Tally to date, chippers and tree rats.

[BackStop]

My health just isn't getting any better. I lost another 5 pounds and am now at 173 pounds...down from 220 a few months ago.

However, I did find the energy to get one more tree rat today. It was not a good clean kill.

First shot was at ~22 yards (from my sniper window/Akela mounted on BOG DG tripod) and it hit, but since I haven't been shooting much lately it didn't find the heart. (Akela .177 @~850fps/Fx 10.3)

The rat dropped from the tree, but was still mobile. So I took the Fortitude outside (first shot is about ~700-710fps with same pellet because of failing regulator) looking to put a pellet into the head to end its suffering. However, it was still able to climb the Oak tree, but dropped to a power line. There it hung until I could (off-hand) end the misery for me and the rat with a head shot at about 15 yards. Proud of the off-hand shot, but not proud that the first shot was off so bad.

Anyway...

108 tree rats
48 chippers

Has anyone else noticed that sometimes on AGN it takes several minutes before "latest" post replies actually show up in a thread (only replies, not the OP), even when the main "new posts" page lists them? I have noticed as much as 7-10 minutes at times before they actually show up in the thread. Most of the time it is only 3-5 minutes... but WTH?

All my best!

Kerry

 

[rhbrink]

You're still whacking'em that's good. The activity has really picked up in my area with lots of young ones running around, the last batch of the year I suppose. My count is up to 97 with twenty being shot this month, so far. One day I had seven running around everywhere and managed to get five that day. I still have one or two sneaking around and they have become very wary but I'll get'em sooner or later!

 

[BackStop]

You're still whacking'em that's good. The activity has really picked up in my area with lots of young ones running around, the last batch of the year I suppose. My count is up to 97 with twenty being shot this month, so far. One day I had seven running around everywhere and managed to get five that day. I still have one or two sneaking around and they have become very wary but I'll get'em sooner or later!

Looks like you are still doing pretty good too!

My last 2 tree rats were better DRT kills. I "stalked" one for about 3 days. That is, I opened the "sniper window" every time I saw him, but he always ran away. I figured he would get used to me opening the window and on the 3rd day, he did. He sat in one of the spots that I love for them to sit. DRT heart shot through the left shoulder and out the upper right shoulder. No blood, just DRT. 23 yards via range finder.

The wind laid down the other day, so I set up for my long range chipper shots, but none would sit still in my very narrow window for a shot. I did shoot at a leaf that was about the size of a small chipper and hit it consistently with 3 shots at ~94 yards... (smile) Without wind I am getting pretty good at those long distances.

The other tree rat was at 36 yards. Head shot, DRT.

Both kills were with the Akela shooting Fx 10.3 at ~850fps.

So...

110 tree rats
48 chippers

BTW, I am feeling better and am maintaining weight again. Not out of the woods, but I do feel better! Just wish I could shoot more often!

All my best!

Kerry

 

[AmosBurton]

Nice to hear you're feeling better!
I'm sure the squirrels won't be happy.

 

[BackStop]

111 tree rats
48 chippers

I am losing weight again and energy is lower.

However, this mid-morning, I spotted a tree rat coming down one of the oaks in my backyard. So I set up the Akela (living on the BOG DG tripod) and waited.

The tree rat apparently did not get spooked by my opening the window as it was out of sight on the opposite side of the oak tree.

So, I pre-focused on a patch of ground where I expected it to show up. And it did show up in that exact spot.

It never gave me a perfect shot, but I know where to make a heart shot from any angle on a tree rat, especially shooting the Akela at ~850fps with FX 10.3 pellets.

It was facing away from me with its left side exposed, so I placed the shot centered just behind the rib cage.

Perfect heart shot. No blood and it only made a spiral for about 5 seconds before expiring.

Yeah, nobody will believe me unless I take pics... (smile)

I look at this like I look at golf. I am competing against myself. So, if I lie, I am only cheating myself.

