VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Part Two Of My Last Hunt...The Search For High Country...Ground Squirrel Habitat Continues...My Disco Strikes Again.

Game tank with tree stand.

If you haven't read the first part of this story, you may want to go over to the sidebar, and click on, "Scouting The High Country For Ground Squirrel Habitat, Took The .22 Disco Along."

After finishing lunch, and putting things away, I headed back to the main 4x4 track, that I was following up the side of the mountain.

According to my Forest Service Map, the 4x4 track that I was on, dead ended at a game tank that's about seven miles from the paved county road. Since I was already about four miles in, I decided to go to the end, to see what I might find along the way.

I went another couple of miles without seeing any likely ground squirrel country.  At this point, I was at about 9000 foot elevation.  The road made a large lazy uphill "S" turn.  When I hit the top of the "S" I came out into a nice small valley that was about 300 yards long, by maybe 100/150 yards wide.

Naked eye, I could see ground squirrels on stumps and deadfall.  I grabbed my FS map, and marked an "S" on it, for squirrels at that spot, and just kept on going.  I wanted to see the game tank at the end of the road, and the country around it.  Those can be some good areas for hunting tree squirrels in the fall.

When I got to the end of the road, there was the tank, and I was surprised to see a tree stand mounted nearby. It was obvious that it had been there for many, many years. The locked chain, that was holding it to the tree, had started to embed itself into the bark.

Since this was the end of the road, I decided to get out my canvas chair, sit in the shade, have a gatorade, and take in the sights and sounds of the forest.  While sitting there, a couple of Abert's tree squirrels came out of the woods, and headed for the game tank.  Once over the berm I lost sight of them, but it sure made me think about coming back in the fall, and using that tree stand to my advantage.

Also, while sitting there, I spotted what looked to me like a ground squirrel sitting on a stump, to the left rear of the tank.  My binos confirmed that the bump on the stump, was in fact a ground squirrel.

I slipped over to my vehicle to retrieve my Disco, range finder, and bipod.  The squirrel ranged right at 52 yards.  The wind was almost zero. I rested my right shoulder against a tree, and  settled the Disco onto my bipod.  Since I'm sighted in dead on at 40 yards, I let a little daylight show between the horizontal crosshair and the top of the squirrels head. When the crosshairs were nice and steady, I launched the pellet.  

The 16 grain JSB center punched the furballs skull, and it dropped out of sight.  When I got over to it, it was DRT behind the stump.  Below is a picture of the squirrel, with a quarter laying on it, to give perspective to the size of these squirrels heads.

To consistently make head shots on these guys, at these ranges, you need a gun that will group its shots well inside that quarter, more like inside a nickel, at 50/60 yards, and my .22 Disco does that with ease.

Below is a pic, looking back toward my vehicle. The tree to the left rear, by my 4Runner, is the one I made the shot from.  This little rifle just never lets me down.

I hung around for a little while longer, and while I was sitting there, another Abert's squirrel came out of the forest and headed over to the game tank.  For sure, I will be back to this spot when tree squirrel season opens in October.

On my way out, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of some of the ground squirrels, that I saw sitting on stumps and blowdowns, in that small valley that I passed through on my way in.

These guys hibernate in late October to early November, and this one wasn't wasting any time filling up his underground larder.  He looked like he had a marble in each cheek pouch.

This next one has a great view of the area.  He needs to be careful though, because Redtail Hawks love to pick them off when they're sitting out like that, and so do I.

This last guy looks like he's enjoying the serenity and solitude. 

Exploring this area was a fun adventure, and well worthwhile.  When the high temps and humidity drop, I will be back. 

 

 

 

Scouting The High Country - For Ground Squirrel Habitat - Took The .22 Disco Along

High country park/meadow that I passed by while scouting.  This is at about 8500 foot elevation.

I mentioned awhile back, that it has been too darned warm and humid to get out and do much ground squirrel hunting.  At least for me.  But rather than waste the days, I've been scouting the forest, in my air conditioned 4x4, for new ground squirrel habitat.

I've got about 4,000,000 acres of forest to hunt in, but only a small percentage of that holds ground squirrels.  It takes some time and effort, to get out into the woods, and locate those areas that hold pockets of squirrels.

