9319 The Predator and Varmint Hunter's Guidebook

CONTENTS Dedication..........................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 1 :

Why Predators & Varmints?.................................................................................6 CHAPTER 2:

Species of Interest .....................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 3 :

Varmint Approaches .............................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER 4 :

Calling All Predators .............................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER 5 :

Feral Hogs, Stemming the Tide......................................................................84 CHAPTER 6 :

Varmint & Predator Cartriges, Rimfire to Centerfire .................104 CHAPTER 7 :

Varmint Rifles ............................................................................................................ 122 4 :

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Chapter 1

Why Predators & Varmints?

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orn and raised in the West and close to open spaces, I began hunting early, tagging my first rifle mule deer when 10 or 11 and my first elk at 14 (with my own handloads). Because of this early initiation, the transition into muzzleloaders and then serious bowhunting was a predictable progression. By the time I graduated high school, I’d forsaken big-game hunting with rifles, becoming a dyed-in-the-wool bowhunter in my late teens and not shooting a big-game animal with rifle for more than 25 years. Yet I maintained a full arsenal of rifles and handguns and continued avidly handloading, forever seeking more accurate loads for every firearm I owned. This had everything to do with varmints and, to a larger extent, predator hunting, as I never have seen a coyote I didn’t desperately want to shoot. Despite bowhunting as the cornerstone to my big-game journey, I never lost my fascination with firearms and their use in pursuing small varmints and predators.

Varmint is a term tossed about loosely, with many inclined to include any small-game species. The official definition is an American-English colloquialism of vermin, representing animals that are considered a nuisance to man, and/ or unprotected by game laws. Further, varmints are animals widely believed to spread disease or inclined to destroy crops, livestock or other private property.

Strictly speaking, varmints do not include common small-game species such as cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares or tree squirrels, though those species often exhibit pest-like behavior — just ask the backyard gardener or bird-feeder enthusiast. These popular small-game animals are rightly official game in most states in addition to providing excellent table fare. There is also the designation of predator — including foxes, bobcats and coyotes — and these are often afforded seasons, but also frequently considered vermin.

So, licensing and/or season restrictions are no sure demarcation between varmint and genuine small-game or furbearer status, as many states require permits to shoot even nongame species. Idaho, for example, requires a hunting license to shoot ground squirrels (definite vermin) and coyotes (known livestock

LEFT: There is no better way to get a youngster hooked on shooting than through small varmint shooting. The nonstop action keeps short attention spans from wandering and beats videos games any day. Scott Haugen photo.

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Chapter 2

Species of Interest

Varmint shooting has become increasingly popular across the country as shooters seek something more readily available than modern big-game hunting. This has resulted in some areas near municipalities being shot out, but good shooting is still available. Fred Eichler photo.

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armint shooting includes many species of opportunity, largely dependent on region. My old friend the late Jim Dougherty, a pioneer in predator calling, aggressively defended backyard bird feeders against invasive starlings, sniping them with an air rifle from his office window. I recall an early gun writer spinning tales of men visiting Northeastern landfills after nightfall, directing vehicle headlights into heaped rubbish and shooting a seemingly inexhaustible supply of scurrying rats with .22 LR rifles. Sounds like great fun to me.

There are no rules here. The Western varmint shooter has it especially good from the variety standpoint. Maybe the East was once like this, but sprawling LEFT: One of the wonderful things about varmint and predator shooting is the wide variety of species available across the country. The author shot these black-tailed prairie dogs in West Texas at the end of a long road trip including dozens of species.

Species of Interest : 17

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Woodchucks are the quintessential Eastern varmint species. Strongholds such as the Northeast have become more problematic because of burgeoning human populations, but the Upper Midwest has stepped in as the new hotspot.

suburbia has diminished varmint habitats and target species to just a few — not that Eastern varmint shooters take their sport any less seriously. Still, varmint shooting usually involves targeting one species by seeking landscapes those critters frequent most reliably.

Today, the best varmint shooting — and easiest privateland access — is generally farthest from cities and towns. That’s not because landowners close to town don’t want varmints exterminated.

It’s just that varmint shooting has become so popular that readily accessible areas can become quickly shot out. Sadly, landowners near major metropolitan areas are also more likely to have had negative experiences with the public and become reluctant to allow trespass rights.

Planning varmint shoots starts with choosing species readily available in your region, learning what habitats they prefer and seeking settings where shooting is permitted or access easily gained. Productive varmint shooting requires plenty of up-front investigation, but when you discover a hotspot, you’ll generally have it mostly to yourself into the foreseeable future. Dedicated varmint shooters continually keep an ear to the ground. Wildlife conservation biologists can be great sources of information. I once located a ground squirrel hotspot by chatting up a state-forest employee who complained of the squirrels chewing replanted seedlings.

