VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Marauder .22 - Plays Mind Games - With A Few Ground Squirrels.

Area hunted yesterday.

When I left the house yesterday, I headed back to the valley area that I had so much success in last week.  When I got there, some bow hunters had their elk camp set up near where I would have launched my hunt from.  Rather than get in the middle of their hunt area, I headed for a different spot, five miles away, that I had pre-scouted for ground squirrels during the summer.  It's a small valley maybe 300 yards long, by 150 yards wide.

This spot is at a higher elevation, and has several different species of trees.  Ponderosa Pines being the most dominant, but the area also has quite a few Blue Spruce and Gambel Oaks, with a few Aspen thrown in for good measure.  The probability of seeing a variety of different squirrel species is probably a pretty good bet.

My gun of choice for the day, would be my .22 caliber Benjamin Marauder.  I've had this rifle since they were first introduced about three years ago.  It's very accurate, and I have it set up specifically for hunting prairie dogs.  I haven't had a chance, this year, to hunt prairie dogs, so I thought I would take her out for a ground squirrel hunt.

I keep a 3x5 card on file, for each of my guns, that shows important info like, what pellet it's sighted in with, the sight-in distance, fill pressure, number of shots, etc.  The card for this gun shows that I have it shooting the 21 grain Beeman Kodiaks three quarters of an inch high at 55 yards.

The first thing I did when I got to the hunt area, was to put my portable target frame out, and check my zero.  The below target shows the result. The green dot is three quarters of an inch in diameter, and I was holding at six o'clock.  Three shots almost touching works for me.

Three Beeman 21 grain Kodiaks, almost touching at 55 yards, fired from my .22 cal Marauder. 

Time to hunt.  I was parked at one end of the valley, so my plan was to hunt down one side, cross over at the far end, and hunt my way back up the opposite side.

As I always do, before leaving my vehicle, I glassed the area to see if any squirrels were showing themselves.  There were no squirrels showing, but there was a chipmunk sitting on the tip of an old deadfall branch, like the flame on the tip of a tall candle.  

I see tons of chipmunks, and give the vast majority of them a pass, but this shot opportunity was too good not to take.  The chipper lasered at 63 yards, and I couldn't resist knocking it off of that tall perch.

The sound of the 21 grain pellet connecting with the furball, was louder than the gun going off.  The pellet literally blew the chipper three feet into the air.  The accuracy of my .22 Marauder never ceases to amaze me.

Chipmunk dropped at 63 yards.

I took a quick picture, and then continued hunting along the edge of the small valley.  I spotted a Rock Squirrel, which is similar to a California Ground Squirrel, at a little over 100 yards, but didn't get a shot at it.  I think mainly, because of a loudmouth Pine Squirrel, that suddenly decided to start mouthing off.  As soon as that thing started with its loud scolding chatter, the Rock Squirrel bailed for parts unknown. 

The Pine Squirrel is a tree squirrel, and that season is not open yet.  I can't imagine anyone actually hunting them for meat.  They are very small, about six ounces, but what they give up in size, they make up for in lung power.  This isn't a very good picture, he was forty feet up in a spruce tree, in the shadows, and my camera doesn't have enough zoom to really reach in there and pick him out.  He was one loud, sassy sucker though.

Pine Squirrel.

Ignoring the loudmouth, I continued to hunt.  Much to my surprise, now sitting on the same log, that the Rock Squirrel had just abandoned, I spot a Golden Mantle ground squirrel.  Maybe the ruckus got his attention, and he had to come out to see what was going on.

The laser indicated 54 yards.  He was facing directly at me, so I held center chest, and launched the pellet.  It caught him just under the chin, and he disappeared off of the back side of the log.  I could still hear the Pine Squirrel running its mouth, 50 yards behind me.

After taking a picture, I crossed over to the other side of the small valley, and hunted it back to my vehicle. Along the way, I got a couple more ground squirrels with nice clean head shots.  Both were just over 50 yards away.  

I've mentioned before, that to consistently make head shots on these small ground squirrels, you need a rifle that will keep its shots inside a nickel at 50 yards.  Not a problem for my .22 cal Marauder.  It will keep them inside a dime at that distance.

Two squirrels dropped with head shots at just over 50 yards.