I really enjoy the exploring part of the hunt.  It gets me into areas of the forest that I've never seen, and that's always an adventure.

This time, I headed about 35 miles east of town, and took an old logging road that headed up the side of one of the mountains.  No way to tell much about anything from looking at maps.  You really have to get out there and put some rubber on the road.

As I headed up the 4x4 track, the immediate countryside looked great for deer and elk, but not much happening as far as ground squirrels were concerned.  We have a very large deer and elk population around these parts, and I see a lot of both while prowling these back country roads.

The ground squirrels, on the other hand, have a very specific type of terrain that they prefer.  It can't be to densely forested, and there needs to be a population of young, mature, and medium aged pine trees.  They can't be to close together, and there needs to be a goodly number of 80 to 100 year old rotting stumps for them to build their dens under. A scattering of old blowdowns and piles of deadfall won't hurt either. The terrain doesn't need to be real flat, some slope is okay, but overly steep doesn't seem to work for these guys at all.

I was about three miles from the pavement, still climbing, and hadn't really seen any country that looked promising at all.  At this point, my mind starts playing the usual games like, "well this is going to turn out to be a bust, let's turn around and try another spot."  

Well, I've been doing this long enough to know, to just shine that kind of thinking.  You never know what will be around the next bend, or over the next rise.  Once again, ignoring my party pooper brain paid off.

A short time later, I came over a small rise, and off to my left was a nice area, with all of the attributes that I was looking for.  It was fairly open, and ran about 500/600 yards long by about 200/300 yards wide.

I put my binoculars on the forest, and immediately saw these two sitting on a stump, in the shade, watching me.

A different 4x4 track took off from the one that I was on, and headed west down the middle of the area I was looking at. I hung a left, and decided to see what I might see. Man was that ever a good decision. There were squirrels sitting on every third stump.  Below are some pictures I took while slowly driving and glassing the area.

When I stopped for this picture, there was a squirrel sitting on each of the three stumps.  By the time I got the camera up, the one in the middle had bailed.

One each on the left, and right stumps.

Went another 50 yards, and this loner was out sunning himself.

Another 75 yards, and I spot this guy working on his tan.

This is looking really, really good.  Another 50 yards and I spot the pair below. One on the stump at the left, and another on the stump on the right.  All of these squirrels were within 40/50 yards of the road. I could also see others, that were 80 to 100+ plus yards away.

WOW! This was way above my expectations.  This is the best ground squirrel area that I have found so far.  By now, it was getting close to mid day, so I pulled in under a nice big Ponderosa Pine, for shade, and decided to break for lunch.  I got out my folding canvas chair, broke out the $5 footlong I picked up on my way out of town, and started enjoying a good sandwich. 

It was very warm and humid.  Humid, like around 80 percent.  Not the kind of weather that makes me want to hunt, but I still enjoy looking around me to see what might be happening squirrel wise.  In addition to the sandwich, I also got out my binos, range finder, and .22 Discovery. One never knows what one might see.

I finished the sandwich, and grabbing my binoculars, gave the area a quick once over. It never freakin' fails.  There was a big old pile of deadfall, that I had been looking at while eating, and when I put it in the glass, I see a ground squirrel sitting back in the shadows watching me.  I did not see it with my naked eye, but with the binos it really stood out. 

I zapped it with the range finder, and it gives me a range of 46 yards.  I picked up my Disco, chambered a 16 grain JSB, held a little high on the squirrels head, squeezed off the round, and what you see below was the result.  This little rifle is one deadly rig.

Needless to say, as soon as we get a break in the weather, I will be back up there putting the sneak on these guys.

Stay tuned.

 

A Trio Of Hawkes - Ready To Pounce On Small Game - And Varmints

L-R, Benjamin Discovery .22, FX Rapier .22, FX Whisper .22.   All with Hawke Panorama AO IR EV series scopes mounted.

A couple of months ago, I picked up one of the Hawke Panorama AO IR EV 4-12x40mm scopes for my Disco.  At the time, I was looking for a scope to replace the Bushnell Legend that I had mounted on her.  

