"Big Jim's Dirty Dozen " A Hunting Tale By Big Jim

My family asked that I do some "serious thinning" of their "squirrel problem" on their 25 acre farm. They over-feed the birds and this has caused the house to be invaded by the nasty vermin!! They went on vacation and yesterday I decided to take a look, of course equiped with my Gamo Hunter 440 .22 cal. and full camoflage. I knew to show up early, so at 5:55 a.m., I drove in looking!
Wow! There were at least 10 squirrels in the oaks around the house & driveway. I'm used to seeing a few and have never bagged more than 3 in a day keeping them off our peach trees. This place was overgrown with squirrel! Sunning in the trees, sitting on the roof, guzzling birdseed under the feeders and running amuck everywhere.Trying to stay calm, I "lock and loaded" the Gamo with the hard-hitting Magnum pellet and decided on a prone position behind a big oak. The rodents never even flinched as I crawled into place, slowly lowering the 440 for a good, solid hold. With over ten targets to choose from, I put the crosshairs on and dropped a tree-looker from 20 yards. The rest held their ground or branches and within half an hour, 6 were down. At one point, there were about 15 squirrels all around in the trees and on the ground chattering at me, letting me know whos turf I was really on!! They were furious, but not as furious as "El Gamo". Twelve nutters lay dead within an hour!
Click to enlarge

The Hunter 440 air rifle continues to amaze me with its' effectiveness as a pest control tool and its' ability to keep your marksmenship skills honed to high levels. You can shoot constantly and safely with airguns, indoors or outdoors, and this is what you need to do to be a good air gun hunter!!! I probably spend too much time target shooting, but it pays off when you NEED to be able to put a pellet right where you want to!
It's easy to get information all about shooting (airguns & firearms) on the internet, so if you're interested in getting started or just getting back into it you're all set. Any sport or hobby is more rewarding and fun if you learn alot about it, plus you'll be better at it quicker. Two key airgun tips I got from the net are "shooting sticks" and the "pellet clip". Both help me shoot faster and more accurately.
When you shoot airguns you become a marksman, a gunsmith, a person with a great hobby, and "a squirrel predator"!! SHOOT LOTS!!!!!!!
Big Jimi

Happy hunting

Editors Note:
Big Jim also shoots squirrels with his other Gamos as well as this nice sheridan pictured below.You can also see his shooting sticks.

Big Jim "The sound of nut cutting drew me in from over 100 yards away, & while setting up prone for the shot nutter #2 showed up!! Benjamin S-397 .177 w/Beeman Kodiaks again! When I dropped #1, #2 got so ticked off chattering that I easily pumped Benji, reloaded & made the shot! They're delerious while nut-cutting, so use it to your advantage!! "