GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: GadgetX on January 25, 2018, 06:09:25 PM
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Well this is one for the records. Today a tree rat was raiding the bird feeder. Grabbed the ol' trusty Pulsar .25 cal. with AA 24.4gr. Lasered him in the eyeball at 18 yards and pulled the trigger and he fell dead, no dance no nothing. We inspected the dead tree rat for a good 10 mins. No sign of entry or exit wound, no sign at all of blood. Got me?? Scared him to death??
M
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???
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Keep looking. There is an entry wound, I guarantee it.
I've had several like that and had to skin em' to find the entry. Usually they were mid-neck shots. Not a lot of vasculature in that area, so it enters flesh, takes out the spine, they drop and head to the afterlife, but there is no blood or any evidence.
The perfect crime.... ;)
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It happens, Nice shot !
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In my experience I have shot over 500 tree rats. Really does not seem possible with a 830 fps AA 25.4 gr in .25 cal. Most of the time it shoots completely thru. Never seen without anything disturbed and no blood.
M
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It is possible that you hit his head where it sloped in such a way to deflect the shot, but not the shock trauma. I once shot a buck so close with 12guage 3" magnum 000-Buck that the shot did not have time to separate from the shot cup. Like six yards. It was at dark, that witching 15 minutes when you can barely see to make out the horns. I didn't want to chase him in the dark, and because he was so close I shot him in the head to make sure I did not have to. Apparently, a glancing blow too. The 000-Buck still in the shot cup bludgeoned him and ricocheted. No entry wound, but his skull was like mush. And he did indeed drop right there, just like your squirrel.
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Gee Whiz M...If the squirrel got a look at any one of THESE GUNS..I can see why it fainted and died of fright. ;D
(http://www.thecaymanboat.club/Daystate-Pulsar/my--pulsar.jpg)
Best Wishes - Tom
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You never skinned the squirrel or at least wet his fur to get a better look at the skin, so we will never know what happened.
Having said that, in my experience it is possible for a squirrel to have a heart attack if your gun has a medium-loud report. It may even happen with a quiet gun that they can hear, but I can only speak from my experiences.
It happened to me twice but this requires explanation - I was target shooting with the Diana 350 .22 which is pretty loud, and TWICE a squirrel fell out of a tree nearby. 1 got up and ran after he hit the ground. The other (different month or even year) fell to the ground dead, and I was shooting at paper in front of 7 pounds of duct seal, so the pellet could not even ricochet and hit the squirrel that was about 15 yards from the targets I was shooting. I never targeted the squirrels, didn't know they were there, and I believe both times it was out of season in the Spring or summer.
I believe that when squirrels see you shoot their buddies in your yard, they learn that the muzzle report means danger. So it might be possible for them to have a fatal syncope or a heart attack. I have also had a squirrel fall off a tree 2 feet from me that I was trying to get a shot at, but I didn't know where he was in the tree, just like I did not know those 2 squirrels were in the trees when I was shooting at paper. Now the 350 .22 is a loud springer so I can see having that effect on some squirrels, especially after I shot dozens of squirrels off those same trees in the backyard.
Is your PCP loud? 18 yards is kind of close too.
I believe a .25 pellet would leave a mark on a squirrel 99.x% of the time, but like others said neck shots are easy to miss and have absolutely no signs of blood. So I cannot be sure what happened. I was not there, but I do believe in squirrels having a heart attack from the sound of a gun being discharged in close vicinity. I 've had 1 dead one I wasn't even shooting at, and 2 others fall out of the tree, and one I never even took a shot at. Just my presence alone scared him enough to lose his grip, from maybe getting light headed or his heart beating too fast, or he momentarily fainted. He did run after hitting the ground though. Scared the &^^& out of me too because he almost hit me on the way down :)
Harry
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Great story Harry. Gave the tree rat away to the neighbor for dumplings. We inspected and did not see a mark or tuff even. Hopefully will get a report. But I get 1/4" grouping at 15 yards, I even re-checked the laser afterwards.
M
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Check up in his ear hole. I’ve killed them like that before.
Richard
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In my experience I have shot over 500 tree rats. Really does not seem possible with a 830 fps AA 25.4 gr in .25 cal. Most of the time it shoots completely thru. Never seen without anything disturbed and no blood.
M
I know it’s hard to believe, but soft projectiles at these speeds can do some weird things to flesh and bone. I’ve downed about 400 nutters, and I’ve had at least 6 where there was no apparent trauma or blood. Very, very odd. All but one, I eventually found the entry. Yes, directly in the ear canal was one and in the mouth, down the throat was another. The others were all mid-neck, lateral shots.
It can happen.
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M, excellent shot either way! I hope you find out if your friend finds the pellet..or not :)
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Excellent harvest regardless. I had the same thing happen earlier this year with my MM Xs60c using a crow magnum. I thought it was rather odd too.
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My last squirrel was shot straight on. Pellet went down the throat and lodged in the pelvic region. No visible entry or exit wound
(http://i63.tinypic.com/j8fozd.jpg)
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Well this was a side shot to the head area, I thought.
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i got one yesterday with my Benji 342 that was up in one of the trees on my property. same deal - fell out of the tree and hit the ground - didn't even move a muscle! no entry or exit wound either!
upon closer inspection the CPHP slipped in right next to its eyeball! it was very hard to see! no exit wound - so i imagine it rattled around in its fuse box.
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My last squirrel was shot straight on. Pellet went down the throat and lodged in the pelvic region. No visible entry or exit wound
(http://i63.tinypic.com/j8fozd.jpg)
Dinh, I believe that is known as the Blue Plate Lead Special.
All you can eat...
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Dinh, I believe that is known as the Blue Plate Lead Special.
Michael, it was actually a white plate ;D
(http://i68.tinypic.com/2wqalqt.jpg)
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As previously mentioned it's possible it was a glancing blow off the skull that killed it or knocked it out. I've had both happen with rats.
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Okay Dinh, now you're just being selfish!!! ;D
Looks delicious. Hadn't considered lime as a flavoring element for squirrel. Nice call. Flavorful acid to reduce gaminess.
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Okay Dinh, now you're just being selfish!!! ;D
Looks delicious. Hadn't considered lime as a flavoring element for squirrel. Nice call. Flavorful acid to reduce gaminess.
Jamaican curry, Mon!
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Dinh, I luv ALL curries..nom nom nom! You made a wonderful dish :)...where’s the rice!?
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Dinh, I luv ALL curries..nom nom nom! You made a wonderful dish :)...where’s the rice!?
Thank you, Randall! I load my squirrel stews with potatoes, so rice is not typically needed. This is the exception, because when I'm eating India or Thai curry dishes, jasmine rice is mandatory.
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As previously mentioned it's possible it was a glancing blow off the skull that killed it or knocked it out. I've had both happen with rats.
that's what i was thinking also maybe happened