It was a fun day.  Not tons of ground squirrels in this area, but still enough to make for a fun hunt.  The Marauder did what she always does, puts a pellet where I want it, when I want it, on demand.  A truly mind blowing experience for the ground squirrels.

Tomorrow, I'm going to head back to the other valley.  I've got my fingers crossed that the bow hunters may have moved on, and I'll be able to hunt the other side of squirrel valley.

     

     

 

 

Crossman CenterPoint - Power Class 4-16x56mmAO - Mounted On My Marauder .22 - This Scope Has Got To Be A Best Buy

Marauder .22, with CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAO scope mounted.

I have a CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAORG, mounted on my .25 cal Marauder, and have hunted her hard for a couple of prairie dog seasons now.  The combination of that scope and rifle, have been amazing out in the dog towns.  They have allowed me to make head shots on prairie dogs all the way to 100 yards, and the optical performance of this scope is a big part of what has allowed me to do that.

Marauder .25, with the CenterPoint 4-16x56mmAORG mounted.

I was so impressed with its capabilities in the field, that I picked up this CenterPoint, Power Class 4-16x56mmAO, to put on my .22 cal Marauder.

The only difference that I can see, between the two scopes, is the 4-16x56mmAO does not have the illuminated red/green reticle feature, that the 4-16x56mmAORG, on my .25 Marauder has. Since I don't use that feature, I opted for this model without the illuminated reticle.  I picked it up at Walmart online for $114.  I don't know if that's a close out price, but as far as price performance goes, this scope has got to be a best buy.  

The specs are the same as my first CenterPoint, excluding the R/G illuminated reticle. Coated lenses, 30mm tube, side focus, 1/8 MOA click value on the W/E turrets, all weather construction, mildot reticle, lockable turrets. It also comes with a 4 inch sunshade, popup lens covers, and fast focus eye piece.

The weight runs 27 ounces, just what I'm looking for when I want to add some heft to a rifle I'll be hunting prairie dogs with in the wind.  I really like the clarity of the two that I have, and the side focus is nice also.

One of the things that I really like about both scopes, is the size of the crosshairs and mildots.  I run my scopes at 8x, and the crosshairs are thin enough, and the mildots are small enough, that they do not completely cover small critters, like prairie dogs, even at 100+ yards. This is very important to me, because I make some very small corrections in my hold sometimes, and it's nice to be able to see the critter behind the crosshairs, even at long range.

This is not a small, light weight scope, so it's not one that I will be putting on one of my carbines any time soon, but for what I bought it for, like on my .25 cal Marauder PCP, this will be a very nice addition to my .22 cal Marauder rifle.

The below targets show how she shoots at 55 yards.  I was sighting her in with the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's, and fired this five shot group in a light switching breeze.

 Five shots easily covered with a dime.

Now I've got twin Marauders, not quite identical, but close.

Marauder .22 with CenterPoint 4-16x56mm scope mounted, and ready to hunt. 

 

 

Prepping For 2011 Tree Squirrel Season

Tree squirrel season opens here at the the end of the month, so I want to be sure that I'm ready for the opener.  This will be my fifth season of hunting these big Abert's Tree Squirrels that inhabit the Ponderosa Pine forests here in Northern Arizona.

As you would expect, the terrain varies quite a bit within the forest area. There are places that are relatively flat, with meadows, or parks as they are called around here, interspersed throughout the area.  I like to hunt the edges of the parks, on back a couple of hundred yards into the forest.

Sometimes I'll come across a game trail, and then I'll hunt along, and to the sides of that for a couple of hours.  One of the other things that adds a lot of fun to the hunts, is the fact that there are a couple of types of ground squirrels, and a chipmunk that also inhabit these forests, and it's fun to hunt them at the same time I'm after the Abert's Tree Squirrels. 

There are also areas that are fairly steep, and thickly populated with Gambel's Oaks, as well as the Ponderosa Pines.  I find that both the steep, or flat areas can produce squirrels, but I prefer different guns for the two different types of terrain.

In the Areas where the terrain is steep, and the fact that the shots there are rarely over 40/50 yards, I want a fairly light, fast handling gun along on those hunts. In those areas that I hunt, that are more open and flat, I prefer a gun that has a bit more weight, with plenty of power to take these big squirrels out to 70/80 yards.

