Got a squirrel while zeroing in my rifle

[Lochlainn]

Hi Folks,

I was out in the backyard tonight zeroing in my new Benjamin Trail NP and this squirrel came running along about 6 feet from my target. I had just finished zeroing in and he was only about 15 yards away so I took the shot. He dropped instantly with just a few twitches. The pellet entered through the front of the skull and moved back through his vitals and then stopped inside the ribcage. I just finished cleaning him and he is soaking in the refrig overnight in some salt water.





And here is a picture of the target I was shooting at. I was sighting in at 14 yards. I think I finally got the thing broken in and the screws tight enough. I will have to check again tomorrow to see if the POI has moved. Been having problems with it moving overnight so hopefully it will be right in the same place tomorrow. The first shot group was in the upper left. There was one flier. Then I just shot single shots for the rest of the target. I might need to adjust the scope down and to the right just a hair. I may do that tomorrow..it was getting dark so I had to pack it up.

[dk1677]

Congrats! Nice shooting!

[1377x]

congrats
nice work!

[timegoat]

Nice bit of luck followed by a nice shot.

[Perry]

Nice shooting. What pellet did you use?

[only1harry]

Nice shooting!  The 1st day I got my first adult air rifle, the 350 .22, I was sighting it in, and a squirrel walked up to me 6-7ft away.  He stood there checking me out wondering what all that noise was.  I slowly turned the rifle towards it and the muzzle was less than 4ft away from it. I didn't have the heart to shoot it  The squirrels back then were never harrassed until I got the 350.  They would walk by us just a few feet away  Now after 110-120 dead ones, they seem to to just run for the hills when they spot me  

[shadow]

Nothing better then "live" target practice and a meal to boot. Good shooting and pic's. Ed

[Lochlainn]

Thanks for the replies guys. Ya my yard seems like a pretty good place to harvest a few meals. There are a ton of them around here.

Nice shooting. What pellet did you use?

After trying a lot of different pellets I think I have settled on CPHP's. They seem to group the best for me, although there do tend to be a few fliers here and there. I want to try the H&N FTT's. I have heard a lot of good things about those when used in a Trail NP.

[timegoat]

Backyard nature is one of my favorite things about living in NH.

Definitely give the H&Ns a shot. They've done very well by me.

- Mark

[Lochlainn]

Backyard nature is one of my favorite things about living in NH.

Definitely give the H&Ns a shot. They've done very well by me.

- Mark

I'm in NH as well

[timegoat]

I remember you mentioning that on another thread. Been following yer exploits since.

Yer down south near Nashua if I remember right? I'm up in the woods near Hillsborough. "dang" I love it here.

- Mark

[Jman]

is that the trail np in 22 cal? And is that the stock scope or aftermarket?
Thanks,
Jman

[Lochlainn]

is that the trail np in 22 cal? And is that the stock scope or aftermarket?
Thanks,
Jman

Yup Trail Np in .22 cal. It's an aftermarket Centerpoint 4-16x40mm Adventure Class scope with illuminated reticle.

[Jman]

Ok thanks. Looks like some nice grouping! Why did you switch from the stock scope? Was it horrible? Im ordering a trail tomrrow morning so sorry forr all of the questions

[Lochlainn]

Ok thanks. Looks like some nice grouping! Why did you switch from the stock scope? Was it horrible? Im ordering a trail tomrrow morning so sorry forr all of the questions

Well, the mounting rings that came with my Trail we defective and caused the scope to point to the left quite a bit...so much so that I ran out of windage adjustment when attempting to zero. I still need to return that scope for another one. So being a bit impatient and excited to shoot I went out and bought the 4-16x40mm so I could shoot right away. I had to shim the back of the scope with 3 pieces of film negative to get it back on zero though.

 I wish you luck with your Trail. I am still deciding whether or not to return mine...mine has a few issues that are driving me nuts. Seems like some love the Trail and others end up with a lemon...and there seems to be a fair amount of lemons out there... I hope you get a good one!