First off...I'm not a "serious hunter" or combat shooter or anything like that but I am, for lack of a better word a passionate "plinker". My favorite plinking machine (out of a healthy selection of hand & long guns) is an old savage mod 24 .410/.22 overunder. (I like this one 'cause it doesn't spray shells all over the backyard!!).
Anyhow...I've fired thousands of rounds of .22 thru this and am, I guess, a pretty decent shot. Never really realized it 'till last night. I've had a racoon problem in my attic for quite some time and I'd usually wait 'till I heard them coming out (shallow pitch roof on a bungalow) through their "door" in the soffit....duck outside and nail 'em with the .410. No big deal. But last night I could hear them rustling around up there and running out of patience I ducked up in the attic (real P.I.T.A. to crawl around up there..low, no lights & lotsa rafters in the way) with the trusty mod24 and a big friggin maglite. Dropped a hefty racoon pretty much half the length of the house 45', through the eye, while still training the flashlight on him. I thought it was pretty damn good! The point of the whole story is, I remember cracking the gun, fishing out the shell and putting a new one in, closing the action and lining up for a 2nd shot in what must have been a couple seconds at most and while still keeping my eyes on the 'coon and hoping for a shot at his partner! Never even had to look at the breech....didn't really realize this 'till afterwards but its got to be down to all the practice (which I do simply for cheap fun!).....really brings the point home about practice though don't it?? BTW, i had a .38 snubbie loaded with snakeshot in my pocket too....in case I couldn't reload and one of 'em "freaked out"....lol These are DAMN BIG racoons!!
Anyhow...I've fired thousands of rounds of .22 thru this and am, I guess, a pretty decent shot. Never really realized it 'till last night. I've had a racoon problem in my attic for quite some time and I'd usually wait 'till I heard them coming out (shallow pitch roof on a bungalow) through their "door" in the soffit....duck outside and nail 'em with the .410. No big deal. But last night I could hear them rustling around up there and running out of patience I ducked up in the attic (real P.I.T.A. to crawl around up there..low, no lights & lotsa rafters in the way) with the trusty mod24 and a big friggin maglite. Dropped a hefty racoon pretty much half the length of the house 45', through the eye, while still training the flashlight on him. I thought it was pretty damn good! The point of the whole story is, I remember cracking the gun, fishing out the shell and putting a new one in, closing the action and lining up for a 2nd shot in what must have been a couple seconds at most and while still keeping my eyes on the 'coon and hoping for a shot at his partner! Never even had to look at the breech....didn't really realize this 'till afterwards but its got to be down to all the practice (which I do simply for cheap fun!).....really brings the point home about practice though don't it?? BTW, i had a .38 snubbie loaded with snakeshot in my pocket too....in case I couldn't reload and one of 'em "freaked out"....lol These are DAMN BIG racoons!!