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Post by nastygunz on Sept 4, 2008 0:13:08 GMT
I hit one of my spots this afternoon...sat in one spot for quite a spell, nothing, went to another spot....nothing....both usually have squirrels...so before I called it a day I went back to the first spot....sat.....saw alot of bird movement....the leaves are soooo thick....I was watching this one big oak tree...all of a sudden a big bushytail came cruising along a branch about 20 feet off the ground...I lost sight of him...so I made a stalk on him...I could hear plain as day where he was dropping stuff from the tree and it was hitting the leaves under the tree....I was right on him, just couldnt see him...then all of a sudden I saw a big bushy tail poking out of some leaves...I had the Super Comanche .410 pistol....I could have taken the shot...but if i dropped him he was over a very steep bank with heavy brush going down to the water and it would have been hell retrieving him, if even possible...so I passed on the shot and quietly retreated....we will go around again im sure ...before I saw him I heard him make that funny wheezing type call they make...i have it on my foxpro so i played it a couple of times...not sure it helped but it didnt spook him as he came into sight shortly thereafter.
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Post by marcus on Sept 4, 2008 15:09:02 GMT
Nasty,
I did manage to get out for about 2 1/2 hours Monday morning, and that's been it so far. I took my .58 cal smooth-bore flintlock (loaded with 1 oz. #6 on top of 65 grains of 2f) out for its first try at busytails. Sadly, I have to say, it wasn't a very productive time in the woods. During that 2 1/2 hours I spied only one scampering Gray who took great pains to conceal itself once I took notice of it. On a very positive note, I did manage to get it to expose itself for a shot when I employed a squirrel call I had with me. On a sour note, however, when I touched off the flintlock, no squirrel came to hand. A lot of leaves and twigs came floating down following the shot, but when the smoke cleared, no squirrel was to be found. I was almost certain I heard a "thump" in all the commotion of the shot (smoke, falling leaves and twigs.) But search as I might, I found nothing for lunch.
This flintlock with the load mentioned, patterns pretty good at 30 yards. That one shot Monday morning couldn't have been much more than 17 yards. How a squirrel could have escaped the blast is a mystery to me. But I found nothing. (The gun is cylinder bore. The pattern couldn't have been that tight at under 20 yards.) I even returned to the spot on my way home and checked again. Still no squirrel.
It was bad enough to shoot and not collect game (perhaps wounded to die slowly in hiding) but that failure was compounded by the fact that I saw not another squirrel during my 2 1/2 hour walk, nor was I able to call any out to expose themselves. And this was in a spot I have always manged to find and bag the little buggers. I did not go home with a happy heart from my first squirrel hunt of the year. Hopefully, I can get out again Friday evening, Saturday evening perhaps or, better yet, Sunday morning, and hopefully, with better results. I would have rather gone out and not seen a squirrel at all than shoot and not know if a hit was made or not. That is what really bums me out.
msj
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 5, 2008 0:13:03 GMT
Well at least you have a good conscience when you hunt!...that sounds pretty fun hunting with a flint lock. It is tough hunting for sure with all the leaves and heat and bugs and food everywhere for them. I cant wait till it cools off, leaves drop, and bugs are GONE! Thanks for sharing the experience. If you dont mind my asking what were you using for a call?...I used the foxpro and a quaker boy squirrel chatterer, not sure if they had any effect really need to find some good sounds.
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Post by marcus on Sept 5, 2008 11:57:13 GMT
If you dont mind my asking what were you using for a call?...I used the foxpro and a quaker boy squirrel chatterer, not sure if they had any effect really need to find some good sounds. Nasty, I am using a Primos Squirrel call. (https://shop.primos.com/p-509-squirrel-buster.aspx) It was given to me by my lovely wife last Christmas, and my last squirrel hunt was my first time using it while hunting. In the off season I was successful on not a few occasions in rousting up a few busytails with it. I have not "called in" any squirrels - yet. But, again, what I have done is get them to expose themselves when employing the "Alarm Bark." Seems to work pretty good. The call was packaged with a 3 1/2" audio CD where the call and its different sounds (Alarm Bark, Distress Call, Squirrel Chatter, etc) were demonstrated. It was quite helpful to actually hear the sounds the call can produce while being instructed in how to do so. The weather sounds like it's going to be very wet for the weekend. So, I'm hopeful I'll be able to get away this evening (Friday) to give another hunting spot a visit. Looks like it might be a short work day! Mark
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 7, 2008 13:17:21 GMT
Went out yesterday, soaked, roasted, bug bitten, never saw a tree rabbit...come on snow.