Thanks for reading!

All my best!

Kerry

 

[BackStop]

111 tree rats
48 chippers

I am losing weight again and energy is lower.

However, this mid-morning, I spotted a tree rat coming down one of the oaks in my backyard. So I set up the Akela (living on the BOG DG tripod) and waited.

The tree rat apparently did not get spooked by my opening the window as it was out of sight on the opposite side of the oak tree.

So, I pre-focused on a patch of ground where I expected it to show up. And it did show up in that exact spot.

It never gave me a perfect shot, but I know where to make a heart shot from any angle on a tree rat, especially shooting the Akela at ~850fps with FX 10.3 pellets.

It was facing away from me with its left side exposed, so I placed the shot centered just behind the rib cage.

Perfect heart shot. No blood, no exit and it only made a spiral for about 5 seconds before expiring. 23 yards.

Yeah, nobody will believe me unless I take pics... (smile)

I look at this like I look at golf. I am competing against myself. So, if I lie, I am only cheating myself.


All my best!

Kerry

p.s.

The main reason I wake up at daylight is to see if I have a shot. Yeah, call me crazy, but everyone needs a reason/passion that keeps them alive.
Airguns and pesting is what keeps me going. If you can find fault in that, then look within yourself. (smile)

 

[BackStop]

Haven't been able to shoot much in quite a while, and haven't posted about the few shots I have been able to make on pests.

So, here is my update.

Chippers = 48 and will probably stay there until next season... but you never know.

Tree rats = 114

One tree rat wasn't a good shot. Gut shot and I had to do a point blank to the head to end its/my misery. Initial shot was at ~23 yards. My bad.

The other 2 were a head shot at ~23 yards, DRT and a heart shot at ~18 yards which ran about 20 feet before expiring.

Feeling better lately, but still losing weight. Down to 170 pounds.

Although I already posted my thanks to Jason/nervoustrig for fixing my DAR Gen1 .177, I have to mention it here. Still waiting for it to be delivered back to me, but I have no doubt that it will be better than it ever was before.

Bought another Aim Sports Alpha 6 4.5-27x50 to put on it. I would have liked to put a FFP scope on it, but at $180 shipped, and the fact that I have been using the same scope on the Fortitude for several years... well... (smile) If I could have bought a FFP scope for near the same price with the same quality glass, I would have. At least I don't know of anything that matches the glass for the price in FFP. Of course, NOW, someone will point me to something in FFP that is just as cheap and maybe even better glass! (heavy sigh/chuckle) It is what it is...

In any case, thanks for reading!

All my best!

Kerry

 

[BackStop]

Haven't had many opportunities for shots at tree rats and my health hasn't helped me to look for them.

Today, about 10:30am, I looked out my "sniper window" and noticed one at the base of an Oak tree that is mostly behind my metal 10x10 shed.

So, I opened the sniper window and started to set up the Akela (on a BOG-DG tripod) and of course the tree rat hid.

However, it did not "run" away. So I just sat there for a couple of minutes watching and expecting it to show up higher on the Oak tree.

Well, it surprised me by climbing up the Dogwood which is next to the Oak and metal shed.

Once it settled in a spot where I had a safe shot, I took it.

The sound of the hit made me think I had hit the tree limb, but the action of the tree rat told me I made a good hit, but it was not a perfect shot.

Grabbed the Fortitude and walked out to see if it was a clean kill. The reason it sounded like it hit wood was because the shot hit the heaviest bone in the left shoulder. It did penetrate enough to disable the tree rat (lungs I suspect), but was not a DRT heart shot. I was only off by about 1/4 inch.

It only made it about 7 feet to the base of the Oak tree.

Finished it off with a PBR shot to the head using the Fortitude which is much quieter than taking the P17 or 1377 out for finishing shots.

Oh well... as much as I try, I am not perfect, but I keep striving for perfection... knowing I will never attain it, but the quest keeps me vigilant!

