I much prefer to hunt with a Mauser or Springfield bolt rifle.  Did have occasion to stop in Colorado once to shoot a Prairie Dog with my Ballard 25-20SS. It was on a trip home from a match at Grand Junction.  Saw a big Prairie Dog town out there on the prairie a ways. Parked near a gate along the interstate and off we went to bag us a dog. I spied a big fat one out there about two hundred yards away. My rifle was sighted for that distance at the match.  Laid down and rested the Ballard on my rolled up shooting mat. Had a twenty power Lyman Super Target Spot on the rifle. When I laid the cross hairs on that dog, everything was crystal clear.  Wind was blowing right to left so I held over what I thought was just right and let one fly.  Eight grains of IMR 4227 under a Pope style flat nosed tapered bullet at one hundred and eleven grains. It seemed as though time slowed down the instant the powder lit. I could see that bullet make a big arc toward that trophy dog. Then all the sudden he clutched his chest with his front legs, did two complete spins like a bowling pin, then he wobbled and put a paw on his brow and fell over backwards in a puff of prairie dog town dust. Kicked three times and it was over, I had my dog. It was a great day, one I'll never forget. That was the only time I ever hunted with a single shot. Memories, I get a little misty.


                    Joe.