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Post by marcus on Sept 9, 2008 14:02:35 GMT
Monday morning I was able to reschedule my work so I could head out into the woods for another try with the .58 cal flintlock. Although Monday morning was fabulously beautiful, our NH Gray Squirrels proved once again to be somewhat elusive. I was out for about 3 hours, and in that time I saw only two squirrels – and they were together chasing one another. In fact, when I first spied them, they were so close to one another I immediately thought that I had a potential “Two-for-One” opportunity. As it was, however, as soon as I lifted my gun, one of the little buggers peeled off and disappeared. The other provided me a close and moderately moving target. But again, to my utter frustration, after touching off the shot and after the smoke had cleared, there was no squirrel to be had! For certain the shot was not more than 15 yards. Yet, I found nothing, no squirrel, no blood, no anything. That’s it for the smokepole, at least for now. I won’t be taking it out into the field again until after it has been to the range for some serious investigation. But, I do have some suspicions right now as to what might be happening.
For one thing, while hunting, along with my possibles bag across my chest, I also have a backpack on. I suspect that the padded shoulder strap is interfering with mounting the gun, adversely affecting the shot. As I left the woods I unloaded my gun by shooting at a downed tree. At 15 yards the pattern was reasonably tight, but the bulk of the shot was also very low and to the right. Perhaps something has changed since the gun was first patterned – or maybe it’s the shoulder strap of the backpack. (I know, newbie mistake.) Whatever it is, I’ll fix it soon enough. In the meantime, however, I’ll be heading back out with my 20 ga. It’s pretty disheartening to be 0 for 2 when pulling the trigger and to be this far into the season and not to have bagged even one tree rat.
msj
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 10, 2008 1:33:26 GMT
Yupp tuff hunting for sure...I went out and didnt see a squirrel all dang day then finally spotted one in an oak tree...I got a good picture of him but didnt shoot as he was in a tree and of course I just had my .22 pistol...left the .410 in the car....GRRRRRRRRRR...oh well its still fun chasing them!!
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Post by marcus on Sept 10, 2008 10:12:20 GMT
Well Nasty, I guess, that in a sense, you did get to "shoot" him after all.
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Post by marcus on Sept 13, 2008 17:49:22 GMT
Finally! This morning I finally connected on my first kill of the season. Let me tell you, it's been tough. This was my fourth outing this season, and I have seen far more deer and moose sign than I have seen squirrels. Still, I have a lot more places to check out yet. So I am hopeful things will only get better. msj
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 14, 2008 0:56:33 GMT
NICE!!!........im still batting 0000000000000...good job!!!!!...i spent the morning doing some home stuff then went out and sighted my powerline 1000 pellet gun in....deadly on squirrels...saw 3 today but never got a shot...im not in the woods too deep yet cuz of ticks....but the leaves are turning fast...when it gets colder ill really get after em....i like the pellet gun for low noise, have a 3x9 scope on it...i lookd for the one in the pic today but didnt see him anywhere.
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Post by browning204 on Sept 14, 2008 1:47:39 GMT
Nasty: are you getting my E-mails?
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 14, 2008 10:10:51 GMT
REAL MEN HUNT SQUIRRELS!!!...SAY IT BROWNING!!!!..... ....HMMMM...I JUST CHECKED AND FOR SOME REASON AOL-SPAMBOT GOT YOU,...YOUR ON THE GOOD LIST AGAIN MATEY!
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Post by browning204 on Sept 14, 2008 12:34:27 GMT
Good, I was worried that the squirrels got you!
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Post by nastygunz on Sept 14, 2008 18:06:23 GMT
ALWAYS WEAR 2 PAIRS OF TIGHTY WHITEYS CUZ A WOUNDED ENRAGED BULL SQUIRREL WILL ALWAYS GO RIGHT FOR THE NUTS!!!
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Post by marcus on Sept 14, 2008 19:37:52 GMT
Good, I was worried that the squirrels got you! It's a dangerous business, indeed, this NH squirrel hunting, but it's a risk that needs be taken when facing off with the most popular and sought after game animal in the U.S. (Or, so I am told.) msj
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