I've been looking forward to this day for ten months. my squirrel hunting always begins in earnest Monday after gun season every year. Dogs have been antsy for the last few days as I've been switching gears from deer hunting mode into squirrel hunting mode. shooting the rifle, cleaning deer gear out out of the back of the truck, charging collars, etc. they know it's time.
Squirrels not out much today. Lefty got one, Slick got two and we went to I don't even know how many den trees. dogs hunted like champs for the first half of the day, but they both petered out pretty bad at the end. Our first stop produced two live ones, and I shot them both in the noggin. Lefty got the first one, and it came quietly. Slick wined the second one and was bouncing between two trees for a while before I spotted the squirrel. I made a nice head shot, but this one got hung up falling. hanging by the middle of its lifeless body, perfectly balanced on a vine less 1/4" in diameter. unfrigginbelievable. I tried to shoot the vine in two about 15 times before I gave up and shot the squirrel in the head a couple more times and almost knocked it free. I finally realized that there was a large vine that I could shake to maybe move it enough to free it. smdh, I could have saved an entire full magazine if I had looked closer before getting aggravated. it took some doing, but I finally got it to drop. our second stop in a pretty big woods did not produce a squirrel sighting. decided to try one more small woods before calling it a day. two dens, and then Slick took off hell bent for Lexington. 400 yards later I hear him open up, but barely. off I go. I had to cross a very deep and very steep ravine to get there, then go through 200 yards of 5 foot tall Japanese Honeysuckle. it was a very long quarter mile, and all the while I'm thinking this has got to be another den. Slick found a live one, and grey squirrel to boot. first one I've ever seen in that woods, and only the second one I've seen on the entire place. I made another good shot and turned the dogs back. neither of them would hunt after that squirrel. after trying unsuccessfully to get them moving for a half mile, I loaded them up and called it a day. I swear, I think they get bored when there isn't enough squirrel smell around to keep their attention. try again tomorrow.
including our first hunt a couple weeks ago
Slick 7
Lefty 2
Squirrels not out much today. Lefty got one, Slick got two and we went to I don't even know how many den trees. dogs hunted like champs for the first half of the day, but they both petered out pretty bad at the end. Our first stop produced two live ones, and I shot them both in the noggin. Lefty got the first one, and it came quietly. Slick wined the second one and was bouncing between two trees for a while before I spotted the squirrel. I made a nice head shot, but this one got hung up falling. hanging by the middle of its lifeless body, perfectly balanced on a vine less 1/4" in diameter. unfrigginbelievable. I tried to shoot the vine in two about 15 times before I gave up and shot the squirrel in the head a couple more times and almost knocked it free. I finally realized that there was a large vine that I could shake to maybe move it enough to free it. smdh, I could have saved an entire full magazine if I had looked closer before getting aggravated. it took some doing, but I finally got it to drop. our second stop in a pretty big woods did not produce a squirrel sighting. decided to try one more small woods before calling it a day. two dens, and then Slick took off hell bent for Lexington. 400 yards later I hear him open up, but barely. off I go. I had to cross a very deep and very steep ravine to get there, then go through 200 yards of 5 foot tall Japanese Honeysuckle. it was a very long quarter mile, and all the while I'm thinking this has got to be another den. Slick found a live one, and grey squirrel to boot. first one I've ever seen in that woods, and only the second one I've seen on the entire place. I made another good shot and turned the dogs back. neither of them would hunt after that squirrel. after trying unsuccessfully to get them moving for a half mile, I loaded them up and called it a day. I swear, I think they get bored when there isn't enough squirrel smell around to keep their attention. try again tomorrow.
including our first hunt a couple weeks ago
Slick 7
Lefty 2
) I’m game after the first of the year 