Woodchucks, the Original Eastern Varmint XXXXXXXXXXXXX Varmint shooting isn’t supposed to be complicated. Isolate a species of interest, find Woodchuck Range

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Concentrated jackrabbits are normally found in or near irrigated alfalfa fields, though I’ve enjoyed sustained shooting in sandy desert areas. Southern and eastern New Mexico farm and ranchland invariably offer high-volume black-tail shooting, with the best white-tail shooting occurring in southwestern Wyoming, at least from my experiences.

Jack populations — like other prey species — peak and trough locally season to season, so don’t give up on a spot because of a slow year. In my experience, black-tails seem to do best during the hottest, driest years. In my book, jackrabbits offer one of the most fun and challenging long-range targets in varmintdom — a bias no doubt formed during youth, as they provided the impetus to my shooting obsessions.

Hunting HogsXXXXXXXX

Feral Hogs Abound

Hunting feral hogs helped keep me in meat while attending university in West Texas in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Hogs were relatively scarce then, and tagging one was an event. Twenty-some years later, those coverts are filthy with hogs, and killing many a day is common.

You’ll hear much talk of pure European boar blood. I’ve read seemingly reliable reports of imported European boars, including an 1893 importation of 50 Black Forest, Germany, boars to the Blue Mountains of New Hampshire; 1910 and 1912 imports to North Carolina near the Tennessee border; a 1925 influx near Monterey, California.

Those imports invariably escaped confining reserves. But many more domesticated swine have escaped

RIGHT: It’s safe to say feral hogs have joined the varmint class, as the invasive species continues to spread and reap destruction on agriculcural crops and native wildlife. With some exceptions, they can generally be hunted with few restrictions.

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it sitting for years without use. It will be working when I need it — guaranteed.

It includes a clip, allowing it to be attached to a ball-cap brim if I’m working on something and need both hands, and a neck lanyard so it doesn’t become misplaced. Light gloves — Sitka Gear’s Shooter’s Gloves, in my case — are nice to have on hand in many situations.

And, of course, you’ll have stowed your ballistics charts; bullet-drop, wind deflections, standard-unit conversion tables, angle-of-fire and so forth, organized in a small ring binder or mini accordion file. Even when not engaged in longrange shooting, with its need to add and subtract correction values, I always carry a notebook and ballpoint pens. You never know when you’ll want to make notes on load, bullet or firearm performance, or problems or what-have-you in real time. Maybe cartridges are sticking slightly, indicating the need for case trimming or backing off a tad on your powder charge. Perhaps a rifle that shot only OK suddenly begins drilling after the barrel becomes a tad dirty. Maybe a bullet isn’t opening on small varmints like you’d hoped, or your AR loads need to be seated slightly deeper to prevent tight extraction. Don’t trust memory. Take notes.

It’s often these kinds of notes that help lead you to better shooting or give you deeper insight into how to wring more accuracy from a firearm.

Shooting well comes with experience, and the learning curve is often flattened by poring over notes in the relaxed comfort of home, away from the frenzied fun and excitement experienced while shooting varmints and predators far from daily responsibilities, work and telephones. A carefully assembled range or shooter’s bag is all about being prepared. Half the stuff in my bag never gets used, but it’s there should I need it, and that provides peace of mind.

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The well-made shooters or range bag is all about keeping you ready for whatever might occur, keeping all that gear on hand and well organized to minimize rooting and maximizing the good times while shooting.

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Chapter 15

Author’s Gear Picks RIFLES

Benjamin Crosman.com Benjamin’s Trail Hunting Air Rifle uses Nitro Piston 2 to drive .177-caliber alloy pellets to 1,400 fps (lead to 1,150). The break-barrel air rifle comes with CenterPoint 3-9x32mm scope set in an integral Picatinny rail. Other features include a two-stage adjustable Clean Break Trigger, a synthetic pistol-grip stock, friction/vibration-reducing tail guides, a precision-machined piston for smooth cocking and firing, a recoil arrest system and a rifled steel barrel with an integrated sound-suppression system.

Gamo Outdoor USA Gamooutdoorsusa.com Gamo’s Swarm Maxxim pushes pellets to 975 fps in .22 caliber, with repeating capabilities via a 10-shot magazine. It uses a powerful and consistent Inert Gas Technology gas-piston system, and also sports a synthetic Author’s Gear Picks : 245

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