Gr8Scott
06-26-2003, 07:12 PM
http://www.gunsnet.net/album/data/500/2052Injected_Groundhog_002.jpg
It was a hot and uncomfortable day here in NC and that is the best time to spot and kill groundhogs. I called the neighbor down the street and asked his wife if she would mind if I popped a groundhog in her field below from her elevated driveway. She told me to come right over and avoid shooting any deer or turkeys. I promised to be a good boy and headed over after getting a big cold bottle of water at the neighborhood store. As I pull up in the driveway, I can see two groundhogs doing their thing, but I arrived unloaded and under the assumption that my appearance would scare them all off. They totally ignored me when I arrived, but I was NOT in a good position to shoot from and I couldn't get the rifle into position and get my head in position. Nothing I did made anything any better, so I decided to try to sneak out of the vehicle and get into a better firing position. Of course, I was exiting the vehicle on the same side all the groundhogs were on, so they all saw me in a heartbeat and most of them never came back out to play. I silently cursed my too good luck and I proceeded to settle into a good position and sit really still until the next groundhog comes out to play. It took about thirty minutes for one to come out of his hole. His location made shooting him impossible from a right-handed stance, so I had to saddle up left handed, which is something I never do. It felt weird, but I practiced good shooting technique and aimed for the middle so I would be less likely to miss. The trigger squeeze was textbook perfect and the rifle bark and jump suprized me. The gun fired true and it hit it's mark. The groundhog didn't suffer much. I circled his hole in red, because it's easy to miss. As you can see, he was headed right for it when he wheezed his last.
I borrowed my brother's digital cam to share it all with you nice folks. I have another pic, but I don't have the time to download it right now. It's late and I need to get out of here and eat something for dinner. I'll get my brother to send it to me via e-mail.
It was a hot and uncomfortable day here in NC and that is the best time to spot and kill groundhogs. I called the neighbor down the street and asked his wife if she would mind if I popped a groundhog in her field below from her elevated driveway. She told me to come right over and avoid shooting any deer or turkeys. I promised to be a good boy and headed over after getting a big cold bottle of water at the neighborhood store. As I pull up in the driveway, I can see two groundhogs doing their thing, but I arrived unloaded and under the assumption that my appearance would scare them all off. They totally ignored me when I arrived, but I was NOT in a good position to shoot from and I couldn't get the rifle into position and get my head in position. Nothing I did made anything any better, so I decided to try to sneak out of the vehicle and get into a better firing position. Of course, I was exiting the vehicle on the same side all the groundhogs were on, so they all saw me in a heartbeat and most of them never came back out to play. I silently cursed my too good luck and I proceeded to settle into a good position and sit really still until the next groundhog comes out to play. It took about thirty minutes for one to come out of his hole. His location made shooting him impossible from a right-handed stance, so I had to saddle up left handed, which is something I never do. It felt weird, but I practiced good shooting technique and aimed for the middle so I would be less likely to miss. The trigger squeeze was textbook perfect and the rifle bark and jump suprized me. The gun fired true and it hit it's mark. The groundhog didn't suffer much. I circled his hole in red, because it's easy to miss. As you can see, he was headed right for it when he wheezed his last.
I borrowed my brother's digital cam to share it all with you nice folks. I have another pic, but I don't have the time to download it right now. It's late and I need to get out of here and eat something for dinner. I'll get my brother to send it to me via e-mail.