Squirrel Doggin' 22-23

[GoetsTalon]

Sorry to hear about your mom Jamie. Haven't met you yet but just from being a member on here and reading about your life's adventures being it making bows or out looking for spore or painting houses it seems you give everything 110% and I'm sure she is the reason you are who you are. Also this squirrel thread is one of the best of the year! I'm pulling for lefty again this year lol!

 

[Jamie]

Since November 15 I have been in the woods two times. On 11/15 I saw 10 different bucks, including the giant 8 that I missed, which made that the third time I saw him. that was the last day I hunted with my bow. I went squirrel hunting on November 21, came home that afternoon and spent the next week sick as hell. Flu, Covid, RSV, common cold, I do not know, do not care. Still not 100% over it. On Monday (yes, the opening day of gun season) I went to see spine doctor with MRI disc in hand and found out for sure what I already suspected from my own research. I have a bulging disc at L4-L5 and a bone spur putting pressure on my L5 nerve root which is causing all my problems. My spine is perfectly aligned and there is absolutely nothing else going on with my spine or pelvis. Doctors never cease to amaze me. This man tells me I have 5 options. That is about 3 too many for anyone with a brain. I shudder to think what my insurance is paying this guy. Option 1 is to just live with it and hope it gets better doing what I've been doing, option 2 is PT, which I have been doing on my own for 5 months with marginal improvement. Option three is pain medication, forever, I guess, option 4 is epidural steroid injections, and last one is surgery. 30 minute outpatient procedure with a two week recovery time. Surgery would involve removing bone spur and putting disc back where it belongs. I asked him if there was any good reason to do surgery without trying to get better with the injections first, and he could not give me one in light of my otherwise perfect spine and my overall health being just fine. So, I had to go back the next day at 2:30 to meet with the pain management doctor who administers the steroids for a consultation. I had every intention of taking the revolver out Tuesday morning, and no desire to let this unexpected doctor appt. stop me. So, I stuck with my plan. I was a little uneasy about taking my gun to the woods without practicing a little, but I did it anyway although that was a first for me. I squirmed around for about two hours trying to get comfortable in tree stand. I did pass up a 20 yard shot at a likely 4 1/2 year old buck with a giant four point antler on his left and a 16" spike on his right. This guy would have been 140" easy with a matching antler. Just before 9:00 a nice thick 1 1/2 year old came in by herself and I shot her at about 22 paces having not pulled that trigger since the button buck I shot a year ago. Bang, leap, flop, stillness. I was able to drive the truck right to her but getting her in and out of truck by myself was a little painful. I had to work fast, but I did manage to get her skinned, quartered and into fridge before my doctor appointment, which was very good because it got up to 58 degrees here that day. The pain doctor was a breath of fresh air on top of my very busy morning. He was VERY confident that two injections would get me over the hump to a full recovery without surgery, perhaps only one shot needed depending on the response. These are very simple injections, too, not requiring the use of a fluoroscope or other imaging to place the needle correctly because the disc is barely bulging and in only one direction. The soonest I could get the first shot is 12/14, and then the second one three weeks later. I'm tired of waiting and living with this, but I don't have a choice. Tomorrow, we squirrel hunt for as long as I can take it. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, but it is harder to get excited knowing that I'm only good for a few hours at most and that I have to limit/pace myself for a few more weeks, at least.

 

["J"]

Glad too hear they have a plan, Jamie! Hopefully it works out and you get the relief you so desire! Fingers crossed for you…..

 

[Mike]

Good deal. Enjoy tomorrow!

 

[brock ratcliff]

All good news, Jamie! I look forward to chasing you and the pups at some point this year!

 

[giles]

Outstanding update!

 

[Jamie]

All in all we had a decent day. The dogs were not stellar, but they found several squirrels. Slick found 6, and the first two were a double, Lefty found 2. I left one that Lefty found because he was a quarter of a mile off of the public ground. If it's close to the line I usually shoot the squirrel, but this was not even close. On Slicks double, which were the first squirrels we saw, I got one, the other instantly bailed to the ground almost landing on me and outran Slick by about 1/2" to a tree and straight in a hole. Slick treed one that I missed on what I thought was a wide open shot, but there were some small twigs that went flying not 10 feet from my barrel when I fired, and that one dashed into a hole without any chance for a follow up shot. On our last stop, the dogs were split treed about 100 yards apart (which is kind of close, really). I went to Lefty first since he was closest and as soon as I spotted his squirrel with my bino's, he ran off the damn tree to join Slick. Slick had one, too, stayed treed and I shot his. Saw 8, killed 4, missed one. I walked away from one, and Lefty walked away from one, and 1 of Slick's double got in a hole. We did go to quite a lot of dens today, too. I was good for about the first two hours. Tough sledding the rest of the day for me, but today was the best day we are going to have weather-wise for the rest of the week, so I made it as close to a full day as I could.

and I found this one lonely lead shot on the inside of the back leg of the first squirrel we got today.

