my harvest,, then I took a pic of the Talon and her kills.

Jeff

[kirby999]

I get a feeling some springers are going to feel neglected for a while. Hehe . Nice shooting !! I've been giving some thought to getting another .22 cal. lately . Just for small game hunting . Those .22's pack a wallop. kirby

[longislandhunter]

I'll tell ya David,,,,, the Talon really whomped the stuffing outa that G-hog,,,, I was really impressed to say the least......

As for the springers,,,,,,, yeah,,,, they may get a much needed rest for awhile :)

Jeff

[gamo2hammerli]

Once again longislandhunter, you gave a very interesting hunting report.  Excellent preys and excellent gun.  :o)

[Big_Bill]

Great account of your hunt Jeff,

You had a good day at the farm, and some tasty vittles for the table too.

Those PCP rifles sure are fast and hard hitters. :)

Congratulations buddy !
Bill

[dw33]

Congratulations on a successful hunt.  The Talon looks good and seems to be working great for you.

[crazy4salmon]

Your Talon sure looks nice with her prey. Great hunt and great shooting. I will own one of those guns some day soon. I will I will. HEHEHE

Very nice Jeff.

[VINNY]

Nice work, and great pics! Thanks for making me want to work harder on my shooting.

[Gene_SC]

Great account of your outing Jeff. Great pics to boot buddy..:) That Talon sure did the job. Is that a .22? How is the air supply holding up buddy? I guess you are hooked now..:) I bet that Talon is easy to carry around the farm as well. Maybe it is time to do some thinning of a few of your springers..:) I know if I keep shooting my PCP as often as I do now I will be selling a couple of my springers soon..:) Would like to narrow it down to 20 but I am having a hard time deciding which ones to sell...:) They all shoot so dang good, I hate to part with any of them..:( Thanks for sharing buddy. Gene

[only1harry]

Alright Jeff!  That Talon sounds very accurate and powerful!  Good story and excellent stalking!

I think we 'll be seeing a lot more of you holding g-hogs upside down :)  No need to get within 30yds now that you have the Talon.

[longislandhunter]

Thanks guys,,,,,

Yes, it's a .22 Gene. Air supply is holding up well. SCUBA tank works great :) and I'm getting a good amount of shots from a full charge. The rifle impresses me with it's accuracy and power,,,, an absolute great small game rifle :)

As for thinning out my herd of springers,,,,,,, funny you should mention that,,,,,,,, I'm actually thinking of selling some of them off but like you I'm not sure yet which ones to part with. I may be listing some in the GTA Classifieds very soon.......

Jeff

[hunter220]

Nice shooting Jeff!  Once you get the hang of your new beast the ground hogs will be in a lot of trouble.

[shadow]

The Talon is racking em up Jeff, great shootin and the pic's are fantastic. Man I got to get out if they'll give me alittle more time from work lol. Thank's for sharing buddy. Ed

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Ed, thanks Larry,,,

It's great toting that light rifle around the farm and knowing that you can "reach out and touch" the critters :)

Jeff

[hunter78]

that Talon sure do get em done!