First Blood - Marlin .17HMR

DaisyCutter · #1 09/21/05, 10:09 AM

A couple months ago I bought a lightly used Marlin 917. It came with a ~$80 Bushnell Banner 3-9X40 scope and some economy rings, all for $189+tax.

I had the intention of using this as my primary squirrel hunting rifle, and retiring my less accurate "bullet-hose" 10/22 to plinking.

A while back, at the gun range while sighting the little rifle in, I noted that it was wickedly accurate. I'm no precision shooter, but my groups were .5" at 50 yards.

So with squirrel season coming in a couple weeks, I decided to try out the little Marlin on some live targets Saturday afternoon. I drove out to one of my favorite sniping mountains and settled into a nook with an ideal field of view at the desert floor below me. I'd been glassing with my Pentax 8X binos for only a few minutes when I start to hear the rumble of a diesel truck. Sure nuff, some white collar cowboy parks his rig "right in my crosshairs" and unloads a couple shiny new ATVs. So I sit there a while to see if he notices me perched with a rifle on the mountain beside him. Nope, he's oblivious to me. Soon I accept the fact that I'll have to move, swear a bit, and then traverse the mountain from the shady east side, to the hotter and sunnier south side. It's hot and uncomfortable, but at least now I don't have idjit parked beneath me.

Now after I get settled in for the second time, I begin glassing. After covering the desert floor a couple times I get bored and my attention wanders. I notice some dust off in the distance and observe two more trucks, this time hauling horse trailers. I keep an eye on them, knowing somehow they're gonna find a way to SNAFU my situation. As the ladies begin unloading their horses in my intended line of fire, I pack up and look for a new spot. I only had 20 minutes of sunlight left. With all the other high ground being out of walking distance, I decide my only option is to hike much further up the mountain and over to the west side. I set up again#8230; this time with the setting sun, at its oblique angle, hitting my glass and cooking my eyes. But that's not the worst part... The worst part is that the only area I can manage a shot on is WAY-WAY below me on the desert floor. While not an incredibly far horizontal component (I had to aim ~30° down), the straight-line distance has got to be close to ~300 yards.

As the sun drops below the horizon, I put away the binos, figuring I'm probably done anyway, and just start glassing with the rifle scope. Opportunities often happen at dusk, and I wanted to salvage something. I manage to glass a bunny; he looks real small in the crosshairs. I pull down the rifle and try to identify him with my unaided eyes to get a gauge on distance. No luck, can't find him. I twist the scope down to 3X and spot him again. Man that is gonna be a heck of a shot, I think as I tweak the scope magnification back up.

I've never shot any creature with my .17HMR, and I know the range I was looking at was not ideal, but I was in a frustrated mood and wanted to bag something. So I take aim with about two "bunny-widths" of hold-over (maybe 10 inches?) and squeeze the trigger. Shortly after, I see the impact through my scope. It was way high, effectively right where the cross-hairs were sitting. The bunny is now a statue, wondering [beeep] just smacked behind him. I quickly draw aim directly on him and squeeze the trigger. Now, through the scope I see him roll and I hear the gratifying slap off in the distance. TAG! I watch the bunny through the scope, he's been hit in the rear really bad, but he isn't dead. I quickly skid and slide down the mountain halfway and finish him off with a head-shot (side of bunny not shown, use your imagination).

At any rate, here's a pic showing the exit side of the bunny, rifle, and my hat (for scale). Also forgive the image quality, the night was overpowering the flash.
[image]http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL639/2678265/5658292/1126133

Arizona Griz · #2 09/21/05, 10:35 AM

DC, my friends were nailing praire dogs in Colorado a couple of weeks ago from 250+ yards with a .17HMR. They are pretty accurate.

A couple of questions with regard to your story. How could the pickup and quads or the trucks with the horses be in your line of sight of your cross-hairs when it is illegal to shoot across a road? Maybe I read the story incorrectly.

DaisyCutter · #3 09/21/05, 10:43 AM

They both drove down and parked in a wash. The first vehicle was directly where my ideal shot woulda been, the second was too close for a 100% safe shot. BTW, "crosshairs" as I referred to it means binoculars, hence the quotes. I don't hunt in parking lots.

EDIT:

You weren't implying that I wait by the roadside for a bunny to get flattened, and then shoot it and claim it as my own kill, were you?[:p]

Arizona Griz · #4 09/21/05, 2:27 PM

No, I was not implying you would take a road kill as your own. :D I knew you would set me straight on my questions.

DaisyCutter · #5 09/21/05, 5:46 PM

Yeah, for that it's gotta be whitetail size or bigger.

letsgo · #6 09/22/05, 5:09 AM

I had a bolt action Remington 22-250 that I felt the same way about.
Accurate as hell.
Sighted it in on beer bottle caps at 200 yds.
Made a huge mess out of a ground squirrel though.

Arizona Griz · #7 09/22/05, 6:31 AM

quote:Originally posted by letsgo
Made a huge mess out of a ground squirrel though.

I guess we won't be having squirrel for supper.

letsgo · #8 09/22/05, 7:00 PM

quote:Originally posted by Arizona Griz

quote:Originally posted by letsgo
Made a huge mess out of a ground squirrel though.

I guess we won't be having squirrel for supper.

Not.
They were pretty much just a six foot round red flash on impact.

azbjones · #9 09/22/05, 7:26 PM

THAT IS JUST CRUEL!

(You ruined that entire hind quarter. Barely enough left to BBQ.[:p])

Can't wait til quail season!:D