Alberta Land Rover Enthusiasts Club Forum
General => Non Technical Discussion => Topic started by: Matt H on May 12, 2017, 10:38 PM
Took the young lad gopher shooting today in the 110. He did rather well (proud Dad) considering the 22 cal rifle we used is very old, heavy and not zero'ed particularly well. We bagged about 30 of the pesky critters that had decided to claim squatters rights in my yard.
The 110 proved perfect shooting brake allowing us target multiple rodents from a single location and to provide a sturdy rest for the rifle so he could get a steady aim. Good solid hits, centre of mass, each one (that he managed to hit) and a quick end to animal with minimal suffering. His hit rate was probably about 85%. Not bad for a first time out!
He even helped clean up afterwards. A rather grim affair wandering around with a bucket full of rodent remains. I wasn't exactly sure how that would play as sometimes a 22 makes quite a mess of gopher and he likes all animals. I felt it was an important lesson for him to learn about the consequences if he was going to hunt. But after explaining various reasons why they must be culled he seemed happy enough and even strangely curious as only a 12 year old boy can be about the manor of death of each gopher.
A very good day....unless you are a gopher.
That brings back memories, only I did not have such a thoughtful Dad - went on my own.
J
My dad and I used to do that a lot when I was a kid. Mostly out hunting grouse, using his old Pontiac as a rest for the 22. We shot gophers a fair bit as well. The farmers were always quite appreciative of that.