Cricket Hunting Trip
So I decided to go hunting with my new cricket. Given the hunting regulations in Texas which limits airgun hunting I decided to go for cottontail hunting. I went for a filed in central texas where I hunted dove before and spotted a cottontail and a jackrabbit. The hunt happened in the morning and last for about 3 hours. No far shots were taken as the field limits the visibility of these well camouflaged animals. All the shots were non supported and my longest was a 35yrd head shot.
These two young rabbits were taken from the same area. later on I saw a 6 ft rattler within 5 yard from where I picked them
Some pics of the hunting ground
The Texas Bluebonnets
Mid way through the hunt, my friend who was hunting with a shotgun came scared. He had shot at a rabbit and while searching for it got alarmed by a large rattler less than a feet away from him swallowing a small animal. I had to see this of course so we went back to look for it carefully. The rattler had gone or went hiding after the encounter, and we found that he was eating this small rabbit. We bagged its hunt (just kidding).
We moved to a different part of the field to get a way from the area. Yet I had two encounters with 6ft rattlers after that. In the last one I was tracking a good size rabbit that went under a juniper tree. As I got close to the tree I noticed this guy looking at me. It was large, disturbed, and not happy. First time for me to see a large snake on a tree and it started feeling the movie Anaconda!
We figured we are not the only hunters in the area, and the others have the upper hand on numbers so decided to call it a day and come back next time with snake boots!
One lesson learnt regarding the cricket, is that its one heavy gun for hikes. With about 6 miles walked per my pedometer, I wish the gun was lighter. Currently my cricket stands at around 11 lb with the synth stock, scope, and bipod. I am hoping to cut it down to 9 lb which should be very manageable even for long hikes. Cant wait for my skeleton stock to arrive and I will be looking for a lighter scope.
Awny
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Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
Central Texas. Where in TX are you moving?
Awny
Where in TEXAS where you shooting at? Central Texas maybe? i’m in Cali but, we will moving to texas here shortly.
Great post Awny, thanks!
I’ve got the wood skeleton stock on mine and it’s very light, love it.
Shooting sticks have not worked well for me, but maybe the long-legged bipods are better. I use a Caldwell Deadshot Magnum Field Pod, but it’s NOT for long hikes. I’m usually carrying it under a mile. Many guns don’t like resting on the field pod’s prongs, but the Cricket shoots great from them.
Here’s a tip on snakes, which is especially useful if you have a scope so you can zoom in:
All poisonous snakes in the USA have vertical, cat-like pupils. During strong daylight, the pupil will be be a vertical slit. Yeah, lots of folks say “I don’t want to get that close!”, but you can see this from a safe distance, especially with a scope. At night or dim light, the vertical pupil will expand and be harder to recognize.
The only snakes I kill are poisonous and near dwellings or livestock. Nonpoisonous snakes can reduce poisonous snake populations by 1: Eating the toxic snakes, e.g. King Snakes, or 2: eating the food source, mostly rodents, so there’s less food for the poisonous ones.
Speaking of cattle, there were cattle in the area, which is why the land owner would not allow rifle hunting but he was at ease when he knew it was an air rifle (and his jaw dropped when I mentioned how accurate it was).
Speaking of hunting pics, this is a pleasant pic I took of a field very close to this one 3 weeks earlier when the Texas bluebonnets were at their peak.
aaanndddd… we gonna lose another cattle this week. as much as i wanna see another hunting pic, i think you did the right thing before taking the shot. choosing the right pest to kill is the way to go.
Zonk
Strangely NO. Everyone I showed the snake pic to asked me the same question. The other two snakes were rattlers as they did rattle and escaped fast to the nearest cactus tree. Too fast to shoot by an airgun. This last one in the pic however was on the tree going no where and I could have easily gave it a killing headshot (would have been a first). But for some reason I decided not to. I am not sure exactly why but mainly because I was not sure if this particular one was a rattler or a different large snake (could see its head and body but not the tail and I’m no expert), and I heard there are other non-poisonous large snakes in central texas. I know some would say “shoot and find out later” and that’s what I always tell people jokingly. But I just did not feel doing it for this snake. It was at no threat to me at that point, and it was not near any human population; and I don’t even know if its poisonous. It was just a predator looking for food, and I was at moment of peace with nature. Bottom line it was lucky. I am educating myself more about snakes in the region now. Next time, I would know better.
Awny
You are right the bipod was useless for shooting that day. It was most useful just for setting the gun on the ground without scratching it. I took the bipod off for part of the hunt and used a PRIMOS shooting stick. I have to say it did not work for me. I find myself shooting better without it, but that’s just me as I’m not used to it and it was just an extra thing to carry. I think the shooting stick would still be useful in a different hunt so am not giving up on it.
I been thinking of the idea of a belt for the cricket. Not sure exactly how best to fit it in this short busy gun! Has anyone tried it?
Awny
Trekking around that area, I’d invest in some snake leg protection of some sort. Definitely agreed on the weight thing.
Yup. I already went to Cabelas and got me a good pair of snake boots!
Got some snake sting first aid kit too, just in case.
Awny
Very nice Awny, did you shoot any snakes?
Zonk
Maybe you want to take the bippod off, since it doesnt sound like you used it. A shooting stick instead would be better for you. and put a sling on the cricket so you can hang it over the shoulder.
Nice hunt tale and pics.
Trekking around that area, I’d invest in some snake leg protection of some sort. Definitely agreed on the weight thing.
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I’ve got the wood skeleton stock on mine and it’s very light, love it.
Shooting sticks have not worked well for me, but maybe the long-legged bipods are better. I use a Caldwell Deadshot Magnum Field Pod, but it’s NOT for long hikes. I’m usually carrying it under a mile. Many guns don’t like resting on the field pod’s prongs, but the Cricket shoots great from them.
Here’s a tip on snakes, which is especially useful if you have a scope so you can zoom in:
All poisonous snakes in the USA have vertical, cat-like pupils. During strong daylight, the pupil will be be a vertical slit. Yeah, lots of folks say “I don’t want to get that close!”, but you can see this from a safe distance, especially with a scope. At night or dim light, the vertical pupil will expand and be harder to recognize.
The only snakes I kill are poisonous and near dwellings or livestock. Nonpoisonous snakes can reduce poisonous snake populations by 1: Eating the toxic snakes, e.g. King Snakes, or 2: eating the food source, mostly rodents, so there’s less food for the poisonous ones.
Thanks for the info and the tip bogman!
On the snake, I did verify they are western diamondback rattlesnakes. Those are very venomous and responsible for most deadly bites in north America. The farmer owner of the land had a dog that was killed by a bite from one of those guys. A cow was also bit by one of these snakes but survived with agonizing injury. So no more passes for these snakes. Knowledge is good.
On the shooting sticks, same here they did not work for me. They help on the vertical stability but not on the horizontal stability which is the main source of error when there is gusty wind.
Awny