Nite Work at the Turkey Farm ! **Game Over For that One**

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I was at my permission last nite at my friends Turkey farm. He was having problems with his turkeys getting killed during the night. I set out a can of tuna-in-oil with jingle-bells attached and got action at 12 mid-nite. The full moon was a great help. A Large C-Rat went Down. I was shooting my 22 Cal Benjamin NP XL 1100 loaded with Crosman 14.3 Gr. 22 Cal. Piranhas. The hit was dead center to the chest and I think that the pellet may have exited out thru the back. The range was 55 yards.  I called my local Game Warden ( Mike) and registered my nusance kill & took the pictures this morning then I did the burial detail. The shot was made with my gun rested on a water pipe. I did not use any artificial lights because they are not allowed in MN. I had my 25 Cal Hatsan Edge as back up, loaded with Benjamin 27.8 Gr Domed Hunting Pellets.             

My Best Wishes to All      -        Tom


Click the pictures once or twice to enlarge :

[gendoc]

excellent critter get'n Tom !!! 

[screwwork]

Tom,
Nice job on the Turkey thief, bummer you cannot use lights at night for pest removal you could hammer at lot more C-rats and a few masked bandits.

[franz62]

exellent shot, turkey thief.

Ciao

[Tater]

Good shooting Tom. Surprised you got a pass-thru at 55 yards with the NP.

[dk1677]

Nice shooting Tom! ( I'll take a drum stick)

[Mackado]

Nice shot Tom, and at 55 yards no less I can only dream of shooting that far off..

[Traum]

awesome power for a pass through. great shooting without any external light.

[kbstingwing]

Nice shooting Tom, that's one dead C-Rat, I love the feed station setup, a little ringa ding ding and C-rat goes night-night....

[ranchibi]

Tom, woo hoo! Excellent shot on that ginormous C-rat! Cool setup with the tuna and “jingle bells”...Santa would be proud! Quite a shot at night, no artificial lighting, 55yds! . Bet the turkeys were happy...oh, your friend too!

[crosman999]

Very nice work Tom, thanks for sharing! 

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Good shooting Tom. Surprised you got a pass-thru at 55 yards with the NP.

Jerry....It is the Pellets !  Those Piranhas have sharp cutting edges and are hard.  They cut through like a razor-sharp broad-head on an arrow. An expanding pellet would not have done that.  The gun shoots hot and powerful too. I got the gun on a trade with another GTA member who had it tuned for power. He got rid of the gun because it broke 3 or 4 Very Expensive 30mm etched glass scopes in 2 or 3 years.. He bought a PCP and said "goodby & good riddance" to the proven "scope breaker".  He also was having shoulder and elbow problems and that made for problems with the 50 lb.+  cocking force and the guns weight. (with a scope on it about 11 1/2 lbs.)  I don't have any problems at all cocking it and in fact I cock it with my left hand.  I don't do the barrel slap I just reach up and pull down then put the barrel back.   I can carry the gun all day hunting and I always tape off sling swivels to eliminate noise and don't use a rifle sling at all.   I put a Bullseye ZR Mount on it and that ended the scope Breakage.   I did not do any of the extensive tuning work done to this gun.  The gun was very powerful when I got it and the accuracy was good.  I took off the shroud and related equipment and the accuracy became VERY GOOD. (see rstern's post on barrel harmonics and barrel stretching with shrouds and how cold weather affects accuracy with them) 
I had a full moon to shoot by and that was almost as good as using a flash-light.  Towards the end, I was getting a little stiff in the knees.   It got to around 30 degrees F last night and I was about to pack it in when Mr Turkey killer showed up.  I had been kneeling with one knee on the ground and one leg up for hours. The gun was resting on a water pipe running to a water pump.  I had set up for the shot during the day and had zeroed the scope in... for that exact range and shot.   I had reflective thumb tacks (the deer-stand marking kind) pressed into door jam shims all around the bated area and every 5 yards out to the bait. I had 4 white paper plates set up behind the bait.   I had a classic military, "kill zone ambush".. all set up and the different shot ranges with mill dot hold-overs or hold-unders registered on a range card.  I was....Good-to-Go..There !    Over a lifetime of hunting I have found that  "Tuna-in-Oil"  is irresistible to predators and the oil can be smelled for miles.   I knew I was dealing with a predator but I was unsure exactly which kind.   Any type of predator,  up to a coyote, was just fine with me.   I was just hoping & praying that a bear or wolf did not show up.     All I had to do was wait it out, in the cool night air and the rest was history.            Best Wishes - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Nice shooting Tom, that's one dead C-Rat, I love the feed station setup, a little ringa ding ding and C-rat goes night-night....

