been very busy with my Diana 36! (caution - graphic)
July 20 2008 at 11:10 AM
(no login) from IP address 71.169.52.42
These are some of the least graphic pics and about 1/2 the groundhogs I 've taken this summer with my "new" (used) tuned Diana 36 .177. All animals were taken with an 8.3gr Superdome or 7.9gr CPHP between 19 and 25yds. I would not attempt shooting large ones with a 14fpe gun at >30yds so I always tried to get up close or let them come closer without being detected.
These are all different ones taken w/head shots during June and July on my property. All shots were between eye and ear. They range between 10 and 15.6lbs (guess which one is the biggest, hehe) except for the last one which is not full-grown at 6-6.5lbs.
There were also another 7 youngsters (3-5lbs) which I 'm not posting. The first 4 below are their parents.
I have currently 22 g-hog holes on my property compared to 15 last year and that number seems to be increasing. It is very important to conduct pest control on my property often or I will end up with hundreds of burrows and my house and shed will fall down!
these creatures are all right in their natural habitat but not OK near your house they will burrow next to the foundation and with rain and snow your house will develop cavities which will crack the foundation and then walls
these animals are harmless if they are 10 miles away from your house and deadly if 10 or 20 feet away from your property
warren
and remember "it's 30% the gun and 70% the shooter"
What do you bait them in with,come on let us know,I cant even get a look at the one digging under my fence he knows our routines and is not around when I am.Just picked up a new toy a RWS 350 Feuerkraft Pro Compact in .177 shooting at around 18-19fpe about 40 rounds I forgot how scrunchey they are new, but befor long Ill have her broken in .
Wow, your 2nd 350 hey? Nice!! I 'm jealous It's the carbine version right? How is the cocking effort?
I don't have to bait the g-hogs Phil, you know that.. but I know you 're joking. My entire lawn is the bait. Plus they love the clovers which I have plenty of. About 1/2 my lawn is clovers and weeds but in your case they prefer the goodies in your garden. They 're not that stupid
Warren:
You 're absolutely right. My shed is leaning to one side already and it has a concrete foundation!
Yeah Harry Ive heard they like to play "dress up"!! Ive been missing cans of red spray paint around here,, the wife is missing her red lipstick,, round these parts, Ive noticed,, Rabbits,, Squirrels,, Racoons,,Foxes,, among others playing "Dress Up",,If they only knew how rediculous they look with all that "Makeup" on!!LOL!! BEST Laugh Ive had in a long time Harry!! Tim. P.S. Was GREAT talking to Ya yesterday,,seems we may even meet in person,,(Look at Hectors latest post),, pack your bags Buddy!!LOL!!
How would you know? There are no g-hogs that far south! heehee You see, they are smarter than you think. They "dress up" with all red and stuff, to try to fool us to believe someone got to them already.. When we put the gun down or go back inside, they continue eating and when you come out, poof they 're gone!
That 's why most of their burrows are 12-15ft apart all along my back yard just beyond my lawn. They hop from hole to hole and congregate in the one in the middle to take up acting and make-up classes! I got them all figured out
I 'm hope you 're not calling me "new" to the forum
Hey I read your post about shooting a squirrel at 15yds a couple of days ago and you were concerned the predator didn't go through its entire body. Nothing unusual.
I shot a squirrel over the windter on the top of the head is it was down facing me, with my 350 .22 with a Crosman Premier 14.3gr and it didn't come out his a*s My 350 has about 9-10 more ft-lbs of energy than the 34 (and my 36 which is the same as 34 but with nicer wood). There 's just too much bone and muscle for the pellet to travel through the entire length of a squirrel's body, especially if it hits the spine head-on. That's a lot of bone to go through. Don't worry. Your 34 is plenty powerful for squirrels out to 30yds. I 've shot groundhogs with my .22LR rimfire in the head as I was facing them and a couple of times didn't find a exit wound. That was w/40gr bullets traveling at 1150-1200fps (120 ft-lbs!) at the muzzle and the g-hogs were only about 30yds & beyond. It's all about shot placement. The best thing to do is shoot the squirrels when they are broadside. Aim between the eye and ear, and you 'll see an exit hole the other side of the their skull if you 're within 30dys. Just wait for the right moment when they turn their head.
In any case, not having an exit wound is not a bad thing either. You don't need 2 holes to kill any animal quickly. That means the pellet expended all its kinetic energy inside the critter. That can be a good thing most of the time. More trauma to internal organs, brain, etc. Diana 350 Mag .22
Diana 36 .177
Hammerli 850 .22
A few Crosman CO2 & Pump .177
No I wasnt refering to you as a new guy, I was refering to the last pic where your G hog couldnt keep his head under the trench line. lol, kind of like a John Wayne, war flick, reference. great shooting too by the way
Very good info on the ballistic stuff , thanks .Im used to shooting rats with a 177. It seems as though the 177 pass through things quite easily and I was wondering why my 22 didnt .thought maybe something might be wrong ,
Pretty shocked about what you said about your rimfire rifle , That makes rest easy
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