Well it's been some time since I was afield with an SP and harvested a charlie. Last week the weather was getting warm and I'd seen a few charlies in the valleys out and about. My trigger finger was realy starting to itch. So I took the 243 Striker with a 20X rifle scope over to the range for sight in and to see if the rifle scope was a good idea on the striker.

After sight in I checked out one of my best fields on the hill, but the elevation is about 600 feet higher than the valley so temps run a little cooler. Nothing was out. I checked alot of holes that I know of and didn't see any sign of them digging out. The walk was nice and I enjoyed the afternoon.

This Tuesday the weather was warm and I figured there should be some action on the hill. As I pulled into the area where I park I saw a charlie run into his hole in the middle of the junk yard. I wlaked up the bank and set up under the fence beside a huge cherry tree. In about 15 minutes the hole digger was out and roaming around. It took a minute a get him in the scope for a solid shot. I squeezed the trigger and had the first charlie of 09!! He was 60 yards out.



I then made my way to the edge of the hayfield above the junkyard. Climbing over the fence I see another charlie near the top of the hill. I settle right down on the edge of the field and get set up. He's eating and moving around quite a bit. I wait until he is feeding straight away from me. He raises his head up above his body. I put the cross hairs at the base of his neck and let the bullet fly. Number 2 is in the books!!


The next couple fields turn up no activity. I crossed the road and moved into a long field. Way out, at least 400 yards away I see a charlie milling around. I decide to close the distance a little. At the next small roll in the field I figure the distance at about 150 yards and have a nice little knowl for a set up. It takes the charlie a few minutes to give me a good shot as he is busy trying to find small scraps of green to eat. He stands up, looks right at me and then slowly looks over to my right. I center the crosshairs on his nose and and let the bullet fly. I get the scope back on the area and see nothing. I start to pace the yardage and when I get to about 150 yards still no sign of a hit. This is a bummer. I get to 175 yards and can see the holes where he has been digging but no charlie. I take a good look around and see him finally. At the hit he fell down behind a little scoop in the field. That's 3 for 3, not too bad for a guy that's all out of practice.

The rifle scope takes a little getting use to with about 1/2 the field of view so face/scope contact is not made, but it's turning out to be very accurate and handy on the long range shots.

Wednesday I was able to get out for a few minutes and got one more charlie at 95 yards. He was laying low on his hole and I kept him in the crosshairs for about 20 minutes. I was waiting for him to give me a little more to shoot at as the way he was lying only gave me about a 3 inch square target. I finally took careful aim and squeezed the shot. Upon inspection the 75gr V-Max exited thru the off shoulder. The first three charlies taken with the V-Max never exited. All four were good sized males just stating to dig out from the long winters nap. I have a feeling that 2009 is going to be a good year! 4 for 4 is a good start!:)

Nice shooting. I'm glad some one found them out. Last week I walked the hay fields to see if they are out yet and no luck. Of the 25 or so holes from last year most were caved in with no activity. I only found 2 new holds in the entire 80 acers. The farmer told me a month ago he saw a ground hog on his driveway, but I have not seen any yet.

Spring is here, HEA!

Good shootin. Is that 243 striker the same as the 243 win.? Do you eat the hogs you shoot or do you throw them out? I have a couple of ground hogs that come right out in the back yard of my house eatin greens in the garden, 'ill have to start warmin the barrel up on my 22-250 soon. I hate those whistle pigs. They are nothing but a nuisance.

Thanks for the story and the pictures.

I haven't seen any groundhogs around here, but it's probably because I haven't been looking. I have to get to the range and sight in the rifles and do some load testing before the season gets ahead of me.

forgive my ignorance but is that a custom gun? is it available in .22-250 caliber?

The Savage Striker was a production handgun just like the one in the picture. They were also available in stainless steel. They all had 14" barrels. Some came with muzzle breaks that you can turn on and off. Savage discontinued them a few years ago. If I recall corectly they were offered in 223, 22-250, 243, 260, 7mm-08, 308, 270 WSM, 7mm WSM and 300 WSM. They offered a 22LR and 22 Mag version also. I might have missed a few chamberings. Some were offered with a laminated thumb hole stock and they called that model a Super Striker. Check out Gun Broker and Auction Arms as they pop up from time to time.

thanks for the info! since I live in Kalifornia I doubt if these could be bought in from out of state via Gunbroker, etc. I will try and find out though as it would fill a need for a back up Varmint gun for me.