My choices this year, are going to be my .22 cal, AA 410 CRBSL carbine, for the light gun, and my .22 cal Benjamin Marauder, for the longer range hunts.  Both guns are superbly accurate, and I've used both to take Abert's squirrels with in the past.

In the Marauder, I'll be shooting the Beeman Kodiak 21 grain Pellets, and in the AA 410 CRBSL, I'll be shooting the 16 grain JSB Exact Jumbo's.

Both guns have 5-15x40mm Bushnell Legends, with mildot reticles, mounted on them. I run the scopes at 8x for all of my hunting.   

Since I last shot them, I've done some scope and mount swapping on both guns, so I need to shoot them on paper, and make sure they are properly sighted in for the task at hand.  I've gone from high mounts, to mediums on both guns, and prefer how the scopes come to my eye with the mediums.

With the CRBSL Carbine, I'll zero her at 40 yards, and with the Marauder, I'll zero her at 60 yards.  Then shoot my over and unders with each gun.  Note those on a card that I tape to the stock of each rifle, and I'll be ready for opening day.

The plan is to get both guns out into the forest next week, get the sight-in work taken care of, and just for the heck of it, since I just cleaned the barrels on both guns, try some of the H&N, Baracuda Green, non-lead pellets in them, and see how they shoot.

As usual, I've put camera mounts on both guns, with the idea of video taping some of the hunting action in real time.

Should be a lot of fun. 

Large male Abert's tree squirrel, taken with .22 Marauder a couple of years ago.

 

WOW! How Time Flies - Two Years With My .22 Discovery - One Year With My .22 Marauder

I cannot believe that I've had my Benjamin Discovery for two years already.  It has been a super little rifle.  It isn't shiny, and doesn't have a highly polished deep blue finish, but what it does have is accuracy in spades.  This little rifle is what I call a "field grade hunter."  

To be honest, when I decided to buy one, I wasn't expecting much more than average accuracy for the price.  I've got some high dollar guns, and know what an accurate rifle can do.  I'm thinking that minute of ground squirrel at 40/50 yards would be very good for the money.

Much to my surprise, the thing shoots bug holes at 30 yards with the 15.9 grain JSB's.  It does the same thing at 50 yards with the tin DYNAMIC PCP-2's, and I've taken ground squirrels to 80+ yards with it.  I've also used it to hunt prairie dogs with, and it is one of my favorite tree squirrel rifles.  Light, accurate, fast handling, and easy to carry all day at the 8000, to 9000 foot elevations that I hunt tree squirrels at.  What's not to like!

The reliability of this little rifle has been flawless.  As you can see in the above picture, I like it so much, I dropped it into a custom stock that cost more than the gun.

A year after I purchased my Discovery, I purchased one of the newly introduced Benjamin Marauders in .22.  I got mine out of the first months production in 2009.  I purchased both guns through Tim at Mac1 Airguns. Why?  Because I like the pre-sale prep that he does on the guns.  Things like cutting a new crown, and polishing the leade into the rifling.  

In life, I pretty much march to the beat of my own drum, and man am I glad that I do. When the Marauder was first announced, and the Discovery too for that matter, the airgun snobbers went to work bashing the guns and Crosman like mad. When some guns started producing groups equal to, and in many cases better than some of the high dollar Euroguns, the bashers about had apoplexy, and went into overdrive.

Had I listened to the fertilizer grade nonsense that these guys were spewing in massive quantities, and in some cases continue to spew, I would have missed out on owning two fantastic field grade hunting rifles.  

Neither the Discovery or Marauder are expensive rifles, but the pleasure and fun I've had from owning and hunting with both guns is priceless.

My Marauder shoots dime sized groups at 50/55 yards, and has been death on prairie dogs and tree squirrels on every hunt she has been on.

  

She isn't shiny, if I want to look at myself while hunting I'll carry a pocket mirror, and doesn't have a AAA  grade walnut stock, but what she does have is power, accuracy in spades, an excellent adjustable trigger, and is as quiet as I can ask for.  Again, I like mine so much I dropped her into a custom stock.

If you are interested in a great value in a field grade PCP hunting rifle, check out the Discovery, or Benjamin Marauders. I just recently added a Marauder in .25 caliber to my quiver of airguns, and just like my .22, she is kicking butt and taking names.

It's truly amazing how fast time flies, and I'm glad I bought the Discovery and Marauder when I did. I've had some very memorable hunts with both rifles, and those kinds of memories are priceless and last a lifetime.

