Does anybody hunt with the 5.45 and, if so, how effective is it?

I hunt a variety of squirrell, rabbit, fox, coyote and shit weasel with it.  It is very effective.  Almost as effective as the 7.62x39 was on the last squirrell.  Lets just say I didnt find both parts of him.

Ober, the rare Ohio "shit weasel":

Warning: Graphic dead critter pics below!

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Edit: This dead 'hog was weaseling with two of my cats, a skinny old female and an 18# Tom. Vet bills are expensive, 5.45 Barnaul SP through the top of the skull and out the chest. I've ragged on the steel jackets, this one fell out of the chest cavity when I rolled it over, suprisingly in good shape. Seperation is common, especially with cheap Commie ammo, but I was impressed that it hung together as well as it did. Chicom 7.62 SP doesn't even compare, at least not in my experience...



Mission complete.

That's an evil looking rodent.  Bless you my son.

Quoted: That's an evil looking rodent.  Bless you my son.

Amazingly bold for vegetarians!

"Help! I've been shot in the head and can't get up!"
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Works for me. When the soybeans yellow I'll take a couple with a 5.56 Norinco and V-max loads. Nastier pics but the same end result...



Edit: next year I'll have a scoped .17HMR and V-max rounds...Well, maybe not.

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Now I know I need a 5.45x39

Quoted: Damn impressive exit wound. I have never heard that name for ground hogs, or heard of them attacking animals before. (except me). The .17 should do very well, but no better.  I made a perfect portuguese head shot on a ground hog last year and the damn thing lived.  I used .223 Federal FMJ. I had to beat it to death after it kept going. I am pretty impresed by the wound. With total jacket core separtion, I am hesitant to use it on larges critters, but it looks like it is a killer on vermets.

Can't say for sure that groundhogs are indeed "shit weasels" but other than opossum I couldn't think of anything else that fit the name. Don't know what it is about the cats, they steer clear of  the 'possums and tolerate the 'coons but they just don't seem to care for the groundhogs. They all live with all 4 feet on the same level, I just assume it has something to do with experience. Funniest "groundhog attack" I ever witnessed must have been 20 years ago, my mom caught a big old grayboy eating her cats food in our shed and chased it across the backyard. When the old dude couldn't squeeze through the fence he turned and chased her clear back across the yard and into the house. He stood on our back porch in defiance! I laughed so hard I was nearly in tears! Mom on the other hand didn't think it was so funny...

Over the years I've had a few, that even with what one would think was perfect shot placement, that just didn't want to quit. Pretty much why I quit using .22 long rifle. Ever since I watched a local farmer explode a 'hog with a .22-250 I've wanted one. The .223 with a V-max is pretty close at the ranges I shoot at. (would be great to have on hand for a trip to prairie dog country though) Those .17's are really tempting, the local sporting goods store's flyers always have some good deals...

I sent those pics to a buddy via e-mail the other day with one of the Caddyshack .wavs that was posted here recently (...Varmint-Cong) playing in the background. One of the best e-mails I've ever come off with if I do say so myself...

Quoted: We don't have any shit weasel in Ohio.  Could you post a picture of one?

The shit weasel story goes like this.  My friend Nate and I were going camping.  A day or two before we went camping we watched the movie Dreamcatcher.  In the movie Morgan Freeman calls the aliens that eat thier way through your gut and drop out your butt "shitweasels".  We got a chuckle and it didnt come back up.

Fast forward to camping.  Its between 12:00 and 1:00 at night.  Were camping about 40 yards from a tree line.  We had a roaring fire that was poping and cracking and had just cooked us 4 incredibly good steaks.  I heard something in the woods so we grab a flashlight and some guns to go investigate.  I had my SAR1, nate had his SKS.  We walk to the treeline to look in with the flash light and dont see anything.  What ever it was has stopped making noise.  We stand there for a couple minutes being very quiet and "it" starts making noise again, and its about 40-50 yards from us judging by sound.  It was hissing and spitting and hopping around and generally sounding like something right out of the movie aliens.  Nate is a born and raised city boy.  Nothing in the movies sounds like this except in scifi movies so hes shaken up a good deal.  I write it off as a weasel or related critter since it is accepted that not too far off in one of the valley bottoms across the property, we supposedly have some weasels living.  Nate is shaken up, very shaken up.  We listened to "it" for about 30 seconds when another "it" starts doing the same thing about 20 yards from us.  Now nates really shaken up.  He says something like "Goddamn shitweasels" and proceeds to empty his SKS in the general direction of the "Shit weasels". I about died laughing becuase he is generally scared.  What ever it was scurries off.  Just as he finishes we hear "them" about 100 yards hauling ass through the leaves the other way.

So now when ever we hear an un-named sound... its a shitweasel.


We've also had shitweasels at the range, and in a resturant before.  Luckily in the latter there was no shooting.

Quoted: I have never heard that name for ground hogs, or heard of them attacking animals before. (except me).

Now you know of the venerable shitweasel.

Quoted: Can't say for sure that groundhogs are indeed "shit weasels" but other than opossum I couldn't think of anything else that fit the name.

Knowing is half the battle.

Thanks for the background LHD, I just figured "shooting shit weasels" meant you were  "Politically active".

Sly