I never intend for the pests I kill to suffer unnecessarily.

115 tree rats for 2023 and counting...
48 chipmunks for 2023 and that is probably it until next season.

All my best!

Kerry

 

[chip78]

Haven't had many opportunities for shots at tree rats and my health hasn't helped me to look for them.

Today, about 10:30am, I looked out my "sniper window" and noticed one at the base of an Oak tree that is mostly behind my metal 10x10 shed.

So, I opened the sniper window and started to set up the Akela (on a BOG-DG tripod) and of course the tree rat hid.

However, it did not "run" away. So I just sat there for a couple of minutes watching and expecting it to show up higher on the Oak tree.

Well, it surprised me by climbing up the Dogwood which is next to the Oak and metal shed.

Once it settled in a spot where I had a safe shot, I took it.

The sound of the hit made me think I had hit the tree limb, but the action of the tree rat told me I made a good hit, but it was not a perfect shot.

Grabbed the Fortitude and walked out to see if it was a clean kill. The reason it sounded like it hit wood was because the shot hit the heaviest bone in the left shoulder. It did penetrate enough to disable the tree rat (lungs I suspect), but was not a DRT heart shot. I was only off by about 1/4 inch.

It only made it about 7 feet to the base of the Oak tree.

Finished it off with a PBR shot to the head using the Fortitude which is much quieter than taking the P17 or 1377 out for finishing shots.

Oh well... as much as I try, I am not perfect, but I keep striving for perfection... knowing I will never attain it, but the quest keeps me vigilant!

I never intend for the pests I kill to suffer unnecessarily.

115 tree rats for 2023 and counting...
48 chipmunks for 2023 and that is probably it until next season.

All my best!

Kerry

Hi Kerry,
I think you mentioned 10.3 grain pellets in one of your earlier posts. Is the JSB/AA/FX 10.34 your favorite pellet now?
Thanks,
Charles

 

[BackStop]

Hi Kerry,
I think you mentioned 10.3 grain pellets in one of your earlier posts. Is the JSB/AA/FX 10.34 your favorite pellet now?
Thanks,
Charles

I used CPUMs for a long time, but the quality went down hill. Then tried JSB and FX 10.3 and have had good success.

Haven't tried the AA version, but I suspect they are equal to the FX version. Stopped buying the JSB version because of QC issues.

Looking to start the process of finding the "magic" pellet once again for my newly repaired DAR Gen2 .177, heavy sigh...

All my best!

Kerry

 

[chip78]

I used CPUMs for a long time, but the quality went down hill. Then tried JSB and FX 10.3 and have had good success.

Haven't tried the AA version, but I suspect they are equal to the FX version. Stopped buying the JSB version because of QC issues.

Looking to start the process of finding the "magic" pellet once again for my newly repaired DAR Gen2 .177, heavy sigh...

All my best!

Kerry

I have used 10.34 in JSB and FX branding with great success. I'm glad you agree. I have not tried H&N 10.6, which is said to be as good as the JSB 10.3.

 

[BackStop]

I have used 10.34 in JSB and FX branding with great success. I'm glad you agree. I have not tried H&N 10.6, which is said to be as good as the JSB 10.3.

I've tried the H&N Baracuda 10.65 in regular and "Match" versions in the Fortitude and Akela, but those guns didn't like them. At least not at the FPS I run those guns.

The only H&N that did work well with the Fortitude was the Sniper Magnum 14.97, but sadly H&N no longer makes them. Although I still have a tin of them that has probably 250+ pellets left, there is no reason to tune any gun for them since I can't buy more.

When nervoustrig fixed my DAR, I requested that it be set for from 750-850fps. He did a good job! However, I forgot that when I was getting MOA or less out of that gun, it was shooting about 920fps with either CPUM 10.5 or FX 10.3... at least that is what I remember and would have to look up some of my older posts to be sure.

