.30 cal Grizzly Meets Mr. Marmot (graphic)

[ancient1one]

Good shooting Bob, that is one big marmot. Like Harry I have groundhogs and woodchucks, tough critters that can take a pounding. I only take head shots on the adults with 30+ fpe. Nice photos.

[rsterne]

I am continually shocked at how tough a Marmot is.... I've looked at photos of the skulls, and have an understanding of how small and well armoured the brain is.... One of the guys on the CAF tells a story about shooting one in the chest with a .22 cal springer, and watching the pellets bounce off and fall on the ground.... I had never tried a chest shot with my .25 cal PCP, and now I'm glad I didn't, it takes more the FPE of a .22LR to do that successfully, from what I can see.... I don't use anything smaller than a .25 cal PCP at 50 FPE for a headshot.... although I do have a .22 cal B-50 that shoots 50 FPE (25 gr. @ 950) and I will try that.... as it will have even better penetration than my .25 cal shooting the same weight pellet....

Bob

[Busta Cap]

That .30 is a MONSTER!  Nice shoot g

[only1harry]

I have taken about a dozen Groundhogs some 10 to 12 pounds with the Diana 36 .177 shooting at 13.7 to 14.1 FPE depending on the pellet.  Distance 21-23 yards.  The 36 was fully tuned by Gene with JM kit and a hair trigger, a pleasure to shoot and a tack driver.   
These days I prefer to use a PCP and a lot of FPE too, but I am slowly going back to trying less FPE and more precision.  Last year I took several Groundhogs (single shot kills) using the Disco .22 exclusively.  I had the Disco dialed down to 25fpe, 785fps w/JSB 18.1gr.  It's most accurate with the power adjuster turned mostly out.  They dropped just the same as with the ones I took with the Condor .25 at 75+fpe.

Here is a pic of the Diana 36 .177 with its trophy: a very chubby 11+lb groundhog.

[rsterne]

I have no doubt that it CAN be done, just like Manny taking Hogs with a 55 FPE .22 cal.... it's just not for me, I'm simply not a good enough shot at the ranges I typically get a chance.... Both you and Manny tend to stick to a maximum of 25 yards, my shots are generally 35-50 yards on Marmots, so I need the extra power / caliber to increase the wound channel.... It's the same on ground squirrels when you start stretching to 75-100 yards, the surgical precision required with a .22 cal, especially with any breeze to contend with, becomes hard to justify compared with using a .25 cal for those long shots.... When pesting, it's difficult not to justify using way more power than you need to do the job.... just look at what a .222 Remington round does to one at 200 yards with a HP bullet at 3000 fps....

Bob

[UCChris]

I have taken about a dozen Groundhogs some 10 to 12 pounds with the Diana 36 .177 shooting at 13.7 to 14.1 FPE depending on the pellet.  Distance 21-23 yards.  The 36 was fully tuned by Gene with JM kit and a hair trigger, a pleasure to shoot and a tack driver.   
These days I prefer to use a PCP and a lot of FPE too, but I am slowly going back to trying less FPE and more precision.  Last year I took several Groundhogs (single shot kills) using the Disco .22 exclusively.  I had the Disco dialed down to 25fpe, 785fps w/JSB 18.1gr.  It's most accurate with the power adjuster turned mostly out.  They dropped just the same as with the ones I took with the Condor .25 at 75+fpe.

Here is a pic of the Diana 36 .177 with its trophy: a very chubby 11+lb groundhog.

An RWS 36 tuned by Gene. That's a collectible! Nice shooting!

[ancient1one]

I feel the same way Bob. Summer of 2013 a couple of the woodchucks crawled under my shed after being shot in the head with an mrod .22 shooting 23 - 24 fpe. The smell was terrible for about 2 weeks, what made it worse was 90 degree temps and high humidity. Plus it bothers me seeing any living creature wounded then die a long painful death.

[only1harry]

The same thing happened to me 8 years ago Sam, also in 90 deg. weather.  You couldn't come within 100ft of my property without smelling it.  Never again, plus I got a mouthful from my wife

Chris:  I treasure the 36 now more than ever.

Harry 

[Mr. Sumatra22]

Nice shooting.  That .30 cal really packs a punch.