# Night hunting for possums



## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

I went on holiday to the New Zealand South Island town of Queenstown and took my homemade slingshot with me. Its got 26cm long double theraband with taper from 26mm to 16 mm. My ammo is some lead that i cast into cylindrical shapes. They weigh around 15 grams. Came upon an Australian possum which is a marsupial and weigh in at about 6 kg so about the same as a large domestic cat. It ran up a tree and the first shot hit it in the head, it tooka nother few shots to the head before it died. I got another two in same area in the next hour so all in all one of my best nights hunting. They are very tough and only one died with the first shot which hit it in the back of the head.They are the biggest pest in our country and we are encouraged to kill them.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Tendele said:


> I went on holiday to the New Zealand South Island town of Queenstown and took my homemade slingshot with me. Its got 26cm long double theraband with taper from 26mm to 16 mm. My ammo is some lead that i cast into cylindrical shapes. They weigh around 15 grams. Came upon an Australian possum which is a marsupial and weigh in at about 6 kg so about the same as a large domestic cat. It ran up a tree and the first shot hit it in the head, it tooka nother few shots to the head before it died. I got another two in same area in the next hour so all in all one of my best nights hunting. They are very tough and only one died with the first shot which hit it in the back of the head.They are the biggest pest in our country and we are encouraged to kill them.


Would you import them here so I would have something to shoot at ;- )

Now that is what I'm talking about !

Throwing about 230grs of lead at them is pretty good for sure, with 26cm static length, what is you draw length ?

wll


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

WOW!!! Those things look like squirrels on steroids! Are they any good to eat? That is a cool looking frame, by the way.

Cheers .... Charles


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

oh perfect -- okay as a guy who actually hunts at night -- which I have never done -- do you think you'd have any real use for aiming dots? (assuming you shoot gangster?) or is that just silly?


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## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

Hi wll. My draw length is about 95 cm. the night was freezing , close to zero degrees celcius .Tested my setup on my chrony and got the lead going at around 250 plus fps . Actually measured 31.4 fpe with a few shots so the poor little buggers really feel it when the lead hits them.


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## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

Charles said:


> WOW!!! Those things look like squirrels on steroids! Are they any good to eat? That is a cool looking frame, by the way.
> 
> Cheers .... Charles


They are no goo for eating. They stink prety bad . We pluck them and sell,the fur . If you pluck them straight after they die the fur pulls,off really easily. We get about $100 per kilo and use the money to pay for our flashlights, theraband etc


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## Tendele (Nov 29, 2014)

Byudzai said:


> oh perfect -- okay as a guy who actually hunts at night -- which I have never done -- do you think you'd have any real use for aiming dots? (assuming you shoot gangster?) or is that just silly?


The dots look like a great idea. What are they made from? In the dark i pretty much have to shoot instinctively so its difficult but you gotta get lucky sometimes and the more you practise the luckier you get. At present i use a red flashlight on a headband to hunt at night. It works really well for rabbits too.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Tendele said:


> Hi wll. My draw length is about 95 cm. the night was freezing , close to zero degrees celcius .Tested my setup on my chrony and got the lead going at around 250 plus fps . Actually measured 31.4 fpe with a few shots so the poor little buggers really feel it when the lead hits them.


That is some very, very serious speed at about 95cm (38") draw .. and 26cm Static WOW !

That animal has to be tough as heck to withstand the heavy lead you are giving him ...Nice Shooting !

wll


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

Good shooting a lot different than our possums here in the States.


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## JediMike (Jan 1, 2015)

Nice shooting Tendele, three less of those things eating their way through our forests and native birds!


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