I've owned my 223 Savage bolt (Left hand...thank you Savage) for about three years now. For some time I had consistency problems with accuracy. (Turns out I had the rings way to tight.) So I was never confident in taking it into the field to groundhog hunt. Heck, I shot several last year with the 17hmr. (all within 50 yards)
But I fixed the consistency problem of the 223 and have been trying to get some groundhogs. Unlike Nomad47, with this shooting bench, I'm more inclined to walk and try to find them. (Also, unlike Nomad47, I don't have the ability to shoot past...oh...250 yards. So the shooting bench makes sense for him.)
A farmer friend of mine told me about holes he's found on his property. There is a creek that runs through his land, and on each side, there's about a 35-50 yard wide strip of land. By the creek, it's pretty level, but as you move away from the creek, towards the crops, it gets steep. This strip of land is several hundred yards long. I discovered the area he mentioned has holes, but they're not occupied. But I did find some holes south of there that are occupied.
So off I went yesterday. I went down this strip of land (tall grass, trees), slowly looking far ahead for hogs. I picked a spot where I was about 75 yards away from a well used hole...waited about 20 minutes, but nothing showed. I slowly worked my way back up, but this time, instead of choosing the path in the grassy area next to the creek, I chose to walk on the hillside in the trees. There's a pile of concrete slabs I had walked past on the way in, and as I approached it on the way back, I saw a hog jump off and run underneath. AH!! Found one! I was only about 40-50 yards away. So I sat right down in the tall grass. Positioned myself and shooting stick for a shot at where it ran underneath...and waited. About 5 minutes later, it came out....looking around. I slowly brought the rifle to my shoulder, and viewed through the scope. The hog was facing almost directly away from me, so I had a perfect shot at the back of the shoulders, and the bullet would go into the brain. Pulled the trigger and down it went. Finally shot a hog with my 223! And put perhaps $500+ into the farmer's pocket.
Did I hunt? Yes....
Did I have a challenging shot at only 40 yards....not in the least.
Looks like the bullet came out it's mouth. I left it there. I want to see how long it takes the coyotes to get to it. Last year I shot a hog in the morning and when I went back in the afternoon, it was gone! (found the eaten carcass a few days later.)
But I fixed the consistency problem of the 223 and have been trying to get some groundhogs. Unlike Nomad47, with this shooting bench, I'm more inclined to walk and try to find them. (Also, unlike Nomad47, I don't have the ability to shoot past...oh...250 yards. So the shooting bench makes sense for him.)
A farmer friend of mine told me about holes he's found on his property. There is a creek that runs through his land, and on each side, there's about a 35-50 yard wide strip of land. By the creek, it's pretty level, but as you move away from the creek, towards the crops, it gets steep. This strip of land is several hundred yards long. I discovered the area he mentioned has holes, but they're not occupied. But I did find some holes south of there that are occupied.
So off I went yesterday. I went down this strip of land (tall grass, trees), slowly looking far ahead for hogs. I picked a spot where I was about 75 yards away from a well used hole...waited about 20 minutes, but nothing showed. I slowly worked my way back up, but this time, instead of choosing the path in the grassy area next to the creek, I chose to walk on the hillside in the trees. There's a pile of concrete slabs I had walked past on the way in, and as I approached it on the way back, I saw a hog jump off and run underneath. AH!! Found one! I was only about 40-50 yards away. So I sat right down in the tall grass. Positioned myself and shooting stick for a shot at where it ran underneath...and waited. About 5 minutes later, it came out....looking around. I slowly brought the rifle to my shoulder, and viewed through the scope. The hog was facing almost directly away from me, so I had a perfect shot at the back of the shoulders, and the bullet would go into the brain. Pulled the trigger and down it went. Finally shot a hog with my 223! And put perhaps $500+ into the farmer's pocket.
Did I hunt? Yes....
Did I have a challenging shot at only 40 yards....not in the least.
Looks like the bullet came out it's mouth. I left it there. I want to see how long it takes the coyotes to get to it. Last year I shot a hog in the morning and when I went back in the afternoon, it was gone! (found the eaten carcass a few days later.)
