A favorite practice, I use 375wby on turtles, its really tough to get that second turtle as they will drop off the log into the lake,after the first shot. The cheap round nose bullets , are very effective, I dont know if the bullets explode but the turtles do. Lots of summer fun.

It does my heart good to know I'm in such good company!

I let my sons, aged 7&10, pick the rifle I'm going to take on any given day. I have done many ground squirrels, rock chucks, and jacks an extreme disservice. The most spectacular for me to date was a coyote that came in to call.

I had worked night shift and got to the house as the sun was just tinting the sky. I went in and grabbed my recently aquired 7mm Rem Mag and a handfull of shells. They were 140gr. Sierra Gamekings loaded a little over max with RL19. I grabbed my two favorite calls and headed to the hills behind my house.
The area had been grazed by sheep for several days preceeding my visit and it didn't take one full series of calling to get a response. Rabbits were clearing out of the ravine below me and seconds later a 'yote came into view. I was temted to drop him there but his pace in my direction was overpowering. I had dropped the legs of my bipod to use in a sitting position and was watching him come in with the wires centered. He paused briefly at the bottom of the hill I was sitting on and I nearly got a round out when he started in again.
I nearly lost him in the scope as the legs of the bipod were now in the way! I carefully collapsed the legs but didn't have time to fold them. As I raised the rifle back up his ears were coming into view. He was now less than 40 yards and closing.
I picked out a bush ahead of him knowing the bullet rises to point of aim at about 30 yards. When he passed below the bush he was hidden from view. Closer now I was starting to wonder if this was going to be one of those times you kick yourself over later.
He popped up in front of me, nearly straight on at about 12 paces. I fired. Even in the recoil I could see him clearly airborne! When the rifle settled he was gone! I stood wondering if I'd need to shoot again, not really thinking about the devastation that had to have taken place, but merely the fact that he was gone. I walked to where he had been standing and found what could only be described as a spray of blood and hair. As I walked to the edge of the ledge I could see him in the bottom. The impact had sent him a several feet and wher he landed and slid down was a gooey trail. The exit hole was bigger than my fist. I couldn't stop grining on the way home, and as I fell asleep that morning, I'm sure I was still smiling, as I woke up an hour later with my lips stuck to my teeth. Nate

A third of a century ago I nailed a North Vietnamese Army private (90 lbs soaking wet) center of mass with Ma Deuce at 100 yards. Does that count?

I'm one of those that likes to put the big iron on the little fellows. Like loud-n-boomer I LOVE shooting ground squirrels with my Lott. Not only is it good practice I find it much more satisfying. Yes, I shoot many more squirrels with my .17HMR and small center fires than with the my big guns, but I really enjoy the whole "sensation" of connecting with big stuff. Yes, the terminal performance is quite spectacular, but it is also the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction in delivering a heavy projectile on a small target from a heavy recoiling rifle. My shooting buds think I'm nuts to put up with it, but I guess that's part of the appeal...to do something well and different. AND I just like the flying squirrel effect!

John

I use my 338 Lapua loaded with 165 grain Barnes X Bullets on ground hogs and the miniature deer that gravitate toward me during the fall season. Usually looks like I used a sand blaster at point blank instead of a rifle.

My friend Wendell Simpson, gunsmith, of Idylwild Park, Oregon, shoots EVERYTHING with a .460 Weatherby Mag, always. That includes when he goes "gray-digger" (ground squirrel) shooting.

Not my cup of tea, but he IS deadly with that thing.

I guess I'm like Alberta Canuck's friend. I use my 338/378 for everything. From jackrabbits to Nilgai to everything in between. It's especially rough on the rabbits though.

I'm big on using my new 257Wby on all varmints. Digger squirrels, crows or whatever blow up very well when you whack them with a 75 grain V-Max started out at 3960.

In December of 02, after finishing the morning deer hunt on stand, I decided to walk down into an old beaver swamp to check for deer sign and still hunt a bit. For stillhunting, I was carrying a 444 Marlin loaded with 270gr JFP at 2200fps. As I reached the dam, several does jumped from a briarpatch across the pond and disappeared down the opposite creekbank. Their
commotion caused a gray squirrel to 'open up' from a water oak directly overhead, barking and scolding me. Frustrated (as most stillhunters can be with squirrels), I 'opened up' with a round from the 444. Immediately upon impact, the nuisance squirrel 'opened up' with two distinct halves being thrust higher into the branches of the tree. Upon noticing their trajectory, I had to sprint left to avoid the fallout. Gives new meaning to old Yosemite Sam's saying-- "Reach for the sky varmint!!".

