Since this was our last day on earth I decided that me & Callshot needed to make a ground squirrel & badger run, just to give it one last try! Our Idaho weather has been very unsettled, just like the rest of the country. We are still getting lots of rain, snow & wind & the farmers are very nervous about getting into their fields to start planting. Quite a bit of farm ground is under water but not like the mighty Mississippi.
Before we got out of cellphone coverage I called Jeff Hoover (Tank) to tell him our intentions, he said there had been a lot of good Karma on the fourms lately & maybe that was a sign we might have some success.
I've been trying for over 5 years now to get Callshot a badger, with his limited time away from Betty its been tough, we've seen a few but in all the dozens & dozens of trips he's never had a shot. He's shot a lot of ground squirrels & has became a very confident & accurate handgunner. Some will remember a few years ago when he punched the ticket of a very nice bull moose with one shot using his 41 maggie Redhawk.
He's patient, never complains & just goes about life without being a burden to anyone. Just being out is a thrill for him, but it doesn't come easy.
We drove several miles & didn't see much, spotted one ground squirrel but it must have smelled Steve cause it went down its hole in a hurry. Driving on I spotted one on my side & flipped him once but had hit the wet sod under him & he went down his hole. Callshot slipped out of the truck & indianed over to a pole corral, then eased over again to the other side & rested his Fanclub 44 Bisley over the top rail. The squirrel gave him the one finger salute & Steve lit the switch. Bingo, head shot!
I walked over to view the most unlucky squirrel on earth, I looked for a ricochet or three but didn't see any, he had whacked that little grass muncher right through the beanie at 22 yds. Maybe Hoover was right.
We covered another 20 miles or so & I was driving along an old canal, our Mormon ancesters built lots of them in the late 1800's to bring river water onto the high desert land for alfalfa & grain crops.
I spotted something on the bank, it looked almost pure white & at first I thought it was a piece of plastic, nope........badger, one of the biggest & whitest one's I've ever seen. I didn't stop, he had us pegged & I kept driving, after 200 yds I told Steve to get ready, we had a Boone & Crockett monster back there & we were going to get one good shot.
Badgers are very goosy & will disappear quickly if they see movement, but they are also curious & if you sweat them out you'll get a shot. We were miles from nowhere on a dirt road, this old boy hadn't seen anyone for a long time. Easing back down the road we saw him dash for his den hole, I told Steve to cock the gun out the window & put his left thumb between the frame & hammer, any movement when he came up & it would be over.
He put the front sight on the hole & we waited, several minutes passed & then the top of his head peeked over the top of the den, then he went down real slow, then he comes up again, he was nervous & scared, looking Callshot in the eye would scare Bigfoot!
After a stare down he took a couple of steps out of the hole, I whispered to wait, then he started to run & I made a fawn bleat with my mouth & he slammed on the brakes, most animals will stop when they hear a distress sound, but not for long.
When he stopped broadside at 37 yds Callshot lit the switch on 220 gr of Ferminator gas checked lead from the flattop 44 Bisley & the badger ran out of sight, I knew he had center punched him but didn't dare say it after all these years of hoping. I walked down the dirt road & Callshot climbed the fence & walked down into the dry canal & raised both arms, the drought was over.
I'm sure I've taken over 100 badgers over the years, most with sixguns, I've only taken one larger than this one, I've never taken one as pretty, his winter coat was long & silky & he was a hog! A smaller caliber wouldn't have anchored him, even with a solid hit he would have went down a hole & died there, the 44 special had made short work of a very tough animal.
We danced our crazy little dance & I slapped him on the back, I had tears in my eyes I was so happy. After doing this all my life its more fun to watch some one else be successful. He had certainly earned him & it was a perfect shot. He had ask me earlier in the day where he should hold on a badger & I told him with a big caliber to hit him center & not to worry. With a smaller gun you have to be much more selective with your shot placement on a badger.
I've always considered badger hunting as my summertime bear hunt, they are a neat animal. The only thing I regretted was not seeing one of them chase Steve, even if it got him I wouldn't have been able to help because I'd be laughing so hard & cheering for the badger.

Here he is with the head shot ground squirrel.



Me, with my 7 1/2" flattop 44 maggie.



One of the biggest badgers you will ever see, he was a real hog!



Look at the length of those claws, he was a old bugger, one fang tooth was broken off & rounded over, what a trophy.



One of the most unusual things I've ever seen, at some point he had been caught in a drag line or a snare, can't tell yet but you can see a piece of light cable or chain around his neck, he was about to die a slow, horrible death. Once he started eating ground squirrels and putting on weight the cable would have choked him to death. Callshot did him a favor.




Here's the Callshot Fanclub 44 special Bisley, some very dear friends made it possible. He's very proud of this gun.



This is my foot stool when I'm shooting Elmer Keith style, the badger is hanging off both sides by several inches.



A king size badger hole.



two good friends sharing a wonderful experience.



The Fanclub Bisley in a Barranti Hank Sloan rig, Classic!

Obviously a great outing, Dick!

And here we all are on May 22, enjoying your story and photos. Thanks Dick.

Thanks for the great story and photos. Neat looking revolvers as well....wonder who made those fine grips?

Obviously y'all had a nice time during the end of the world! Congrats!

Looks like you couldn't wipe that big smile off of Callshot's face if ya had to! Congrats. Packy

good fun with a good friend
does it get any better??

Dick,
Are you sure you didn't have that badger tied off for Callshot?

Good job, Jon