[model99er]

Anyone happen to whack any yet ??

I'm prolly going to start my scouting today, most of our snow is gone and the temps are supposed to nudge into the 50's. Boy do I have Cabin Fever baaaad.


99er

[Uncle Buck]

A few hunters I talk to have seen them out of their holes in South Central Pa area... They say they do not stay out long...Just come out and go back down...I'm looking forward to it this year...Shooting chucks...

I best get that list of things I need to get done....Done so come April I am hunting chucks instead of doing the needed work to be done around the house...
Also....If I get some of the work done and it gets nice in March..Hey I can go earler then April..

[Hairtrigger]

None out in my area yet,
I was in a gunshop I like to hate this week and found a new toy.
A Rem 760 in 222. just the ticket for short to moderate range chucks!

[Uncle Buck]

Hairtrigger, on 07 March 2010 - 08:25 AM, said:

None out in my area yet,
I was in a gunshop I like to hate this week and found a new toy.
A Rem 760 in 222. just the ticket for short to moderate range chucks!

with a 60 grain .224 Nosler Partition bullet it might have the right twist to become an excellent deer gun too.


I have notice that when the chuck hunting gets slow...Now AKA chucks sticking their heads up out of the holes tend to seize a bit.. If you know how to make a puppy sound on a predator call..Very soon there after the chucks will come out to see why the puppy is crying...
Gee everyone likes a puppy even a woodchuck!!!!!!!!!

[model99er]

I just checked my records from last year and I got my 1st Groundhog on 03-21-09. Welp, this Saturday is the 20th and they be calling for near 70 deg. LOL :

I'll limit myself to just one thou, just to get rid of the "trigger itch".


99er

[model99er]

Hairtrigger, on 07 March 2010 - 08:25 AM, said:

None out in my area yet,
I was in a gunshop I like to hate this week and found a new toy.
A Rem 760 in 222. just the ticket for short to moderate range chucks!

Hair,

Congrats on the new toy ... 222's are a blast, just too damn bad I left my hunting bud discover that ... he still has mine "borrowed", I guess that's somewhat fair thou, since I shot bout half of the Groundhogs on their farm last year !! LOL


99er

[sunray]

"...1st Groundhog on 03-21-09..." Earliest I've ever shot one was 3 March a long time ago. 30 years easy.

[model99er]

sunray, on 20 March 2010 - 01:26 AM, said:

"...1st Groundhog on 03-21-09..." Earliest I've ever shot one was 3 March a long time ago. 30 years easy.

Good to see ya back Sunray. I'v gotten em here (VA) before as early as the last week in Febuary 1st week in March, but like you it's been a few years back.

We've had bout the worst winter here (snowfall wise) in around the last 20+ years and I'v also been down sick with stomach problems. So, yesterday afternoon was was my actual 1st live/field sighting of one this year.

It's been in the high 60's and low 70's here most of the week, so they are starting to come out. I'm hoping I'll see a few today and hopefully get to shoot one to get over the wintertime trigger finger itch I'v got. I'll let alone after that, till late May.

Regardless, me and my Groundhog retrieving Airedale, just need to get the hell out and about today as we both got a real bad case of cabin fever.

Curious, what for rifle are you using on the little buggers ??


99er

[model99er]

I got my 1st of the year bout 10:30am today. I was actually gunna leave him walk, since it was such a long shot .... between 30 to 35 yds.

The dumb ass came out the 2nd time after I had turned my car around, went back in when the Farmer stopped by to chit chat, and had the damn gaul to come back out the 3rd time while me and the Farmer were sitting there talking.

Not being one to pass an opertunity to please the Farmer (especially since me & his step son whacked two Deer right in the middle of his cow herd last Fall, which he wasn't thrilled about), ye old Groundhog got practially blown in half by a 243 95gr BT.


99er

[Uncle Buck]

Neat Model99er see History does repeat itself. You got one last year the first day of Spring and then you got one this year the first day of Spring...Um the History repeat itself thing...This deer season...Don't squeeze one off when the deer is in the field with the cattle and have history repeat itself. however I hope you do get a deer this year since you got one last year..

[model99er]

Uncle Buck, on 20 March 2010 - 11:21 PM, said:

This deer season...Don't squeeze one off when the deer is in the field with the cattle and have history repeat itself. however I hope you do get a deer this year since you got one last year..

UB,

Being raised on a farm, I wouldn't have shot that deer last year, cept his step-son kept telling me to shoot, shoot, shoot, then once I shot and mine hit the ground he whacked the 2nd one.

Next thing ya know, my bud's Cell phone was ringing ... when asked by his step dad wut in the hell were we doing, he very calmly replied oh we just shot a couple of Deer, not to fret that both he and I were "expert shots".

His dad musta calmed down a bit; hell he even drove down and helped hold down the electic fence when we drove back across with the 2 Deer. By then he was at least smiling (prolly cause he didn't see any dead cattle), but he still was shaking his head a good bit.



99er

[Uncle Buck]

Got out and did some woodchuck hunting today...2 hrs...They are out and moving around. I saw one chuck the thing looks like it was a coyote... Thing is large must have been about 400 yards from me...It was out of range and I had the 17 Rem CF 250 yard gun..Wish I had the 308 or the 2506 300-400 YARDERS... sighted in with varmint bullets....I did have 6 shots today....Hit some (2) and missed some (4). I need to get to the range and check the zero on that 17 Rem CF. The wind was blowing a bit and the shots were far....250 yards....March winds but it was so nice just to get out and hunt chucks on March 27. Can't remember doing that before?
This evening I placed a 4.5 X 14 40 MM AO Muller scope on a 308 Encore barrel and reloaded 6 each 125 grain Speer HP with 45 grains of Reloader 15 and 6 each with 48 grains of Reloader 15. Also want to try some 10X powder with the same bullet...
When I do get to the range I probably am going to have to take a lunch...Plan to be there for awhile.

