Summer of 1966...Woodchucks

[cas]

We started out with a Marlin .22 with Stingers and then a Remington 5mm Magnum. 

Then moved up to a Savage 340 in .222, a Remington 700 in .22-250 and a Mini-14 in 223 of course. (which contrary to what most people think, can be accurate. A good scope/mount, handloads, and minor trigger job and shooting it like a muzzle loader... actually probably slower). While I never used it, I watched my dad hit them to 300 yards with the Mini.

I did some very occasional chuck hunting in later years on the last available field with my contenders pistols.

I have taken others as "targets of opportunity" with handguns... and missed one with a bow once. The second to last one I shot was with a .50 Kentucky rifle. The last one was with an old Enfield and a round of .303 British that was loading in 1934!  

 

[Pygmy]

5 minutes ago, cas said:

We started out with a Marlin .22 with Stingers and then a Remington 5mm Magnum. 

Then moved up to a Savage 340 in .222, a Remington 700 in .22-250 and a Mini-14 in 223 of course. (which contrary to what most people think, can be accurate. A good scope/mount, handloads, and minor trigger job and shooting it like a muzzle loader... actually probably slower). While I never used it, I watched my dad hit them to 300 yards with the Mini.

I did some very occasional chuck hunting in later years on the last available field with my contenders pistols.

I have taken others as "targets of opportunity" with handguns... and missed one with a bow once. The second to last one I shot was with a .50 Kentucky rifle. The last one was with an old Enfield and a round of .303 British that was loading in 1934!  

 

I shot several with milsurps and  military FMJ ammo myself..A  Chilean Mauser M1895 in 7MM and an Oberndorf  K98K Mauser in 8 MM....

The last few years when there were  still a fair amount of chucks in my local hayfields, I used mostly my  centerfire hunting rifles to  keep my eye in shape with them ..  Mostly a  25-06, a .280 Rem and a 7MM08....

[airedale]

1 hour ago, crappyice said:

Anyone ever successfully connect with a bow?!?

The best archery shot I have ever pulled off was on a Woodchuck, I was using my Bear Super Kodiak recurve. I had taken about a dozen shots at ranges from 30 to 60 yards and while I was coming real close and even cutting hair I think on a couple I had no clean hits. I took a walk with one of my Airedale pups and the bow one summer afternoon through a hay field and had a Chuck stand up on his mound in plain view at close to 60 yards. I drew back and let one fly and the whole deal was like in slow motion, the flight of the arrow's rainbow trajectory was clear to see and it sailed true to it's mark with a dead center chest hit. It was a bit gross because I had a field point on the arrow and it went through the Chuck about halfway  with equal length of arrow out on both sides with the Chuck still quite alive but  not being able to get down his hole because of the arrow holding him out, the Airedale finished things up on that one.

Al

Edited April 18, 2020 by airedale

[Will_C]

I did shoot one with a bow. I was practicing archery at a friends house when a Chuck popped out of a hedgerow 25 yards away. Pulled down on it and shot it with field point. It went through and pinned it to the ground. Had to finish it off.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Will_C
Typo

[eaglemountainman]

On 4/17/2020 at 6:44 PM, wildcat junkie said:

I killed 5 out if one den over the course of a week or so last summer.

 

CZ 452 American with a Weaver Classic 6 - 24 X 42 A.O.

Gotta love those 452's. I have two of em.

[wildcat junkie]

This might be a bit off topic but the picture below was taken on the last day of 1966, December 31, 1966 and I too was 16 years old.

My hunting buddy Dave Keamerer is on the right, I'm on the left. The shotgun in the center is one of the original H&R M48 "Topper" shotguns, probably from the late '40s/early '50s.. It had a design flaw in that the notched pin that the fore-end snapped onto was just a round pin brazed into a shallow recess in the bottom of the barrel, no support was provided as the later designs had. The pin had become bent and partially dislodged. That is why the stranded nylon tape is wrapped around the fore-end. There was no structural support of the action except when it was opened and allowed to drop down as the ejector was activated. It was in all other ways superior as it had a coil mainspring, American Black Walnut stock and all machined parts. Later models were "cheapened up" and no longer had the same features.

 

We took that gun and shared it because where we were hunting was in the South suburbs of Chicago. There were large swaths of prairie left undeveloped between blocks of subdivision. We were not sure if we were violating any local ordinances or not, so we did not want to risk having our better shotguns confiscated.  Plus, we could run faster if we needed to make a hasty exit.

 

We had hunted the area before trying to jump shoot the Cottontails with little success. The Cottontails would sneak out if the thick Pussywillow thicket ahead of us. We seldom even caught a glimpse. That day we employed a post and drive technique and we really slayed the bunnies. They made easy targets as they sneaked out at a slow run ahead of the person acting as the dog. It only took a bit over an hour for us to kill our combined limit of 10 rabbits. Most of them were head shot. The 16ga H&R had a very right choke as was usual in guns of the era that it was built.

 

EDIT: I just did a bit of research and the "I" prefix of the serial number indicates that the gun was manufactured in 1948

Edited April 24, 2020 by wildcat junkie

[wildcat junkie]

On 4/18/2020 at 5:03 PM, cas said:

We started out with a Marlin .22 with Stingers and then a Remington 5mm Magnum. 

 

I bought a 5mm RF Magnum when they 1st came out. I think it was the summer '73. It was very accurate despite the 5#+ factory trigger.

Back around 2000, I came across the Schroeder CF conversion. I bought the kit which consisted of a bolt head with a true CF firing pin located down the center of the bolt, a set o0f RCBS Dies and 100 cases formed from 22 Hornet brass. 100 loads ro a pound of powder, bullets can be had for less than $13 per 100 if you watch and then the cost of small rifle primers. Less than $20 to reload 100 rds.

Loaded with a stout charge of Alliant 2400 (6.8gr) topped with a Hornady 33 gr V Max bullets it cranks out 2400 fps. Retains as much energy at 175 yds as the 17HMR has at the muzzle.  (V Max is on the left)

 

Shoots +or - 1 1/2" out to 200 yds when zeroed at 175 yds.

100 yd group;

 

200 yd group;

 

Makes a satisfying "smack" when that V Max encounters a Hoary  Marott ut to 200 yds or so.

 

I did a stone job on the engagement surfaces and replaced the sear spring with a hardware store item. I got it down to a crisp clean break at 2 1/2#.

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=467194

Edited April 24, 2020 by wildcat junkie

[cas]

The trigger on mine is pretty decent.  I don't think dad had anything done to it. 

I shot it last fall for the first time in probably 40 years. (maybe more) 

I took it "squirrel hunting" (really just a long walk with a rifle) last fall and it was a joy to carry. Light, slim and trim, make my CZ .17M2 feel like a log.