The Legend is a nice scope, but I always found myself wishing that the crosshairs were a bit thinner, and that it would take a sunshade.  After some research, I settled on the Hawke Panorama AO IR EV series to meet my needs.  The Panorama series do not include a sunshade, but they are available as an add on accessory.

I've had the scope mounted on my Disco for a couple of months now, have had the rifle out on a half dozen ground squirrel hunts, and I am really pleased with the performance of this scope.  So pleased that I ordered up a couple more.  Another 4-12x40mm for my RWS Rapier, and a 4-12x50mm for my FX Whisper.

Below is a shot of the end of the box.  It shows the floating reticle. Hawke offers a couple of different reticle options on this model, I went with the half mildot.  Since the reticle is etched into glass, and not attached to the edge of a tube, there are no mechanical strength issues, and they can make it very fine.

These scopes have the front adjustable AO.  The third knob on the left side of the scope, is the on/off brightness control, for the illuminated reticle.  Using this control, you can choose either red or blue illumination. 

About half of my scopes are side focus, and the others have the front AO. I switch between the two types of focus adjustment, pretty much seamlessly. 

Above is the 4-12x40mm Hawke Panorama AO IR EV mounted on my Disco. At a length of 39 inches, this rifle is essentially carbine in size, and weighs 7.2 pounds as you see her. It's just a great size and weight to carry for hours while hunting either ground squirrels or tree squirrels.  

Above is my RWS Rapier.  I replaced a Leupold 3-9x33mm EFR scope, that was on her, with a 4-12x40mm Panorama AO IR EV.   I've had a love, hate, relationship with the Leupold for years.  It's a nice scope, but I'm always just a bit dissatisfied with the duplex crosshair, and the fact that it doesn't take a sunshade.  

After hunting with the Hawke Panorama on my Disco, I decided that the same scope on the Rapier, would be everything I was looking for.  Fine crosshair, sunshade, and a weight of only 17.3 ounces.  

At only 40 inches in length, this rifle is also carbine in size.  It weighs 8.5 pounds, but because of the excellent balance, seems lighter.

I needed a set of medium scope mounts for the Rapier, so I ordered a set of the Hawke's to try.  They are very nicely made, and are lined, to help minimize ring rash on the scope tube.   

Last, but not least, is my FX Whisper.  I've had a BSA scope mounted on her, and once again, I was not happy with the thickness of the crosshairs. The BSA probably has the thickest crosshairs of any of my scopes.  A perfect candidate to be replaced with a Panorama AO IR EV.  

I went with the 4-12x50mm Panorama for this rifle, simply because a scope with a large objective looks better on this gun.  Because of the height of the magazine, the use of high rings is a must.  A scope with a 40mm objective looks goofy on this rifle. How's that for some scope vanity.  LOL.

This rifle runs 42.25 inches in length, but only weighs a few ounces more than my Disco. The synthetic stock really keeps the weight down.

Next up, is to get the Rapier and Whisper sighted in with their new glass, and get ready to do some ground squirrel hunting with them.

Here recently, It has been too darned warm and humid to do any actual in the field hunting. Nothing like 85 degrees, and 85 percent humidity to kill my desire to do much hiking around.  For about another month, It's the monsoon season up here, and remains fairly warm and humid, especially humid.

Rather than waste the time though, I've been scouting new areas for ground squirrels. Riding around in my air conditioned 4x4 isn't bad at all.  Last week, I found a couple of really good spots.  In both areas, using my binoculars, I could see lots of squirrels sitting on stumps and deadfall.

Now, I just need to wait for the humidity to drop back down into the 20/30 percent range, and we'll be on the hunt.  I love hunting these guys in the deep forest.  There is just nothing like it. 

While scouting, I started taking some pictures of some of the squirrels I came across. Here's a couple of examples, shot from inside my vehicle.

As soon as I have some time, I'm going to post a story or two about the scouting experience.  It has been a blast, and time really well spent.  Plus I've had a chance to see a lot of really beautiful country.

Part II - Of My Last Ground Squirrel Hunt - Using My .22 Discovery

The slope area that I hunted back along.  It tops out onto a plateau.