Mac 1 Prepped - Benjamin Marauder - Chrono Test - With the DYNAMIC PCP-2 - 14.5 Grain Tin Pellets.

 

Last Fall, I switched from shooting lead pellets in my .22 caliber Marauder, to shooting DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.  I knew how effective these tin pellets were on ground squirrels in California, but I wanted to see how they would perform on the big Abert's tree squirrels here in Arizona.

At the time I made the switch, I didn't bother to set up the chronograph and get a velocity on the PCP-2's, I simply sighted in with them and went hunting. Based on the fact that the rifle was launching the heavier 18 grain JSB's at an average of 867 fps, I expected that the 14.5 grain PCP-2's  would be launching in the low 900 fps range somewhere.

Yesterday, I set up the chrono and ran a few 30 shot strings, just to see what the gun, pellet combo were doing.

Gun: BENJAMIN MARAUDER

Fill Pressure: 3000 psi

Pellet: DYNAMIC 14.5 grn, PCP-2 Tin, 5.54mm head dia. 

Hi -    926 fps

Lo -    907 fps

Avg. - 916 fps

ES -      19 fps

FPE -    27

Shots - 30

The gun and pellets performed really well on the big Abert's tree squirrels during last Fall's hunting season.  I'm looking forward to hunting ground squirrels with this combo in California this spring.  This will be the first time I will have had an opportunity to use the Marauder for hunting California Ground Squirrels.  As usual, I'll have a video camera mounted on the rifle scope to capture each shot. 

The following pictures show the accuracy of the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets when shot from my Mac1 Prepped Marauder.  These groups were shot from over the hood of my 4Runner, just before heading out on a hunt. There was almost no wind.

Abert's squirrel taken with my Marauder and PCP-2 tin pellet.

 
    

 

Six Months With My Mac1 Prepped - .22 cal - Benjamin Marauder

We've got a couple of feet of snow on the ground in the forest areas here, so tree squirrel hunting is pretty much a wrap for this year. I thought I would recap my experience with my Mac1 prepped Marauder, since it has been my primary hunting gun over the past 6 months.

I got the gun in early July from Tim at Mac1 Airguns. I immediately mounted a scope, and was anxious to try her out with the 18.1 grain JSB Jumbo Heavy pellets. The results were outstanding to say the least.

Five shots, 18.1 grain JSB's at 55 yards.

 

Next, I adjusted the gun to run on a 3000 psi fill. After much experimentation, I settled on a velocity average of 867 fps. This gave me 30 shots at 30 fpe with only a 20 fps extreme spread. When I sighted her in at 55 yards, she was dropping the 18.1 grain JSB's into dime sized groups.

I hunted prairie dogs, and ground squirrels with her all summer. Prairie dogs at 80 and 90 yards were dropped with boring regularity. I am thrilled with the performance of this rifle. It holds its own very nicely against some of my Euro guns costing three and four times more money.

Is the wood as nice?  No.  Is the finish as refined? No. Is the trigger as good? You bet, and even better than a few of my Euro guns. Is the accuracy up there with the high dollar Euro guns?  With my gun it is, and this is where the rubber meets the road for me.

Shiny metal, and pretty wood don't make a gun shoot any better. Those are pride of ownership attributes, and I like them as much as the next guy, but if a gun can't shoot accurately, then I don't want it, I don't care how pretty it might be. My Marauder is SUPERB in the accuracy department.

When the tree squirrel season opened here in October, I wanted to see how the gun would perform on them shooting the DYNAMIC brand PCP-2 tin pellets.

I made the switch from lead, and sighted her in with the 14.5 grain tin PCP-2's, with the 5.54mm head diameter. I was very happy to see that she was shooting the tin pellets every bit as well as the lead JSB's.

Five shots at 50 yards with DYNAMIC PCP-2's

I started hunting the Abert's tree squirrels with her, and at the same time, I also hunted ground squirrels and chipmunks. They are all legal to hunt in the same area, at the same time.

The performance of both gun and pellets was excellent. Anything I got the crosshairs on was in deep trouble, including the very small chipmunks. Even at 50/60 yards. This gun is accurate.

