First Chuck Hunt of the year today

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d2admin

Administrator
Me and Stormbringer went on our first chuck hunt of the year today. The weather was pretty bad for chuck hunting. Wind was blowing hard, it was cold and there were a few splatters of icy rain throughout the day. There weren't too many chucks up, and the ones that were up, were spooky as hell. We had a great time! Except for a few shots we got right at 200 yds, all of our shots were over 300, most over 350. Made a couple at over 450, not too shabby in that wind! Ended up with about 25 for the day. Picture is of Stormbringer with a few of the easier to get to victims. Can't wait for real chuck hunting weather!!

- DAA

SBringChucks.jpg
 
Dave, those are great, some guys can't get that many all season!

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Gun Control is hitting your target.
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Looking forward to later this spring when we can get better weather and the usual 50-100 chucks in a Saturday.

I think I am finally warming up!
 
Dave,
I was going to wait just a little longer before I went out.
I think I just changed my mind....

Good Job, especially with the weather.

-Mike
 
I must say, WOW!!! It would be incredible for me to kill that many in a year. I live in Durham NC, and answer this Question(anybody who knows). To kill that many hogs in a day obviously the most important thing is location as in state right???? Please make me feel better and say yes.....
Heck of a job guys!! I am impressed as well as proud.
 
Ram

Not to burst your bubble, but location is the key, and the state has some to do with it, but not entirely. My personal best in the central michigan area (which is considered poor by many)was 58 in one day. 37 of them came from one 160 acre field. Granted this is not what normally occurs, but I have come close to this several times. I normally get around 100 to 130 in a season which amounts to about 8 to ten days(full) hunting for them. Start beating on doors when you see a likely looking spot. I like hayfields in sandy/loamy soil that have been hay for 3 plus years, a fencerow or three helps too. Rock piles and rock fencerows work really well in this area too. I am no expert by far, but I hold my own compared to most of my buddies in this area. They think that driving county dirt roads is woodchuck hunting. I used too agree with them until I got out of sight of the roads. Not that driving for them is wrong in my eyes, it just ain't as productive as actually getting out there, get out there. Man I can't wait for warmer weather.
 
DAA - What are you shooting to get a 450yd kill on a chuck?

1) What rifle and calibre are you shooting?
2) Do you use a bipod, shooting sticks?
3) Do you roll your own, or shoot factory ammo?
4) What part fo the chuck do you aim for? At 450 yards a successful, intended headshot would be almost impossible...

Damn - And I'm still plinking with my Savage .22LR and even with Bipod, 9x Tasco scope I still can't get better than a 4" group at 100yds. That's with Winchester SuperX. I tied CCI stingers and my gun hated them - best group at 50 yards was 8" from a sighting vise. CCI blazer gives me from 8" to 5" at 100yards. This would probably mean a 3' group a 450yards - a crap shoot on a chuck. Even if I hit one, it'd be at about 600fps by then, I'd have to aim about 6' over it to account for the bullet drop, and it probably wouldn't even get through it's fur. :-(

Dang, I need a .223 or a 22-250. If it wasn't for the fact I have three neighbors within 1/4 mile that would get pissed off if I went through 100 rounds in my back garden...
 
Scruit,

I made kills at 470 yds. with two different rifles that day. One a .22-250AI using 80 gr. Starkes (my rifle, a custom), the other a .243 Win. using 70 gr. b-tips (Stormbringer's new Ruger).

All kills were made off a folding table, with a pedastal front rest and rear sandbag. The picture here is from a chuck hunt last year and shows my typical setup.

DAAbench.jpg


I've never used any factory centerfire ammo - started handloading when I bought my first centerfire at age 12 (whole summer of lawn mowing wages for a Model 70 in .270 Win., just like Jack O'...).

At 450+, in the conditions we had that day, I simply try for center mass on a chuck. The rifles we were using have plenty of horsepower to anchor them with a centerpunch at that range. Most people would be quite surprised to look closely at the ballistics of an 80 gr. .224 at that range - it has as much energy as a .25-06, with much less wind drift. In better conditions, I've killed chucks at almost twice that distance with factory .22-250's and 55 gr. bullets. If I can ever find a place to do it, I'm quite confident I can take a chuck at a thousand yards with this rig.

- DAA
 
Thanks for the info. I know that centerfires are fundementally more accurate than the rimfires, but I had no idea such accuracy was attainable. My centerfire experience was in the Territorial Army (National Gaurd) in the UK - Old Enfield Mk4 .303, 7.62 FN FAL and he 5.56 SA80. My best score (from foxhole with a bipod but iron sights) and a 500 metre range I got 8 hits on a standing-human sized target out of 10 shots from the 5.56. but that's a human-sized target, not a groundhog! I need to get myself a good .243 - as long as I only shoot it at the range, not my back garden!
 
Congratulations, guys. Your day of mediocre hunting was better than any day I have ever had shooting groundhogs. :eek:

Makes me want to go fondle my PD guns.

Wonder how much gas I have in the old truck....? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I dont't think I've ever seen 25 in a single day...! But if I ever did, I hope it would end up like that !!! Great pics.
 
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