While at our local range last fall sighting in for deer season, another gray squirrel wandered onto the 100yd range while I was alone at the bench. I had just gotten a 45/70 Marlin dialed in with its Williams FP sight and some 300gr JHP handloads (2100fps). The squirrel was rambling in the leaves at the base of the 75yd burm. At the shot, he 'flew' over the burm with his short-ribs showing.

regards,

Does field mice with a 12 gage count?

quote:

Originally posted by NorthGaAire:
In December of 02, after finishing the morning deer hunt on stand, I decided to walk down into an old beaver swamp to check for deer sign and still hunt a bit. For stillhunting, I was carrying a 444 Marlin loaded with 270gr JFP at 2200fps. As I reached the dam, several does jumped from a briarpatch across the pond and disappeared down the opposite creekbank. Their
commotion caused a gray squirrel to 'open up' from a water oak directly overhead, barking and scolding me. Frustrated (as most stillhunters can be with squirrels), I 'opened up' with a round from the 444. Immediately upon impact, the nuisance squirrel 'opened up' with two distinct halves being thrust higher into the branches of the tree. Upon noticing their trajectory, I had to sprint left to avoid the fallout. Gives new meaning to old Yosemite Sam's saying-- "Reach for the sky varmint!!".

While at our local range last fall sighting in for deer season, another gray squirrel wandered onto the 100yd range while I was alone at the bench. I had just gotten a 45/70 Marlin dialed in with its Williams FP sight and some 300gr JHP handloads (2100fps). The squirrel was rambling in the leaves at the base of the 75yd burm. At the shot, he 'flew' over the burm with his short-ribs showing.

regards,

great story thanks for the good laugh

I shot a feral cat directly up the poo chute from a distance of around 8 yards with my .416 Rigby.....................a 410 gr woodleigh at around 2600 fps, the cat just exploded.

quote:

Originally posted by PC:
I shot a feral cat directly up the poo chute from a distance of around 8 yards with my .416 Rigby.....................a 410 gr woodleigh at around 2600 fps, the cat just exploded.

wow! that was awesome. its morning here and that laugh woke me up in a good way. thanks

A friend and I went up to Goose Lake, right on the Oregon/California border over July Fourth weekend to drill squirrels. We shot the livin' dogsqueeze out of them, often shooting so rapidly that the breech end of my T/C Encore in .223 got too hot to touch. The field was a good 200+ yards long and nearly as wide. The grass was down, so it was easy to acquire them and pop 'em before they got away. We shot and shot-- we reckon we got about 100 apiece in about 5 hours. The best shot was mine: the full 200+ yards, and partially hidden by a clump of grass. I hit him in the head, taking it off, and he flipped and flopped around. The he leaped several feet into the air and fell to Earth, having expired permanently this time. Another good one was an open field shot that had a buddy of his come up to his remains and start eating on him. I shot the cannibal, too. There are some things that are just unacceptable...

After Goose Lake, we went to Eagleville, CA and shot jacks in an alfalfa field. We whacked about 40 in three or four hours until it got too dark to see 'em in the crosshairs. Some hits were out as far as 300 yards with my .223 and my friend's .19 Calhoun. We know the distance because he has a rangefinder. It's an awesome feeling to hit a small, camoflaged target in failing light-- makes you think you might be a good shot, after all. You fire and wait for that thwack you hear when it's a hit; you don't even have to see it. I use the Hornady V-Max in the 50gr variety; my bud uses hollow points in 35gr or so.

We went to a huge alfalfa field down near Austin, NV a few weeks ago and blew the hell out of them; we estimate about 50 in three hours, most of them from considerable distances. I shot one square in the face from about 30 yards. His head vaporised and his body went into spasms and twists and finally he leaped into the air about four feet and dropped dead. I have so many others, but these are my most memorable. It really is a laugh to watch them just explode when you nail 'em hard and deep; you'd never think a little animal could make those kind of moves.

I used to shoot praire dogs with a .50 caliber TC Hawken to keep in practice. Was pretty hard to see the damage when they were sitting on their mounds. Way too much dust!! Was a real kick connecting with one at 100 yards+.
BJB

Almost forgot... I loaned my S&W 500 to friend a few weeks ago and they shot a porcupine with it as well as a raccoon and some other critters. The damage to the raccoon was described as "a meat fountain". Apparently the thing just blew up.

I've messed up a few 'chucks with my 7 STW. A 140 gr. Accu-Bond at 3600 is definitely enough gun. Not much for stories, though, as the Noslers don't fly apart violently or make huge holes........fist sized or so. Actually a 50 gr. B-T from my .220 Swift makes an uglier corpse. I think if I tried some 120 gr. HP's in the 7 STW I could make a mess.

I just sold my last small bore centerfire. Over the last few years I found I used it less and less.

I now shoot varmints with either a 22LR, gophers only, and try to keep the shots over 100 yards, or my 270, for everything else, and I try to keep the shoots as long as possible.

I use the same load for vermin as for deer and antelope in my No.1, 140 Hornady @ 3050 fps, this makes for some serious confidence with the rifle and load during big game season.