The reliability factor on this rifle is second to none.  There has never been a single hiccup of any kind.  The magazine functions flawlessly every time, which is more than I can say for my AA 410's and FX 2000. I really like those guns as well, but all three of them will occasionally have magazine indexing issues.  

The more I hunt with my Marauder, the more impressed I am with the value of this PCP. I didn't care for the factory stock, so I put an after market stock on her, and it has become one of my favorite rifles.

If interested, touch base with Tim at Mac1, (310-327-3581) Mon-Tues, and Fri-Sat, and he can give you the full skinny on what he does to the Marauders he sells.

  

Cabin Fever and A Stroll With My Marauder - Leads To A Furball For the Pot

 

One day last week, I had cabin fever real bad, so I decided to throw my Marauder in the back of the 4Runner, and run outside of town a few miles to see what I might see. I took a Forest Service road that I have been meaning to go down, but keep driving by, on my way to other places. 

I drove in about two miles, found a nice looking, fairly flat area, and decided to go for a short hike. Not really hunting, more like, just wandering around in the cool afternoon air and sun. The temp was in the low forties. I came across this stock/game tank, and the ice had not melted off of it, even though it was about three in the afternoon. 

I did see a bit of squirrel sign, so I decided to become a little more alert in my stroll around the area, who knows, I just might get lucky. About forty five minutes into my hike, I see an Abert's squirrel run up a tree and stop on a low limb.  He was at about 55 yards. I dropped a 14.5 grain tin pellet into his ear hole. Made my day. 

Sometimes, not really having a plan can pay off. I mostly just wanted to get out for a stroll, and a bit of fresh air, but I find it hard to do that without taking along one of my airguns. 

There's only about three more weeks of tree squirrel season left out here. I hope to get out a few more times before it's over.

 

Mini Sniping Chipmunks - With the Mac1 Prepped - Benjamin Marauder .22 cal.

This is from a hunt I did a couple of weeks ago and forgot to post.  Yesterday, I had a chance to get my Marauder, shooting the PCP-2 tin pellets, out for a romp in the woods. 

A couple of months ago, while scouting for tree squirrel hunting territory, I came across an area that had some tree squirrel sign in it, not a lot, but what it did have, was chipmunks in good abundance. 

These guys are classified as vermin here, and legal to hunt with airguns. I decided to head back out there yesterday, and put in a day of mini-sniping chippers. 

These things are extremely challenging to hunt around here. The forest is very open, so the ranges you are dealing with are similar to what you encounter while tree squirrel hunting, only these guys are about one tenth the size of an Abert's Tassel Eared Tree Squirrel. 

The other very challenging aspect of hunting these guys is the fact that they are almost always on the move. You don't have a lot of time to set up for the shot. The vast majority of my shots, were made while tracking the critter with my scope, and waiting for that few second pause they make occasionally, to check out their surroundings. 

The ranges on the ones I got, ran from about 30 yards out to around 55. I try for head shots, but anywhere from the heart lung area up, is instantly fatal on these guys. It's great practice for hunting tree squirrels. The chipper's  heads are maybe the size of a quarter. If you are regularly connecting on chipmunks at 50 plus yards, accurately placing a pellet on a tree squirrel's head at the same distance is no problem. 

I found the Marauder, and PCP-2 tin pellets were more than capable for the task at hand. 

When originally scouting the area, I didn't see a lot of tree squirrel sign, but there was some. During the days mini furball sniping adventure, I didn't see a single Abert's tree squirrel, but, as I was winding the hunt down, and working my way back to my rig, I spotted this guy sitting on this stump. He was facing directly at me at a lasered, 59 yards. I put the horizontal crosshair on top of his head, with the vertical hair just touching the right side, to allow for a light right to left breeze, and dropped a PCP-2 tin pellet right between his front legs. The pellet was a complete pass through. Instant lights out. 

After hunting and shooting the mini-furballs all afternoon, this guy looked to be about the size of a house cat in my scope.

Airgun Hunting - Exploring - and Four Wheeling Into New Country - Makes For A Memorable Fall Day

The Coconino National Forest is approximately 1,856,000 acres in size. Where we live, we are surrounded by it. When I think about going tree squirrel hunting, my question is always.... where do I want to try next.

I had been studying my Forest Service map, and decided to try a spot about 30 miles east of town that showed it had a few natural springs in the area. We have had an ongoing drought here, so squirrel hunting around a source of water can prove to be productive.  The challenge is, you never know if these springs are wet or dry until you get there and find them.

