Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Made a little history tonight.

I keep records of how many groundhogs I shoot every year. Tonight I shot my 3000th (and 3001st) too. I used the same gun that I shot my first groundhog with in 1964, 1000th in 1988, and 2000th in 2003. It was my first gun ever. It is a Savage .22 magnum/.410 over and under. I also used that gun to take my first rabbit. Lots of history in that little gun. #3000 was taken at 39 yards, and #3001 was taken at 59 yards. It sure is different using it compared to using my .204, .220 Swift, 22-250, .222,.223,.243, 25-06, etc. But it still kills.

Congrats on your record. While I have shot quite a few chucks in the past you have got more than I have.

I see your in Ohio. I hunt in Western CT, Eastern NY and Vermont and the bad thing is that the woodchucks are gone! The coyotes that got here only a few years ago have cleaned them out of the fields.

The farmers don't mind the chucks being gone but I do. That was a great rifle sport for me. The land is still there but no chucks.

Here is my favorite chuck rifle. A High Wall by Floyd Butler in .219 Improved Zipper. The land is there, you see it, but there are no chucks in the open here anymore.

Too cool for school....!

bet we live 20 minutes apart or less. lol

Wow, 'NO CHUCKS' That would be terrible. I couldn't survive if I couldn't be out shooting groundhogs all the time. We have coyote around here too, but they don't seem to put to much of a hurt on the hogs...

Coolest lookin' guns of all time were the old varminters with a long-tubed Unertl or Lyman on top...IMO! I'm assuming that's a Super Targetspot on top?

OP--great achievement sir!

Great post..shooting chucks is a fantastic sport..the areas we hunted in years past are now mostly clear of chucks..maybe coyotes, but for sure changing farm pratices, and the abandoning of farming completely..enjoy....

I have one of those in 410/ 22LR... the 22 is shot out by my grand dad, who died in 1968...

the 410 lower half is the best squirrel rig ever!

That's just great. Love it.

Good for you. Some guns are simply good friends that one must stick with.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing today after I cleaned the ole Savage .22 mag/.410 over & under, and put it in the gun safe beside an ole Remington model 514. How fitting those two old guns are sitting in the safe beside each other. Boy, the stories those two old guns could tell about the hunting trips they've been on. I totally agree with you. Lots of history in those old guns.

There is nothing better than hunting with vintage guns.... Thanks for sharing.

Very sweet! Still pulling for Obama, figuratively and literally, [bleep]?

Coyotes have cut my numbers in about half. Missouri never had them like you guys do.

Looks to be about time some chuck hunters invest in coyote
calls.

Here in south-central Ontario the ground hogs disappeared probably 25 or 30 years ago. Have never seen a definitive study explaining why they disappeared. Some say coyotes while one friend who farms suspected some spray being used on corn as being the cause.

The last couple of chucks I saw were in far northern Ontario of all places! They were at fly in fishing/hunting camps where the outfitter had removed existing ground cover and spread some grass seed. This was absolutely the last place I would have expected to see chucks.

Jim

WOW! That is pretty awesome.

Thanks for posting the pic and sharing your story with us. I remember those combo guns well.

That is awesome man! Thanks for sharing... I love the detailed records you're keeping of your history with that hunting iron. VERY cool!