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Isabella Woodhouse wrote:
Winchester lever action, model 88.
Dad gave it to me for my 16th birthday so I've had it for 30 years.
Kicks like a mule, but not too bad if you bench it right.
I could use the AR-15 and I'm told .223 would work for hogs, but I'd
rather make sure I get a 1 shot kill and prefer a head shot.
I just had a feeling it might be a Winchester.
Most common.
True but it was the Annie Oakley image that made me think of it. VBG
giggles I'm not a bad shot, but no Annie Oakley. ;-)
I wouldn't use a .22
either though they are great for small, irritating pests like squirrels.
Too bad they don't have heat-seeking nano-missiles for the moles. 
.223 is not quite the same as .22.
Same diameter, but a considerably larger powder load. Muzzle velocity
exceeds 3,000 fps. You don't get that with .22. g
Holy mackerel, you sure don't. Very interesting! Not much prairie dog
left I imagine.
It was gutted from end to end. Died instantly.
The concept of "varmint rifles".
...It hits with explosive force. You should see what it does to to a
prairie dog at 100 yards. You shoot a squirrel with that, there
won't be enough left of it to skin and cook. Squirrel is good eating
so yes, I do use either a BB gun or .22 for them and bunnies.
Remember, AR-15's are used for hunting Terrorist humans.
This particular one tho' is a hunting rifle. Not law enforcement or army:
http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_xm...VMS24FVAR9.asp
And here I thought Bushmaster was either a cucumber or a snake.
lol No, it's a very good brand of firearm. A lot of PD's use that
brand in carbines.
It's actually a lot of fun to shoot. Lots of power for almost no recoil
which allows you to stay on target faster with a semi-auto. Of course
tho', military AR-15's have an alternate setting for a 3 round full auto
burst. Not legal for us civilians without the AFT licensing.
It actually should be adequate for hogs.
The only problem with Bushmaster is their price, but then again, you get
what you pay for up to a point. Taurus makes really reliable and durable
firearms too. My favorite 9mm that I own is the Taurus PT-92. A Beretta
clone. Taurus bought the Beretta factory in Brazil so why not build what
it was already tooled for?
That gun has only mis-fired once on a round of snake shot I was testing.
Snake shot goes better in revolvers, not semi-autos so I was not too put
out.
I repeat, Squirrel is good eating. g
I just skin them wet (to keep the fur from shedding), clean and quarter
them, then lightly fry them in olive oil and lemon pepper. They are
quite toothsome.
I've eaten lots of game since my dad and uncles were all hunting
devotees, but I've never liked squirrel.
Flavor or texture? Just curious. I do respect individual tastes.
But of course, my squirrels are grain fed. g They eat the hen scratch
I put out for my pigeons.
What other type of game do you get to put in your freezer?
At least one deer got into the garden last night and polished off the
tops of all the chard and a couple rows of beans.
Oh crap.
It must have figured
out how to get under the wire. So... it looks like I won't have as many
beans to freeze. I'm just sooooo disappointed (NOT). I did nine pints
of chile sauce the other day... probably my last decent haul of
tomatoes. Too wet this year for a big tomato haul. The cukes are still
doing well.... I just can't believe it.
Isabella
Glad your garden is doing well. :-) I'm getting a bumper crop of
Petins, most of which will be fed to the Cockatoo. She needs the vitamin
C.
--
Peace! Om
"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." --Mark Twain