Air Guns

Why do I detest the Beechey Marmot so much? well, beyond the disease/plague vector,...

destruction of property and severe erosion from the tunneling.
these images are well within a 30' diameter circle of each other.
These are the cut face for the road that leads to my driveway. This road ends in another 50' left of the images. There is an easement owned by the public utility company, and the county, to maintain the road. I'm not "allowed to do anything" permanent within their easement, which is about 30' wide along this outer edge.

This is erosion from their tunneling being pushed out.
DSCN5471.jpg DSCN5473.jpg

In this image, the dark hole to the left of the shrubs in the image is another den entrance; you can also see the previous erosion to the right.
DSCN5474.jpg

These tunnels are to the immediate left of the image above:
DSCN5475.jpg DSCN5476.jpg

And this is that exact same area, about 20' set back from the road, where they've dug out the entire root area of an old Olive tree.
Sarge was trying to stuff rocks into the holes, which they just dug around.
This is where I started to get pissed about the damage, and the obsession began.
The stacked wood, and trash can (green waste barrels) is my long distance blind (200' shot)
DSCN5478.jpg

And, this is the mulch in this same area; Chewed open Macadamia nut shells from the abandoned farm across the road (my 200' target zone).
DSCN5479.jpg DSCN5480.jpg
 
Why do I detest the Beechey Marmot so much? well, beyond the disease/plague vector,...

destruction of property and severe erosion from the tunneling.
these images are well within a 30' diameter circle of each other.
These are the cut face for the road that leads to my driveway. This road ends in another 50' left of the images. There is an easement owned by the public utility company, and the county, to maintain the road. I'm not "allowed to do anything" permanent within their easement, which is about 30' wide along this outer edge.

This is erosion from their tunneling being pushed out.
View attachment 1290641 View attachment 1290642

In this image, the dark hole to the left of the shrubs in the image is another den entrance; you can also see the previous erosion to the right.
View attachment 1290643

These tunnels are to the immediate left of the image above:
View attachment 1290644 View attachment 1290645

And this is that exact same area, about 20' set back from the road, where they've dug out the entire root area of an old Olive tree.
Sarge was trying to stuff rocks into the holes, which they just dug around.
This is where I started to get pissed about the damage, and the obsession began.
The stacked wood, and trash can (green waste barrels) is my long distance blind (200' shot)
View attachment 1290646

And, this is the mulch in this same area; Chewed open Macadamia nut shells from the abandoned farm across the road (my 200' target zone).
View attachment 1290647 View attachment 1290648

Would this help?
 
Would this help?


At that rate, you're only getting around 1199 ricochetes a minute.

Steel BB's scare me. They're wicked. Its a miracle that I didn't shoot my eye out as a kid.

My local rodents only run about 10', and then stop. They always stop at the edge of the bush/shrub line. So, that is where tha action happens.
 
At that rate, you're only getting around 1199 ricochetes a minute.

Steel BB's scare me. They're wicked. Its a miracle that I didn't shoot my eye out as a kid.

My thoughts 'zaktly, I've seen a friend break off a front tooth with a steel BB recochete.
 
At that rate, you're only getting around 1199 ricochetes a minute.

Steel BB's scare me. They're wicked. Its a miracle that I didn't shoot my eye out as a kid.

My local rodents only run about 10', and then stop. They always stop at the edge of the bush/shrub line. So, that is where tha action happens.

I guess this is a little impractical.

main-qimg-5ffed45d19a66e18873dc1d4d71bb8e4-c
 
I guess this is a little impractical.

main-qimg-5ffed45d19a66e18873dc1d4d71bb8e4-c

I saw one of those rapid repeat BB guns, and, did have that fantasy of blasting at a running squirrel; gotta admit it.
But, BB's are wicked for ricochet.
As a kid, my folks built a house on a hillside. This created a lot of under-house raw area, where a totally enclosed basement wasn't possible due to the steepness of the hill, but, the floor joisting created open area below the house. It was a three walled basement, with an open side that created the downstairs floor of the house. It was all solidly walled in, but, open dirt held in place by retaining walls in terraces.
In that area, I made a shooting gallery for my Crosman 760, and, Red Ryder-type BB gun. I took a plank (2x12), and extended it from the dirt, out to the backside of a wall. There, I'd set up my targets (cans), and shoot at them. The backdrop was cinder blocks stacked vertically as foundation blocks.
I had so many BB's ricocheting around, getting hit my them, etc.,.. like I said, somehow both eyes still exist. I also found that the lead pellets just flattened out and dropped.
To avoid getting repeatedly hit by ricochets, I was shooting from behind a piece of leaned-up plywood. Dumb, but, that is the way it went.
Flash forward to about a week ago,...
I read where a guy was using a PCP rifle, as a minimal shotgun, by putting a pellet into the breach, followed by as many BB's as he could load behind the pellet. His BB's were lead.
I decided to try this out with my Crosman 2100 .177, a week or two ago.
I got the pellet in place, and, I could only load a single BB behind it, a steel BB. I set up a target on one of my firewood backstops, and shot at it.
The BB came straight back into the patio, and started bouncing around on all of the hard surfaces, pinging around. Its last ping was on a new sliding glass door, and it came to rest on the ground just below it. If I had shattered that window with this stupid stunt, Sarge would have had my boys in a clamp, ready for removal. It also caused me to flashback to my youth, and being really fortunate to still have both eyes.

