Season opener....

[ironglow]

  Each springtime, while my wife looks for robins, I'm looking for woodchucks to herald our entry into spring...and my season opener.  This spring I had a new rifle to test, so I went out as soon as the whistlepigs started to show themselves.
  Last year I had struggled with my last .22 mag, a Marlin 882L, trying to get it sighted in..floated the barrel & other tricks, but just couldn't pull a group better than about 1.5" at 50 yards. I am not putting Marlin down..just this particular rifle; because I have learned over the last 50 years or so that .22 mag rifles can vary greatly, even in the same brand & model. So I swapped it at a gun show for a Savage 93G in .17 HMR...of course thae accuracy is outstanding, to say the least. and my first chuck last year was taken by that rifle.
   This year I got to hankering for a handy .22 mag, so when I saw a Savage 93F w/accutrigger at my local gun shop at $179..I fought my impulses for a couple weeks..before buying it..
  When I took that little Savage to the nearby gravel pit where I do some of my shooting..I had my mental fingers crossed as I settled on the 50 yard target...  As I moved the groups to sight the rifle in, I fired groups of 2 and then adjusted.  I was delighted to  say the least, but until I got home and checked with the tape rule.  Those groups were .25 t0 .33 inches. I am a hunter not a target shooter, so I don't use a lead slead or other gear, just a portable bench I made.
  I have owned olther .22 mags.. 2 Marlins, 2 Anschutz, and an  Ithaca lever.. and have sighted in various rifles for friends over the years, but this Savage is the best shooting .22 mag I have ever shot !
  Cutting to the chase, on Saturday the woodchuck was at 75 yards, winchester 40 gr JHP..one shot DRT.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Iron...glad to hear you have a good .22 mag...I have owned several over the years...only one was super accurate that was a Marlin with a tube feed..traded it for a Marlin lever, 1894 I think, and it wouldn't group for sour apples..so it goes..my current one is a CZ..it seems very accurate, but in the wind of Wy. it is limited in usefulness, but still a valuable part of my varmit collection..Had a .17 in a Marlin..very accurate, but the wind was very hard on it also, but the main reason I traded it was the caliber was such a pain to clean, and I clean my weapons after shooting..so it went down the road..hope you enjoy yours..it should be a super gun for that part of the country...when I visit Pa. and do any hunting there, I think the little 17 would have been very useful in that country.....

[ironglow]

  I will likely use the .17 for most of my chuck hunting, although for short range situations, I'll still use .22 LR, of which I have several..CZ, Ruger, NEF, Marlin and Anschutz. Two main reasons why I just got the .22 mag..

1)  I didn't want to admit defeat with the caliber..because I really like the .22 mag.

2) The Savage .17 HMR is a heavy barrel & heavy wood stock and I wanted a woods-walking rifle which was handy for everything from rabbits to close range coyotes..

  I think this rifle will fill that niche very precisely.

[bigvarmnt]

I spotted Two Chucks running up my 200 yd backstop Sunday. I was out there Sat. checking the holes in it and didn't see any fresh digging. Think they may be having friendly relations. I usually wait to let their young grow. Last year there was 4 laying on top of the backstop. I didn't shoot them and didn't see them again. I think something got at least one of the small ones last year as I found some parts laying about 10 feet from the hole. Might not give them so many chances this year

[Swift One]

Think they may be having friendly relations.

ROFLMAO.......................................you got a woodchuck brothel........