S.E. PA Red

HuntnCarve · November 09, 2007, 08:41:59 PM

Did a little night hunting down at a buddies place in S.E. PA. A beautiful cold, starry night, but nothing was responding to the Fox Pro. So I got on one of my coaxers. Panning the light, I spotted a set of eyes about 150 yards out. A few more blasts on the coaxer, followed by some lip squeaks brought this young red in like he was on a string. My buddy stopped him with a bark at 30 yards. I aimed right behind the shoulder with the .17 HMR. At the shot he went down then popped up and started trotting away! I quickly fired another round into him within an inch of the first one. Down he went. Could not believe he shrugged the first one off like that? It was right behind the shoulder, as was the second!
About 20 minutes later at a different spot I called another one right up to the opposite side of the stream bank we were along. Held right on his chest. At the shot he did a back flip then started spinning round and round! Then he took off on a full run! We found him fifty yards away. Hit him square on the chest! I believe I am going to resort to the .22 magnum from here on in. Or else try some of the 20 grain HMR bullets. The area we were hunting was rimfire only. Otherwise I would have been using my .19 Calhoon. Tough little buggers! I never had one move after taking a hit with the Calhoon. These fellows were both coming off a summer mange unfortunately, as the pelts were sparse. Only got a photo of the first one, in that the camera battery died on me right after my buddy snapped this photo. Heading back in to the house we heard another red squalling in the weed field beside the house. We left him for another day. It was a good night!

Todd Rahm · November 09, 2007, 09:53:13 PM

Hey thats cool Dave.

Night season starts here tonight but infortunatly I'm working for the next five nights. Doh!

But come Thursday me and HMR will be stocking too.

Gald to here your out there having fun.

Be safe,
Todd

FinsnFur · November 10, 2007, 12:10:20 AM

That's gotta be one of the worst feelings in the world. But you managed to collect

Nicely done

Thanks for sharing the story.

studabaka · November 10, 2007, 03:33:16 AM

Excellent. Glad to hear ya closed the deal and recovered em.

vvarmitr · November 10, 2007, 07:27:07 AM

WTG Dave!

Did ya throw the Fox Pro in the creek while you were there?

Hey, I got a call just like the one hanging on you. Moustache notch & all. Where'd you get yours at?

HuntnCarve · November 10, 2007, 08:15:02 AM

Thanks everyone! Yeah, the jury is still out for me on using the .17 HMR. I believe the 17 grain VMAX loads that I have are extra explosive? Possibly due to a thinner jacket? I've had mixed results with it on groundhogs too. The rifle is super accurate, and the shot placement has been precise? They just roll over, then a few seconds later stagger off. -Not all of them, but enough to make me question the round? The 20 grain loads are not as accurate in my rifle, but will be my next alternative if I still elect to use the HMR? I had bought a case of the 17 grain VMAX when the round first came out. Maybe it's something in that early run of bullets? Down right disheartening when they take a good hit and run off like that! I"ve not had this problem with my .22 Magnum. My buddy shot 19 reds last year with his, so the track record is better.
Around here we are allowed to use centerfires. So I use my .19 Calhoon. It puts them down decisively! Small entrance hole, no exit, DRT! -It is basically a .22 Hornet necked down, with the shoulder bumped up.
VVarmitr, I still have the Fox Pro, and will not part with it. Just seems like the Reds around these parts can't resist the sound of a coaxer. It's worked for me every single time I've been out when the electronics failed. Something you fellows should consider as a part of your call arsenal! That high pitched, rodent sound seems to really appeal to them! Once I get their attention, I go to lip squeaks, and here they come!

Dave

Hawks Feather · November 10, 2007, 09:30:41 AM

Dave,

Nice to get the season started on a positive note - two sighted, two down. Now you just have to get the results you want from your rifle. Good excuse to try some new loads.

Jerry

HaMeR · November 10, 2007, 09:52:27 AM

Nice going on the Reds Dave. The coat doesn't look too bad on that fella. Keep after em.

I like the HMR too but just picked up a 22WMR & can't wait to field test it.

FWIW-- I did a little field testing with the 20gr XTP's in my HMR on groundhogs. What I found was that they needed more bone to effectively anchor a groundhog DRT. I found on chest shots either front or back the bullet would pass thru with very little damage & expansion creating a small would channel that left me with too many crawlers/runners. However when I went to the head shots the little 20's gave an eye popping experience. Literally!!

The 17gr V-Max you are now using has served me well on the same shots you described on groundhogs with a nice one shot anchor. Not sure why a fox wouldn't be anchored with the same shot. At any rate I can get you a link of my little field test if anybody is interested in reading it. This is on groundhogs which are some tough critters to kill. However your results may differ slightly/extremely from my findings. HTH

FOsteology · November 10, 2007, 10:18:14 PM

Way to go Dave!

I think you'll be happier with the performance from the .22WMR with Winchester Super-X 40gr. JHP or their 34gr. JHP.

The 34gr. JHP is wicked!

finhunter · November 19, 2007, 12:43:05 PM

Hey HuntnCarve,

What kind of scope do have on that gun? I have a Marlin V17 and put a Tasco scope on it but I am totally not satisfied.

Finhunter

finhunter · November 23, 2007, 05:41:18 AM

It's to bad that they didn't stick with the 25 grain bullet.
here is an excert from Shooting Times,

A LITTLE .17 RIMFIRE HISTORY
Development of the ammunition has been a long process. If you're a longtime reader of Shooting Times, you may already be experiencing deja-vu. If you've kept your back issues, take a look at the January 1992 issue for an article called the "Revolutionary .17 Rimfire." In that article I outlined experiments by Steve Chernicky, Terry Kopp, W.A. Eichelberger, A.J. Jones, Fred Wood, and others who have worked on various versions of small caliber rimfires. Shooting Times technical staff member Kopp's round was called the .17 KRM. It fired a 25-grain bullet at 2100 to 2400 fps that was intended to duplicate the performance of the defunct 5mm Remington Magnum. It did so nicely--and then some. Chernicky, on the other hand, went all out for velocity, pushing the limit and eventually getting 2700 fps with lighter 20-grain bullets.

The whole article is here: http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/17_hmr_0508/

FH