The result of my effort,...
neither hit center of target. The BB hit low, but did hit the 9" target. The pellet stayed more on focus, but came in to the left of center.
 
I've wanted to share this since the thread was revitalized and finally dragged it out from the closet.
This is my very 1st air rifle that was given to me for Christmas or my BD - I can't remember cause it was 52 years ago and I was only 10 years oldView attachment 1284421 View attachment 1284422 View attachment 1284423 at the time.
It has no markings on it anywhere and of course I can't recall what make it is. It lost it's milk long ago and I've always thought it would be cool to restore it but I think I'll just leave it original with all the nostalgia intact.
Compared to the rig I'm using now this thing is light as a feather!

Is that a Slavia (Czech made)? Those seem to be the ones that were common back then. Model 618?
 
Is that a Slavia (Czech made)? Those seem to be the ones that were common back then. Model 618?
I have no earthly idea. I have looked it over thoroughly but it has absolutely no markings or numbers on it anywhere.
It would be cool to know tho.
 
Maybe under the barrel, or, on the stock below it?
Clueless about how hard it is to remove; but I've found lots of makers marks on the inside of old cabinets, etc, without overt outer markings.
 
OK,... so, I went out, and set up my shooting stand at my long shot this morning. Around noon, I went out for a look, nothing obvious,... or was that something moving in the bushes? Wait,.. yep, there it is!
The 10-Ring was rooting around just deep enough in the brush that I could only make out glimpses. But, I was following that motion towards a place where they always stop, and where they have a look around, before they dash off into the nut grove. I've whacked a couple of dozen in this same small spot; a native shrub that grew to a few feeet tall, tipped over, and made an archway frame of about 2' diameter off the ground.
So, I'm watching the motion, and it emerges exactly where I thought it was heading. I draw down on it, finger the trigger, and,... out of the blue, a larger male 10-Ring comes busting out of the bushes, and, climbs on the first 10-Ring for a quick hump.
The second 10-Ring was larger than number one, so, I readjusted my aim directly upward, figuring if I missed low, number one was still right where I'd zeroed her in.
I pulled trigger, the pellet flew true, and, I popped the humper off of the back of the number one 10-Ring.
She ran off into the bushes. She'll breed with others, and more will be made.
 
The kid who lives next door to me was shooting in his backyard last weekend while I was working in my backyard. I heard the first riccochet zip through some bushes on my side of the fence & I told him to watch it. The second one went over my ear and hit the tree next to me. That was it, I went over & pounded on the door & told his father, who had never introduced themselves to me, that I would not put up with that crap & they better be careful. It is a violation of state law for a juvenile to operate an air gun without parental supervision, which he was doing. It is legal in my town to fire an air gun on private property, but they are responsible for any riccochets. There are thousands of acres of pine barrens nearby where he could shoot to his heart's content but instead he is shooting at trees in a residential neighborhood on less that 5/8ths of an acre. Not cool at all. BTW I am pro 2nd amendment.
 
I don't blame you for doing that! not one bit.

As a kid, I was on a Boy Scout / Explorer post weekend trip to the desert. The troop leader was an avid hunter. He was a very successful dentist, and had an armory of custom weapons. He'd take us out to the desert and shooting.
He had a trip planned to go to Alaska, and hunt Kodiak bear. He had a rifle built for the occasion, and it was a monster. I don't recall exactly anymore, but something of the .45 caliber range (44/40 comes to mind, but 40 years ago+). We hauled a bunch of full plastic water bottles up onto this hillside, way off in the distance, and, we shot at them. Suddenly my friend just fell back on the ground, writhing in pain, holding his face.
The dentist/troop leader settled him down, and had a look. Norm had been hit by a ricochet just below his eye, and it was swelled up enough to close his eye off; but it did not break the skin. It looked like a giant bee sting.
It happened when someone was shooting the big bear rifle. Norm got really lucky that that bounce back wasn't an inch higher, or, the result would have been far worse.
 
Last edited:
I don't blame you for doing that! not one bit.

As a kid, I was on a Boy Scout / Explorer post weekend trip to the desert. The troop leader was an avid hunter. He was a very successful dentist, and had an armory of custom weapons. He'd take us out to the desert and shooting.
He had a trip planned to go to Alaska, and hunt Kodiak bear. He had a rifle built for the occasion, and it was a monster. I don't recall exactly anymore, but something of the .45 caliber range (44/40 comes to mind, but 40 years ago+). We hauled a bunch of full plastic water bottles up onto this hillside, way off in the distance, and, we shot at them. Suddenly my friend just fell back on the ground, writhing in pain, holding his face.
The dentist/troop leader settled him down, and had a look. Norm had been hit by a ricochet just below his eye, and it was swelled up enough to close his eye off; but it did not break the skin. It looked like a giant bee sting.
It happened when someone was shooting the big bear rifle. Norm got really lucky that that bounce back wasn't an inch higher, or, the result would have been far worse.

When I was a kid on my uncle's farm - where I spent most summers - he insisted that I wear safety goggles when shooting my Red Ryder. I never had a ricochet hit them but they kept pine needles out of my eyes when I was sneaking up on those rhinos that for some reason only I ever noticed.

44/40 is far too light for Kodiak. That is a deer caliber. Shooting a Kodiak with that would probably just piss him off. There could easily be six inches or more of fat before even reaching the massive rib cage. I would not mess with a Kodiak with anything less than .458 Win Mag.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom