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Hunting is slowly getting underway for me after a couple months of lock down and not much shooting. I was in Texas for jackrabbits and predators last month, South Dakota for prairie dogs a couple of weeks ago, and was awaiting the opening of squirrel season in Sept for Minnesota and Wisconsin. Then while doing some online research it came to my attention that both Nebraska and Illinois seasons open in August! So I started doing my online research in earnest, and found a state wildlife area in Nebraska that according to the posts I could find, is said to have good squirrel populations. So I am off, my non-resident license is about $90.00, and the place I found is a five hour drive. I’m going to get there the day before season and then hunt the next 2-3 days. A lot of times for short overnight trips, I just throw a mattress and sleeping bag in the back of my Outback, and sleep there. No set up time, flexible as to where I lay my head, and comfortable enough for one night. But on this trip I’ll be hunting for 3 days and sleeping out 3 nights, and don’t think the back of my car is going to do it! To this end, I’ve decided to set up a small game tent camp. I actually have been collecting car camping gear to use with my boat while out fishing, but I think it will work great on this trip.Read More →

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I’ve always enjoyed lever action guns, and when I was young just about shot out the barrels of my Marlin .22 and later Marlin .357 lever action powder burners. So it follows that the Seneca EagleClaw would resonate with me! I’ve been using the lever action Seneca EagleClaw for almost a year now, having brought it to the mountains of Arizona after Aberts squirrel, then on a few more squirrel hunts around the Midwest before the end of season, and for prairie dog in South Dakota. From the squirrel hunts and range time I knew the rifle delivered a punch and had good accuracy, but it was on the prairie dog hunt I came to appreciate not only how intrinsically accurate the gun is, but also how stable and well designed the stock is for long range shooting in the field. I didn’t have much time before I needed to get back on the road, but before going out shooting wanted to check the zero. It was printing cloverleaf groups at 50 yards, a bit high and to the right. I determined that the lean to the right was caused by the constant stiff breeze that was blowing so didn’t mess with it. The gun was zeroed at 80 yards which is why it was hitting high, and I left that as it was as well. The action is cycled with a lever action that has a short and smooth travel, and I’ve found the reliability of the 8 shotRead More →

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I had a last minute opportunity to hunt some problem pigs, only problem was I was already supposed to be on my way home! I was down in central Texas to do some small game hunting, when an acquaintance I met through one of my friends told me that he had lots of pigs on his property and they were making a mess of his deer feeders. He told me I was welcome to come shoot some if I wanted. The problem was, as it often is, time. I’d already been in Texas for a few days and I needed to get back to work, however, I could get in an afternoon hunt if willing to drive all night to get home on time. I showed up at the gates to the ranch early on the afternoon of my planned departure. It had been raining and looked like it might do so again. I followed a hand sketched map I’d been given and quickly located a couple deer feeders, and one was covered in hog prints. I settled in behind a pile of bulldozed mesquite at about 3:30, and started my wait. The gun I had with me was the AirForce Texan .457, and this line of rifles has done well for me. I’d brought the gun along as an afterthought since my primary goal was small game However, I thought I’d use my downtime to sight in the Texan and play around with a few different bullets. In theRead More →

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I was on my way back from a hunting trip, when a friend invited me to stop by his property to shoot a pig. Luckily I had my Texan Pig Rig with me! I was on my way back from South Texas where I’d been hunting javalina and predators when my friend Shawn invited me to stop by one of his properties. He was out of state, and asked me to top off the deer feeders, and feel free to shoot any pigs if I saw them. My drive home to Minnesota would be delayed for a day, and out of nowhere I was on an airgun pig hunt with the Texan .357 big bore air rifle. I’ve taken a lot of game with the Texan over the years, and it’s served me well in all its many caliber versions, I am particularly fond of the carbines. My gun was pre-carbine era, but it was cut down and recrowned by Edwin at Airguns of Texas, and is a compact (without the suppressors) or very quiet (with the suppressor) rifle. I’ve been frequently asked if I would recommend the Texan, and what I think about AirForce as a company. The short answer is that, yes, I put these guns on my short list of production big bores. I think the Texan is a very good big game rifle. It is powerful, can be accurate once dialed in, and is modifiable with a lot of after market accessories. I think there areRead More →

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I’ve taken a lot of North American and African Game with arrow launching airguns. On this hunt, one of my favorite standard airguns for small game and predator hunting, gets a new accessory….. the FX Arrow Barrel! My regular readers and video viewers know that I have a strong affection for my FX Crown, and I have been using both the .25 and .35 calibers a lot. A while back I received the arrow barrel, and outside of some range shooting had not yet had a chance to use it. A rancher I know, manages his deer herd for quality animals, and unlike many landowners strives to keep a balanced buck-to-doe ratio. He told me I was welcome to come over and harvest a doe for the freezer. My family had been pushing for some biltong….. so, I was on my way! When I got to the property, it was on the cooler side, but having lived in Minnesota for the last few years my tolerance has shifted from that of my Southern California upbringing. I arrived in the morning and took a dirt road to the back side of the ranch situated above one of the water sources. Glassing down into the area, I saw a number of deer, bucks and doe, coming and going. I worked my way down using the sporadic clumps of trees for cover, I had the wind and the raising sun in my favor. I ran into a suspicious buck that kept walking aroundRead More →

