Squirrel Doggin' 21-22

[Jamie]

After two days off my feet battling the flu or who knows what, I really needed some fresh air. I didn't feel particularly great this morning again, but the dogs needed a workout. I have about 15 different places where I put the dogs on the wildlife area I hunted today. There was a vehicle at every single one of them when I got there. I literally drove around for 30 minutes trying to find a place to hunt where I wasn't going to fuck some poor deer hunter. I'm sure some of these folks were hunting rabbits or pheasants, but still, did EVERYONE have the day off today? I finally found a spot I thought I had to myself as there wasn't a car in sight. Right after I got the dogs collars on them and sent them off, here comes two dudes walking up the access road out of the area I'm heading into. One guy had a shotgun, the other had a small white dog on a lead. Wasn't a hound of any sort, but they both had orange on. We waved as they went by, but I didn't make any effort to talk to them since I was off the trail 50 yards or so. And it drizzled heavily the entire time we hunted. Slick found two, Lefty found one and we went to a couple of obvious dens. The second one Slick found bailed out to the ground as soon as I got to the tree. Slick chased it into a hole very quickly. The other two died of severe head trauma. Fresh air did me some good. I feel better now than when I got up this morning. Dogs got to stretch their legs a little. All things considered, we had a decent little hunt.

Slick 29
Lefty 10

 

["J"]

Sometimes those days workout better than staying home… Plus the fresh air don’t hurt either!

 

[Jamie]

This was one of those times when I just needed to take my dogs into the woods, relax, and let them hunt some. mission accomplished. I'm so fucking tired of sitting in this house now that as long as I can walk, I'm hunting every day I can for the rest of the season. This is trying to turn into the season that wasn't.

 

[brock ratcliff]

It’s crazy the number of fox squirrels you kill vs grays. Trying to recollect if I’ve ever seen a gray on your tailgate actually! Lol

The fox squirrels are dumb enough to think they can hide. The grays are smart enough to actually hide, in a hole or nest. You mentioned in one of last year’s post that I must have taken Jamie to a fox squirrel spot. To the contrary. This is at the gar hole. When deer hunting you will see at least five grays for every fox. As you can see, we managed to kill a couple grays in there last year. What I find funniest is the fact we have shot a number of squirrels from the same trees in consecutive years. Btw, most of the squirrels pictured came from a primarily fox squirrel farm we just went to the gar hole to finish our limit that day.

 

[Jamie]

The fox squirrels are dumb enough to think they can hide. The grays are smart enough to actually hide, in a hole or nest. You mentioned in one of last year’s post that I must have taken Jamie to a fox squirrel spot. To the contrary. This is at the gar hole. When deer hunting you will see at least five grays for every fox. As you can see, we managed to kill a couple grays in there last year. What I find funniest is the fact we have shot a number of squirrels from the same trees in consecutive years. Btw, most of the squirrels pictured came from a primarily fox squirrel farm we just went to the gar hole to finish our limit that day. View attachment 143128

Interestingly, both the first and the last squirrel we shot that day were Grey's.

Since I lost my place in Hocking county, I just don't have places to hunt with mostly Grey's. The only place I do have with mostly Grey's is my own property. I don't really squirrel hunt there much. Haven't loosed the dogs there in two years.

 

[giles]

Every public pullout we passed yesterday had vehicles too!

I've got a pile of Grey's just waiting for you. Come get them all if you want.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Interestingly, both the first and the last squirrel we shot that day were Grey's.

Since I lost my place in Hocking county, I just don't have places to hunt with mostly Grey's. The only place I do have with mostly Grey's is my own property. I don't really squirrel hunt there much. Haven't loosed the dogs there in two years.

I gotta believe if you were hunting where there were no fox, it would be difficult to put many in the bag. Those grays are quick to hole up or make a break for it. I suspect you would kill a few more grays with a shotgun considering they like to timber. Little rats are hard to hit on the run with a 22.

 

[cspot]

Interestingly, both the first and the last squirrel we shot that day were Grey's.

Since I lost my place in Hocking county, I just don't have places to hunt with mostly Grey's. The only place I do have with mostly Grey's is my own property. I don't really squirrel hunt there much. Haven't loosed the dogs there in two years.

Do you ever make any trips to WNF? I know the Marietta unit has a ton of squirrels especially greys.

 

[Jamie]

I have in the past. I have a limited amount of energy and ambition these days. Chasing hard working dogs around in the hills of southern Ohio is hard on an old guy. Hell, it's hard on a young guy. I don't make a habit of it anymore. Flat ground is much more enjoyable these days. And there is no shortage of squirrels anywhere I ever go hunting.

 

[Jamie]

I imagine some of you already got the skinny on my trip to Greenfield on Monday. As always, we had a good time. The weather was spectacular for the first week of January. Oddly enough, squirrels did not get the memo, as we only saw 8 all day. The dogs hunted steadily despite the obvious lack of squirrel smell in the air and on the ground and they found a handful of active squirrels when they crawled out of their holes. The shooters did their job, too. It would be easy for me to characterize a hunt like this as less than good, bad even, comparably. The truth is it was another great hunt with Brock and Mason. We killed every squirrel we shot at and made good shots on them all. Got to enjoy the sunshine on our faces without the biting cold and wind that often accompanies it this time of year. Neither Brock nor I needed assistance getting out of the woods at the end of the day, either, lol. Thanks for another fun day of squirrel hunting, gentlemen. Hopefully, we'll have some video of this affair pretty soon.?

