Squirrel Doggin' 21-22
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
The conditions on the ground were not any better than yesterday for walking in the woods, but squirrels were out, and the dogs found them fast today. Everyone did their jobs today and we got a limit, which is the first time I've gotten a limit this season. I let the dogs loose about 9:30, shot the last squirrel at a few minutes past noon and stopped to clean the first three before we went to our second stop. I think I only went to two dens all morning. Lefty got three and Slick got three. Headshots all around. I also found two small clusters of Oyster mushrooms. nice chunky ones, and enough for Nancy and I to eat our fill. They will be a nice addition to my sous vide/seared venison eye of round and baked sweet potato dinner tonight. Unlike yesterday, this hunt is worth remembering. 
Slick 38
Lefty 18
Slick 38
Lefty 18
We went out for a short hunt this morning. Not many tracks in the snow at all. Squirrels didn't move much yesterday, and they weren't doing much today, either. Saw two, killed two. Slick got them both. I managed to get a few action photos. I know how much you all like pictures.
LOL, Slick is one smug little bastard. With the way he hunts, he should be pleased with himself.
Slick 40
Lefty 18
LOL, Slick is one smug little bastard. With the way he hunts, he should be pleased with himself.
Slick 40
Lefty 18
Went out late this morning. Dogs weren't really into it, squirrels weren't really into it, my hip wasn't really into it, and it was friggin' cold. Lefty found one, Slick found one and I shot them both in the head. Only went to a couple of dens. Squirrel not digging the cold, apparently. Neither am I, lol.
Slick 41
Lefty 19
Slick 41
Lefty 19
Snow can make squirrel hunting tough. If they don't come out of the trees to the ground, the only dogs that will find any squirrels have to wind them. Both of mine can wind squirrels, and they both did it today. Squirrels not doing much today. I saw two sets of tracks in fresh snow from last night the whole time we were out. Dogs struggled mightily to sniff them out like normal. We went to a bunch of dens, but Lefty winded one and Slick winded three. Neither of them was interested in staying on a tree on our first stop. Lefty found the first squirrel and I eventually got a good shot at it after herding the dogs back to the tree a few times. Slick found the second one but would not stay on the tree at all after he saw me shoulder the rifle, and Lefty just stood in front of me barking at me. Stubborn squirrel kept moving on me, and I got tired of trying to keep dogs on tree and walked away from that one, very unhappy with their behavior as they both knew there was a squirrel there. It was a long walk, but I went straight to the truck and put them in the box, skinned the squirrel before it froze. Hip feeling decent today, so I decided to make another stop. Same drill on stop number two. Slick got a whiff of one and somehow lucked into getting on the correct tree. He was only barking half-heartedly, and I was about to move him on when Lefty came trotting in from the other direction, made the squirrel move, and I happened to see it, luckily. I was in position and only had move enough to load the gun and shoot, so the squirrel did stay put long enough for me to put one in the noggin. I sent them off again. Even Slick moves pretty slowly while snorting snow trying to find a track, so it took a few minutes, but just after they were out of my sight Slick started barking again, and he sounded serious. I made my way up to the top of a small rise and I could see the dogs about 150 yards out. Slick hammering on his tree, Lefty barking on giant Shagbark Hickory den tree about 30 yards away. Slick stayed treed a long time on this one, but after I got closer and looked the tree over, as well as several nearby, I could not find the squirrel, but I was sure it was there someplace. I finally had to move them on, and they moved off pretty quickly. I was standing just a few yards from the tree Slick had been on when I saw Lefty was coming back to me. I just happened to be looking up and spotted Slicks squirrel. It was in a different tree about 30 yards from where he treed, but this was undoubtedly the one he winded. I gave Lefty a few minutes sniffing around in the vicinity to see if he could get on it, but he didn't and he took off when Slick started barking again. That was the last squirrel I saw. saw four, killed two, walked away from one, got outsmarted by one. Going have my hip evaluated tomorrow morning early. I really don't know what to expect, so this may or may not be my last squirrel hunt of the year. I just couldn't put this off any longer. I can afford to not hunt for a while. I cannot afford to be unable to work in two weeks. It is usually tough hunting this time of year, especially when there are several inches of snow, but we did ok today.
Slick 44
Lefty 20
Slick 44
Lefty 20
Took the dogs out for an afternoon hunt today. The conditions on the ground were as bad as ever, but there were plenty of tracks in the snow, and some squirrels were out. The dogs both hunted like old people fuck - slow and sloppy. Slick was just plain bad today. I wish I knew why. Neither one of them would stay on a tree today. I think it is because they were obviously struggling to smell the smells the whole time, and suspect they were never really "sure" except one time, and it took me a long time to find that one. Once I was sure there was a squirrel there, I tied them both because they had both left the tree while I was searching. I have not done that in a good while, but one thing is for sure, they won't leave the tree and do anything stupid if they are tied. some guys tie their dogs at every tree, every time. I think it's admission that your dog sucks, and is bad for business for other reasons, too. Anyway, this was a rather inglorious hunt, but they did manage to find some active squirrels. I probably would have seen more if they had stayed treed better, as they were on some really big trees with no holes or leaf nests. When they leave the tree and start hunting again on their own, I let them go and quit looking. Somehow, we managed to get three today. only saw three. Lefty got two, Slick one, but we went to lots of dens, too.
Slick 45
Lefty 22
Slick 45
Lefty 22
true, J. however, I know what these two are capable of (i.e., what is normal performance for them), and when they are this far of kilter, it is harder to put up with. I don't mind them struggling on tough days like this at the end of the season. That is to be expected some, but it's all the other stuff that I can't tolerate. Slick just plain would not obey a command today for no reason I could see. That is very out of character for him. Lefty does it all the time, lol. You know it's bad when Lefty is the "good" dog and even carries the load. Three in the bag today was still a pretty good day for this time of year with this kind of weather.