Where I live, I'm surrounded by about 4 million acres of National Forest.  One of the challenges is to decide where to hunt next.  I enjoy the exploring all most as much as the hunting.  For this hunt I headed about thirty miles east of town, and took an old logging road that I hadn't been down yet.

There is a lot of forest out there that isn't good ground squirrel country, but if you get out and scout, you'll find some good spots.  One of my self imposed rules is, I never hunt the same area more than twice in a given year.  That spreads the hunting load, and also motivates me to explore and scout for new spots.

The first mile or so of the road that I chose, didn't look all that promising.  The pine trees were fairly young, small, and very, very close together. No sign of the area ever having been logged either.  I'm looking for areas that have a mix of young and old trees, not to close together, and preferably, having been logged over about 80 to 100 years ago. Ground squirrels love to build their dens under those old stumps.

As I got farther down the road though, the trees started to get larger, and the area became more open.  The good news was, I started to see a lot of old stumps that were left from the area having been logged many decades ago. Off to my right, the area opened up into a fairly flat basin. On my left, there was a gradual rise for about 150 yards, that topped out onto a flat plateau.  It also had a lot of old stumps.  Man, this spot was really looking promising. 

As I'm slowly driving, and checking out the area, a ground squirrel runs across the road in front of me.  Okay, I can take a hint, no question I'm going to stop and spend some time hunting this spot.

I drive along another two or three hundred yards, until the road starts to make a turn to the east.  The good looking area on my left, that I had just driven through, ran for maybe 600/800 yards. I decided to park and hunt along the slope back toward where I had just come from.

I got my gear out and ready to go.  I've been hunting my .22 cal Disco lately, and it has been a major blast.

The first thing I do after checking my zero, is to take a quick look around the area with my binoculars, to see if maybe any squirrels are showing themselves.  Nothing happening this time, so I start up the slope into the forest.

After about 40 yards, I stop and glass the area again.  BINGO!  Sure enough, sitting on a stump, partially concealed by the branches of a small pine, is ground squirrel number one.  My Leica 1200 ranger finder indicates 42 yards.  I'm sighted in dead on at 40, and there isn't much of a breeze, so for this shot I just hold a little high on its head and squeeze the trigger.  THWOCK......DRT, on the top of the stump.

First squirrel, DRT on stump, next to a four and a half inch long pocket knife, for size comparison.

After the successful shot, I did what I always do before heading over to the squirrel, and that is to glass the area again.  It's amazing how many times the sound of the gun going off, or the THWOCK of a pellet impacting a squirrel, will make other squirrels pop up to see what that sound was.  

The Discovery does not come with a moderator, so when it goes off, it has a bit of a bark.  To my ears, it's not anywhere near as loud as my .22lr rifles are, but still, it has a bit of a pop to it.  I love it, because it's just loud enough to peak the curiosity of any other squirrels that might be in the area, and many times they will expose themselves to see where the sound came from.

That's exactly what happened here.  As I'm glassing the area again, I spot another ground squirrel off to my left, sitting on a stump watching me, and better yet, there is a second one almost directly behind the first one, maybe ten yards farther out.

I shoot a range to the closest one, and it comes back at 45 yards.  I do the same to the second one, and it comes back at 57 yards. Now, in my experience, If I drop the one in front first, there is a real good chance that the one in the rear, seeing the one in front get hammered, is going rabbit on me.

It doesn't always work out, but I'm going to take the one in back first. There's a little left to right breeze working, so I nudge the verticle crosshair over to the left side of the furball, and move the horizontal crosshair to where there is about an inch of daylight showing between it and the top of the squirrels head.  I grabbed a couple of nice deep breaths, let the second one about half out, and sent the 16 grain JSB on her way.

NICE! At pellet impact, the furball rolled backwards off the top of the stump, and just as I had hoped would happen, the one on the stump in front of it was still there.  I fished another pellet out of the pouch I wear around my neck, racked the bolt open on the Disco, dropped the pellet into the receiver, closed the bolt and lined up on the second squirrel.  

We still had the same breeze working, so once again I held on the left edge, but this time for 45 yards, I just put the horizontal crosshair on the top of the squirrels head and squeezed the trigger.  Got the same result as the first two shots.  Another ground squirrel DRT.

