BADGER.....GOT HIM!

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sixshot

Buckeye
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Aug 20, 2006
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1,835
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soda springs, idaho
Today I had to make a mad dash to the big city (pocatello) & pick up my 89 yr old mother, she's been in ICU at the regional hospital. Along the way I spotted a dead badger, someone had hit it with their car, I hate to see them go that way :cry: much better if I shoot them :D it looked like a nice one, it seems like they have been haunting me.
When I got home I cast bullets for a while & decided to make a quick run out to where Callshot & I spotted those 2 last night.
At the last minute I decided to throw in the 45 Bisley, as much as I like the 32 its like asking a boy to do a man's job when it comes to badgers. If you wound one they are down the hole in a hurry, I didn't want to be shoveling at midnight if I had any success.
As I eased down the road & started looking at the dirt mounds scattered throughout the sagebrush I spotted both badgers laying on top of one of the mounds, they were watching me from about 75-80 yds, I cruised on by, went about 200 yds out of sight & grabbed the 45, shucked it in the Barranti crossdraw, made sure my cartridge slide was full (thanks Mike) & started walking back up the dusty gravel road. As I topped the hill I could see both badgers, they were playing in the brush but still very close to the hole, it was quite hot & they wouldn't be very active for another couple of hours, I didn't have much time as I had to be back into town for a gun club meeting, it was going to be now or never. I tried to stay low........as low as 270 lbs can get :cry: & slowly worked my way down an old fence line, the badgers were on full alert from the little episode yesterday & both went down the hole, I crawled over the fence & leaned up against a post, gun over my knees & waited. After 20 minutes one of them came up for a look around, I eased the sights down onto him & the second one cautiously peeked over the dirt pile. Against my better judgement I tried for a double, never heard of anyone getting 2 badgers with one shot & I was going to get that opportunity. The shot turned out to be 45 yds, thats not 45 yds out in the open, thats in the tall grass, scattered sagebrush & an old fat boy all pumped up with excitement :lol:
I broke the shot & one badger went down the hole, the other one took a quick look my way & before I could whack him, down he went :cry: wow, I was hurting, i had just blown the chance at not one but 2 full grown badgers, then the waiting began, I would look at my watch, wipe the sweat out of my eyes, dry my gun hand off on my shorts & cuss myself for missing. A badger, when they are being hunted can lay very flat to the ground, both of these were as flat as a postage stamp :wink:
40 minutes passed & I finally seen something move at the hole, one of them was peeking over the top, sniffing the air & wondering what was going out, he came out & the other one followed, now they are really nervous I just knew they were going to spook down the hole before I could send 260 grs of Elmers finest on its way........at the shot I heard that wonderful hollow thunk, the badger spun, rolled over & I could see the tail twitch, yippee, talk about happy :D I ran over there, gun cocked with my left thumb between the frame & hammer & half of him was down the hole, I grabbed him by the tail & hauled him out, the big Keith slug had hit him perfectly behind the should, I was back in the winners circle & out of the whiners circle :wink: was I ever pumped. Woody will finally get his badger, now I need one for Contender & Barranti, there's still one out there, maybe my luck will continue.

This is the dirt mound they were laying on, they do massive amounts of destruction in pastures.

100_2052.jpg


You can see they have some real good fangs, a ground squirrel is good for about one bite!

100_2053.jpg


I had decided I needed a change of luck & left my Pittsburg Steelers shoes home, I wore my Texas Longhorn shirt & my Arizona Cardinals hat, it must have worked!

100_2054.jpg


For a summer time badger this bad boy has some really long claws & a good coat, Wood is going to be a happy man with this pelt.

100_2056.jpg


You can see where the big 260 Keith (18.5 grs 2400) pinwheeled him, right behind the shoulder.

