Rabbit Sniping w/ The Boy - Round #2

TheGDog

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Took the boy back for Round 2 of Rabbit-Sniping today! (His 2nd Hunt since getting his license) Quick little Half-Day trip until the heat came. What I loved about this trip was that as soon as he setup his Stool and got settled-in at his sit-spot about 25yds from me... then the main hot-spot where they tend to pass-thru or stop at had 2 bunnies come racing thru... so it was neat, as a Father, to watch his #BeThePredator mode kick-in and he got all serious and intent in his focus!

Some number of minutes later (maybe 10-15?), in a part of that hot-spot that I can't see from my sit position, a bunny must have made a fatal mistake and stopped in that area, as I then I watch him slowly shoulder the butt of the rifle and grab the pivot of the shooting sticks! From the seriousness of his body language I'm like "Aw Yeah! The boy's locked-on! This is gonna be good!" ... .22 goes "Pew!" ... he turns in the leafy suit and motions with a thumbs-up! That I sit back and watch him go over for the fetch, he has to delve a little into the bush, but I'm watching him be methodical and Boop! See him emerge with the Rabbit and proudly silently hold it up to show me! :)

Like I'd instructed from prior outing, he deposits the rabbit in the meat bag, folds over the opening, and sets it in the shade behind his sit.

The next couple that made the mistake of venturing into the danger-zone... I caught site of them before he did. First saw the one and was considering sniping it from my vantage point where he couldn't see him at... but then I caught site of the 2nd set of ears coming from around this protruding rock in that hot-spot area. So keeping voice soft I tell him there are two coming, get ready.

Few moments later, they hopped forward into a shadow from a scrub oak more forward of the rock, where I now know for sure he'd be able to see them and have a shot. I quickly run a decision matrix in my head and decide to take the one which may be less within his sight radius, and figure the other one would be the one he'd more likely elect to put his crosshairs on. All the while this was going on, I'd had my crosshairs on the one I'd selected, was just waiting for them to work themselves more into his view.

The moment comes, they finally hop to where I know for sure he'd see both of them. Had a bead on the ones head, but he then rotated around, so had to quickly re-acquire and decided front shoulder area might be safer choice. "PEW!" Daddy's .17 HMR laid the instant smack-down with authority. Right went down where he was, no movement, like somebody turned off the light-switch. His buddy is maybe 24" from him, doesn't seem to notice or understand his friend just went down. Which is great, I was concerned the first hit might spook the other one away and ruin the boys chance.

I quickly reload and move crosshairs over to his buddy, and wait on the boy... "Pew!".. Yes!!! The boy gets to see his first bunny black-flip that I'd been telling him about! Although upon landing I guess he was still kicking for a bit and that propelled him to a nearby bush, I watch the boy approach, and this time, he didn't hesitate to give a finishing shot to the head up close and personal. To make sure there was no more hurting. (On the first outing he we had this one gut-shot bunny that was crawling away, which gave him a little anxiety about it, and I had to instruct him to hurry up and pop it in the head. Which he did. Later that particular day, he told me he felt bad about that one, to which I said "I know, but that's why we hurried up and did the right thing and took away his pain.)

We waited a lil bit more, and again Daddy was using the Pocket Prey to see if we could maybe coax in another curious rabbit having a maternal response to the baby rabbit sound it makes. (It did coax the largest one in the last outing). But it was starting to get very warm, so right about when I was thinking it, the boy suggested we call it, and I agreed.

So Nice! I got to do a double-team today with the boy! YES!

20200725_094911.jpg


Aaaaaand this is what it looks like on the drive home when you wake your kid up at 4am :)20200725_115523 - Copy.jpg
 
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GSPHUNTER

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Hey G, how u been? I took my twelve year old grandson on his first ever hunt. We were in AZ. for rabbits, he got the first three he shot at, not too bad for a kid who up to six days prior had never fired a gun. I did take him to the range every day prior to the hunt. I started him with iron sights, then switch to a scoped .22. We were at an indoor range with max. distance 25 yards. By the time we were done he was shooting real nice groups. When we go to Az. I set him up with targets at 40 yards. He was off on first few rounds, then I reminded him about his breathing and not to take so long between shots. Then he got back on target. He ended the two day hunt with 17 cotton tails. by the way, I am known on other forums as GUNDOGLOVER.
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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NICE!!! 17? Heck yeah! Yeah man... that Mojave desert? I had a lot of fun stalking around with my AirRifle out there!

Lotta stuff happening right now to test me man. CoVID beginning of the year. That seems to have exacerbated my lower back pain old trauma injury issue too. Gonna get an MRI here in a bit. Then my dog Brizzy finally had to be put down, just shy of 15yo. She had Ulcerating tumors. But you know... you try to give 'em the most number of new days you can before ya gotta call it. Figured I'd be a mess afterward, but I'm not. Whenever I think about her I always smile because just soo many good, fun memories! Then the little one.. the Chihuahua... she's got tumors now.. so we've scheduled a surgery for her... they had to scrub it for 2 weeks because these other marks on her abdomen where skin infections, so she shot her up with a lost-lasting antibiotic to tackle that first.. no sense in cutting thru skin with infection and getting that deeper into the tissues.

Then?.. a freakin slab leak in the kitchen! FML. Then they come and fix... but then I notice moisture on the cement patch covering it. So they come back out to excavate... but the guy not finding what is no doubt a pinhole leak. I'm betting it's in the solder joins on his repair. They're coming back out day after tomorrow for that.

And work has been frustrating too because now with the economic down turn ya feel this pressure to produce lots of results and lotta times when you're a coder.. you sometimes waste a lot of time figuring out3rd party vendors software products you're integrating with. So since they furloughed some people initially when they panicked... it stresses me out to constantly have something to show for my time, ya know?

Been trying to get back out there as much as possible.. but now it's causing me great pain. At first thought it was fitment of my pack and its lumber pad. But now I believe my old trauma injury somehow got aggravated during the Covid BS because when it was happening it was scary... the insane amount of inflammation it brought on... and with my strong coughing... initially... when I'd cough.. my lower back wanted to give out from underneath me and I'd drop toward the floor!

So anyhoo... now when I go to forest... when I get back home... I'm like hobbled/mamed for 3-5 days straight afterward everytime. Gonna try wearing suspenders to help not have pressure from belt be near that injury site. Especially since belly has grown lil bit now with this inactivity from 1st 4 month of year being way under the weather there.

Oh... and pffft... freaking Remington man... they won't just admit their damn 1894 .44 Mag I bought from them won't fire the lead-free Barnes 225gr and just give me a refund... so they've been holding on to it since like 4th month of the year. Before that lever had locked up and after 2nd time it did that I sent it to them they noted a boroken part and stated they replaced something like the rocker assembly inside. So anyway... quite literally?... I've only taken that gun.... to the range... twice....ever.. that's it. I bought the damn thing lil after my bday last year as a present to myself. Was a tossup between that and a Ruger 77/44. I'm shaking my damn head at myself for not buying that 77/44.
 
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Haha thank you. Its one of my favorite things to do to. Great practice and helps to protect the land, its also fun to see just how far you can really stretch those small calibers.
 
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