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9.3x57
.450 member


Reged: 22/04/07
Posts: 5500
Loc: United States
Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol
      #97043 - 19/02/08 02:15 PM

Day off for holiday, I thought I'd make a ski jaunt. There is a peak some miles away I have made a few abortive attempts to reach in the past. Timing has always been bad and I have always been stalled and stopped by bad weather or bad snow or normally a combination of both.

This time I had high hopes.

Setting out and on the way...



I left home at 9:00AM and returned to the hearth again 4:00PM. As it turned out, I had to do a "gearshift" {skis to snowshoes or boots or back to skis} several times but overall the snow was pretty good. From home to the peak and back, round trip was about 11 miles. The ranch house here is at 2700 feet on the valley floor and the peak I skied to is 4000 feet. Along the way are many ups and downs even as the general trend is of course, up.

The Goal still some ways off:



A peak of any height is always fun to reach and this one sports some nice views:



I saw plenty of wolf track. In fact, at one spot I counted five fresh track going over the side of the trail. Then nearer home I found more. With the deer and elk concentrated in the low country, predators are concentrated among them, too.



On the way back, I wandered about in some thick timber and jumped a snowshoe hare. It bolted and ran, but didn't go too far. The little critter stopped in some brush and was somewhat obscured by such; enough to keep me from knowing exactly what part of it I was looking at but presenting enough body for a centermass hold with my Polish Tokarev pistol. Shot was about 20 meters and at the crack it flopped about and fell into a hole. Digging and rooting, I finally saw its head deep down and finished it with a head shot. I was shooting 85 grain Wolf gold Hollow Points. These are very accurate from the pistol and are quite destructive on small game and butcher stock. I shot a meat lamb {about 90 lbs on the hoof} last Saturday with this round and it nearly beheaded the critter under the skin, struck at the base of the head as it was.

The Harey Hiding Hole:



The hare collected:



It was a hard pull for me overall but the weather was beautiful, the snow for the most part good and I got to see lots of God's creatures {mostly deer} and the 1000 meter run across my hayfield coming home was just plain fun. And, of course, tasty bunny for the pot!

Looking back on it all, an enjoyable day spent:



--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?


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AspenHill
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Reged: 08/01/03
Posts: 1528
Loc: Vermont, USA
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: 9.3x57]
      #97078 - 20/02/08 04:27 AM

Nice report! Your woods are much thinner than mine. I was out on my 'shoes over the weekend scouting for spoor. Found coyote and fox had been through.

--------------------
~Ann

Everyday spent outdoors is the best day of my life.

Aspen Hill Adventures


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9.3x57
.450 member


Reged: 22/04/07
Posts: 5500
Loc: United States
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: AspenHill]
      #97094 - 20/02/08 11:26 AM

Ann, we get about 30 inches precipitation per year, but have a dry season from middle July to middle of September. During that time it can get very hot and is a stressful time for trees and all flora and fauna for that matter. Some of the views you see above are shot over clearcuts or selective thinnings. Some pine and fir stands are very thick indeed, particularly young stands of Grand Fir and Lodgepole Pine. I think you are in a mixed coniferous/hardwood zone, aren't you?

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?


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88MauSporter
.375 member


Reged: 06/06/07
Posts: 530
Loc: Alaska / Texas
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: 9.3x57]
      #97098 - 20/02/08 01:23 PM

Oh, how I remeber 1972, Alaska, Talkeetna Mountains, Hatcher's Pass. High Up. Snow shoes and cross country skis. I usually had my .22 Colt Woodsman or Colt model .357. I would look for the odd snowshoe hare. The Woodsman was great for this. All you usually could see to sight on was the eye.
I never saw a wolf in the woods, only tracks. But, I could hear them in small packs as the twilight of the sun passed back below the mountains.
Beautiful country you have there 9.3.
I was in the hill country here in Texas this last weekend. Up and down the hills and down in the washes and creeks. Nice, but not the same.

--------------------
"A hunter should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everthing goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." 88MauSporter


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9.3x57
.450 member


Reged: 22/04/07
Posts: 5500
Loc: United States
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: 88MauSporter]
      #97107 - 20/02/08 03:01 PM

88: Your Woodsman would sure be welcome here! Great pistol that one is!

I carry a Ruger MKII and my son his MKI a lot and though it ain't quite the same as the Colt, it does well on bunnies and ground squirrels in later spring and summer, grouse in the fall and of course on the trapline. A .22 pistol is about the best kept secret in woods guns. There is a lot of work for a .22 handgun in the woods and mountains.

As for wolves, we have seen too many. I do not often carry my .22 on ski jaunts, I guess for that reason, though I really do not expect trouble from wolves. They have their hands full decimating our elk herds and I suspect are too busy to be enticed by a bony wreck like me...

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?


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Shackleton
.300 member


Reged: 11/08/07
Posts: 203
Loc: Iowa
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: 9.3x57]
      #97113 - 20/02/08 04:20 PM

Sounds like a great day-nothing better than a meal made of game you actually had to work for. Great pictures too.

--------------------
"I do not kill with my gun, he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart."--Stephen King


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88MauSporter
.375 member


Reged: 06/06/07
Posts: 530
Loc: Alaska / Texas
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: Shackleton]
      #97173 - 21/02/08 06:54 AM

Fried fresh shot wild bunny in pan flour gravy. MMMMM! A little rice on the side.
I was once in the woods on the Kahiltna river (AK) for over a month. .22 woodsman, a short barrel 16 ga SXS with slugs and shot and a mini zebco reel and rod. Even though I was out there under a piece of canvas, 150 miles from any road or other people I knew of, I never failed to have food in the pan.
Eventually the weather lifted, the river went down and the plane came in to pick me up. I had only planned on a week, not 5.

--------------------
"A hunter should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everthing goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." 88MauSporter


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9.3x57
.450 member


Reged: 22/04/07
Posts: 5500
Loc: United States
Re: Hare-y Height's 'n a High Speed Pistol [Re: 88MauSporter]
      #97347 - 23/02/08 12:38 PM

88: Great stuff!

I don't believe most people realize just how close a .22 LR pistol with good bullets is to a .38 Special {standard loads}, for example, and the .22 is dirt cheap to shoot {read; get good with} and LOTS more bullets can be carried for the same weight as the larger cartridges.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?


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