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Jim is out on one of his favorite small game hunts, and the one that first brought him to South Africa with an airgun in 2020 Having spent much of my life living abroad, many places have been “home”, but one that has been a constant for me is South Africa. I try to get back every year to hunt, and regardless of whether my primary objective is airgun hunting, big game hunting, or even fishing, I bring along an air rifle. The reason is that no matter what else is on the agenda, I’ll make time to do a Guinea fowl hunt! This is an incredible game bird, and for many years I loved taking them on the wing with my shotgun. But then a friend suggested I bring an air rifle along to use during downtime on a plains game hunt. I took him up on it, and although I bagged a lot of bigger game such as kudu and bushbuck, it was stalking this incredibly wary and smart bird that stands out in my memory. What makes Guinea fowl a superb airgun quarry? It’s the challenge. I mentioned in a previous article that the wild turkey and its domesticated cousin are nothing alike. This is equally true with respect to Guinea fowl. Like turkeys, Guineas have very sharp eyesight, excellent hearing, and they are exceedingly skittish. Now add to this that they often travel in large flocks, which means there are many eyes on watch, and youRead More →

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Jim takes the gauntlet .25 on a hyrax hunt in South Africa! I was visiting a friend’s farm in South Africa, and in addition to hunting plains game intended to do some varminting. I have been hunting this property close to 15 years, and have come to know it quite well. And even though the pest populations are dynamic, I had a pretty good idea of where to star my search. While most of the property is given over to wildlife, it is a working small stock farm so there is always a multitude of nuisance animals coming in to raid his feed lots from the adjacent wild areas. I decided that during my breaks from hunting plains game, I would take one of my small game rifles, and thin out some of the hyrax that were starting to spread into the stock production areas. There is a rugged area with rocky cliffs situated close the agricultural land adjacent to the farm. The cliffs border a lambing yard, and the dassie were spreading into the pastures where they dig large and deep holes precisely where the livestock grazes. The farm owner had told me that it would be helpful to thin some out in this area, but this was the only place he wanted them culled. Many years ago, there had been a bounty on hyrax, but these days most landowners leave them alone unless they start to over populate and move into areas where they are not welcomed. StandingRead More →

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RTI Arms is preparing to release a new bullpup air rifle that has a lot to offer fans of this style of airgun!. It is called the Prophet and is a variation of the companies Priest model line. It is a compact, modular, multi-caliber design that is in vogue these days, and I have to say I really like this one! I met the head of RTI at the Extreme Benchrest Competition in Arizona a couple months ago, and he showed me the gun being used in the competition, where it was shot by the winner of the open class 50-yard BR Competition. I was able to send a few pellets down range and wanted to see more! We arranged through Airguns of Arizona to have the gun shipped to me where I had a few weeks to shoot it. I brought it on a hunting trip to Texas, but got rained out before I could use it. I only had the gun on a short loan, and wanted to at least get it out on a short hunt. It is very cold up here in Minnesota, but squirrel season is open through February so I decided to at least get out for as long I could deal with the frigid conditions. Not much happening in the woods and the frigid conditions and crunchy ice underfoot made it hard to get into shooting range. I’ve got another Prophet from the first production run on it’s way to me, so you’llRead More →

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March 27-30, This is a great hunt! Jim Chapman and Chacho Gonzales will be hosting a hunt on the Huckaby Ranch in Pecos County, Texas for a group of Airgunners. You can bring your own rifles or use one of ours. Join us for a great weekend on a private ranch in West Texas for a long weekend. We have space for 6-8 hunters Dates: Arrive on Friday the 27th and depart Monday morning the 30th You have a choice, take a feral Spanish Goat or Javalina We’ll take you out for night-time Predator Hunts (lots of fox and bobcat). We’ll provides lights, calls, and high rack rigs to shoot from. Small game opportunity (rabbits, collared doves) Bring your own rifle or we can supply one, will have the new Hatsan Piledrivers, AirForce Texans, or Arrow Guns available if you need a loaner! Based in a comfortable lodge on a very large ranch. Jim, Chacho, and Trent will guide spot and stalk hunts, high rack hunts, and we’ll make sure that everyone is guided or settled into a blind depending on how you want to hunt. Price for the hunt is $550.00. You will be asked for a $50.00 deposit that will be used to buy food and supplies. Balance to be paid directly to the property owner on site (cash or check). Neither Chacho or I are taking a cut of the payment, our motivation is to offer our fellow airgunners a chance to enjoy a great hunt. MealsRead More →

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The Hatsan Piledriver .457 PCP Air Rifle is putting out over 700 fpe, and over 800 fps in .50! About 2 months ago I had a call from Hatsan USA asking if I’d like to try out their new big bore airgun. As we talked it came out that this gun could generate over 700 fpe and had been set up to shoot a 525 grain slug. Of course I wanted to use it, and as it happened I was just getting ready to leave for a multi-day hunt in Texas. The rifle was expedited and I arrived the morning of my departure, my only concern was they only had a small number of bullets to ship with it, and I was pressed for time to order more. As it turned out more arrived, unfortunately they made it to me just before I left to return home….. this limited my range time, and then I needed to return the gun. Hope to have another go with it soon! At any rate, I took my deer and javalina while hunting down in Texas at the Huckaby Ranch, home of Lone Star Trails Outfitters. Trent (the owner) has become a good friend over the last few years, and has a great property loaded with game. He has high fence, but all my hunting was in outside of this and it has some great deer, javalina, and feral goat populations! I’ll be setting up a javalina hunt there in March 2020. so keepRead More →