Amazing,  I don't think five minutes had passed since I left my vehicle, and the Disco had dropped three squirrels.  I took a few minutes to gather them up for a quick photo-op. 

Squirrels taken at 42, 45, and 57 yards.

All shots taken within view of my vehicle.  This doesn't happen very often.

I finished up the photo-op, and continued slowly hunting along the slope. Sure enough, I had gone maybe 75 yards when I spot another squirrel on a stump at a lasered 49 yards. Missed him with the first shot, but he didn't budge, big mistake, and I dropped it with the second pellet.

By this time, it was mid afternoon and I was feeling pretty hot, so I decided to head back to my vehicle, grab a Gatorade, sit in the shade, and just chill for the rest of the afternoon. 

At this point in my life, hunts aren't so much about high body counts as much as they are about just being out in nature, with a favorite air rifle, doing what I love to do at a leisurely pace. Most of the time, I spend more time just taking in the sights and sounds of the forest, than I do actually hunting.

It was another really fun outing with my Disco.  This little rifle performs way above what you would expect, especially considering its low cost.

Squirrel below, taken at 49 yards.  I'm always impressed with how their colors are perfect for blending them into their surroundings.

As I was heading out to the area I was going to hunt, I passed this small group of elk crossing a shallow lake in the area.  They were a good 800+ yards away.  Never know what one might see around here.

The Benjamin Discovery PCP - Isn't Expensive - As Far As PCP's Go - But The Hunting Fun I have With This Rifle Is PRICELESS!!

Ground squirrel taken at 56 yards with my .22 cal Disco.

The last several times I've hunted ground squirrels, I've grabbed my .22 cal Discovery. Hunting with this compact rifle is just to much fun.  As a matter of fact, the amount of fun I have with it, is way out of proportion to the cost of this field grade hunter.  

I think the low cost, yet high level of hunting performance and consistent success I have with this compact PCP, are the things that make me appreciate it more, and more, every time I take it on a hunt.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good hunt with my more expensive, multi shot PCP's too, but there is just something about hunting with my field grade, single shot Disco, that gives me a greater sense of satisfaction.  

My more expensive guns are expected to do what they do, and do it well, no question. When I bought my Disco, because if its price, I expected to have to cut it a bit of slack. After all, just how good could a PCP in this price range really be?  I was thinking that if I could keep five shots in three quarters of an inch, to an inch or so at 40 yards, I'd be pretty happy.  

Man, was I pleasantly surprised.  How about five shots at forty yards that could be covered by a nickel, and many times by a dime.  It's no wonder I fell in love with this little rig.  I've had this compact rifle for a little over four years now, and it has become one of my favorite PCP's.

Last week, the local weather here in the mountains was in the mid to high seventies. Perfect weather for a couple of days of ground squirrel hunting.  I filled the Disco to 2000 psi, grabbed a tin of 16 grain JSB's, loaded my other hunting gear in my vehicle, and headed out to see what I might find.

Park area I hunted the perimeter of on day one.

On day one, I hunted a park area that was about 400 yards across.  I spent the afternoon hunting 50 to 100 yards around the inside perimeter of that entire area. The shots ranged from about 40 yards to just under 60. 

The last two shots of the afternoon were kind of special.  I had been hunting the perimeter of this park for a couple of hours, picking off a squirrel here and there, and was almost back to my vehicle. Frankly, I was thirsty, tired, and looking forward to getting out my folding canvas chair, breaking out a Gatorade and just sitting in the shade for awhile.

I was pretty much through hunting, and ready to call it a day, but for some reason, I decided to check out one last area off to my left, before I called it quits, and made a beeline for the Gatorade.

I quickly glassed the area, and when I did, I immediately spotted a ground squirrel sitting on the end of an old log, in the shade, watching me.  I shoot a range to it, and it comes back as 44 yards.  The wind was pretty much nil, so I just held on the top of the squirrel's head and touched off the shot. There was the telltale THWOCK and it rolled off the end of the log, DRT.  

As I'm taking all of this in through the scope, I can see another ground squirrel jump up on a stump to the rear of the log that I had just knocked this squirrel off of.  This'll do.  I shoot a quick range to it, and it comes back as 59 yards. There is just a hint of a light right to left breeze starting up.  I can just barely feel it in the hair on my arms, and my air tube mounted wind flag confirms it.

