My first nutter!!!

[PryorDaniel]

There's 2 of these critters terrorizing my back yard and even my poor old dog, though there's a lot more in through out the neighborhood. They're really sneaky though. They rarely come out in broad day light and when they do, they are really careful about it. Finally today I was thinking about going out back just for some target shooting, but it seemed to windy for an enjoyable shooting experience. Then out of the corner of my eye I see something move near a pile of wood. I look and to my surprise I see the head and chest of a nutter. I carefully and quietly open the back door, just enough to get a clear shot since a tree was blocking my shot a bit. As I'm taking aim the wind picks up. I thought about waiting it out but then the nutter moved. I waited a second longer and the critter popped it's head back up. The wind still hadn't died down, but I figured if I waited anymore it would go back in it's hiding spot. I aimed a little high since I was shooting at a slight upwards angle and then a little left to adjust for the wind. After holding my breath for a second I squeezed the trigger, sending the Gamo Tomahawk on it's way. Everything seemed like it slowed down, almost like slow-motion, and I seen the nutter's furry chest shutter from the pellet's impact. I watched it do it's little "dance" for about 3 seconds and it expired. I'm not sure how exactly it happened, but the POI was in the chest/neck area and there was an exit wound above it's left eye. I know the angle wasn't high enough for that. Is it possible that the pellet may have shifted inside of the nutter, thus exiting through the head? Rifle was my Storm XT, distance was about 20 yards, angle was roughly 30 degrees, pellet was a Gamo Tomahawk.

Here's links to a couple pics :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0062.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0060.jpg

If you look closely, you can see the exit wound.
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0061.jpg

[yel01z06]

nice shooting and pics congratulations on your first nutter

[longislandhunter]

Nice fatter nutter,,,, great shooting and great pic......

Jeff

[CFX Marauder]

Congrats on your tree weasle !!!!!! And yes once the pellet hits the target they can go anywhere..

[PryorDaniel]

Skinning that nutter was a pain. I've skinned small animals like rabbits before and they were a lot easier than this thing. Once I finally got it skinned I had a look at it's insides. It had a foul oder and there were some white-ish spots through out the organs. I also counted 4 fetuses. I'm not sure if the nutter being pregnant is what caused the oder, spots, and skinning problems but I didn't want to risk eating something that wasn't good so I ended up just throwing it away. I was looking forward to having some nutter stew and had my hopes really high, then I got that huge disappointment :(. Oh well I guess, I know it's male partner is still out there. Now I even have a plan to lure him out of hiding :D

[longislandhunter]

The white spots, especially if they're on the liver, are not a good sign. You did a wise thing buy tossing it,,, not worth taking a chance.

Also,,, I have alinkon my pc at home that shows a fantastic, easy skinning technique,,, when I get home from work I'll post it for ya unless someone else here does it before then.....

Jeff

[CFX Marauder]

I think this may be the one Jeff is refering to...This is how I do it and it's super easy,I also like to skin them ASAP and wet to help keep hair from sticking...

woops........   http://members.localnet.com/~nickdd/Mr.SQUACKS_0001.wmv

[longislandhunter]

Yup,,,, that's the video. That technique works like a dream.

Jeff

[PryorDaniel]

That's actually what I tried and the tail just ripped off. I had to skin the thing the old fashion way.

[hunter78]

what a shot by the way that is a very nice looking gun you got there!

[shadow]

Congrat's on the first nutter and sure more will follow. She look's happy next to her harvest, great pic. Ed

[Progun]

Hey Dan, I just wonder, is it just barely possible that since you were holding high and adjusting for windage too, that your shot actually hit there near the eye and exited where you thought it went in?You were aiming up and a hit in the head that changed directions after impacting the bones in the skull could plausably angle down and exit the chest/neck area. Just  a thought.That might be an easier way to explain the geometry of the wound channel???

[longislandhunter]

Daniel,,,

That skinning technique works like a charm but the trick is not to make the cut behind the tail to wide. The tendency is to cut to far on either side of the center of the tail,,,, just make a small cut, perhaps and inch or so on either side, that's all you need,,,, then it will pull right off just like in the video. If you make the cut to wide then what happens is exactly what happened to you,,,,,,, the tail will rip off.  

Give the technique a second try,, you won't be sorry....

Jeff

[PryorDaniel]

Progun, I know I hit the chest/neck area based on my post-mortem exam. I couldn't see how or why the pellet shifted though. I do have an idea, however. I'm starting to think that the pellet entered the body, hit a large bone, ricocheted off the bone, and exited through the head. I think that's fairly possible since I was using hollow points so they were pretty light compared to other pellets.

Jeff, I actually think I may not have cut enough on each side. I cut through the tail bone and then about 1/4" on each side. I will try cutting to 1" on each side when I get my next nutter.

[longislandhunter]

Not cutting enough would have the same "tail tear off" effect as cutting to much. I tore off my share of tails when I first started using the technique :) but once I got the hang of it it was great. I always hated skinning squirrels because the hide clung so fiercely to the meat, but now it's a snap.....

Jeff