Two more for the pot

Hit the local WMA this afternoon right at 4:00, on a dual purpose, looking for a pellet pouch I lost, and also looking to pop another tree rat or two.

Decided to set up ambush style near the little run off pond, hoping for a repeat performance of last Saturday's hunt.

I was positioned at the base of one of the hardwoods on the far left, and after less than ten minutes, spied a bushytail hop up on the deadfall cedar in the far right of the pic (pic taken last Saturday) - he was running back and forth, and then decided to have a drink, giving me a clear shot.

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plop, plop, fizz, fizz
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Collected my soggy kill, and moved on up the hill.

Probably made too much racket, as it took another 45 minutes or so before a shaking limb got my attention, but it was worth it. The tree rats were concentrating on a small oak, so I did my best to quietly maneuver close enough, and it was almost comical - there must have been at least 5 or 4 in the same small oak, but they would grab a nut, then come down the trunk, with me trying to track them in my scope, then hop on the ground and haul ass.

FINALLY - one took a different escape route and gave me a clear broadside shot -

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Didn't find my pellet pouch, maybe next time?

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@SteveV Nice work! How far out were your shots? Good thing you were able to recover the one from the water. Did it float? I was hoping you found your pouch. What kind is it and how do you like it? I’m considering buying one. I had to go back because I’d left my bipod in the woods this evening.
The one shot at the pond on this hunt was closer than the shot on Saturday, so I'd guess between 25 to 30 yards. My scope parallax was set at 25 yards, 6X.

The second shot was taken at 20 something yards off hand.

The pellet pouch has sentimental value, leather, worn around the neck, and given to me by AGN member John "Spyser" Blount. I will continue to look for it!
 
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@SteveV I hope you recover your pouch. Nice offhand shooting. Do you find yourself thinking about the offhand shot much before taking it or does it feel instinctual when circumstances call for it?
Well, in this situation, it was a very vertical, almost straight up shot, and the strecthed P-Rod is so light that it was more deliberate than instinctual, if that makes sense? I may add some ballast at some point.
 
I hope you find your pouch.

Quick lost knife story:

When I was attending Purdue (mid-70's) I drove home to squirrel hunt (near Richmond, IN). I hunted alone in one of the woods that my Dad and I liked to hunt. Killed a few squirrels and cleaned them like usual there in the woods. I stuck the Old Timer pocket knife in a small hickory tree as I washed them up with a bottle of water I bring for that purpose. Yep, I forgot the knife.

Drove the 170 miles back to school. I talked to Dad the next day or two and told him I left my knife in a tree. He asked for me to describe where. I told him in the left back corner of the woods (about 40 acres) in a grove of shagbark hickory trees. Stuck in tree about head high. He called me in another day or two letting me know he found it!

Of course I eventually lost the knife again years later, never to be found again.