[model99er]

With all of this great weather, I can see I'm gunna have a hell of time laying off the little buggers till the end of May.

Oh well, at least Spring Gobbler comes in next Saturday (10th) at least I'll get out and about ... Turkey hunting isn't one of my real strong interests thou.


99er

[Uncle Buck]

Yep the weather here on Good Friday is going to be in the 80's. 80's the chucks will be laying out there outside of their holes just soaking up all the rays...My ethnic background has a saying: "What ever you do on Good Friday you do all year long!" So that would not be too bad to go chuck hunting all year long there after...However Easter week I will be doing things with the family so the chucks can just lay out there and enjoy themselves...
I'm going to be thinking about it though.....

[model99er]

In all honesty, it's pretty much a toss for me as to which I actually enjoy the most Groundhog vs Deer Hunting.


I do find it odd as what some farmers don't want you to shot ... quite a few farmers in these parts don't want you to shoot foxes (I personally think we need more farmers with chickens and other foul LOL). Hell I even have one farmer that don't want any crows shot. Don't think I'v ever ran into any farmer thou, that didn't want every last one of their Groundhogs shot.

Since putting up targets is a tad too obvious, I suspect I may be shooting a few rocks for the next several weekends till the young ones are out on their own.


99er

[model99er]

I went out a spell yesterday afternoon scouting, damn it was hot ... bout 85 don't think the Groundhogs were quite used to that warm of temps yet either as I only saw one. I suspect it was a female and was very skiddish ... kept playing peek-a-boo with me thru a woven-wire fence at bout 150yds.

The heat sure wasn't bothering the Deer ... saw 7 of them.

I bumped into an old partying/racing bud and got the low-down as to where all of Groundhogs are now on his Dad's farm. I haven't hunted their farm very hard in the last couple of years and the groundhogs apparently have rebounded there some.

More inportantly, he told me which brother to see to again get permission for all the Farms that guy and his other brothers own or lease. Thou we're talking around 4 or 5 farms total and as I recall their is only one that they lease that has a really decent population of Groundhogs. That may have changed thou, as I haven't hunted any of their farms in a couple of years ... and they keep on adding more farms to their portfolio.

If I get those permission for all of thier farms, not only is my 222 gunna be coming back home with me next weekend from my Deer hunting bud's, but my 22 Hornet is gunna get the dust blown off it as well ... in fact the Hornet is prolly gunna get a few practice shots fired from it today just for the hell of it.


99er

[model99er]

I must be livin right.

Within bout 20 min from leaving the house this morning, I had tracked down the "eldest brother" and got permission to hunt on all their farms, thou he agreed that most of the groundhogs they see are on the one farm I used to hunt and on another one right next to they bought just last year. But I got permission to whack-em anywhere I see em !!

Yee-Haw ... the 22-Hornet is all dusted-off, loaded-up, and ready for take-off this afternoon.


99er

[Uncle Buck]

Um wonder if 99er Hornet did a lot of talking today? Remember that in old Pa Game News articles:"Then The Gun Talked or Then The Gun Spoke!"
I can see 99er logic for using the 22 Hornet.. See it does not make much noise and if your shooting close to building it be a good gun from point blank out too 200 yards. Good fox gun too...
nice to get the OK to shoot in Safety Zones..Makes you feel kind of good that the landowners trust you...

Many people use the 22 WMR for fox...150 yards...Why use a 22 WMR if you have a 22 Hornet..Yep everyone should own a 22 Hornet...

[model99er]

UB,


I didn't sling any lead this afternoon, didn't see a single Groundhog and the Crows were very spooky too. It was pretty windy most of the afteroon (gusts prolly around 20+ mph); too windy to setup and do any target practicing. I had to pack it in shortly after 5:30 anyway; I still was able to get sun/wind burn on my face from the time I was out.

I have a decent amount of ammo (both 45gr Remmington PSP's and Hornaday 35gr Vmax's) for the Hornet and I do like it (I actually forgot how much until today), I'd still prefer to be totting my 222.

We can use rifles in Spring Gobbler down here, and I was thinking today that Hornet may be a better choice for them (less damage) than my 222. I wish I would have gotten these farms and took out my Hornet a week or two earlier.

Next weekend, I'm headed out to the farm where I Deer hunt for the Spring Gobbler opener in the morning and hopefully can get in some target practice at least, in the afternoon with the Hornet.

My bud has been seeing plenty of Deer, but the Turks seemed to have pulled off a vanishing act, hain't that the way it always works out ??


99er

[model99er]

UB,

I shot two shots from the 22-Hornet today .. dead nuts on at 25yds, which means it's 1.4" high at 100 and the zero is right around 150yds. The Simmon 4x16x40 AO Scope it's wearing is still very, very clear.

The prices on the boxes of the last ammo I bought was $12.50 for a 20 shell box of Hornday 35gr VMAX and $24.00 for a 50 shell box of Remmington 45gr PSP's.

I looked at my rifle notes shreadsheet and the last time it was sighted in was on 02-15-2005, so prolly the last time I used it was in the Summer of 2005. Hell this is almost liking the fun ya have after buying a new different rifle.

This little puppy is gunna be a hoot and thou the ammo has no doubt increased in pricing from the last I bought, it's still gunna be bout 1/2 price of the ammo for the 222 or my 243's.



I stumbled across this 22-Hornet Article, interesting reading ...
http://www.gunsandam...bout-the-hornet


99er