VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Benjamin Discovery .22 - Gets Some New Glass - And Continues To Impress The Heck Out Of Me

Discovery .22, with new Hawke Panorama 4-12x40mm AO EV scope, with sunshade.

I've been running my .22 Disco with a 5-15x40mm Bushnell Legend scope on it, which is a nice scope, but I wanted something with a finer crosshair, and that would also take a sunshade.

After a bit of research, I decided on one of the Hawke Panorama 4-12x40mm AO EV scopes, with the half mildot reticle, using one of their sunshades.  I mounted it in a set of medium mounts that I had on hand.

Of course the first thing to do, after getting the scope mounted, was to get the Discovery sighted in at 40 yards, my preferred distance for this rifle.

I bought my Disco back in May of 2008, just after they first came out, and it has impressed the heck out of me right from the first time I shot it.  For me, accuracy is my first priority in a gun, and this little rifle just blew me away from the first time I put it on paper.  Are they all like this, I don't know, but this one is a tack driver.  Below, is a target shot from my first time out with her.

Five JSB 15.9 grain Jumbo's at 30 yards.

Again, shooting the 15.9 grain JSB's, I got her sighted in at 40 yards on a bullseye target, and then just for the heck of it fired a couple of shots at a sabertooth prairie dog target that I happened to have along.

Holding on the eye, I fired two shots that touched.  There was just a whisper of a left to right breeze, so I didn't change my scope settings, I just put everything away, and headed out into the forest to see if I could find a ground squirrel or two.

Two 15.9 grain JSB's from 40 yards, very light left to right breeze. 

As I was hunting along, I spotted an old stump out in the open, and when I glassed it with my binoculars, I could see the head of a ground squirrel looking at me from the back side.  I couldn't resist grabbing a quick picture of the squirrel on the stump.

First squirrel of the day, 41 yard head shot opportunity.   

My rangefinder lasered the squirrel at 41 yards.  Since I have the gun zeroed at 40 yards, I held on for elevation, and the left edge of its head, to allow for a light left to right breeze.

When the shot broke, there was a loud THWOCK, and the squirrel disappeared.  A few seconds later, it tumbled out from behind the stump, rolled a couple of times in the grass, and came to rest.  When I got over to it, I could see that the pellet had gone in one ear, and out the other. Score another one for my tack driving Discovery.

Ground squirrel taken at 41 yards with a head shot from my .22 cal Disco.

After the requisite photo op, I continued to hunt for another hour.  I only saw two more ground squirrels, and didn't get a shot at either one. They both bailed before I could get within range. 

Then, as I was hunting my way back to my vehicle, I spot another one on the limb of an old blowdown, out in the open at 88 yards.  There was a very large Ponderosa Pine tree between me and the squirrel.  I shot a range to the tree, and it came back at 45 yards. That told me, that if I could get to that tree, without spooking the squirrel, I would have a 43 yard shot to the furball.

The sneak was on.  I was very careful to carry my rifle, and Stoney point bipod directly in front of me, so the squirrel wouldn't see them moving and sticking out from the side of the tree I was using for cover, as I closed the range.  I was also very careful not to step on any crunchy sticks or twigs along the way.  These guys have amazing hearing.

I finally made it to directly behind this big pine, and stuck just enough of my head out, so that I could see if the squirrel was still there.  Yep, he's still there alright, and better yet, has climbed up a little higher on his perch.

He's presenting me with a nice face on shot.  For elevation at 43 yards, I held on the center of his head, and for windage, just off the right edge of it, to allow for a frisky right to left breeze. The shot knocked him off the limb he was sitting on, and he dropped out of sight behind the blowdown.  When I got up to the old tree, he was DRT.  The pellet had entered under his chin, and exited the back of his neck.

Squirrel taken at 43 yards with .22 Discovery.  Air tube mounted wind flag showing right to left wind direction.

It was a very satisfying hunt, and I'm more than pleased with the new Hawke scope. As usual, the Disco did what she always does, and that is to put a pellet right where I want it, when I want it.

Sometimes, I get asked why I would put a custom stock on an inexpensive rifle.  Well, when I get a gun that shoots as good as this one does, I want it the way I want it.  The factory stock is a bit small for me, and since I will be keeping this little rifle for ever, I decided to put a custom stock on her, that not only enhances her appearance, but also her handling and shootability.  She now fits me like a glove.

Below is a picture of a game tank that was in the area I hunted.  On my way out, I came around a bend in the road, a couple of hundred yards from this tank, and encountered four cow elk that were headed toward the game tank for a drink.  I need to start leaving my camera out, so that I can get pictures of some of the critters I come across while driving these old logging roads.

So far, I've seen elk, deer, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, a bobcat, and several gray foxes.  Pretty cool. 

Game tank.

 

 

 

A Spring Day, Walk In The woods - With An Airgun - Produces A Few Ground Squirrels - And A Ton Of Enjoyment.