Kevin...The bait station is secured to the metal swing frame with a light duty bunge cord tied to the frame. The Magenta High strength cord is tied to the bird suet gage and to the bunge cord. The suet cage has paper towels folded and placed in the bottom of it with the tuna-in-oil can of top.  The oil has been pored out on to the paper towels.  The suet cage is wired shut in several places and has a square of mesh fencing wire on top. This bait is irresistible to predators and the oil can be smelled for miles.  The jingle bells and blaze trail tape are tied to the magenta cord. The large pop cans have 5/16 nuts in them and are there to keep the magenta cord stationary in the wind & the bells from jingling by just wind alone.  There has to be a predator there, to make the bells ring.  The pop cans with the metal 5/16 nuts in them, will rattle too, if pulled hard enough.  The trail tape allowes me to judge wind direction and speed. The predator can pull on the bait station and give it a little tug and then the bait station will snap back making the jingle bells ring very loudly.  The predator will stay and play Tug-Of -War with this bunge corded bait station set-up, back and fourth, totally ignoring the noise of the bells because they get so engrossed in the Tug-Of-War.  It is like playing tug with a dog and a rope.  Like a dog, they just won't let go until they win the prize.   With All of this going on, it affords me the time for an accurate shot.   

Out of pocket cost for this effective set-up was $1.50 for the bells.    I already had all the rest.      Best Wishes - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

excellent critter get'n Tom !!! 

Thank You John.         Best Wishes - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Tom,
Nice job on the Turkey thief, bummer you cannot use lights at night for pest removal you could hammer at lot more C-rats and a few masked bandits.

Thank You Randy.  I had a Full moon to shoot by so that was not too bad.  Here are the Rules for Night Shooting Nuisance Animals and the use of artificial lights.      Best Wishes - Tom

Taking a nuisance animal
What is a nuisance animal?

Wild animals (not domesticated animals like dogs or cats) that cause property damage are nuisance animals.

What does "taking" mean?

Taking means capturing, relocating or killing a nuisance animal. You can take an animal using any method except poison, artificial lights, or a motor vehicle. The most common methods for taking an animal are by firearm or bow and arrow.

Do I need a license or permit to take an animal?

You can take some animals which are normally protected by Minnesota Statute without a license or permit if they are doing damage. If you are the landowner, manager, occupant or landowner's agent of the property where the animal is causing damage, you can take the following animals.

Mammals include:

mink
squirrels
rabbit
hare
raccoon
bobcat
fox
muskrat
opossum
beaver


Birds include:

English sparrow
starling
common pigeon


Re: Unprotected Wild Animals

"Unprotected Wild Animals" in Minnesota include all those that are not on the list.

Some of these are weasel, coyote, gopher, porcupine, striped skunk, opossum, unprotected birds, and many of the rodents (e.g. woodchucks, prairie dogs, rats, voles, and mice) and moles.

They may be taken year round without a license or permit.
MN. DNR. Apr 12, 2016   

 

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

exellent shot, turkey thief.

Ciao

Thank You Francisco !         My Best Wishes to You   -   Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Nice shooting Tom! ( I'll take a drum stick)

Thank you Dave ( Dead Eye Disco Dave )      I'll remember your order next time.      Best Wishes - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Nice shot Tom, and at 55 yards no less I can only dream of shooting that far off..

Thank You Octavio.          I hope and pray that your dreams will come true !                  My best Wishes to You      -        Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

awesome power for a pass through. great shooting without any external light.

Thank You Tim.     The full moon helped a lot with this shot.           Best Wishes - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Tom, woo hoo! Excellent shot on that ginormous C-rat! Cool setup with the tuna and “jingle bells”...Santa would be proud! Quite a shot at night, no artificial lighting, 55yds! . Bet the turkeys were happy...oh, your friend too!

Randall Thank You sir !       You Bet the turkeys were happy......They Got To Live a Little Longer !  ( Well at least Bob M the owner was happy)

My Best Wishes - Tom