Three in the bag today was still a pretty good day for this time of year with this kind of weather.
- 25,126
- 261
He’s the one on the left? hims got those, WTF you lookin at eyes. LolWe went out for a short hunt this morning. Not many tracks in the snow at all. Squirrels didn't move much yesterday, and they weren't doing much today, either. Saw two, killed two. Slick got them both. I managed to get a few action photos. I know how much you all like pictures.
View attachment 144182View attachment 144183View attachment 144184View attachment 144185
LOL, Slick is one smug little bastard. With the way he hunts, he should be pleased with himself.
Slick 40
Lefty 18
Good stuff Jamie!
I was planning to hunt today since last week, but I decided to go yesterday, too, and got Nancy to go with me. Yesterday was a beautiful day to be outside. Blue skies, bright sun, no wind, not too cold. A good day to synthesize some D3 and fill your lungs with fresh air. Somebody forgot to tell the squirrels, AGAIN. On our first stop we did not see any squirrels, and the dogs only barked on three trees between them. I did find an active coyote den, though. Giles, you need an outdoor project?
This was supposed to be a low-key, relaxing squirrel hunt, and it was, for the most part (the exciting part came later, after we got home). On the second stop the dogs went to several trees, but they were really grasping at straws trying to make something happen. After a half dozen strike outs, they wound up on big Sycamore den tree. This is a notorious den tree. We have shot sever squirrels out of it over the years, and the dogs remember where to go for an easy score. They got one yesterday, lol. When we got to the tree there were three squirrels. One timbered out immediately, one dashed a few feet into a big hole, the last one held tight and got a lead sleeping pill from Nancy. The dogs ran around and barked on a couple of more trees, but they just kept laying eggs. Slick did finally get on another one and stayed with it for a long time while we plodded our way to him. Nancy never could find it, so I took a tough shot and got deflected. Squirrel timbered out, the dogs stayed on it, but it went to a hole. That was the last time the dogs barked on that stop. We saw four, killed one, which is fine. I have a pile of canned squirrel already. After we got home, I was changing my clothes and putting collars on chargers. Nancy went out to fill the bird feeders, slipped on some nearly invisible ice and broke her ankle. She went down hard and fast and was pretty lucky she didn't break a wrist, or bust her head open, too. So, we spent the evening getting x-rays and temporary cast. This was not a good way to end our day. Going to see ortho surgeon tomorrow morning, as many broken ankles require surgery before permanently setting with a cast.
Nancy settled in and not having any real issues other than mobility and pain, so I went hunting as planned. The Goof and I went on a short hunt, which is better than nothing, but the hitch in my step has worsened, so it was plenty for me. The dogs struggled the same as they have for the last couple of weeks, but this place is loaded with squirrels, and they found four for us in less than two hours. The Goof went four for four. The dogs both did pretty good today, but the struggle was real as the squirrels were just not out much. Slick got three, Lefty got one. Yesterday, Lefty got three (on his one lucky trip to a known den tree), Slick got one (and earned it). It is probably for the best that squirrel season is now over. I had major plans to ambush a buck on my place, but with a serious winter storm now eminent, I doubt I can pull that off. I might get out for another sit or two this weekend if the wind is good enough, but my hip will be happier if I don't bother. Not sure my head will listen, though.
Slick 49
Lefty 26
This was supposed to be a low-key, relaxing squirrel hunt, and it was, for the most part (the exciting part came later, after we got home). On the second stop the dogs went to several trees, but they were really grasping at straws trying to make something happen. After a half dozen strike outs, they wound up on big Sycamore den tree. This is a notorious den tree. We have shot sever squirrels out of it over the years, and the dogs remember where to go for an easy score. They got one yesterday, lol. When we got to the tree there were three squirrels. One timbered out immediately, one dashed a few feet into a big hole, the last one held tight and got a lead sleeping pill from Nancy. The dogs ran around and barked on a couple of more trees, but they just kept laying eggs. Slick did finally get on another one and stayed with it for a long time while we plodded our way to him. Nancy never could find it, so I took a tough shot and got deflected. Squirrel timbered out, the dogs stayed on it, but it went to a hole. That was the last time the dogs barked on that stop. We saw four, killed one, which is fine. I have a pile of canned squirrel already. After we got home, I was changing my clothes and putting collars on chargers. Nancy went out to fill the bird feeders, slipped on some nearly invisible ice and broke her ankle. She went down hard and fast and was pretty lucky she didn't break a wrist, or bust her head open, too. So, we spent the evening getting x-rays and temporary cast. This was not a good way to end our day. Going to see ortho surgeon tomorrow morning, as many broken ankles require surgery before permanently setting with a cast.
Nancy settled in and not having any real issues other than mobility and pain, so I went hunting as planned. The Goof and I went on a short hunt, which is better than nothing, but the hitch in my step has worsened, so it was plenty for me. The dogs struggled the same as they have for the last couple of weeks, but this place is loaded with squirrels, and they found four for us in less than two hours. The Goof went four for four. The dogs both did pretty good today, but the struggle was real as the squirrels were just not out much. Slick got three, Lefty got one. Yesterday, Lefty got three (on his one lucky trip to a known den tree), Slick got one (and earned it). It is probably for the best that squirrel season is now over. I had major plans to ambush a buck on my place, but with a serious winter storm now eminent, I doubt I can pull that off. I might get out for another sit or two this weekend if the wind is good enough, but my hip will be happier if I don't bother. Not sure my head will listen, though.
Slick 49
Lefty 26
surgery is a foregone conclusion. very unlikely that she'll escape that.
