MountainSportAirguns
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Wife was getting a bit frustrated with my daughter and I, she asked if we could out of the house, what did we do? We packed up the Jeep and headed into the mountains for an overnight camping trip. My daughter has been on several trips with me, but this would be really the first dedicated varmint hunt that I have taken her on. The first day we just did a little hiking, found some neat rocks in the creek and just relaxed around camp, it's a beautiful location.
That second day we got up pretty early after a great first night's sleep, we had enjoyed a campfire and dinner under the stars. For this trip I had packed the very compact and lightweight BRK Pathfinder XR in .177 caliber, producing just about 16fpe using the Benjamin Domed Match 10.5gr that I have had very good accuracy using. I had recently topped the Pathfinder with a Hawke Airmax 4-16x50 that in many ways I like better than the Sidewinder model, the reticle is a bit more simplistic.
This particular area has many tall Ponderosa Pines, creeks and many fell trees that these Ground Squirrels use to burrow around. Most of the hiking is pretty easy with a path that creates about a three-mile loop, perfect for a leisurely day of varmint hunting. I loaded up the backpack with plenty of water and snacks to keep all three of us going for a few hours out on the trail. The weather was a bit cloudy with the sun going in and out, not the best weather for these types of varmints but still had a good chance to spot a few.
Elizabeth, Marley and I headed out from camp, and it didn't take very long to spot a few ground squirrels scurrying about on the deadfall. With some patience we were able to take the first kill of the day out at 30 yards with a solid headshot. (Note) These are pest squirrels that cause massive destruction to the forest, can carry the plague and are not of the healthy edible variety.
The Pathfinder is a very capable little gun, even out to about 70 yards I was feeling pretty confident with it. The ground squirrels can be tough but with a solid headshot it doesn't take much of a punch to get them down! I don't often use .177 caliber but will say the biggest benefits are having so many shots and having something that's pretty low impact that makes little noise. This time of year the ground squirrels can be pretty skittish, typically after killing one the rest that are in the area will stay hunkered down in the holes and not come back up. Rather than wait we just took our time and hiked to the next spot, usually trying to setup in shade within 50 yards if possible.
Elizabeth was able to use the binoculars to spot this guy at just over 40 yards, they like to sun themselves on top of the deadfall. This one launched about 5' in the air after I slammed it with some lead. As I mentioned the sun was going in and out due to the cloud cover, so the temperature was fluctuating throughout the day. We found a spot behind a fell tree that gave me a good solid rest where I was spotting ground squirrels out to 68 yards...quite a poke for the .17 Pathfinder.
I was able to take a few ground squirrels in this spot; they had a ton of burrows, it just takes some patience to sit and be able to spot them. These squirrels blend in very well and the majority of the time all you can see is eyes or the top of a head. We moved along, walking slowly looking for movement on the deadfall....seeing birds, deer and lizards and bugs. Elizabeth absolutely loves hiking and is completely fascinated with any type of bugs. lol We had a great time together and of course Marley was busy keeping her eyes out for movement as well.
We found a nice spot on a hillside where we could sit in the shade under some large Ponderosa Pines that offered a good view of some active ground squirrel holes. One particular tree had a few very busy chipmunks moving about with several large holes at the base of the trees that I suspected were most likely from ground squirrels. We were setup within 30 yards, perfect range for the Pathfinder to serve up some lead and for Elizabeth to spot them with the binoculars!
After about 15 minutes Elizabeth finally spotted a large adult emerge from one of the holes at the base of the tree, I lined up and was able to make a perfect headshot....THWACK!!