100_2057.jpg


I'm going back for the other one soon! Dick
 

Don Lovel

Hunter
Joined
Nov 10, 2003
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2,671
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Red Dirt Oklahoma, Go Cowboys
I grew up out in the Cimarron River country of NW Oklahoma. Lots of badgers around there. When we were kids my dad preached at us to never try and catch one as they are the meanest critter on the prairie and that even a hungry coyote won't mess with one. They are kind of closely related to the wolverine I think. Badasses. I always wanted a badger claw necklace
 

Scott r

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 27, 2009
Messages
280
Location
kansas
So when you reached down to pluck the beast from the hole... even with the Bisley at the ready... did your heart skip a beat or two? Exellent narative and photographs as always.
 

dougader

Hunter
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
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OryGun
Awesome. I love the gun.

I imagine you have said before, but what grips do you have on that Bisley?
 

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
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Location
soda springs, idaho
Scott, my heart has skipped a beat many times when tangling with badgers, my feet have done a little skipping also :oops: I wrote up a article one time about digging one out of a hole that we had shot, I thought he was dead but he grabbed the shovel as me & my 4 boys stood around the hole, there was a major stampede & I ran right over one of my boys. Its way back in the Ruger forum somewhere.
We've had many, many run ins with badgers!

Doug, those are Holly stocks that I make, I've became quite fond of the one's that have a little "flaw" in them, I use to throw that wood away but it adds a little character to the gun, this set looks like it has a cartridge head in the stocks. I'll be sending them off for laser engraving shortly, actually 2 pair will go, one will be engraved with a bear, the other a deer.

Dick
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
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Lake Lure NC USA
Like I mentioned in another post,,, I KNEW we'd be seeing pics of a badger soon! I had faith in 'ol sixshot! I'll predict that the other one is not long in this world either!
 

dougader

Hunter
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
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OryGun
You made those yourself? Man they look great!

I have a pair of Eagle gunfighter grips on a 5-1/2" Bisley that was cut down from the 7-1/2" that it was born with. I love the gun, but find the slimmer gunfighter style doesn't fill my hand quite as well as the stock Ruger grips.

My nephew is going to college in Rexburg this fall. How far are you from there?

Do you sell your grips or just make them for personal use?
 

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
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soda springs, idaho
Doug, I went to school at Ricks college, way back in the early 60's, Ricks was a national power every year in football, I played running back about 100 pounds ago! :cry: Rexburg is a couple hours north of me.

Probably need to PM me about the stocks, that I make.

Dick
 

callshot

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
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967
Location
Pocatello, Idaho
I don't think the shirt or hat made any difference. It must have been ME that was putting the Hex on you. Glad that you got one. Sorry that I missed it. You better take it easy getting all pumped up like that. Your old body won't take much more. It sounds like, and I am sure that you had much more fun than I did with the Federal auditors. I wonder if any of them would consider standing in for a badger for a while. Nah, their not worth it.
 

americal

Hunter
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,174
Location
Alabama, Athens
WOW--you are getting more deadly every posting 8) 8) great photos, great shot, Elmer Keith would be proud of you or ride you about first shot :p
 

gunman42782

Hunter
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
3,424
Location
KY
Good shooting! He is a nice un. I never actually seen one up close. I hear that they are mean little buggers.
 

flatgate

Hawkeye
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
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Location
Star Valley, WY
Another "hair raising" tale from Sixshot!

Keep 'em coming, Dick!

I've been too close to a badger one time and I didn't like it one bit.

flatgate
 

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
Stoots, I brought him home, put him in a couple of garbage bags & stuck him in the freezer. I have 3 of them promised to forum members, Woody is first, then contender & then Barranti. Can't find Woody's email, anyone know how I can reach him?
Its important to get a badger on ice real quick, that or get him skinned, they have a lot of acids in their body & it doesn't take long for the hair to slip on one, I had him in the freezer in 45 minutes.
Here's another photo of me holding him up, he's a very nice sized badger.

100_2055.jpg


Dick
 

americal

Hunter
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,174
Location
Alabama, Athens
WOW again :) :) love that photo --I might start A fight :p :p but that beats any GOLF PLAYING photo i"ve ever seen :!: nice black bears behind you :wink: :wink: no sweat you could take them to :!: i"ve great confidence in your ability :)
 

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