My wife and I both shoot No. 1's in 270 and generally make a few runs to the high conutry to wack marmots in July and August. We only take shoots at 400 yards plus and generally do rather well, especailly her. The best fun is to "bark" the marmots by wacking the rock that they are sitting on. I've had a couple that didn't seem to be that badly injured by the expereince if the impact was low enough and under the rock. If the rock shatters or the slug hits between the rock and the marmot, the effect is often messy and dramatic. Direct hits are not that spectacular and they don't "count" unless its a 500 yard or more shot attempt.

If we hit where we want to 50% or better at those ranges, given wind etc. we feel that we've had a good day. The spotter gets the show with shooter only occationally getting a clear view of the impact. It does pay off as in the last few years we've had only a couple of animals that have required more than the first round to end the hunt. Shooting distances have been in the 250 to 400 yard range so shooting a big game animal seems like shooting at sheet of plywood compared to the marmots!

I had recently picked up a new 30-06 and decided to bring it with me while spotlighting coons incase we found some hogs. I ended up getting angry because I didn't get to use it so I shot a treed coon at about 5 yards with a 150gr Speer. It was pretty nasty.

While out spotlighting coons one night we lit up a skunk out in the pasture at about 75 yards or so. We confirm cause of death on every thing, so after I literally smoked him with my 7 Mag shooting 120 grain Sierra Game Kings at 3400+, we had to trot out to check the cause of death. It looked like he hit a land mine and went straight up about 15 feet and traveled a short distance. His hide came to rest on top of some shin deep water so we put on our rubber boots and waded out to check him out. The bullet hit him in the back and all the meat and bones had "left the house". He was a ready made cap! What was so amazing was, there was no stink. Figured maybe his stink glad blew off in tact or the stink was directed under water where it would do no harm. We found out about 10 minutes later that assumption was WRONG. We got back to the truck and proceeded down the valley and when we rounded the corner 1/4 mile directly down wind we drove directly into the full cloud of stink with both windows open. It made both our eyes water and we almost had to stop to puke. The breeze was very slight that night so the cloud had not dispersed much as the truck stunk for a few days after that. That was over 10 years ago and we still both laugh about it like it was yesterday.

That night was a night for the big bores. My partner was shooting his 300 Wby with 110 grain Hornady spire point bullets near 4000 fps. Now if that won’t take a coon apart down to the bones, nothing will. One coon blew up really bad at about 150 yards out. Big report back, “Pow,†and a big cloud of fog where he was. Upon inspection at the site of impact there were whole but separated ribs and vertebras all over the place. Very little meat was left on the bones. He blew up like a small squirrel hit by a 22-250 with SPSX’s bullets at very close range. Impressive to say the least.

In this game speed and frangible mass are everything!

One last one for now. At about age 13 or 14 while sitting on a stump waiting for a mule deer to happen by, a large chipmonk (later found out it was a Golden Mantle ground squirrel) had been harrassing me for a couple hours. He was sitting up tall on a log barking at me not 20 feet from where I was sitting when I decided it was time to shut him up. I held my 7 mag center of mass and let it go. Bam! He disaapeared. I started to walk over to check him out and I looked up because I heard something whizzing by. When I looked up I almost got hit right in the face by this critters head! I don't know how high it went but it sure took a long time to come down. His head was perfectly severed and the body had the spine and ribs pulled out through the back still held on down near the tail. That was my first varmint besides tweety birds with my trusty Ruger 7Mag.

what? no more good stories!

boom stick, Fixin to head to my lease for the weekend. Put a new scope on my .340 and will be dialing her in. Might have a good story by Monday.

Steve

goodonya steve...looking forward to a good report

I saw a huge bob cat over ther 2 weeks ago...don't really want to mess him up with a .340, but if I see him again....ka booooom.
Its' 3:30 Texas time on Friday & I am walking out the door.
Have a good weekend/I'm gunna
Steve

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
goodonya steve...looking forward to a good report

Just a sore shoulder from dialing in the .340 ....did shoot a bunch of dove though, ate em & had a good time

Back in 1977 I took a Mark X action and had Shilen put #5 barrel on it in 7mmx06, with 1-11" rifling,(this is a true 7mm-06 as at the time you couldn't buy 280 Rem brass to save you soul from hell). Then I put a Fajen stock on it and topped it with a Weaver 3X9 AO scope .

I took this rifle to South Dakota where I was stationed for 11 years outside of Rapid City. For the next 11 years I shot white tails, mule deer and antelope. But the most fun was shooting praire dogs. Each summer I shot over 600 rounds (120 gr Sierra and 56 gr H4350) at prairie dogs. If it wasn't over 200 yards out, I didn't shoot it ... there wasn't any challenge. The real fun began when the range hit 450-550 yards and 25 mph winds. I took quite a few at 500 yards ... the Ranging 1000 said it was anyway. Now that was fun!