Marley was eager to run out and recover, she lives for this sort of hunting and is always entertaining watching her work.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we headed back to our camp to pack things up and head back home. We all had a great time and it was nice to get out and camp with Elizabeth and be able to give my wife a bit of a break from us for a few days. The Pathfinder is a fantastic little rifle and, in many ways, perfect for this type of pesting. I really want to thank Airguns Of Arizona for providing us with the gear we need to get out in the field and create this sort of content. I did document the trip though the enclosed video, the channel has been losing traction...I guess people might be bored of it. If you do enjoy, the best thing you can do to help me is to share these videos on forums, social media etc, it really helps. Cheers, Dana
That second day we got up pretty early after a great first night's sleep, we had enjoyed a campfire and dinner under the stars. For this trip I had packed the very compact and lightweight BRK Pathfinder XR in .177 caliber, producing just about 16fpe using the Benjamin Domed Match 10.5gr that I have had very good accuracy using. I had recently topped the Pathfinder with a Hawke Airmax 4-16x50 that in many ways I like better than the Sidewinder model, the reticle is a bit more simplistic.
This particular area has many tall Ponderosa Pines, creeks and many fell trees that these Ground Squirrels use to burrow around. Most of the hiking is pretty easy with a path that creates about a three-mile loop, perfect for a leisurely day of varmint hunting. I loaded up the backpack with plenty of water and snacks to keep all three of us going for a few hours out on the trail. The weather was a bit cloudy with the sun going in and out, not the best weather for these types of varmints but still had a good chance to spot a few.
Elizabeth, Marley and I headed out from camp, and it didn't take very long to spot a few ground squirrels scurrying about on the deadfall. With some patience we were able to take the first kill of the day out at 30 yards with a solid headshot. (Note) These are pest squirrels that cause massive destruction to the forest, can carry the plague and are not of the healthy edible variety.
The Pathfinder is a very capable little gun, even out to about 70 yards I was feeling pretty confident with it. The ground squirrels can be tough but with a solid headshot it doesn't take much of a punch to get them down! I don't often use .177 caliber but will say the biggest benefits are having so many shots and having something that's pretty low impact that makes little noise. This time of year the ground squirrels can be pretty skittish, typically after killing one the rest that are in the area will stay hunkered down in the holes and not come back up. Rather than wait we just took our time and hiked to the next spot, usually trying to setup in shade within 50 yards if possible.
Elizabeth was able to use the binoculars to spot this guy at just over 40 yards, they like to sun themselves on top of the deadfall. This one launched about 5' in the air after I slammed it with some lead. As I mentioned the sun was going in and out due to the cloud cover, so the temperature was fluctuating throughout the day. We found a spot behind a fell tree that gave me a good solid rest where I was spotting ground squirrels out to 68 yards...quite a poke for the .17 Pathfinder.
I was able to take a few ground squirrels in this spot; they had a ton of burrows, it just takes some patience to sit and be able to spot them. These squirrels blend in very well and the majority of the time all you can see is eyes or the top of a head. We moved along, walking slowly looking for movement on the deadfall....seeing birds, deer and lizards and bugs. Elizabeth absolutely loves hiking and is completely fascinated with any type of bugs. lol We had a great time together and of course Marley was busy keeping her eyes out for movement as well.
We found a nice spot on a hillside where we could sit in the shade under some large Ponderosa Pines that offered a good view of some active ground squirrel holes. One particular tree had a few very busy chipmunks moving about with several large holes at the base of the trees that I suspected were most likely from ground squirrels. We were setup within 30 yards, perfect range for the Pathfinder to serve up some lead and for Elizabeth to spot them with the binoculars!
After about 15 minutes Elizabeth finally spotted a large adult emerge from one of the holes at the base of the tree, I lined up and was able to make a perfect headshot....THWACK!!
Marley was eager to run out and recover, she lives for this sort of hunting and is always entertaining watching her work.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we headed back to our camp to pack things up and head back home. We all had a great time and it was nice to get out and camp with Elizabeth and be able to give my wife a bit of a break from us for a few days. The Pathfinder is a fantastic little rifle and, in many ways, perfect for this type of pesting. I really want to thank Airguns Of Arizona for providing us with the gear we need to get out in the field and create this sort of content. I did document the trip though the enclosed video, the channel has been losing traction...I guess people might be bored of it. If you do enjoy, the best thing you can do to help me is to share these videos on forums, social media etc, it really helps. Cheers, Dana
️1 on .177 caliber being enough!
