Ground Squirrel hunting with the .25 cal Predator pellets

FINALLY!  After reviewing the local weather forecast, this weekend seemed like as good a time as any to finally test out the new .25 caliber Predator Poly-tip pellets made by Predator International.  For those that are not familiar with these pellets, they are strictly a hunting pellet but they seem to have the accuracy also of match domed and flat head pellets.  These pellets are available now for not only the .25 but for all small bore air rifle/pistol calibers (.177-.20-.22-.25).  The Predator pellets have a hollow point head with a red polymer tip installed into hollow point cavity.  Much the like of  Nosler and Hornady center fire rifle bullets.  .25 cal Predator pellets weigh in at 26 grains as my RCBS scale confirmed.  The pellets are very uniform in shape and are very clean without a bunch of oil left on them from the factory.  I've done nothing more than to open my 2 tins of pellets and dump them in one of my many screw on lid plastic containers and went shooting/hunting with them.  Lets take a quick look at the pellets.

As i've said in a previous post, these pellets are consistently good in accuracy and performance from caliber to caliber.  I've only shot them in .20-.22-and now .25 and they are not only accurate in all calibers, they are devastating on game.  Here is a 1/2"+ group that i shot during my first outing with these pellets a couple of weeks ago and during this hunt, this group was easily duplicated.

After my initial sight in with the Predator pellets and then some informal target plinking with them, my confidence in these pellets jumped UP 10 fold.  My guns main staple of ammo is the JSB Kings at 25.4 grs which are very accurate and i have to say, the new Predator pellets easily match the Kings accuracy performance with the added thump and terminal ballistics of a well designed HP/Poly-Tip.  It was now time to hunt some ground squirrels.

SCENERY:  These are simply scenery pics of were i shoot 

Theoben Rapid .25 in HUNTING MODE

The HUNT:  After packing up and driving to my hunting area, i grabbed all my gear and started my walk through the forest of Oak trees and rock formations.  I spotted my first GS (ground squirrel) sitting on top of a log and he busted me.  He scurried down his hole and the minute he went down, i quickly tip toed into within 51 yards of him.  After getting comfortable on the ground and perching my gun on top of a small rock, i grabbed my rangefinder (my bushnell that i recently found in the desert after being lost for 1.5 years, and it still WORKED...lol) and ranged the fallen log.  It was exactly 50 yards.  In about 4 minutes, there he was.  Back up to see what and were i was located.  I quickly turned on the camera, zoomed it in and hit record.  On this shot though, i wanted to be safe and not miss cause this was my first animal taken with the new pellets.  I played it safe and took a shoulder shot.  The pellet landed with an authoritative THWOCK!  I walked over to see if he made it down his hole or if he would be laying just outside of it, he was DADN (dead as a door nail) right there outside his hole.  Success!!  My first ground squirrel with the new Predator pellets....WOHOO!  The second squirrel would come in at 61 yards and i made a very well placed head shot on him.  Unfortunately, he was standing just outside his hole and when he toppled over at the impact, he landed right in his hole and went down a ways.  I could clearly see blood around his hole were he fell over at the shot.  GS #3 would come in at 75 yards exactly.  I placed my second lower mildot dead center of his chest and gently squeezed the trigger.  At the shot, i could hear that very familiar THWOCK sound that most all airguns make when the pellet connects to the game.  He jumped and scurried down the rocks uncontrollably and i could definitely tell he was hit very hard.  To my surprise after he reached the ground, he slowly killed over.  After reaching him and turning him over, the pellet had impacted high on his chest and exited his back.  Even though it was not a clean heart shot, i'm sure that pellet tore surrounded tissue in his chest near his heart and caused major internal hemorrhaging.  The 4th GS and my most exciting and 2nd longest shot of the day came in at 72 yards.  This little fella was perched atop a big rock and was basking in the plentiful sunlight.  I fell to the ground were i spotted him and extended my bipod on my rifle to rest the gun.  I ranged the GS to confirm distance and before i took the shot, i remembered that 1st, the wind was picking up and secondly, i was facing a totally different direction that i took the other GS' at.  This time, the wind was blowing left to right as apposed to right to left like the other shots.  Judging by the flowing green grass surrounding me, i could tell the wind was roughly 8-10 MPH and it would pick up a little then slow down a tad and would keep doing this but never completely dying down.  By my calculations, the hold-over would be 2 mil dots up (elevation) and the use of the first mil dot on the right side (windage) of the cross hairs.  This would be aiming the pellet into the wind and usually, a 5-10 MPH wind will use about one mil dot left or right of the cross hairs depending on the direction of the wind.  As usual, i turned on my video camera and started to zoom in and record and on this shot, because it was so clear, i wanted the camera to capture all the action so i had to be as still as possible.  At the shot, i felt really good about it and suddenly i heard the infamous THWOCK and in the scope, i could see a gray cloud of dust fly off of his head.  I could also see that when he fell, his body was lifeless and that meant a PERFECT HEAD SHOT.  Upon retrieving him, when i walked up to the boulder he was perched on, there was a pool of blood down the rocks and that was also good news.  I found him about 3 ft behind the rocks and i was trying to figure out how he got so far behind them.  In the video clip of the 4th GS at 72 yards, you can see the pellet in flight and it seems to have given off  vapor trail during flight..lol.  My 5th and final ground squirrel was taken at 49 yards and by then, the winds were probably close to 20+ MPH.  But, I could not resist the temptation to test myself and my gun.  Again, i held just left of his nose and i let the pellet fly.  Again, the familiar THWOCK was a sure sign of a solid hit as well as his body falling seemingly limp.  Another successful GS taken with the .25 predator pellets and my Theoben Rapid .25. 

All in all, i am very pleased with Predator internationals Predator pellets.  In my opinion, the 26 grain weight choice for the pellet was about perfect for the caliber.  26 grains should perform well in just about every kind of power source that is available for the .25 caliber airguns.  These pellets simply work and there is no HP more accurate and deadly than these.  When i say deadly, i'm still referring to the accuracy side of the potential of these pellets.  Yes, other HP pellets expand as they should but none i've tested so far (i've shot em all) compare to the accuracy of these projectiles.  The accuracy first and foremost is what makes "any" pellet DEADLY and the HP design/effects of these pellets are what makes these pellets the cream of the crop.  Try em, hunt em, you will not be disappointed!

Lets take a look at the video of my hunt using the new 26 grain/.25 PREDATOR Poly-Tip Pellets:

 

STAY TUNED!!!