Saubier.com  



Go Back   Saubier.com > Saubier.com Forums > Small Caliber Discussion Board

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 12-14-2018, 05:34 AM
Foxhunter223 Foxhunter223 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Coffs Harbour, Australia
Posts: 616
Default A Hornet and 222 go for a Walk

I'm on a course of medication for nine weeks which makes me a bit lethargic so Ian my shooting buddy and I decided to go on a weekend rabbit hunt while I still could.

We left my place, Coffs Harbour at 11:00 am Friday morning and drove west to a town called Armidale which is where we have access to two farms which consist of several thousand acres of prime rabbit country. The farm owners for some unknown reason try to grow cattle and sheep but rabbits do exceedingly well.

We stay on one farm in an old workers cottage and shoot on both as they are side by side which makes it incredibly easy for us as we flit from one property to the other. Our Modest Operandi is to drive to within a few hundred yards of a known rabbit warren, park the Landcruiser and then set up using whatever cover like large rocks or old fallen trees as our rest, we try to get a separation between us so we have a different sight picture of where we are shooting and snipe away. This allows us to quite often see rabbits that the other cannot see. Once we run out of targets we then walk to the next setup.



Ian was using his Bruno ZKW 22 Hornet and I took along a Sako L461 222 which I recently purchased through a local gun shop, it was on consignment from a friend of mine who has had to give up all shooting and driving for medical reasons. Turns out he had neglected to clean this rifle for some years and as a result the barrel has rust pits from breach to muzzle including part of the crown. But that is how it goes sometimes. I have made other rifle purchases over the years and got absolute bargains.

In his Hornet Ian was using Winchester .22 magnum projectiles while I, in the 222 was using some 55gn projectiles I bought many years ago which had been made using fired .22 rimfire cases for jackets. These projectiles are so soft that many of the rabbits were totally destroyed when hit. I load the cases with 22 grains of 2206H ( H4895 ) and PMC primers. So as not to push them too fast.



Friday afternoon after we set up camp we pushed off to see if many rabbits were about and we were pleasantly surprised to see many rabbits at the first warren we came to. Walking to several different warrens we shot 24 rabbits that afternoon between us and probably just about decimated two of the smaller warrens. This makes the farmers very happy.



Up early Saturday morning saw us walking around a few small hills we have traditionally shots hundreds of rabbits off at this time of year. For some inexplicable reason this year hardly any to be seen. We managed to eliminate about a dozen. Another piece of equipment I took along this times was a trigger operated tripod rest. All you have to do is squeeze the trigger and the three legs drop down to the ground and self level. A great piece of kit and will use it again.

Then it was back to camp for breakfast which consisted of several pancakes each with what ever we wanted on top. After breakfast we decided to go see one of the farmers and to catch up with what has been happening. We arrived just in time to help sort and mark lambs, a great way to spend the day. We finished just before lunch so we bade farewell to go scout around as they told us where some Fallow Deer had been seen. We went to the far end of the property to familiarize ourselves with the area they mentioned. Along the way we came across several rabbit warrens we did not know about so filed them in our rabbit warren data base we keep in our heads for future reference. Back to camp for bacon and egg rolls for lunch.

Later that Saturday afternoon we made moves to visit the new warrens we came across earlier and again used our cross position shooting technique to great advantage. As we walked from warren to warren in this gully we shot many rabbits and on the return managed to eliminate a few more that came out to enjoy a snooze in the afternoon sun. For rabbits this is not a good idea for a long life especially with a couple of die hard rabbit shooters in the vicinity.

Sunday morning we decided to see if we could find any deer. Fortunately Ian had brought along his Weatherby in 7/08. I went along for the walk  I must mention that this area is in the grip of a severe drought and trying to walk quietly through a Eucalyptus forest with it being so dry was a mission impossible. We would move slowly for a short distance and search around with our eyes in the hope of spotting deer before they spotted us. We repeated this many times and what really surprised us was the amount of Foxes we saw that had no idea we were there. At one place we were looking across a small gully and I saw a fox hunting about 100 yards from us. As it was getting late I said to Ian that I would call it in. One call on the fox whistle and he came running. He came in so fast that he very nearly ran into Ian where he was sitting. He stopped about 8 feet away from Ian and looked, to see the expressing on his face was worth it. It went from where is breakfast to OMG I am dead. As we still had hopes of maybe running into a late deer we did not shoot the fox but in hind sight should have as we only saw Kangaroo’s on the walk out.