Tweaking the parallax on my scope, I hold on the right edge, to allow for the slight breeze, a bit high, to allow for the longer range, and launch the pellet.  I watched as it went right over the top middle of the squirrel's head.  I had the windage correct, but had held a fraction of an inch to high.  The squirrel didn't even flinch.  I loaded up another pellet, and making a very slight elevation correction, squeezed off another round. This one was a center punch, knocking the squirrel off of the top of the stump. Man I love this little rifle. 

I gathered up both squirrels, for a quick photo-op, and then headed for the Gatorade. As expected, it had turned out to be another fun afternoon hunting ground squirrels with my Disco. The grand total for the day was eight squirrels, and the .22 Disco did herself proud once again. She's a no frills field grade hunter, that in the accuracy department, hangs with some of my more expensive PCP's, and never ceases to amaze me. Just a great performing, inexpensive, effective, and fun gun to hunt with.  

Last two squirrels of the day, taken at 44 and 59 yards respectively.

Day two was another fun hunt with the Disco.  I'll post the details of that hunt as soon as I have time.

 

 

Benjamin Discovery .22 - Just Getting Back To Basics - and A Reminder Of My Original Benjamin Pump Pellet Rifle - From Back In About 1955

Benjamin Discovery, .22 cal time machine.

My Discovery .22, takes me back to my youth, when I was growing up in the forests of Western Washington in the mid fifties.  It was about 1955/56 when I was 13/14, that I was given a used and abused Benjamin, .22 cal pump pellet rifle.

I remember that it had what is called a "tootsie roll" pump handle.  The gun didn't work, and didn't have a front sight.  My stepdad was a machinist by trade, and agreed to give me a hand to see if we could get the gun working.  He took the pump arm assembly apart, and it was obvious that the leather seals were shot.  He made new ones out of the leather from an old work boot that was laying around the basement. He soaked them in oil over night, and the next day reassembled the gun.

He handed it to me and says, "give her four or five pumps, and let's see what happens." I did, and I could tell by the resistance, that she was pumping and holding air.  Next he says, "point it at the woodpile and pull the trigger."  When I did, we both about peed our pants.  We were down in our small basement, and man that was loud.  It caught us both by surprise.  

Talk about fond memories.  Writing this, reminded me of the emotion I felt when the gun fired, and I think I just smiled a smile, almost as big as the one I made back all of those decades ago.  At the time, to say that I was beside myself with excitement, would have been a huge understatement.  I was jumping around and spinning like an out of control pogo stick.

The next thing my stepdad said was, "let's get a front sight on this thing." The barrel was made of brass, and pretty much all of the black paint that had once been applied to it was gone.  At the time, I had a Daisy Red Ryder "BB" gun.  He says to me, "if you can find one, bring me a copper plated "BB."  That was not a problem, I had lots of them.

Next up he got out this huge soldering iron, and heated it up.  I watched in awe, as he cleaned the end of the barrel.  Using a couple thin pieces of wood that he handed me, I held the "BB" in place as he soldered it to the end of the barrel.  When the solder cooled, I had me a bead front sight. The only problem was, it wasn't top dead center.  I didn't care, I couldn't wait to shoot the rifle, and the off center "BB" front sight would work just fine.

With that taken care of, I was off for a quick bicycle trip to our friendly neighborhood Western Auto Store. That was as close as we got to a real gun shop in my little corner of the world.  The important thing was, they carried .22 caliber Benjamin brand pellets.

I think I must have set a new land speed record getting those pellets home on my bike. I dumped it on its side next to the house, and was in the basement before the wheels had stopped turning.

Now for the moment of truth.  The gun had this neat little bolt action that inserted the pellet into the breach of the barrel.  I dropped a pellet into the receiver, closed the bolt, pumped her five times, and pointing the muzzle at the end of an old piece of cedar log that was in the basement, pulled the trigger.  