I keep meaning to stop by the local Forest Service office and ask, but I think this forest was logged about 100 years or so ago. Looking at the condition of the stumps that remain, it was obviously done many, many, years ago.

The good news in that, is the fact that the back country is crisscrossed with old logging roads, and they give access into some fairly remote areas to hunt. A four wheel drive is a good thing to have when exploring these spots. These old roads can very from fairly decent quality, to absolutely "rock crawling" rough. There was a time when I would seek out the really nasty 4x4 tracks just to see if I could make it down them, but these days, I pretty much stick to the kinder gentler four wheeling opportunities.

Some days I will hunt cross country from my jump off point, but on this day I decided to hunt along one of these old logging roads. According to the elevation information on the map, I would be hunting at about the 8000 foot level.

The spot that I had chosen for the days hunt was about 8 miles back off of the paved County road. I really liked what I saw while four wheeling into the area. It was made up of a good number of mature old growth Ponderosa Pines, mixed with younger trees and some stands of Gambel's Oaks.

On my way into the area I was going to hunt, I started seeing squirrel sign here and there. In addition to eating the pine seeds, from cones that they take apart, they also peel and eat the under bark, from the stems that hold the needle clusters to the branch.

The telltale needle clusters and peeled stems, are a sure sign that an Abert's squirrel or two are in the area.

Needle clusters with stems, on the tree.

Needle clusters, and peeled stems on the ground. An Abert's squirrel is here somewhere.

The weather was absolutely perfect. No wind, the temperature was in the high forties, and the sky was bright and clear. The smell of the pine scented cool air, is one of natures real treats.

I got out my usual set of gear, and either hung it around my neck...bino's and rangefinder...or hung it on my belt...camera...SPOT GPS locator...Colt 1911A1 .45ACP...extra mag of ammo for the Colt...and a Beeman pellet pouch that holds my extra loaded Marauder magazines.

I'm going to be hunting with my Mac1 prepped, .22 cal Benjamin Marauder. I load a mag into her, grab my Stoney Point Bipod, and start to slowly hunt down the old logging road. I have never been in an area where the Abert's squirrels are found in great numbers, so I have to get out and dig them out. I do this by slowly hunting through an area, and looking and listening for squirrel sign.

I had been hunting for close to an hour, when I heard a squirrel muttering in the trees up ahead of me. The best way I can describe the sound, is to say it's a quick bark, immediately followed by a chortle or chuckle sound. This gets repeated several times. It always sounds to me like they are muttering something about my parentage.

At this point I really slowed down, and slipped along trying to pinpoint the exact tree that this guy was in. They will sit stone still, and still mutter obscenities while watching you slowly hunt along. I finally had the tree located that I was sure he was in. I shot a quick range on it, about half way to the top, and it came back at 52 yards. This would be close enough for my purposes.

Next, I started glassing the tree from bottom to top, limb by limb, trying to spot the whiner. About 40 feet up I see him proned out on a limb, laying in the shadow of the tree.

I'm shooting the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets in my .22 cal Marauder. There is a cluster of pine needles partially blocking his head, so I opt for a heart lung shot. The rifle is sighted in for 50 yards, so I just settled the rifle on my bipod, put the crosshairs on its rib cage, lightly touched the trigger, and the rest is history. 

When the pellet connected, I heard the usual THWACCKK, and he rolled to his left and dropped off of the limb. After falling about 15 feet, he hung up in the crotch of one of the other branches. I thought to myself," %@#&@ I hate it when this happens", and it seems to happen a lot.

As I'm looking at the situation, and wondering if I can knock him loose with another shot or two, he gives one final kick, and knocks himself out of the tree. Thank you, I appreciate that.

When I get over to him, he's laying right at the base of the tree.  I took a picture, put him in my game pouch, and started hunting back toward my rig to get some lunch.

After a bite to eat and a bottle of Gatorade, I decided the afternoon hunt would be to follow along the old logging road in the opposite direction from the morning's hunt.

One of the things that was very apparent, was the fact that the ground squirrels and chipmunks were down for their winter siesta. Two weeks earlier, and they were everywhere, today, not a one.

