A Dozen Plus a Magpie

That's what I recovered, anyway....

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/o...e/IMG_2314.jpg

The recovery rate was quite a bit better today.... probably because I tried to get headshots whenever possible.... When hit solidly in the head they flip all over the place for a few seconds and if they make their burrow it's usually because they were sitting right on the lip.... I got one solid chest hit at 110 yards, and a solid headshot at 88 yards (both lasered).... a couple of hits in the 80 yard range, and the rest were between 30-75 yards.... The longest recovered ground squirrels were at 68 and 72 yards.... Every one I recovered was a head shot....

The Magpies are very easily spooked, and I couldn't get close enough to even take a shot with the exception of the one I got.... I was away from the Rhino seeing if I could recover a Marmot from a pile of logs and I saw a pair of Magpies eating some carrion about 35 yards way.... I didn't have anything to lean on, so took the shot offhand and hit a solid lung shot.... A few flips and it was all over.... I very nearly got a chance to get a double, but by the time I had reloaded and was taking aim the second one thought better of hanging around and flew....

So today's tally is 25-30 "gophers", 2 Marmots, and a Magpie.... It was a beautiful sunny day (I'm learning they like some heat), the number of shots under 30 yards has dropped to nearly nil, but I'm finding I can make reliable headshots out to about 65-70 yards (which is 1 MilDot holdover).... Beyond that I'm better off going for a chest shot and accepting the fact that they will likely make the burrow before expiring.... The landowner is delighted with the results, and I have a standing invitation for pest control....

Bob

Very nice shooting
Them Magpies are indeed a hard to hunt

Good shooting, Ron! You've probably done this before, but try putting one of those yellowbellies in the oven for a few hours at .325

You will be pleasantly surprised! Many easterners I know prefer woodchuck over just about any other small game and my experience matches.