I don't remember the shot being all that loud, but what I do remember, like it was yesterday, was the hole that appeared in the end of that piece of cedar, and not only that, but I couldn't even see the end of the pellet. Do the same thing with my "BB" gun, and the "BB" would be sitting right there in the end of the wood.  I could even dig it out if I wanted to, and sometimes did, depending on how the "BB" budget was looking.

Oh man, I knew that I had just entered a whole new realm of hunting and shooting capability. Compared to my Daisy, this thing had POWER to spare.  The next thing that I discovered was, it had a rifled barrel, and accuracy like I had never seen in my young life. Next to my bicycle, that gun became my most prized possession in the whole world.

I'll cut to the chase here, and just say that some of my fondest memories of growing up during those years, were the fantastic days I spent afield hunting with that little pellet rifle.  We lived on the poor side of the tracks, and having enough money for much of anything was always a challenge. I fished a lot, and the catfish, bluegills, and trout I caught were always welcome table fare, but what I was proudest of, were the critters that  I harvested for our table while hunting with my hand me down Benjamin pellet rifle.  My folks thought I was Daniel Boone, and so did I. LOL.

It didn't take me long to learn where to hold, using that crooked front sight, to hit what I was aiming at.  I also learned a lot about hold over and kentucky windage.   

Hunting tree squirrels, quail, and bullfrogs was the norm.  The bull frogs were the size of a pie pan. They were huge, and the legs were awesome eating.  You don't even hear about folks eating frogs legs these days. Except for maybe in a high dollar French Restaurant.

Anyway, that little Benjamin rifle taught me a lot about a lot of different things. Especially how to start shooting well.  The things that I learned about myself, and the out-of-doors, as well as the field craft that I learned while hunting with that little gun have served me a lifetime, and to this day, are priceless.

When I heard that Crosman was coming out with the Benjamin Discovery PCP rifle, I knew I was going to have to get one, if for no other reason than the connection it would give me to my youth.  The Disco isn't a self contained pumper, like my original Benjamin was, but it can be pump filled with the external hand pump that is available for it.  I fill mine from a high pressure tank.

Like my original Benji pump, the Disco is a single shot, with a neat little bolt action, and I like that.  It's a compact rifle, light and powerful, and I like that too.  There is just something about this little gun that makes me feel like I'm 13 or 14 again, and that's a really fun thing to experience all of these decades later.

I had her out into the local forest, on a ground squirrel hunt a couple of times last week, and I felt like I had gone back in time to 1955.  A 69 year old 14 year old, just slipping through the woods alone, with an amazing little rifle in my hands, aware of how complicated many things in life have become, over the past decades, yet also knowing, that when I've got my trusty little Benjamin pellet rifle along on a hunt, nothing much has changed at all.  At least for those few hours.  

All things considered, Benjamin makes a very inexpensive time machine. I highly recommend it to those of you who might relate.

Ground squirrel taken with my Benjamin pellet rifle/time machine, while traveling back in time for a few hours last week.

 

Thanks to my Benjamin pellet rifle, Daniel Boone is alive and well.  Life is good.

 

 

     

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.   

 

Hydro? - I Don't Need No Stinkin' Hydro...............Yet

I have two 88 cubic foot 4500 psi tanks, and just remembered, that April was the last month I could get one of them filled before it needed a fresh hydro test.  I forgot to do that, but that's okay, because I have a couple of guns that run on less than 3000 psi fills.

The tank is currently down to 3100 psi.  The good news is, my Marauder pistol runs on 2650 psi fills, and my Discovery rifle, runs on 2000 psi fills, so I'm just going to designate this tank for use with those two guns until it's down to 2000 psi, and then I'll jump through the hoops to get it hydro tested. 

My other tank still has about a year left on it before it needs to go in for hydro testing, so I'll designate that one for use only with my guns that run on 3000 psi fills.

So why not just run everything off of the tank with the current hydro, and get the other one in to be tested?  Because I just don't want to mess with it right now.  I'm having way too much fun hunting ground squirrels with my P-Rod, and I can still use the air left in the expired tank to fill the P-Rod dozens of times.  That equals a lot of shooting, and a bunch of ground squirrels that will now have something in common with this tank.  They'll all be expired.  Sorry couldn't resist.