Slick 9,
Lefty 2

 

[Jamie]

Today the dogs were, in fact, "stellar". Everyone did their friggin' job today, including the squirrels, except for the last one. It wound up being a big old boar and he wasn't having any of it, lol. Dogs BOTH hunted like they knew what they were doing for the first time this year. They took turns finding squirrels and each found three for me and did a nice job all morning staying treed and not molesting my squirrels to badly. The squirrels all came quietly except for the last one. The first five all offered me pretty reasonable shots, and I made five nice headshots. The last squirrel was some pretty good work by Slick. He was half ass barking around a tree and Lefty was solidly committed to a tree of his own. I went straight to Lefty, who was standing in the middle of a group of three ginormous Cottonwoods barking his head off. When Slick saw me put up my 'noci's he ran over to join Lefty. I made my way around the trees looking hard, but there was a leaf nest way up in one and I figured squirrel must have gotten in there. After a good hard look, I gave up and moved them on. They both ran around for a couple of minutes and Slick did start on a tree, but when I didn't go to him, he gave up and started hunting again. He made his way back to where he was when I went to Lefty and started barking pretty serious on a smallish Sycamore, and Lefty made a bee line to join him. I was about 60 or so yards away and I could see the tree pretty well but started over there. I stopped about 30 yards out and took a look. I didn't see anything, but as soon as I put my bino's down I saw a rat flying to the ground, bounce up a few feet from Slick who saw him coming and the chase was on. Both dogs right on the squirrels' heels until I could no longer see any of them through the brush and trees. They didn't go more than 50 yards, but I did not see what tree the squirrel went up. I hustled over and they were back where Lefty was treed just a few minutes ago. I took a good look and finally spotted a tail hanging over the side of a very large almost horizontal branch up about 40-50 feet in a big Cottonwood. I moved several times trying to get a look at the squirrels' head in a place where I could actually shoot. The dogs started getting impatient after several minutes but stayed put pretty well for as long as it took for me to move 180 degrees around tree to a spot where I could actually see the squirrels' head and didn't have a bunch of limbs in the way. I couldn't believe the squirrel stayed put for as long as it took get into position, but it did, and I was able to finally put one in his noggin, too. Six squirrels seen, six shots fired, six rats with holes in their heads all in just over an hour and a half. This was a really fun hunt, and my suffering was minimal. I really needed one like this, badly.

Slick 12
Lefty 5

 

["J"]

Today the dogs were, in fact, "stellar". Everyone did their friggin' job today, including the squirrels, except for the last one. It wound up being a big old boar and he wasn't having any of it, lol. Dogs BOTH hunted like they knew what they were doing for the first time this year. They took turns finding squirrels and each found three for me and did a nice job all morning staying treed and not molesting my squirrels to badly. The squirrels all came quietly except for the last one. The first five all offered me pretty reasonable shots, and I made five nice headshots. The last squirrel was some pretty good work by Slick. He was half ass barking around a tree and Lefty was solidly committed to a tree of his own. I went straight to Lefty, who was standing in the middle of a group of three ginormous Cottonwoods barking his head off. When Slick saw me put up my 'noci's he ran over to join Lefty. I made my way around the trees looking hard, but there was a leaf nest way up in one and I figured squirrel must have gotten in there. After a good hard look, I gave up and moved them on. They both ran around for a couple of minutes and Slick did start on a tree, but when I didn't go to him, he gave up and started hunting again. He made his way back to where he was when I went to Lefty and started barking pretty serious on a smallish Sycamore, and Lefty made a bee line to join him. I was about 60 or so yards away and I could see the tree pretty well but started over there. I stopped about 30 yards out and took a look. I didn't see anything, but as soon as I put my bino's down I saw a rat flying to the ground, bounce up a few feet from Slick who saw him coming and the chase was on. Both dogs right on the squirrels' heels until I could no longer see any of them through the brush and trees. They didn't go more than 50 yards, but I did not see what tree the squirrel went up. I hustled over and they were back where Lefty was treed just a few minutes ago. I took a good look and finally spotted a tail hanging over the side of a very large almost horizontal branch up about 40-50 feet in a big Cottonwood. I moved several times trying to get a look at the squirrels' head in a place where I could actually shoot. The dogs started getting impatient after several minutes but stayed put pretty well for as long as it took for me to move 180 degrees around tree to a spot where I could actually see the squirrels' head and didn't have a bunch of limbs in the way. I couldn't believe the squirrel stayed put for as long as it took get into position, but it did, and I was able to finally put one in his noggin, too. Six squirrels seen, six shots fired, six rats with holes in their heads all in just over an hour and a half. This was a really fun hunt, and my suffering was minimal. I really needed one like this, badly.

