Airgun Hunting The California Ground Squirrel

DVD Review by: Eric A. Mayer

This is the first dvd release by Cliff Tharp, of VarmintAir.com. I, like many others have enjoyed Cliff's writings and hunting stories within Varminter.com's Airgun Forum. When I heard he was working on a airgun hunting video, I knew it would be good. Only after I watched it did I realize how good it was!

According to Cliff's website, he has been varmint hunting for over 45 years. I've only known him for about 15 of those years, but I know he is serious about everything he does. Airgun rifles and hunting is a passion for Cliff and it shows in the quality of this video.

When I received the DVD in the mail, I immediately popped it into my computer to watch a few squirrels bite it before dinner! After about 10 shots into the action, I was hooked. Cliff and his called shots, doping the wind and smacking the squirrels really got me. Eventually, a rib-eye fresh off the BBQ pulled me away, but I rushed back after dinner, slipped on some headphones and continued to watch. It was good stuff!

A few days later, my wife and daughter were out, so I got to pop the DVD into my player and watch it on television. What a difference!! I saw stuff that I did not see on the first viewing, including one slick shot on a couple of ground grizzlies!! I also saw, on some of the slow-motion playbacks, the pellet in flight!! You can see the pellets for a split-second before it impacts the squirrel. Awesome!!

As you will see in the video, Cliff is shooting various airguns with a high-quality video camera mounted on top of his gun. Because of this, you see the shots, and impacts from the shooter's perspective, not someone standing behind or off to the side.

Here are a couple of samples from the video (the DVD is much higher quality):

To wrap things up, this video is quality in every sense of the word. The scenery is beautiful and the editing is smooth and well thought out.. It is relaxing, but exciting at the same time. I'm sure I will watch it a few more times over the winter, just to keep me amped about what will be coming in spring. Hopefully, next year will bring another volume from VarmintAir to add to my collection!

EM

Originally published on 09/21/2008