I cannot ever keep track of which dog trees which squirrels because Brock insists that every squirrel we see is Lefty's. Poor Slick always getting short changed. One of them did, in fact, tree every squirrel we saw, including the ones we did not shoot at. I'll give them equal credit, but my count would say otherwise, lol.

Slick 33
Lefty 14

I've been on the couch ever since. I cannot shake this debilitating fatigue, although I feel fine otherwise. I felt great Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Barely moved yesterday, will sit home today again. My hip is happier, though. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[hickslawns]

Good updates Jamie. Bizarre to think with Brock's recent surgery and your hip. . . Well, to see you guys chasing dogs thru the woods simply brings me a smile. I love it.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Mason and I enjoyed it as always, Jamie! It is perhaps a little more fun when there is more killing and treeing involved, but even a “bad” day hunting is better than most other days.
To be clear, Lefty did a fine job. And please take note that at the end of the long day, the old man Lefty was still on the hunt while the youngster had given up and spent his time waiting on Lefty to do the hard work of finding well-hidden squirrels. You may also note the parallel with the two older men and the youngster tagging along. Our young pup, Mason, gave up and went looking for deer while the two crippled up old guys hung with it... even though we would have likely been better off to sit down. Lol.

 

[Jamie]

Finally back in the woods today. First time since I hunted with Brock and Mason. I was tired as hell for a few days after that trip, likely dealing with lingering effects of flu or whatever crud I had the week before, then another gun season. It was a miserable walk in the woods today for me. The saturated ground hooved up from being quickly frozen was like walking on slippery baseballs all morning. So much the worse with a hip that is struggling to get back to serviceable. The dogs didn't have any problems. Slick found two, Lefty found one. Squirrels did not cooperate much at all today, but the dogs actually did their jobs. I spent, literally, 10 minutes finding squirrels and maneuvering for clear shots at all three trees. This is an eternity for dogs on a tree. Dogs stayed on the tree as good as I could expect. I took two lousy shots, and hit stuff both times. Both of those squirrels ran and disappeared for good after one shot. I managed to get a clear shot at one, and he was leaking brain matter when he hit the ground. Slick found two, Lefty found one, and they both hunted well today. Squirrels quite moving by 11 or so as we did not go to a single tree for nearly an hour before I could not go any more on the horrible frozen mess under my feet. Saw three, killed one. no pics. Try again tomorrow.

Slick 35
Lefty 15

 

[brock ratcliff]

Well, not every day is one to remember. Glad you made it back out.

 

[cspot]

Finally back in the woods today. First time since I hunted with Brock and Mason. I was tired as hell for a few days after that trip, likely dealing with lingering effects of flu or whatever crud I had the week before, then another gun season. It was a miserable walk in the woods today for me. The saturated ground hooved up from being quickly frozen was like walking on slippery baseballs all morning. So much the worse with a hip that is struggling to get back to serviceable. The dogs didn't have any problems. Slick found two, Lefty found one. Squirrels did not cooperate much at all today, but the dogs actually did their jobs. I spent, literally, 10 minutes finding squirrels and maneuvering for clear shots at all three trees. This is an eternity for dogs on a tree. Dogs stayed on the tree as good as I could expect. I took two lousy shots, and hit stuff both times. Both of those squirrels ran and disappeared for good after one shot. I managed to get a clear shot at one, and he was leaking brain matter when he hit the ground. Slick found two, Lefty found one, and they both hunted well today. Squirrels quite moving by 11 or so as we did not go to a single tree for nearly an hour before I could not go any more on the horrible frozen mess under my feet. Saw three, killed one. no pics. Try again tomorrow.

Do you use a shotgun or 22?

 

[Jamie]

.22. No self-respecting squirrel dog handler north of the Mason-Dixon line uses a shotgun. Especially if they actually eat squirrel. Headshots with a low velocity round nose lead bullet make the best table fare. Provided you can keep your dog from chewing them up.

 

[cspot]

.22. No self-respecting squirrel dog handler north of the Mason-Dixon line uses a shotgun. Especially if they actually eat squirrel. Headshots with a low velocity round nose lead bullet make the best table fare. Provided you can keep your dog from chewing them up.

That is why I was checking. New to the squirrel dog scene so I didn't know what was proper etiquette. LOL.

 

[cspot]

I was actually thinking of getting an air gun. Always wanted to try on of them. Getting a squirrel dog would give me a good excuse. LOL.

 

[Jamie]

I like that logic.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I was actually thinking of getting an air gun. Always wanted to try on of them. Getting a squirrel dog would give me a good excuse. LOL.

I was actually thinking of getting an air gun. Always wanted to try on of them. Getting a squirrel dog would give me a good excuse. LOL.

You may consider the Benjamin Discovery. My kid has had several PCP air guns. For actually carrying in the field, accuracy, and shots per charge, they are tough to beat. Jamie can attest to its head busting ability when the shooter does his part.