Every once in a while, the stars seem to align, and you make a shot that would appear to be impossible.
As a younger guy, I spent a lot of time carrying a Mossberg Model 151M, fitted with an old Weaver B4 scope.
My calling was keeping the starlings out of the cherry tree, and I quickly learned how smart they became
after a few deaths and near misses in their ranks.
One afternoon, I hustled outside with my Mossy as i heard the starlings were in the cherries again. They of
course, departed as soon as I left the house. My father was hoeing the potatoes in the garden, and he just
commented "they are getting used to you David"
However, one of the starlings flew to the edge of our cleared property, and perched on the top of a big Fir
tree standing there. Backdrop was a high rocky ridge, so a safe shot. I said to dad: "I'm going to kill that
starling on that tree" He just laughed and retorted, "you will not even scare him from here."
I threw up that Mossberg, located the starling in the scope, and lifted the rifle the amount I figured I would
need to give him at least a scare. To the surprise of both dad and I, the starling took the hit, and fell straight
down. My dad measured the distance to the base of that fir - 288 long paces from where I was standing when
I shot.
Pretty much a fluke, but it came from familiarity with that rifle and ammo [Whiz-Bang 22 LRHP] Long live the 22
rimfire. To this day, it remains my favorite round. [BTW, I still own a 151M Mossberg rifle]
Dave.