First squirrel of the day, taken at just under 50 yards.

Spring time in the mountains of Northern Arizona is a pretty special time of year.  We have four distinct seasons here.  The winters aren't really bad, but when spring rolls around, we're ready to enjoy it.

In the area that I live, I'm surrounded by about four million acres of incredibly beautiful Ponderosa Pine forest.  At this high elevation, and with limited rain fall, there is very little in the way of brushy vegetation on the forest floor.

In many areas, a hike in the woods is like a walk in a rural park.  I especially like the spring, because it's the season of renewal.  All of the vegetation comes forth with new growth, and a wide variety of wildflowers start making their brief appearances again.

It's a great time to get out into the countryside, and enjoy the new beauty of the season.  Of course, since I hunt with airguns, any walk in the woods just wouldn't be complete without bringing one of those along.

For this hunt, I went to an area in the forest that is at about 8500 foot elevation.  Spring comes later at high elevations in the mountains.  The local Gambel Oaks are just starting to leaf out, and many of the early season wildflowers are just starting to bloom.  The temperature has finally broken into the low 70's, and it's a perfect time to spend a spring day afield.

The day wasn't so much about ground squirrel hunting, as it was about just enjoying a nice day in the woods.  At one point, I spotted a coyote trying to dig a squirrel or chipmunk out of its den under an old pine stump.  Since I was down wind, I decided to see how close I might be able to get to it.  

When I spotted the coyote, I was a lasered 137 yards away.  By using oaks and pine trees for cover, I was able to get to within 68 yards.  The wind shifted, and as soon as he got my scent, the interest in that ground squirrel or chipmunk went to zero, and the afterburners kicked in.  Boy, can those things cover some ground in a hurry when motivated.  I had no intention of taking a shot at him, but it was a fun little adventure while it lasted.

Another ground squirrel taken with the AA 510 carbine.

It was a really nice day.  I was shooting my AA 510 carbine again.  I wound up getting a few ground squirrels, and a couple of 60 plus yard chipmunks.  Hunting ground squirrels in the forest around here is not a high volume type shoot, it is definitely a hunt.  If I get five or six, I've had a pretty good day.  I love just being out in the forest though, you never know what you might see, and any squirrels I get are icing on the cake.  

Ground squirrel taken at just over 60 yards.

A pair of chippers taken at 63 yards.

It was a pretty low intensity type hunt.  Mostly it was just a leisurely walk in the woods, with a bit of critter shooting thrown in for good measure.

I did shoot a bit of video along the way.  Below are some of those clips. They run about 4 minutes, and may take 20 to 30 seconds to load.

I just mounted a Leupold 3-9x33mm scope on my RWS Rapier PCP, so I'm thinking it's going to be her turn, the next time I head out for high elevation ground squirrels.

   

 

Got The .20 Cal - Logun MK II - Out For A Little Ground Squirrel Hunting

Logun Mk II .20 cal.

The Logun MK II is a British made PCP.  Unfortunately, they were discontinued a few years ago.   If you ever come across a used one, it would be worth a look.  They are very nice airguns.  The only regret I have is that when I bought it new, I didn't get it in .22 instead of .20 cal.

It's a repeater, but instead of a removable magazine, it has an inline magazine that is machined as part of the receiver.  I actually like that feature a lot.  Instead of changing out a magazine every 10 shots, I just pull back the follower and drop in a few more pellets when I need to add more ammo.

Logun Mk II inline magazine.

The above picture shows a close up of the inline mag.  You can see the pellets sitting head to skirt, head to skirt, with the spring tensioned follower holding them in place. When you rack the bolt back to cock the rifle, a shuttle slides over and picks up a pellet. When you close the bolt, the shuttle carries the pellet over and lines it up with the bore.  The final action of pushing the bolt forward and down, chambers the pellet into the barrel.  The operation of the bolt, and cam system that drives the shuttle, is butter smooth.

I was hoping that the gun would shoot non-lead tin pellets, for use in California on ground squirrels, but no such luck.  When it comes to .20 caliber non-lead tin pellets, there is only one, and that is the DYNAMIC SPC-5.  Most of my guns shoot tin really well, but not this one.  A couple of inches at 50 yards, is about as good as this rifle will do with them, and that's just not good enough for my application.

I decided to switch back to shooting lead pellets in her, and checking my notes found that she shoots the .20 cal JSB Exacts really well.  She launches the 13.6 grain JSB's at an average of 930 fps, and generates 26 fpe at the muzzle.  I sighted her in a half inch high at 50 yards, and we headed out into the forest for a ground squirrel hunt.

Ground squirrel taken at 43 yards.

The very first shot opportunity I had with her, I had to make a decision. There was a ground squirrel sitting on a stump at 43 yards, and right next to it on a rock, at the same distance, was a chipper.  I opted to take the squirrel.  

I caught the shot on video, and it is included in the clips that accompany this story. At about 9 ounces, these ground squirrels are quite small, and at 3 ounces the chippers are even smaller.  Both critters make for challenging targets.

