A couple of other dogs taken during this hunt.
As I have mentioned on many occasions, the the FX 2000 is my go to prairie dog rifle. The long range accuracy is superb on this gun, and the last time I had her out, she proved it once again.
I had been slowly hunting along, picking off a dog or three along the way, when I spotted a large prairie dog sitting on a mound at a lasered 101 yards. There was no wind to speak of, just an occasional light breeze. To make these long shots on a consistent basis, you need a very accurate rifle, and almost perfect conditions. This particular day I had both. I don't attempt these 100+ yard shots unless the conditions are pretty much ideal.
I'm running a Bushnell Elite 3200, 7-21x40mm scope on her. When I set up for the shot, it was dead calm. I settled the second mildot down from the crosshair, on the dogs head, and slowly squeezed the trigger. I heard the pellet impact, and saw the dog jump and trot off of the mound. This is very typical of a lot of heart lung shots, whether at 60 yards, or 100+ yards, where you don't take out one or both shoulders. They almost look like a miss. In the length of time it took me to rack the bolt, to chamber another pellet for a follow-up shot if needed, I saw him topple over. The pellet was a complete pass through.
The following video clip shows the shot and the end result. I occasionally get asked if airguns are powerful enough to take squirrels, prairie dogs, and other small game and varmints at 100 yards. The answer is yes, at least some air rifles are. A PCP generating 30 fpe at the muzzle certainly is with the appropriate pellet, assuming the gun is accurate, and the shooter has the skills to take advantage of that.
The 18.1 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellet is just about ideal for this kind of hunting. It's very accurate, carries energy down range really well, and has excellent penetration when it gets to the target.
Video may take 10/15 seconds to load. It is 1 minute 26 seconds long.
Another prairie dog from the same mornings hunt. It was a very good day.
Comments