First Squirrel of the Season - They Mock Me No More! (Graphic)

J

Josh Smith

Moderator
Hello,

Today was a very good day.

I decided to go squirrel hunting, and when I opened the door, I saw the UPS feller had been here. He brought me an Ed Brown smooth, flat MSH that went in with a minimum of fitting. I'll post about that later.

I was able to take a shot at a squirrel. I'd not seen them out of the trees, and this one was on the ground. I stalked to within a few yards, and squeezed the trigger. <click> Damn. Misfire. Remington bulk tends to do that at times.

I worked the bolt and reacquired the target. I was shooting into the sun, but I had shade from the trees. The wind kicked up and I was only able to see a blinding light and a bit of fur. I felt my shot was on, and so I took it.

squirrelandrifle800xX.jpg

I took the gray squirrel center of mass.

I don't ever feel good about gut shots. However, the squirrel expired quickly. No follow up shot was necessary.

What surprises me is the size of this squirrel. I have both fox and gray squirrel in my woods, and this is a gray. It's old enough, however, to be almost as big as the larger fox squirrel.

Josh <><
 
Well, I didn't use a bazooka! LOL

Seriously, when I post things like this, I've usually made a good enough shot that no blood is showing. I sometimes even bark the squirrels if they're high enough that I'm sure the fall will kill them.

DSC00029.jpg

Here are a couple I took last season.

Notice the lack of any visible blood or bullet holes. One was barked and the other I nicked on the head, either killing it or knocking it unconscious, causing it to fall.

I try to post ones that wouldn't traumatize a three year old, say. You know, "they're just sleeping."

Too many kids have been raised on Disney.

Josh <><
 
I try for under their head. It stuns them enough that they fall. The .22LR doesn't have enough power for shooting the limb or under their feet, reliably.

Josh <><
 
No. No such thing as any real shockwave in .22lr.

The reason it's called "barking" is because you shoot the bark underneath them, and that bark flies back, hopefully stunning or disorienting them enough that they'll fall.

It's an old muzzleloader trick. About the smallest they could realistically go with a muzzleloader was .32 caliber. Still, that destroyed an awful lot of meat on a small animal. So, some folks who were particularly good with iron sights began shooting them either in the head or under the body, and letting the fall kill them in the latter instance.

I can't seem to do it without a 'scope.

Try it sometime; you might be pleased with the results.

Josh <><
 
the fall will kill them
Click to expand...
Is that really possible? I've seen one fall from 30 feet or more and land on concrete. The impact sounded like someone hitting a side of beef with a meat cleaver. It never even missed a beat--it was on its feet and running almost the instant it landed.
 
I don't know... I've seen the fall kill them. I think it's in the way they fall: If they're stunned, their tail will act as fletching of a sort and point them nose down into the ground.

It's only when they're conscious that they land on their feet, or slow their fall with their tails.

Tough critters, no doubt though.

Josh <><
 
I called that technique limbing as when barking we were making noises to stop the runner or make one sit and scan leaving us time to head shoot.
I find a .22 has plenty of wallop to knock a squirrel off any limb under a foot in diameter if aimed right under the busy tails belly.
Brent
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top