We did take a few more rabbits once we were out of the gullies and into the more open country but we did not put too much effort into it as we had to get back to camp and pack up for the drive home to the coast.

You may have noticed we do not keep a running tally of rabbits nor do we take pictures of every setup we shoot from. We tally at the end of our time away by the fired cases. Cases are either neck up for a hit or down for a miss.

Ian shot 60 rabbits and I managed 48. We did bring some home for the table but as you can see by the above photo soft projectiles and soft skinned game does not go together.

All in all we had a very good weekend and Ian and I were pleased to get away.

Pete
__________________
Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not nailed down.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 12-14-2018, 07:08 AM
foxhunter foxhunter is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: new mexico
Posts: 3,413
Send a message via AIM to foxhunter
Default

man that sounds like New Mexico USA. we had a ranch to shoot that had an irrigated paddock of about 3 acres. the surrounding are was sheer desert with less than 7" of rain a year. it was like a small powerful magnet pulling jack rabbits in to the lush green grass. my friend Dave and I would sit and shoot jacks all afternoon as the rabbits had a regular trail coming from the desert to the grass.
we would take turns shooting and a new jack would show up about every 90 seconds. you could see the jacks coming thru the creosote and disappear into a dip just to pop up on a small rise. when they popped up we would knock them back over the hill. many a day we would shoo in excess of 100 jacks. they were stacked up like firewood and would climb over dead bodies to get to good green grass. jacks elsewhere were eating the bark off the creosote, and nothing eats creosote bare unless they are starving and in survival mode.
the ranch owner was always glad to see up coming as the jacks ate more grass than his horses did.
your story brought back good memories of good times with a good friend now long gone.
By the way our jacks don't live in warrens (holes with tunnels) they live above ground and make small dugouts. when it gets above 100* they will stand up in the shade and spread their ears to cool their bodies. when they do they are easy to spot because of the blood flowing threw their ears glows a bright red.
__________________
I post here because it keeps the riffraff away.
'Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in
a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, Holy sh!t... What a Ride!

Last edited by foxhunter; 12-14-2018 at 07:19 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12-14-2018, 01:48 PM
flyrod flyrod is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 258
Default

That sounds like a great trip! Thanks for sharing it here and good luck with the treatment.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12-14-2018, 02:20 PM
NeilA. NeilA. is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Western Washington
Posts: 302
Default

looks like fun!

Makes me want to pack up a tent and a Rifle, unfortunately it is a normal cold and wet winter here.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 12-14-2018, 02:25 PM
SEM SEM is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sac CA
Posts: 307
Default

Thank you for sharing a great adventure
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 12-14-2018, 02:59 PM
Bill K Bill K is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: N.E. Kommie Kalifornia
Posts: 6,305
Default Hornet and 222 go for a Walk

Great story and nice photos. That sitting and sniping off jackrabbits takes me back to the 50-60's when a shooting buddy and myself would sit up on a hillside over looking a large sage flat.
Early morning and late evening they would start moving around feeding and we would take shots from 100 out to 600 yards. At that time mostly with a 222 R and 22-250.
Now that area is fenced off and a large power plant has taken over, so no more sniping in that area. Thanks for your story and bringing back some memories. Bill K
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 12-14-2018, 04:41 PM
Tparrish Tparrish is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leavenworth Kansas
Posts: 536
Default

Great story enjoyed the pictures, nice to see what other parts of the world look like.

Tom
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12-14-2018, 06:18 PM
Eagle_view Eagle_view is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Dayton, Wyoming
Posts: 881
Default

Really enjoyed your adventure and photos, thank you for sharing your efforts. Looks like really great country.

Lowell
__________________
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms "

Quote by THOMAS JEFFERSON
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12-14-2018, 09:13 PM
dungheap dungheap is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Newton, WI
Posts: 1,641
Default

Posts like this and those from Silverfox enhance visits to this forum "hugely."
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12-14-2018, 10:08 PM
Screaminweasil Screaminweasil is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sage Country
Posts: 1,045
Default

Great caliber choice!
Looks like a fun trip, thanks for sharing.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 03:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.