So far, I have tried the H&N Baracuda 10.65, Baracuda Match 10.65, CPUM 10.5, JSB and FX 10.3 in the DAR and all of them group well at 10 meters, but always 1 out of 5 shots will be a flier. FPS is ~820-827fps. So, before I go and buy a lot of different pellets to try, I am going to try different velocities first.

Then I am going to try going with heavier pellets. Never have had any luck with pellets in the 7-8.4g range in any gun I have owned.

All my best!

Kerry

 

[BackStop]

Haven't had many opportunities for shots at tree rats and my health hasn't helped me to look for them.

Today, about 10:30am, I looked out my "sniper window" and noticed one at the base of an Oak tree that is mostly behind my metal 10x10 shed.

So, I opened the sniper window and started to set up the Akela (on a BOG-DG tripod) and of course the tree rat hid.

However, it did not "run" away. So I just sat there for a couple of minutes watching and expecting it to show up higher on the Oak tree.

Well, it surprised me by climbing up the Dogwood which is next to the Oak and metal shed.

Once it settled in a spot where I had a safe shot, I took it.

The sound of the hit made me think I had hit the tree limb, but the action of the tree rat told me I made a good hit, but it was not a perfect shot.

Grabbed the Fortitude and walked out to see if it was a clean kill. The reason it sounded like it hit wood was because the shot hit the heaviest bone in the left shoulder. It did penetrate enough to disable the tree rat (lungs I suspect), but was not a DRT heart shot. I was only off by about 1/4 inch.

It only made it about 7 feet to the base of the Oak tree.

Finished it off with a PBR shot to the head using the Fortitude which is much quieter than taking the P17 or 1377 out for finishing shots.

Oh well... as much as I try, I am not perfect, but I keep striving for perfection... knowing I will never attain it, but the quest keeps me vigilant!

I never intend for the pests I kill to suffer unnecessarily.

115 tree rats for 2023 and counting...
48 chipmunks for 2023 and that is probably it until next season.

All my best!

Kerry

Haven't had many opportunities for shots lately and haven't felt like looking for them for the most part.

I thought I had seen the last of the chippers for this season... but I was wrong.

However, this past weekend was rainy and I felt better than usual. Not to mention that I saw the Chipmunks scampering around at my 93 yard, narrow permission/opportunity. So... I set up the Akela (which lives on the BOG DG tripod) and waited.

Long story short, I ended up with 3 more tree rats from 92-96 yards and one Chipper at 93 yards. All of the tree rats were clean shots, DRT. But the chipper was a rare ricochet shot. I held under by a small amount and the pellet hit the dirt about a foot in front of the chipper and ricocheted into the chipper's mid section. Not a good shot, but a relatively clean kill. At least it was DRT when I reached it. (smile)

So... for 2023...

118 tree rats
49 Chipmunks

Thanks for reading my drivel.

All my best!

Kerry

p.s.
I also got one (I think) that has made a nest in one of the oaks in my backyard. I know I hit it, but it fell back into the nest and I haven't seen it again since. So, according to my own rules, I can't count it until I can confirm the kill and that may never happen.

 

[rhbrink]

It's been slow going for me once in a while a group of two or three moves in and I'll get a couple of them. It seems like one always slips away, I don't know if they see their buddies get killed and get out of town or they are just moving on. One thing that I have noticed that if a group moves in and I get lucky and kill the female first the rest leave pronto! So, I'm guessing that the female establishes her territory and the males come and go?

Anyway, my kill is 109 tree rats for the year. Every year I get less so maybe I'm slowly winning the war.

RB

 

[BackStop]

It's been slow going for me once in a while a group of two or three moves in and I'll get a couple of them. It seems like one always slips away, I don't know if they see their buddies get killed and get out of town or they are just moving on. One thing that I have noticed that if a group moves in and I get lucky and kill the female first the rest leave pronto! So, I'm guessing that the female establishes her territory and the males come and go?

