dk17hmr
12-09-2007, 03:40 PM
I havent been around much, havent been anywhere much other than working, Today though I was able to get out in the woods with a rifle looking for bunnies, even let my dad come and be the rabbit dog.
Dad took his S&W 38 spl, and for me the rifle of choice today was dads Savage 23 in 32-20, loaded with a 156gr plain base bullet left unsized in front of 2.2gr of Trailboss. This is a load I made for the rifle this summer to shoot small unwanted animals that might show up at night. To quote my dad "did you just shoot" will get back to that.
We started in the christmas tree, which were littered with rabbit tracks since last nights fresh 2 inches of snow. I kicked one out but either of us had a safe shot. Dad was working the ditch line I was about 75 yards from him kicking a brush pile when he yells "rabbit coming your way, oh wait he stopped, see him?" "Yea dad I going to let him come closer your in the line of fire right now." Rabbit ran a little closer about 30 yards from me and stopped clear of my dad, I shouldered and fired. I yelled to dad "dead rabbit" he replied "did you just shoot? didnt hear it." With this load you can hear the firing pin hit the primer and the bullet hit the target that is about it. After a little tracking of the rabbit about 10 feet it made it just out of my site we found him with a .30 cal hole in his lungs.
On the back side of the property I got a shot at another one that was sitting at the base of a big pine tree. I shouldered and fired as soon as I saw him and actually missed, rushed myself probably. He sat there probably wondering why that snow puffed up like that a few inches in front of his head. I had time to load again and fire which resulted in a head shot and dead rabbit number 2.
We kicked out a few more but never got save shots at them and a rabbit isnt worth a hole in a shed or a person.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/bunny.jpg
Is this what a 32-20 is for? I have heard of deer being killed with them, but rabbits with "heavy" slow bullets seem to be a better job for this little rifle.
Dad took his S&W 38 spl, and for me the rifle of choice today was dads Savage 23 in 32-20, loaded with a 156gr plain base bullet left unsized in front of 2.2gr of Trailboss. This is a load I made for the rifle this summer to shoot small unwanted animals that might show up at night. To quote my dad "did you just shoot" will get back to that.
We started in the christmas tree, which were littered with rabbit tracks since last nights fresh 2 inches of snow. I kicked one out but either of us had a safe shot. Dad was working the ditch line I was about 75 yards from him kicking a brush pile when he yells "rabbit coming your way, oh wait he stopped, see him?" "Yea dad I going to let him come closer your in the line of fire right now." Rabbit ran a little closer about 30 yards from me and stopped clear of my dad, I shouldered and fired. I yelled to dad "dead rabbit" he replied "did you just shoot? didnt hear it." With this load you can hear the firing pin hit the primer and the bullet hit the target that is about it. After a little tracking of the rabbit about 10 feet it made it just out of my site we found him with a .30 cal hole in his lungs.
On the back side of the property I got a shot at another one that was sitting at the base of a big pine tree. I shouldered and fired as soon as I saw him and actually missed, rushed myself probably. He sat there probably wondering why that snow puffed up like that a few inches in front of his head. I had time to load again and fire which resulted in a head shot and dead rabbit number 2.
We kicked out a few more but never got save shots at them and a rabbit isnt worth a hole in a shed or a person.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/bunny.jpg
Is this what a 32-20 is for? I have heard of deer being killed with them, but rabbits with "heavy" slow bullets seem to be a better job for this little rifle.