The old man picked up his 22.250 so it was a zero session in the morning to see how it performed,awsome is the only word to describe this calibre,it took 4 shots to get zero so we decided to have a quick drive round part of the farm just to see if the old man could hit something with it.
As i had my rapid .20 with me i took it out the bag just incase a closer shot presented itself.
We didnt have to wait long when i spotted a rabbit 40 yards along a fenceline so i obliged and sent a pellet on its way and rolled him over no probs,picked him up and drove round towards a wood where a nice safe backstop could give me old man a shot if there was a rabbit or fox lurking about.Well as usual nothing about so we decided to park up in a favourite spot and wait for a bit,we didnt have to wait long when a rabbit popped out from some brambles some 140 yards away,the old man got out the car and with a solid rest on the car door took his shot.
All that was going through my mind at the time was please dont miss , just hit it and be happy,he didn`t dissapoint all i saw was a rabbit spin off the groung like a ragdoll being thrown about.We drove up to where the rabbit was and just couldn`t believe the mess it made, i wont go into to much detail but there was bits all over the place and in a little divet lay curled up a half skinned rabbit.I took a pic just to show how devastating this round is , look out mr fox from now on.
After the hype of the 22.250 had settled we decided that it was time for the shotguns to come out as it wasn`t worth just going round blowing rabbits to bits at a cost of £1.10 a round.There is 3 small woods on this farm so we decided to go on a squirrel hunt,the first wood was a waste of time ,nothing in here that produced a shot so it was over to a more productive corner of the second wood.This wood has squirrel written all over it,chestnut trees bordered with conifers ,you just know theres some in here.Within a minute of walking in we had shot 2 squirrels and a lucky,well unlucky rabbit fell to me dad,he was beaming as it was another rabbit running with his shotty.Time for a break before we set off into the other end of the wood.
Well nothing showed in the next 30 min until we reached another set of chestnut trees,i saw one run up the tree and took him out , what happened next was awsome something i dont think will happen again for a long time.When i took the shot on the first squirrel you would think the tree came alive ,there were squirrels running in every direction from this tree,me old man didnt know where to shoot,it was manic,shots going off everywhere.What seemed to last ages was probarbly all over in 30 seconds and counting 10 shells between us we had took 6 squirrels out of that tree,the look on me dads face was a picture he was laffin his head off ,he couldnt believe what had just happened so quick.
The third wood is mostly chestnut with odd conifer and although we did see some we only got a chance at one and my dad took him out.We did stay on in the wood for a chance at some pigeons but nothing really produced itself apart from two at the very end .
My next forray was a walk around my local farm with the rapid,i was bored to tears so just had to get out for an hour at least,there wasn`t any rabbits about so i decided to get in a small conifer wood and wait for any pigeons coming into roost.
While i was getting myself settled i was scanning about the trees and noticed a squirrel feeding right at the top of a tree , he was about 60 yards from me but i can wait i thought no probs just come my way if you like when you have stopped feeding,no chance he stayed there for ages,its not worth breaking cover with these squirrels as they just bolt at the slightest sound or movement so stay put i did.
One hour later he was still there and his brother and his sister and his cousin all around me taking the perverbials out of me,all about 60 yards and no clear shot insight,to say i was getting frustrated is an understatement but patience is a virtue and i have patience.
Another 20 minutes had passed when finally one came within range,i took my time on him and took him out nice and clean ,straight down with no kicking ,as i recycled the bolt the first one i had been watching came straight over to me ,the shot had scared him and he was motoring,he passed straight over my head and ran another 30 yards passed ,but he made that fatal mistake ,he stopped to see what or who had made the noise,i kindly showed him and he followed his buddy.The light was starting to fade now when all of a sudded a flock of about 100 pigeons just dropped all around me,they were everywhere ,i was scanning the tree tops and couldnt believe it ,i couldn`t see one pigeon they were so tight in the conifers it was impossible to make one out.I lifted the scope and tried to find one with that ,i found countless pigeons but no clear shot was found,i just couldn`t believe my luck,oh well i thought, so i broke cover and all hell broke loose they had spotted me and took off like a scene from the birds but fortunately for me some had landed in clearer trees on there way out the wood so two quick shots and i had two woodys in the bag aswell.
As it was getting pretty hard to see i decided to call it a day and started to walk back to the motor when a rabbit hoped out 35 yards in front of me,it froze looking at me but i had raised the gun in a flash and took the shot.I had hit it in the neck but i put it down to me rushing,its not what i normally do but it had presented itself that quick instinct just took over,it was dead all the same .
Well thats it for now and will be back as soon as i have something to report,i think another trip to the local wood with the rapid again will do for this weekend as the white stuff is coming and the pigeons should be there keeping warm..