Unlike California Ground Squirrels, who many times will colonize an area, and you can sometimes set up in one place and shoot from the same spot for quite awhile, these guys are more scattered.  I rarely find two in the same den area.  They get together for mating, but after that, are pretty much loners.

There are plenty of them out there in the forest, but you have to get out, put some boot leather on the ground, and hunt them individually.  Much like hunting tree squirrels in these same forests.

Ground squirrel taken at just over 40 yards.

The areas of the forest that I hunt are also loaded with chipmunks. I probably see five times more chippers than I do ground squirrels.  I don't head out targeting them specifically, because I am primarily focused on hunting the ground squirrels. However, I do consider them a bonus critter that inhabits the same habitat that the ground squirrels do. They are much smaller than the ground squirrels, and are a much tougher target to hit at long range, especially in the wind.  I walk up on a lot of them at 20 or 30 yards, and those get a free pass, but if I find a specific shot opportunity particularly interesting, or challenging distance wise, I will take the chippers as well.  

Here's a pair that I took at 37 and 48 yards respectively.  When the shot broke on the chipper at 37 yards, another behind it, and out at 48 yards ran up on a log.  I quickly racked the bolt and dropped that one also. Those are the kinds of chipper shots that I find challenging and interesting.

A pair of chipmunks dropped at 37 and 48 yards. 

Hunting with this gun is a ton of fun.  The action is butter smooth, the trigger is flawless, and the accuracy is excellent, which is a must have for taking these small critters out to 60 plus yards.

The following, are some of the video clips that I shot while hunting. They run about 4 minutes and 40 seconds, and depending upon the speed of your system, may take 20 to 30 seconds to load.  Thanks for watching.

  

FX Whisper .22 - Goes To Local Park - For Ground Squirrel Hunt

Park in the middle of the forest.

The above picture shows what is known, in the local vernacular, as a park.  Most places would probably just call it a meadow.    

It was a gorgeous day, so I decided to take a trip to the local forest, just to hang out for a few hours, and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.  Of course I took an airgun along, just in case I got the urge to do a little ground squirrel hunting.

On my way out of town, I stopped and grabbed a $5 footlong for lunch.  I didn't really have a lot planned, just basically a kick back kind of day. Not planning to do much hunting, I didn't bother to bring the video camera.

I picked a forest road, and started down it until I found this park area, that looked pretty nice, and decided to spend a few hours there.  I pulled into the shade, under a nice big Ponderosa pine tree, and broke out my collapsable canvas camp chair.

One of the things that I like about hunting ground squirrels and chipmunks in this forest is, it's a great way to hone my shooting skills for fall tree squirrel season.  All three critters share the same forest habitat, so while hunting the first two critters, I'm also scouting the same area for tree squirrel sign.  

The Abert's Tassel Eared tree squirrels build their nests in these pine trees.  They aren't great wanderers, and don't venture to far from their home ground, so once you find sign, you know there is a squirrel not to far away.  Getting a shot at one though, is a whole different issue.  They are true masters of concealment.

As I was just sitting and enjoying my lunch, one of the big furballs decided to drop by and see what I was doing in its neighborhood.  It was only about 30 yards away, so I snapped a quick picture of it for posterity. Come this fall, I will be back.

Abert's tree squirrel keeping an eye on me during lunch.  Look at the size of that bushy tail.

The Abert's run about two pounds in weight.  The Golden Mantle ground squirrels run about nine ounces, and the chipmunks around here weigh about three ounces.  In other words, both critters are much, much smaller that the Abert's tree squirrels. Hunting the smaller furballs is a great way to practice for hunting the much bigger tree squirrels.

The ranges that you get shots at are the same for all three types of critters.  After successfully hunting the ground squirrels and chipmunks for four or five months, and taking them regularly from 40 to 60+ yards, the tree squirrels look like they're the size of house cats, in the scope, when it's finally legal to take them starting in October.  It's almost unfair.

After finishing lunch, I decided to take a short walk along the edge of the park, and back into the trees for maybe 50 yards.  For some reason, both the chipmunks, and ground squirrels like to hang out around the edges of these parks.

I grabbed my .22 cal Whisper to take along.  I had gone a couple of hundred yards, and hadn't really seen any activity, when a chipmunk suddenly jumped up onto an old stump at what lasered to be 47 yards. As I was setting up for the shot, a ground squirrel jumped up onto the same stump from behind.  Decisions, decisions.  I decided to go for the ground squirrel.  Fate works in funny ways.  Today, the chipper caught a break.

Since I'm sighted in a half inch high at 50 yards, I held a little low, and sent the pellet on its way.  At impact, the ground squirrel was blown off the back of the stump, and the chipmunk launched itself off of the front, never to be seen again that day.

Ground squirrel taken at 47 yards with FX Whisper.

Since I wasn't real intense about hunting, I decided to head back to my vehicle.  When I got there, as I usually do before putting my gun  away, I quickly glassed the area around me.  As happens many times, I spotted a ground squirrel sitting on a stump out at 52 yards, facing to the left, watching me.

I got the rifle set up on my bipod, and since there was almost no wind, held dead on, on the squirrels ribcage.  When the pellet struck home, the squirrel just dropped in place. It didn't even roll off of the top of the stump.  Instant DRT.

Squirrel taken at 52 yards.

It turned out to be a fun few hours.  If you can dope the wind, it's darned near impossible to miss at these ranges with the .22 cal Whisper.  The 16 grain JSB's, I shoot in it, are impressive to say the least.

Next time out, I'm going to hunt my .20 cal Logun Mk II.  She's another tack driver.

 

 

Ground Squirrel Hunting Video - With The FX T12 Whisper - .22 PCP - Quiet But Deadly

The FX T12 Whisper is a PCP that you don't really hear a lot about.  I've had mine since early 2007, and she has been a stellar performer on a variety of ground squirrels, as well as prairie dogs.

It's manufactured by the FX Airgun Company out of Sweden.  They are known for making excellent quality airguns.  I have several others of theirs, and they are some of the most accurate PCP's that I have had the pleasure of shooting.

The Whisper that I own is in .22.  She takes a 12 round, self indexing magazine, and I get 36 shots on a fill.  The one complaint that some folks have, is the fact that it does not have an air gauge that shows remaining pressure.  I have never found this to be an issue.  I know I get 36 shots (3 mags) on a fill, so when I've gone through three mags, I know it's time to refill.  No big deal.

I took her out yesterday for a romp in the woods, and to see if we could maybe find a few ground squirrels.  I haven't hunted with this rifle in a couple of years, and was really looking forward to getting reacquainted.

As usual, the first thing I did, was to put my portable target frame out at 50 yards, and check my zero.  I keep a 3x5 information card on each of my rifles.  I pulled the one for the Whisper and reviewed the data for this gun.

It showed the best fill pressure to be 2900 psi to give 36 shots.  It also showed that the JSB Exact Jumbo in 15.9/16 grains to be the lead pellet of choice, and also showed that I have her sighted in at one half inch high at 50 yards.

I threw my Caldwell Shooter's Bag on the hood of my vehicle and rested the rifle on it. The wind was pretty stiff, so I waited for it to drop and fired one shot at a Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C  bullseye target.  The inner circle 10 ring, is one inch in diameter. So I then know, that by holding at six o'clock on the ten ring, it's one half inch from there to the orange dot in the center.  The pellet landed just a tiny fraction of an inch from the orange dot.  The zero is obviously still good, so I put the target frame away, geared up, and started to hunt.

I was only about 75/80 yards into the forest, when I spotted the first squirrel of the day sitting on a stump at 60 yards.  At sixty yards, I put the horizontal crosshair on the top of its head, and because of the left to right wind direction, put the vertical crosshair on the left edge of the squirrels body.  I took up the trigger pressure, the shot broke and rolled the furball off the back of the stump.  Not a bad start to what turned out to be a fun day.

A little while later, I spotted another squirrel sitting on stump, at a little over 100 yards away, and started my stalk to close the distance some.  I shouldn't have bothered.  As I was checking the squirrel through my binoculars, to make sure it hadn't bolted, a Red Tail hawk came whistling out of the trees and grabbed that sucker off the top of that stump.  I've seen that before, but it's still pretty amazing to see when it happens.  Amazing or not, I also knew that a hawk in the area would put a damper on the squirrel hunting for awhile.  

I decided to head back to my vehicle for a lunch break, to let things settle down, and hope the hawk would vacate the area that I was hunting in.  While eating my sandwich, I could see that there was actually a pair of Red Tail hawks soaring above where I was located.  Probably a mated pair.  I had lunch, and just hung out for about half an hour. The hawks eventually disappeared off to the south.

Figuring that things had settled down enough, I grabbed my rifle and headed back into the forest.  I hadn't gone but maybe a hundred yards, when I saw a squirrel hunkered down on a log, facing directly toward me.  The distance lasered at 49 yards. I set the rifle up on my bipod, and holding a bit low for that range, touched off the shot. At pellet impact, the squirrel was picked up and tossed off the back of the log.

Like I seem to manage to do at least once on every hunt, I forgot to put the camera in record mode, so didn't capture the shot on tape.  When I got up to the squirrel though, I could see that the pellet entered just under its nose and had passed the full length of its body. Instant lights out.

The afternoon was a bit overcast, windy and cool, but I was able to locate a few more squirrels, and it turned out to be a very fun day.

Below are some video clips I shot during the hunt.  They run just a bit over 3 minutes, and may take 20 to 30 seconds to load.

 

When it comes to PCP's, I think the FX Whisper is kind of a sleeper.  It sells for under a grand, and when it comes to accuracy, mine holds its own against my other guns no problem.

I really like the synthetic thumbhole stock, and I also like the fact that with the camera mounted, it only weighs a bit over eight pounds.  Even at 8000 foot elevation, I can carry this rig all day.

I've got another area in mind to check out for squirrels, and I think the Whisper will be the gun of choice for that hunt as well.

     

   

 

 

AA 510 CRBSL - .22 Carbine - 3000 psi - At 8000 Foot Elevation = Ground Squirrel Hunting Success!

AA 510 .22 cal side lever carbine.

This was my second trip out with my new AA 510 side lever carbine. This time I headed up to an area at higher elevation, where I had seen a fair number of ground squirrels, while hunting tree squirrels a couple of years ago.

When I finally reached the hunt area, my altimeter read right at 8000 foot elevation. It is really beautiful up there.  Especially this time of year.  Spring comes later at high elevation, and the forest floor has just started to green up with some early wild flowers starting to make their appearance.

Picture of the general area I hunted in.

I was about five miles from the pavement, and used an old logging road to get up into the high country.  These roads a pretty basic, and a 4x4 is nice to have.

Photo of old logging road I used for access.  This doesn't look bad, but it gets pretty rugged in some places.

The wind was really blowing, so I limited my shots to 60 yards and under.  I'm shooting the 18 grain JSB's in this rifle.  It shoots the 16 grain JSB's well also, but the 18's have a higher BC, and buck the wind a bit better, and since this place is pretty much always windy, I go with the heavier pellet.

I got my gear set up and slipped out into the woods.  It wasn't long before I saw a squirrel with just a portion of its head showing over the edge of a stump.  It lasered at 54 yards.  

The AA 510 carbine had no problem center punching that small target in the wind at that distance. Notice that the air tube mounted wind flag is standing straight out.

It was a very challenging hunt.  You really have to spend a lot of time in your binoculars, and hike over a fair amount of country, looking for these guys back in the shade and shadows of the forest. It's mainly spot and stalk type of hunting.

They love to build their dens under these 100 year old pine stumps, so that's where I focus most of my efforts, but you will occasionally find them sitting up on old blow downs too.

A couple of ground squirrels taken at 48 and 53 yards.

Since I am constantly warring with chipmunks around the house, I included a few of them in the mix as well.  The suckers insist on trying to get into the walls, and chew on the wiring, and that motivates me to ventilate the bastages whenever given the chance.

I decided to shoot some video on this hunt.  The following are some video clips showing the AA 510 .22 carbine in action.  She's launching the 18 grain JSB's at an average of 878 fps, for 31 fpe at the muzzle.  Like I said, because of the high winds, I limited my shots to 60 yards and under.  

This video runs 2 minutes and 50 seconds, and may take 20 to 30 seconds to load.

 

Needless to say, the air is pretty thin up at 8000 feet, so a nice accurate, light rifle is my choice for hunting in this type of terrain.  Heavy gets old real fast.  I'm fortunate to have a battery of airguns that I can choose from, for different types of varmint hunting.  The AA 510 carbine is definitely a good choice for high altitude hunting.

Setting Up The AA 510 - .22 cal Carbine - To Hunt Ground Squirrels - In Northern Arizona

I had this gun set up to shoot DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets, at 18 fpe, for use while hunting California Ground Squirrels, but as that old expression goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  

Since I'm not going to be able to get over to California as much as I had planned this year, it's time to go to plan "B" and set this gun up to hunt the types of ground squirrels that we have here in Northern Arizona.

Since I don't have to shoot tin pellets here, my plan is to turn the power back up to max, and sight her in with the 18 grain JSB Jumbo Exact Heavy pellets shooting at about 30 fpe.

Most of the shots around here are going to be in the 40 to 65 yard range. For this purpose, I like to sight her in one half inch high at 50 yards. This way, I just hold a little low for closer shots, dead on at 55, top of the head at 60, and show just a little daylight above the head at 65 yards. Been doing it this way for years and it works great.

One other change I made, was to mount a Leupold Vari-x-II, 4-12x40mm scope on her.  I've had this scope for over 20 years, and it's one of my favorites.

One of the mantras you always hear, when talking about scopes for airguns is, they must be able to focus down to 10 yards.  Well not really. I rarely shoot at less than about 35 yards.  I will occasionally shoot at 20 yards indoors, to do some  preliminary pellet testing, but most of the time I'm hunting, and rarely get a shot much under 35/40 yards.

This scope focuses down to 25 yards, plenty good enough for my hunting application. It has a fine duplex crosshair, and that works out about perfect for shots out to around 70 yards.  At the longer ranges, I just use the tip of the duplex post as my aim point.

As usual, I set out my wind flags.  I put the target frame out at a lasered 50 yards, and shot a few groups while making scope adjustments, until I had the poi adjusted to where I wanted it.

The wind was varible in speed, and shifting directions, but by watching the flags, I was able to pick some lulls to shoot in, and got her shooting exactly where I wanted.

Final sight-in target.  Holding center on the green dot, five 18 grain JSB's went into .525 ctc at 50 yards, with four going into .279 ctc.  Considering the breezy conditions, not to bad.  Half minute of ground squirrel for sure.

The next morning, I headed out into the forest to see if the local ground squirrels had emerged from hibernation.  It wasn't long before I had my answer.  On my way to the area that I was going to hunt, I had several run across the road in front of me.

The two types of ground squirrels that we can hunt here in the mountains, are the Rock Squirrel, and Golden Mantle ground squirrels. Neither one populates an area like California Ground Squirrels do, but both are very fun and challenging to hunt, and the country that they live in is just magnificently beautiful.

Below is a shot of the forest canyon that I decided to hunt.  It has a lot of old stumps, from being logged over about 100 years ago, as well as a lot of deadfall, blowdowns, and piles of large and small boulders.  All places that both types of these ground squirrels like to build their dens in and around, as well as sit on as they survey their domain.

I decided not to shoot video on this trip.  I just wanted to get out with my new gun, and on the first hunt of the season,  just have a fun day of hunting, without messing around with any video technology.

I had been slowly hunting my way up this canyon, glassing the rocks, stumps, and logs, when I spotted a ground squirrel sitting on top of a pile of boulders at 46 yards, but it was partially obscured by a small pine tree.  I had to move a bit to my left for a clear shot, and when I did, the squirrel bolted down the back side of the boulders.

I took that opportunity to move to a spot, in the shade, under a big pine tree, where I could survey the boulder pile, as well as have a better view of the entire area around the boulders. I set my rifle up on my Stoney Point bipod, and just waited. About ten minutes later, as I was glassing the boulders and area around them, I spotted the squirrel pop up on a stump to the left rear of the boulder pile.

I shot a range to it, and it came back at 52 yards.  Knowing I needed to hold a bit low at that range, I settled the crosshairs on the center of it's chest. I slowly took up the trigger pressure until the shot broke.

That 18 grain pellet hit him just under the chin, and it sounded like a lady finger going off.  There wasn't so much as a twitch.  He was DRT.

First hunt with a new rifle, and the first shot with it is a clean kill.  For me, it just doesn't get much better than that.  This is a great start to a new season of varmint hunting.

Golden Mantle ground squirrel taken at 52 yards, with AA 510 carbine, and 18 grain JSB's. 

After getting a couple of pictures, I continued slipping through the Ponderosa Pine forest, glassing all of the likely squirrel habitat as I went.  I spotted a couple more, but they lit out cross country before I could get a shot.

I decided to turn around and check my back trail, and sure enough, there was a squirrel sitting on a large pile of boulders, that I had passed by earlier, and at that time nothing was on it.  

It lasered at 56 yards.  Again I made the shot from my bipod, and at impact, the pellet picked the squirrel up, and blew it clear off the back of the boulder.  All I found when I got over there though, was some blood on the rock, but no squirrel.  Looking around, I could see more blood smears, and where it had slipped down into the depths of the boulder pile.  I hate it when that happens.

At that point, I decided to call it a day, and spent the next half an hour hunting my way back to my vehicle.  As I always do, before putting my gear away, I take a few minutes to carefully glass the surrounding area. It's interesting how many times I'll get a shot at a critter that has gotten curious about my presence, and will be sneaking a peek at what I'm doing there.

Sure enough, as I'm glassing the area, I spot a ground squirrel sitting upright on a stump off to my left.  I shoot a range to it and get 61 yards. At that range I know I'll need to hold a bit high.  There is also a slight breeze coming at ninety degrees from my left.

I set the rifle on my bipod, hold the horizontal crosshair on the top of the squirrels head, and put the vertical crosshair on its left side.  About that time, the wind picks up.  I'm well outside of this guys danger zone, which is usually about 50 yards, so I decide to gamble and wait a bit to see if the wind drops.

A short time later the wind does drop to a light breeze again.  I finalize my hold and send the pellet on its way. There is a resounding WHOP at impact, and the furball drops on the spot.  When I get over to it, I see that the pellet has gone through both shoulders for instant lights out.  

Ground squirrel taken at 61 yards.

A photo looking back towards my vehicle, from the stump that I whacked the squirrel on.

This type of hunting isn't high volume shooting, but man is it ever fun and challenging. I'm thrilled with the performance of my new AA 510 carbine, and the accuracy of the 18 grain JSB's is all that I could ask for.

This type of hunting is great practice for this coming fall tree squirrel season.  It was great to get out into the forest, and I have plans to do it again next week.

Stay tuned, more to follow. 

Benjamin Discovery Goes Green - With H&N - .22 cal 12.6 Grain - Baracuda Green - Tin Pellets .

Benjamin .22 cal Discovery, with Bushnell 5-15x40mm scope.

The vast majority of the snow has melted off, and the local forest roads have dried out enough to drive on without sinking in up to the frame, so I thought I would spend a day getting some sunshine and fresh air.

