Muskrat HUNT

[AlbertaAl]

Did my first spring muskrat hunt yesterday.
The ice and snow just opened the shorelines 2 weeks ago.

Shot 6 muskrats that were all moderate size.
Head shots from 10 - 30 yards
.177 air rifle Weihbrauch HW97 Underlever
Scope is a Leupold 3-9 EFR

Skinned them out - recovered pellets that were not deformed.
Not alot of fun walking shoreline swamps in chest waders but any hunt is an experience and I always enjoy harvesting fur, skinning and preparing for the fur trade.

[Rocklong]

I have been shooting muskrat with .17 hmr and fmj bullets and it seems to work really well. Very small holes the Bullets just blow through them. Any hunt is a fun hunt

[260Ackley]

They can be a challenging target while moving through the water for head shots. Good job. How hard is retrieval?

[AlbertaAl]

I couldn't retrieve without chest waders and a walking stick.
Stick prevents tripping on the underwater terrain...also used as a shooting stick and reaching pole for muskrat retrieval.

I used a 17HMR once and it wasn't fur friendly.
Even a 22 rimfire is hard on the fur.
The .177 works really well except you have to be close to the target.

Forgot to take my .177 pellets out of my pocket when I put the laundry into washer....

[Rocklong]

We just used a fishing pole and snag them

[rickiesrevenge]

Nice shooting. What are the hides worth this year?

Aaron

[Rocklong]

Earlier this winter they were saying extremely strong market on rats and coyotes so I guess we will see. I know the coyotes were very good this year.

[georgeld]

As a teen on the hay crew living with a bachelor rancher it was my job
to keep 'em out of the fish pond in the summers as they'd tunnel into the bank and create a wash out. Fur's no good then.

I used my pr/dog loads in the '06!! HOT 110gr.

No worries about fur damage then, wasn't any!!

Good rifle practice though!

[wombat]

Hello Rocklong, just for our interest what are Coyote and Muskrat skins bringing in dollars?
Over here in State of Victoria we get a seasonal bounty of $10.00 for a fox scalp and $120.00 for a spine strip for a wild dog (from nose including scalp, 4" along the length of the back and also including the tail) Hunting any small game, predator or varmints is always a good day...... Jay

[Rocklong]

Locally I sold some coyotes for 75-90 but never sold any rats. We shipped some coyotes to the nafa fur auction and expect that they will average $100 or more. Rats probably 7-15