SgtCathy Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I used to have permission to thin out muskrats, snapping turtles and an occasional woodchuck from a large cranberry bog farm in a town nearby. I stopped shooting woodchucks with a .22 years ago. After hitting them with .22 slug, they alway managed to run back to their dens. The muskrats would also dive back into the ditches unless you happened to get the perfect head shot. Muskrats learn fast and will dive into a ditch at the first sign of a firearm. No rifles are permitted in most of the counties on the east coast of Mass just rimfires. Snapping turtles on the other hand, you could get pretty close to by walking softly and watching for their large heads to appear in a bog ditch. One shot to the back of the head would finish them. Last summer I took my Rossi pump .17 HMR with me and managed to shoot two muskrats in one afternoon. Both died exactly where I shot them with a solid "wump". The .17 HMR gets my vote for varments larger than squirrels but smaller than a buffalo (just kidding about the buffalo). Person(s) unknown damaging the pump houses on the bogs last year, have placed the bogs off limits (as in no trespassing) so I won't be able to try out the .17 HMR on snappers or chucks... SgtCathy Cape Cod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Gauge Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 NK, I did watch that gamo video and two things are evident; 1.) that hog was NOT fifty yards away, looked more like 20-25ft (maybe less). 2.) the hog was almost facing him so my guess is he shot it in the eye. Based on that video one could conclude a gamo pellet gun can take an elephant if your standing close enough and shoot it in the eye......me, I wouldn't hunt wild hogs (or elephants) with a gamo!!! Have you ever seen guys who hunt wild hogs with knives....I'm sure there are some youtube videos on this if you seasch....this is another type of hunt that isn't high on my list but people do it and enjoy doing it. it was fun to watch....... SgtCathy, when I was a kid we used to shoot muskrats around a few local farm ponds.....shot bull frogs, too around the same ponds and a local creek........our favorite weapon was my dad's 22lr H&R revolver! a friend down the road used his dads 22lr ruger single six and we would shoot for hours along those banks. Your thread brought those memories back....that was a bucnh of fun for some 13-14 yr old boys! Today, if you gave kids that age a 22lr revolver they would more than likely kill each other.....it's a different world to say the least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtCathy Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Hy There 10Gauge, Just last night I was looking in my newest Cabelas catalog. Saw the GAMO Hunter Extreme air rifle that shoots the PBA pellets at 1,600 fps. That's very impressive. Faster than many .22's. Back in the late seventies, when I lived in upstate New York, their were many grown over abandoned farms which were mine fields for chipmunks. I used to take a few boxes of .22 shorts and my little Browning pump Trombone (looks like a Winchester model 61) out for an afternoon walk. Granted it wasn't the same as an African Safari or a mountain Elk hunt but it sure was fun. One day, one of my neighbors talked me into taking her 12 year old son with me plinking. Whenever I see a show that talks about taking a youngster hunting, that day many years ago, comes to mind. Watching that boy shooting the little pump and getting his first chipmunk was special. I still have that little Trombone pump .22 but the only "big game" hunting I due now is with paper targets or wood chips on the 100 yard line. It's amazing how much shooting/plinking and hunting has changed in just the last 25 years. SgtCathy Cape Cod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucker301 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I don't think he was saying that the hog was 50 yards away. I think he was saying that he had shot chucks at 50 yards, but it took three shots to kill it. The hog video is believable given the short range, but it's certainly and extreme example of the light projectile's capabilities. I wouldn't hunt dangerous game with an air rifle, but a whipser quiet high velocity air gun could come in handy for some in-town pest control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Gauge Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 .........a whipser quiet high velocity air gun could come in handy for some in-town pest control. suburban pest control is what I use my gamo for......I live on 10 acres but there are too many houses around me for safely firing anything else. I'm usually shooting bird feeder destroying squirrels and sending the jack russell out to retrieve them! About a month ago our great pyrenese had a coon cornered under our front porch.....he was dispatched with a .410 after the jr ran him out into the front yard. I also use the .410 with 2-1/2" light reloads (made from .444 Marlin brass) to kill moles in the yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I just saw this video and thought it would be fun to throw in to the converation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Gauge Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 NK, it was an interesting video.....here is a pic of a "yard rat" shot with a gamo .177 and retrieved by the Jack Russell Terrorist; he thinks he killed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 nice!! thoughs dogs are something aren't they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10Gauge Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 "casper" thinks he weighs 50 pounds instead of 15....jr's are the boldest and most intelligent little dogs i've ever owned. i've raised and trained a lot of hunting dogs in my life, beagles, german shorthair pointers, english pointers, english setters and jack russell's.....jack's love to work and work and work....i've seen them literally fall over from exhaustion rather than just quite while trying to dig a groundhog out! "casper" is 13 years old in that pic and has a serious heart condition (enlarged heart) but he still thinks he's a puppy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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