Had another marmot move into the crawl space of the house at my job site. This one seemed a lot more wary than the previous two, as soon as he saw something unfamiliar moving, he was diving for his hole. Might have something to do with the large coyote population, something I have NO intention of curbing. Those guys are great at curbing the rodent population, and that means less damage to my apple trees. Besides, the pups are at the cute stage now, every mouse is an adventure :-). Back to the marmot.
Been working on another project lately, so I haven't been to that work site much in the last couple of weeks, just a few quick in and outs to check on irrigation. Finally decided that, Saturday or not, I had to spend some time there, so headed out this AM with my Talon SS. I just got my new 18" .22 barrel from PA yesterday, installed it last night, and spent 5 minutes this morning re-zeroing my scope. Then off to work!
Got to the site this morning, didn't see him this time. Headed out to do what needed doing, headed back around lunch time. Since this critter had already made it clear he was spooky as hell, I decided to leave the Gator out of sight but running, and snuck up on the house with some apple trees for a screen. Sure enough, there he was, sunning himself on the wall. Had a Kodiak loaded in the TSS, took up a shooting position about 40 yards away, but didn't have a good rest. Decided to move closer, got to a good position about 30 yards away, still no movement. Quartering shot again, looking up and away, put the crosshairs on his left eye and let fly. SMACK! Unmistakable sound, I knew it was a good hit. Went to his fort, he was already done, pellet impacted his left eye and exited just under his right ear. I guess a 40+ fpe Kodiak will definitely ruin you day. Took the carcass up and left him for the coyotes, it'll be interesting to see if it's still there the next time I'm there. Sorry, no pics this time. Later.
Dave
