GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: only1harry on September 07, 2010, 01:44:31 PM
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As soon as my son got on the school bus, I scanned my trees in the backyard for a nutter. I had the "sleeping squirrel" from a couple of days ago and needed 1 more for a good meal.
Around 8:20am I could hear one in the trees 30+yds out but could not locate it. I saw him leap once behind the thick leaves but that was it. I could hear cracking and nuts falling to the ground. I decided to go outside to get a visual on him because I had a pretty good idea which tree he was on. I took the Condor .25 with me and went into the treed area behind the house. I approached slowly and saw him at the end of a branch about 40ft up stuffing his face with something. I leaned up against another tree and tried to get him in the crosshairs. I had no good shot because there was no good backstop. I could have shot him anywhere in the body/vitals and he would have been dead instantly but it's the pellet I worry about and where it could end up. After a couple of minutes the squirrel casually walked back to the main trunk and I lost him. I backed off on the magnification, adjusted the A/O on that tree trunk which was about 26-27yds out.
A few secs later I see the squirrel come around the tree upside down facing the ground and now he was only about 20ft up. It looked like he had spotted me, but not sure. I quickly put the crosshairs on the base of its skull and tried to steady the almost 51" long Condor leaning on another tree for support. The squirrel moved down again a little. I waited until he looked to the ground again and squeezed. I heard a very loud "thwak" like it sounds when I hit a tree or the 2x8" I shoot paper on, and thought ok maybe I missed.. but then the squirrel just dropped to the ground, did some jerky moves (nothing acrobatic..) and expired. That sound was just the 31gr Kodiak hitting the tree trunk after it went through the squirrel with ease.
The Kodiad had struck the base of the head mid-way between the ears, and had taken out the spine as well before exiting out the neck. I was surprised since I was shooting off-hand, but sometimes the Zen is there with me :) The loud "thwak" totally defeated the purpose of the long shroud, but I need to make sure I have large limbs or tree trunks as backstop when shooting up at squirrels or birds, especially with 75-80fpe.
Well I now have my 2-squirrel meal to prepare, when the wife goes out later today or tomorrow. She does not want "them" in the house or her fridge so I have my own little ice box for them and clean them outside.
The .25 leaves nice distinct holes in the squirrels :)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/2010-2011%20Season/2010%20Squirrels/Sept07_10/20100907_0781.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/2010-2011%20Season/2010%20Squirrels/Sept07_10/20100907_0780.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/2010-2011%20Season/2010%20Squirrels/Sept07_10/20100907_0784.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/2010-2011%20Season/2010%20Squirrels/Sept07_10/20100907_0785.jpg)
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Another great hunt Harry. That mighty .25 certainly did the job :)
Enjoy your meal :)
Jeff
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Thanks Jeff. I was really tempted to shoot it in the behind before when I had no head or broadside shot, nor good backstop, just to see if the Kodiak would go all the way through the body and out the head with 75fpe ME :) But the airgunner in me just didn't think it was a good idea :) It didn't feel normal and everything told me "don't do it" even though I had tons of kinetic energy, hehehe :D It's just unatural for me to aim at anything other than the head/neck or heart/lungs, especially with an airgun in my hands. Once an airgunner, always an airgunner I guess :)
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Nice shooting Harry! Yea that did a number on him!
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Ain't seen one of those bald headed nutters in my parts.....
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Great shooting and pic's Harry..... a .25 on a nutter , poor nutters hehehe. Ed
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thats almost like using a C-130 Gunship against the insurgents... except one of these scenarios is unfair... :-D
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Thanks guys. I got a few nutters last year with this same Condor .25. It's not the first time :)
I look at it this way. The bigger the gun, the quicker the nutter dies, the more humane the kill ;) ;D
Here 's a couple of pics from last winter with the .25 Condor:
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/08_09_season/Squirrels/Feb02_09/20100203_0619.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/08_09_season/Squirrels/Feb02_09/20100203_0611.jpg)
Now that's unmistakenably a .25cal hole :)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/08_09_season/Squirrels/Feb02_09/20100203_0607.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd48/only1harry/Hunting/08_09_season/Squirrels/Feb02_09/20100203_0610.jpg)