Anyway, my kill is 109 tree rats for the year. Every year I get less so maybe I'm slowly winning the war.

RB

I understand completely!

Although I am happy that I am winning the war, I miss the days when I had several opportunities for a shot everyday.

It is addictive! (smile)

All my best!

Kerry

p.s.

That is the real reason why I looked for other opportunities and found my narrow window at ~93 yards. Opened up a whole new world at far as accuracy/precision goes! (smile) Still working on that too for consistency.

 

[BackStop]

.......................................................

So... for 2023...

118 tree rats
49 Chipmunks

Thanks for reading my drivel.

All my best!

Kerry

p.s.
I also got one (I think) that has made a nest in one of the oaks in my backyard. I know I hit it, but it fell back into the nest and I haven't seen it again since. So, according to my own rules, I can't count it until I can confirm the kill and that may never happen.

Add 3 more tree rats. All at ~23 yards in one of the oaks in my backyard. The latest one was a head shot, DRT. The other 2 were heart shots and also DRT.

So far for 2023...

121 tree rats

49 chippers

I am winning the war, but losing the battle because I simply don't have many *targets* to shoot at these days! (chuckle/heavy sigh)

All my best!

Kerry

 

[BackStop]

Add 3 more tree rats. All at ~23 yards in one of the oaks in my backyard. The latest one was a head shot, DRT. The other 2 were heart shots and also DRT.

So far for 2023...

121 tree rats

49 chippers

I am winning the war, but losing the battle because I simply don't have many *targets* to shoot at these days! (chuckle/heavy sigh)

All my best!

Kerry

p.s.

Even after nervoustrig made my DAR Gen2 .177 air worthy (it holds air now) and rejuvenated the regulator, I forgot that it never did shoot well and didn't even group well until the regulator failed and the FPS jumped to 920fps using CPUMs or FX 10.3 pellets.

Skip forward to recently...

The left target was not in play...

All groups were 10 shots at 10 meters indoors.

The top target was KnockOut 10.03 slugs, bottom was KnockOout 13.43 slugs and the right target was 13.4 Fx pellets!


I only measured the fps of the pellets and it was ~790fps. Didn't bother to measure the slugs as the groupings were lousy.

That is the best group I have ever gotten from the DAR G2 .177, ever. So, I do have some hope.

Thanks again to nervoustrig for making me buy a lot more pellets and *suffer* while trying to make this gun shoot well! (chuckle)

As long as my health holds up, I am going to keep fighting to be accurate/precise and deadly when it comes to pests. (smile)

All my best!

Kerry

 

[BackStop]

Final Tally for 2023 was:

127 Tree Rats
49 Chipmunks

Akela and Fortitude are tack drivers with much less than MOA out to 50 yards (without wind) and the Akela is "accurate" out to 96 yards, but I can't claim any MOA percentages as I can't put out targets to test at that range. Best projectile is FX 10.3 pellet for both.

DAR is dead again... time to melt it down?

All my best!

Kerry

 

[Ezana4CE]

So far for 2023...

121 tree rats

49 chippers

I am winning the war, but losing the battle because I simply don't have many *targets* to shoot at these days! (chuckle/heavy sigh)

All my best!

Kerry

@BackStop Seems like a winning situation if they aren't around to tear up your property. Come spring I'm pretty sure you won't have that complaint.

 

[BackStop]

@BackStop Seems like a winning situation if they aren't around to tear up your property. Come spring I'm pretty sure you won't have that complaint.

Apparently, you posted about the same time I made my post and stomped on it.

So... here is my post again...

Final Tally for 2023 was:

127 Tree Rats
49 Chipmunks

Akela and Fortitude are tack drivers with much less than MOA out to 50 yards (without wind) and the Akela is "accurate" out to 96 yards, but I can't claim any MOA percentages as I can't put out targets to test at that range. Best projectile is FX 10.3 pellet for both.

DAR is dead again... time to melt it down?

All my best!

Kerry