Got another marmot (g'hog) in the same place and almost exactly the same way as last time. This one is smaller, but decided that the crawl space would make a great new home. First time I saw him, I tried to circle around, but he was having none of that. So the rifle went back in the 'Gator, and I figured I'd get a shot later. Sure enough, same deal as last time. On foot, I couldn't get close, but come driving up in the noisy, smelly 'Gator, and he just sat there looking at me. This guy seemed a bit more skittish, so I stopped sooner, measured out at 33 yards. Same as last time, rested over the steering wheel, put the cross hairs between the eye and ear, and let the .20 cal. CP do it's thing. Yup, I had the .20 cal. barrel in this time. I think I pulled my shot a bit, as you can see, the left eye is gone. And no exit wound, I think the shot quartered a bit toward the right ear, and the pellet just slid along the inside of his skull and stayed there. The results were the same, tipped over, twitched a few times, and was done. By the time I reloaded and walked up to it, it was all over, no need for a second shot. Funny thing, my least favorite pellet, the Crosman Premiers, have taken both of these guys so far. I've also taken both with what I basically consider my "bird gun" Talon, my long barreled .22 hammer sits at home because it's unwieldy in the car or truck. Guess I need to trade off my 24" .22 for an 18" :-). Later.
Dave