Drew Jaeger
Member
- Location
- Southern Tablelands, NSW, Australia
I went out to my bunny patch for a look with the 22 Hornet. I was very keen to field test the 30gr Barnes Varmint Grenade load on a couple of bunnies. Upon arriving the first thing I noticed was the pasture not being as thick as the other properties, but not a single bunny was out to greet me.
Driving down behind the shearing shed to an erosion gully I was surprised not to see any rabbits in their usual spots. Then I saw the eyes of a fox moving in the grass on the other side of the gully. Through the scope I could make out his backline, but he did not present a clear shot. Then he melted into the ground cover. Immediately, I blew on the button whistle.
Following a couple of minutes sweeping with the light, I noticed a patch of white sitting up just on the edge of the beam. "That'll do", I thought. With the trigger set and cross hairs on the white target, the little Hornet barked, dropping Basil on the spot. After making my way over to the other side of the erosion gully, I found the large dog.
Ok, he is not Foxzilla, but he would be the largest fox I have taken in the last 5 years. The shot was definitely over 100m, and guestimated to be ~120m. The 30gr BVG exploded within the chest cavity; very impressive indeed.
Continuing on; an hour later, another fox was seen sitting out in the open on the far side of another gully within 204 range, but out of Hornet range. The whistle did not encourage the fox to come closer either. Unfortunate, I had left the Led Lenser P7 at home, so a stalk was not an option. Other than that, it was a rather quiet night.
Driving down behind the shearing shed to an erosion gully I was surprised not to see any rabbits in their usual spots. Then I saw the eyes of a fox moving in the grass on the other side of the gully. Through the scope I could make out his backline, but he did not present a clear shot. Then he melted into the ground cover. Immediately, I blew on the button whistle.
Following a couple of minutes sweeping with the light, I noticed a patch of white sitting up just on the edge of the beam. "That'll do", I thought. With the trigger set and cross hairs on the white target, the little Hornet barked, dropping Basil on the spot. After making my way over to the other side of the erosion gully, I found the large dog.
Ok, he is not Foxzilla, but he would be the largest fox I have taken in the last 5 years. The shot was definitely over 100m, and guestimated to be ~120m. The 30gr BVG exploded within the chest cavity; very impressive indeed.
Continuing on; an hour later, another fox was seen sitting out in the open on the far side of another gully within 204 range, but out of Hornet range. The whistle did not encourage the fox to come closer either. Unfortunate, I had left the Led Lenser P7 at home, so a stalk was not an option. Other than that, it was a rather quiet night.