One of the things I wanted to do while out there, was to try the H&N 12.6 grain Baracuda Green, non-lead, tin pellets in my .22 cal Disco. Normally, in a non-lead ammo situation, I would shoot the DYNAMIC PCP-2, tin pellets in this rifle, but they have become very difficult to come by, so it would be real nice to have a readily available alternative. I wanted to see if maybe the Baracuda Green tin pellets would make for a good second choice.

I've had my .22 Disco since they first came out in early 2008.  It has been a really good performer since day one.  I currently have it sighted in with the 15.9/16 grain JSB Exact Jumbo pellets, and it is death on tree squirrels out to about 60 yards with those.

We don't have a commercial shooting range in my neck of the woods, so when I want to do some pellet testing, I have to head out into the wide open spaces of the National Forest and set up my own range. Sometimes I go to a familiar spot, and other times I just drive until I find an area that looks like it's a place I would like to spend the day. That's what I did this time.

It took me about twenty minutes to get all of my gear set up.  I have a portable shooting stand that I shoot from.  A set of wind flags that I shoot over, and a portable target frame that I place my targets on.

I put the target frame out at 40 yards, and set up my wind flags at 10 yard intervals, starting with the first one 10 yards from the muzzle, and the last one next to the target frame at 40 yards.  I set them up so that I can see them while looking through the scope on my rifle, yet offset to one side far enough that I won't hit them while shooting.

I checked my wind meter, and it was indicating wind velocities running from 8 to 12 mph.  During the lulls, it was dropping down to the 3 to 4 mph range.  I did all of my shooting during the lulls, and even then it was a challenge.

I fired a half dozen shots at random targets, to condition the freshly cleaned bore to the tin pellets.

This rifle is currently sighted in with the 16 grain JSB's, so I didn't expect the lighter Baracuda Green pellets to have the same point of impact, and I was right.  They are shooting much higher at 40 yards than the JSB's are, but by using the first mildot above the crosshair, I was able to get them to print on my target, although a bit left and low.

Considering the conditions, I'm really happy with the way these H&N tin pellets shoot. Shooting during the lulls, the first five went into a group, at 40 yards, that measured .474 ctc.

Group number 1.

I dropped down to the second target, and once again shooting during the lulls, shot five into a group that measured .363 ctc.

Group number 2.

Next, just for the heck of it, I dropped down to a Prairie Chuck target and fired one shot, to see if I could put one between the eye and the ear. Below is the result.  I'm really pleased with the way these H&N tin pellets are shooting in my Disco.

As a hunter, I'm not one that enjoys shooting groups just for the sake of shooting groups.  I've been doing this for a hell of a long time, (about 40 years with airguns) and it doesn't take me long to tell if a particular pellet is going to meet my accuracy standards in a given gun.

These H&N Baracuda Green pellets are obviously shooting quite well in my Disco, and will make for a great alternative to the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets in this rifle.  It would be nice if they were a couple of grains heavier, but if I'm in a situation where I must use a non-lead pellet, they will certainly do, and they are available.

I want to try them in a few other guns as well.  I'll try them in my AA 410, and AA 510 carbines for sure, as well as my Marauder pistol.

All of those other pellet holes are from other shooting sessions.  I've had this portable target frame for about 45 years, and have replaced the cardboard backer many, many times. This is what the back of it looks like currently.  It goes with me on every hunt.  I use it to check my zero before heading out into the field, as well as for sighting in, and accuracy testing.  It's an indispensable piece of gear.

Back of portable target frame.

So, if you are in need of accurate lead free pellets, and are looking for something that can hold it's own, accuracy wise, against some of the lead pellets out there, be sure to check out the H&N non-lead offerings.

When it comes to what pellet a particular gun will shoot well, each one has its preferences, but the Baracuda Green pellets are certainly worth trying, and might be just what you're looking for.   

 

Comparing The .22 cal AA 510 and AA 410 Carbines - Shot Strings - Shooting The 18 Grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's

This photo shows the AA 410 Carbine at the top, and AA 510 Carbine at the bottom.

So that there is no confusion, let me mention that I have swapped the stocks between the two rifles, and that's why the AA 410 is wearing the AA 510 ambidextrous stock.

I prefer the thumbhole design for hunting, and rather than have a thumbhole stock on both rifles, I just swap the one back and forth between guns.

A few things differentiate the AA 510 carbine from the AA 410 carbine. The most noticable is the longer air tube on the AA 510.  It holds 242cc of air, compared to the 180cc that the AA 410 carbine air tube holds.

Also, the power control knob on the AA 510 operates just the opposite of the AA 410. Turning the knob to the right on the AA 410 increases power.  Doing the same on the AA 510 decreases power.

There are also a few cosmetic machine cuts on the receiver of the AA 510 that are not on the AA 410 receiver.  Functionally, the side lever actions on the two guns operate exactly the same, and they share the same magazine design.