And not only that, but I don't want to waste $5 bucks worth of air, when that $5 bucks could go for a Subway foot long sandwich.  Have I got my priorities straight or what? LOL.

When the tank gets down to 2650 psi left in it, I'll just switch to shooting my Discovery rifle, that runs on 2000 psi fills, and just keep on keeping on.  This winter, when there aren't a whole lot of hunting opportunities around here, I'll get it in for a fresh hydro test. 

In the meantime, let's go squirrel hunting.

 

  

Benjamin .22 Cal Discovery - Takes A Couple Of Abert's Tree Squirrels

Most of the snow we got a week or so ago has melted off, so I hit the woods today with my .22 caliber Discovery, to do a bit of Abert's Tree Squirrel hunting.  This rifle never ceases to amaze me.  It shoots the 15.9 grain JSB Exacts into a tiny bug hole at 30 yards.  I have it adjusted to give me 15 shots, and it does that with only a 5 fps extreme spread.  I picked it up from Mac1, right after they became available, and I have not been disappointed. 

Discovery .22 cal.  Five JSB 15.9 grain dome heads at 30 yards.  

I hunted an area that I had scouted this past summer on a, "I need to get the heck out of town for awhile," kind of day.  At the time, I saw a good amount of squirrel sign in the area, so today I paid it another visit, to see what I might find.  When I stepped out of my vehicle, I was hit by the smell of pure fresh air heavily scented with pine, the sun was shining, and the temp was 54 degrees.  It had all of the makings of a great Fall day in the woods. Just perfect for a squirrel hunt.

The area I hunted, is a ridge top that runs for a couple of miles before it drops down and meets with the edge of a local lake.  It's fairly open, with a lot of middle-aged and mature Ponderosa Pines.  This can be good Abert's Tree Squirrel country.  

I hadn't gone very far, when I hit a game trail that followed along the crest of the ridge.  When possible, I love to hunt along game trails.  The deer and elk seem to instinctively know how to go cross country, with the least amount of exertion.  As I hunted along, I started to see fresh pine needle clusters under some of the trees.  The squirrels clip those, and then eat the tender under bark from the stem.

I immediately started to slowly scan the surrounding trees for movement, or the profile of a squirrel against the sky.  Sure enough, about twenty minutes into the hunt, I spot the profile of a squirrel up high in a Ponderosa Pine.

This guy is sitting dead still, out near the end of a branch, about 40 feet up an 80 foot pine.  He lasers at 39 yards.  I line up the shot, hold a little low, and slowly squeeze the trigger.  When the shot breaks, he swaps ends, but doesn't run off.  Close, but no cigar.  I was just high. I load up another pellet, and repeat step one, only this time I hold an RCH lower. The pellet impacted with that loud THWACCKK, that we love to hear, and down he comes.  Bounced once.  Dead On Arrival.  The JSB dome heads perform to perfection once again.

I picked up my trophy, put it in my game pouch, and headed on down the trail.  It wasn't long before I spotted a suspicious looking lump near the top of another pine. I put my binoculars on it, and just as I suspected, it was another Abert's squirrel sitting back in the shadows, trying to blend in with the surroundings.  

The range finder said 41 yards on this one, but at an even steeper up angle.  Based on the last shot at the first squirrel, I held low on the chest, and touched off the shot.  At pellet impact, this guy instantly started dropping out of the tree.  I think he hit, and spun around every branch in his path on the way down.  He hit the ground with a nice soft thud, and never moved.  The pellet had entered just under the chin, and exited between the shoulder blades.  I gathered him up, and together with the first squirrel, stopped for a quick photo op.

Here's a closeup that shows why these guys are called Tassel Eared Squirrels.  You can see the long hairs on the tips of the ears.  They tend to be longer in the winter than in the summer.

It was starting to get late in the day, the temp was dropping, and I had a bit of a drive to get back to the hacienda, so I started to hunt my way back to my vehicle.  I didn't spot another squirrel on the way out, but I was thrilled to have the two that I did get.

This little rifle is a definite keeper.  As usual, I didn't need anywhere near the 15 shots the gun gives me.  The squirrel limit here is five, and when the day comes that I can't do that with seven or eight shots, I'm selling my guns.