I had been hunting for awhile, when I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye. There are a goodly number of blue jays, and woodpeckers in this forest, and they both forage for food on the forest floor.  I am forever getting faked out by these guys jumping around, and making me think, initially, that it's a squirrel. Especially when only seen out of the corner of my eye.

When I turned to look at the spot where I thought the movement was, I didn't see a thing. No squirrel, and no birds. Hmm, as I'm starting to think maybe I was just seeing things, a cluster of pine needles comes floating down out of one of the trees in front of me.

SHOW TIME!  There is obviously a squirrel somewhere in that tree. Now the challenge is to find him. I shot a quick range to the crown of the tree, and it came back at 63 yards. I rested my marauder on the bipod, and with my left hand, using my binoculars, I started slowly searching the tree for Mr. furball.

It didn't take long to spot him. He wasn't trying to hide, he was climbing out onto the end of a limb, about three fourths of the way up the tree. As I watched him, he clipped a cluster of pine needles, then clipped the stem off and headed back to the thicker part of the limb to start pealing and eating the inner bark from the stem.

He was three fourths of the way up, on the right side of the tree in the middle of this picture, surrounded by blue sky.

He was facing me.  I lined up my shot to try and put a pellet right between his front legs. When the shot broke, there was absolutely zero reaction from the squirrel. Okay, let's take a closer look at what is going on wind wise. I don't feel a thing where I'm shooting from, but when I closely watch the needles on the tree, there is some slight movement up where he is. I watch it for a bit, and determine that what little wind there is, is running from right to left.

I adjust my hold a bit to the right and send another 14.5 grain tin pellet on its way. THWACCKK! YEAH BABY!  Off the limb backwards he goes. He hits just about every branch below him on the way down. Tumbling and twisting off of each one. There is a nice soft "thump" when he lands in the pine needles, DOA.  

Nice. I put him in my game pouch and decide to call it quits. It has been a beautiful day. I got back into some new country to me, had a successful airgun hunt, and really enjoyed being out among 'em.

It was about 3:30 PM, the shadows were getting longer, the temp was dropping, and I still had a slow, 40 minute, 8 mile bouncy 4x4 trip back to the pavement, so I packed up my gear and headed on down the dusty trail.

Life is good. 

   

  

  

 

 

 

  

  

  

Mac1 Prepped - Benjamin Marauder .22 cal - Shoots DYNAMIC PCP-2 Tin Pellets Extremely Well

I want to be able to hunt ground squirrels in California this coming Spring with my Mac1 .22 cal Marauder. The two ranches I hunt have completely banned the use of lead ammunition, including airgun pellets.

No big deal, because I have several PCP's that shoot the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin alloy pellets really well. As in, as good as lead, but I want to hunt California this coming year with my .22 cal. Marauder. No idea how she shoots tin. She shoots the JSB 18 grain lead absolutely lights out. I've tried the JSB 14.5 grain Express in her and they are very mediocre. I decided it was time to find out if she would shoot a 14.5 grain tin pellet.

The PCP-2 tin pellets are available in two head diameters, 5.54mm, and 5.56mm. My rifles prefer the 5.54mm head diameter version.

The DYNAMIC 5.54mm diameter, PCP-2 tin pellets, run the same 14.5 grain weight as the JSB Exact Express. Being made of tin, they are longer for the same weight, so I hoped that might make a difference. WOW, WHAT A DIFFERENCE. These things are shooting lights out in my Marauder.

Experience has shown me, that switching to tin pellets from shooting lead, without a thorough barrel cleaning, is just wasting tin pellets. The tin pellets do not want to see any lube or lead residue left in the barrel from shooting lead pellets.

I gave the barrel a good cleaning with Beeman MP5, and then shot a dozen tin pellets into the pellet trap to condition the bore to the PCP-2 tin pellets.

The patches that came out of the barrel while cleaning prior to making the switch to the DYNAMIC PCP-2 tin pellets.

I then set up my portable shooting stand in the garage, and with the back door to the house open, and shooting down the entry hall, and across the laundry room, I can get just a hair under 20 yards indoors.

The results are better than I could have hoped for. All groups are 5 shots. The Marauder is stacking these guys at that distance. 

The plan is to get her out next week, do a final sight-in at 50 yards, and get after the big Abert's tree squirrels we have in my neck of the woods.

Airguns of Arizona is the importer of the DYNAMIC tin pellets.