I consider both of these rifles to be nice compact hunters.  I use them mainly for tree squirrel (limit 5) and cottontail rabbit (limit 10) hunting. For those applications, shot count isn't really an issue because both guns get 20 or more useable shots on a fill. 

But, since a lot of folks live and die by shot count numbers, I thought I would go ahead and show a string from both rifles, when shooting the 18.1 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets.  Both rifles are exceptionally accurate when shooting this particular pellet.

AA 410 CRBSL .22, shot string with 18.1 grain JSB, 3000 psi fill, power adj. at Hi.

1 - 837      11 - 874

2 - 844     12 - 871

3 - 851      13 - 870

4 - 844     14 - 867      

5 - 848     15 - 864

6 - 854      16 - 860

7 - 862      17 - 851

8 - 860     18 - 846 

9 - 871      19 - 845 

10- 868    20 - 840

Avg - 856 fps

Hi - 874 fps

Lo - 837 fps

ES - 37 fps

Fpe - 29

AA 510 CRBSL .22, shot string with 18.1 grain JSB, 3000 psi fill, Power adj. at Hi.

1 - 863     11 - 893     21 - 870

2 - 867     12 - 892    22 - 867

3 - 865     13 - 891    23 - 865

4 - 867     14 - 893    24 - 863

5 - 872     15 - 887    25 - 860

6 - 880    16 - 890

7 - 883     17 - 885

8 - 888    18 - 885

9 - 892     19 - 880

10- 890    20- 877 

Avg - 878 fps

Hi - 893 fps

Lo - 860 fps

ES - 33 fps

Fpe - 31

The AA 510 carbine is generating two more fpe at the muzzle than the AA 410 carbine is, but that isn't even noticeable in the field while hunting.  The additional 62cc of air, that the AA 510 carbine holds, manifests itself as five more shots than the AA 410 carbine gets.  So that gives me 20 shots with the AA 410 carbine, or 25 with the AA 510 carbine.  Either way, more than enough shots for the way I typically use these guns.  

Again, I don't get overly anxious about shot counts on my PCP's.  They all hold more than enough air for what I am doing with them 99% of the time.

My AA 510 carbine runs about 6 ounces heavier than my AA 410 carbine. The additional weight is toward the muzzle, and I like that.  All in all, they are both very nice guns, and you can't go wrong with either one.

 

 

 

Google Maps - An Airgunner's Best Friend - Scouting For Prairie Dog Towns - In New Mexico

A pair of AZ prairie dogs.

I've been using Google Maps, as a pre-hunt scouting tool for many years. If you know what you are looking for, Google Maps can save a lot of random driving, and blind scouting.  At todays gas prices, any help I can get narrowing things down to a specific hunt area, is a good thing.

I was planning a prairie dog hunt up to Wyoming this year, but it's a long haul, and this summers gas prices, along the Interstate highways, will probably be close to $5.00 a gallon, if not more, so I've decided to head over to New Mexico, and see what I can do there.

Like Northern Arizona, New Mexico has populations of prairie dogs. They seem to be more widely spread across New Mexico, than here in Arizona, so with a hunt in mind, I fired up Google Maps and started to do some scouting. The first thing I did, was to locate a known to be active, dog town on one of the ranches I hunt here in Arizona, and use Google Maps to get a look at what an active dog town looks like, from a satellite's point view. 

Here's a picture of a prairie dog mound, up close and personal. This picture has been cropped, but if seen from above, this mound would look to be about fifteen, or so feet across. Now put one of these every 100 to 200 feet across the landscape, in every direction, and you end up with what is commonly called a prairie dog town. Some will be small, maybe an acre or so, and some will cover thousands of acres. 

Prairie dog mound on a ranch I hunt here in AZ.

Here's a satellite view of a small portion of the dog town, that the above mound is in, that covers thousands of acres.  This is on a cattle ranch, and the ranch owner isn't real happy to have these guys on his property. Especially in these numbers.

All of those little dots are prairie dog mounds. Now that I know what an active dog town looks like from a satellite view, I headed on over to New Mexico, and started spending time on the computer, looking for likely areas to hunt.

I picked up a map of New Mexico, that shows public, and private land ownership, and went to work. It took a bit of effort, but I have located some nice sized prairie dog towns on public land over there. Here's a satellite view of a small area in one of the towns I've found so far.

New Mexico prairie dog town, as seen from a satellite. 

Using Google Maps, I have located a half dozen dog towns on public land, in about a 100 square mile area, so instead of blindly searching for an area that holds prairie dog towns, I'll head straight to the areas I've pre-scouted using Google Maps, and have a look see. Should be a ton of fun.

I'll be hunting my AA 510 TC .22, and my Marauder .25. 

I've also used Google Maps to successfully scout for tree squirrel and cottontail rabbit habitats.  Nothing guarantees a successful hunt, but I'm a big believer in using Google Maps to try and stack the deck in my favor.