View attachment 168115


Slick 12
Lefty 5

The days we live for and know our dogs have it in them! Excellent write up and helluva day in the woods….

 

[GoetsTalon]

Glad to see you getting out! I had a ruptured L5 S1 that I had to get operated on back in 2007. The pain going down my right leg was a mother f'er for sure. I was out for twelve weeks with that so your two week recovery would be awesome!

 

[Jamie]

Actually, I’m getting steroid injection next week, not surgery. No down time at all with that.

 

[Boarhead]

Fun day for you and the dogs!

 

[Jamie]

We had another really nice hunt today. 5 on the first stop, but had to cover some ground to get the last one. I probably should have called it a day with 5 in the bag in a couple of hours, but it was a very nice day and I’m, apparently, too dense to quit while I’m ahead. Dogs had to work for them today, and my shooting was lights out on the first five. We walked a long ways, went to several empty trees that the dog were hot on before Slick lucked into a triple. The only squirrel I saw when I got there was up in the top of the tree in the skinny branches, and appeared to be the easiest shot I had all day. I missed somehow and that squirrel took off in a hurry which is when I saw the other two. The dogs took off after timbering rat like they are supposed to, so I did not shoot either of the two still in tree. The one that took off found a hole, so we turned back.Slick found the last one clear back across the woods where we entered, and this tree was in a sea of biars and brambles. Took me a while to find the squirrel, and a while longer to get a look at its head. Grey squirrels hide better than fox squirrels, and Slick was getting impatient, but stuck with it with a little encouragement from me. I bugeyed this one. Of the six I shot, Slick got three, Lefty got three. Slick had a triple that I whiffed on. Lefty whooped, but hanging tough for being an old timer. Maybe doing better than me today.

Poor old Lefty. Too tired for a hero pic, AGAIN.

Slick 18
Lefty 8

 

[brock ratcliff]

Knowing your bias towards Slick, I’m gonna give Lefty a 15 handicap which puts him squarely ahead. Good boy, Lefty!

 

[Jamie]

They both getting it done. Hunting with purpose and finding the meat. No bias here, only cold hard objectivity.

 

[Jamie]

I really thought we would do better today. The dogs struggled all morning. Slick did happen upon one less than a minute after I turned them loose, which he chased far enough that I thought it was a rabbit, but just about when I was gonna give him some juice, he treed up. This was a very crafty rat. I could not get a shot at it. Every time I moved, it moved. Dogs got very impatient on this one and Lefty even wandered off, which made Slick want to do the same. I eventually walked away from this one as I could not get a good look at its head. Lots of barking and a few empty trees was the best we did all morning, but I did happen upon a nice large flush of Oyster mushrooms, though. Enough to eat three times. Pinched nerve really bothering me today, so I took a long break to eat lunch and just sit a while. I decided I was good enough to go for one more short walk, so I went to an easy spot where we could start hunting from the truck and didn't have a long walk to the woods. More ferocious barking on obvious dens and a couple of empty trees. Slick hunted his ass off after lunch and did find two squirrels and they both came home with us. Lefty did not do much today at all. Tough day all around. We try again on Friday, and hopefully I'll be experiencing some legitimate relief from bulging disc by then. no pics today.

Slick 21
Lefty 8

 

[Jamie]

Today I met up with none other than JOHNROHIO for a squirrel hunt. We covered some ground and the dogs found plenty or squirrels for us. Pretty good action all day. By my count we saw a total of 18 squirrels, and 10 went home with John. We had a couple of multi-rat trees, and in one instance there were 6 in two or three trees all in the same spot. I don't recall ever seeing so many squirrels fly out of trees of their own volition, but rats were bailing out like crazy today, which is very fun for the dogs and very entertaining for the hunters. I think only one got away from us on a missed shot, but several got to holes or leaf nests before a shot could be fired. Slick had a very big day today. I think Lefty only treed one or two squirrels for himself all day. I have a credible eyewitness to back up that my alleged bias is pure, honest truth today, Mr. Ratcliff. My steroid injection must be starting to work as I was pretty good all day, and still not too bad after walking 6.8 miles and being on my feet for 6 hours. A pleasure to meet you, John. We go again soon. Big fun in the squirrel woods today.

first 6

the whole mess

Since I rather lost count, I'm going to very generously give Lefty credit for 6 today, but I think it was more like half that.

Slick 33
Lefty 14

 

[JOHNROHIO]

I truly enjoyed our time today, and hope to do more. The squirrelagedon was a sight to see, as I’ve never witnessed anything like it. @brock ratcliff the bias is honest as lefty spent most of his time looking good standing on down trees waiting for Slick to light up the woods. However there was an instance that Jamie left him behind with disbelief, and I stayed back having faith. In fact Lefty did have a rat in a tree, unfortunately I was to slow in finding it, as it bailed before I could get a shot.

 

["J"]

Glad y’all got too meet up, squirreling behind dogs aren’t for the feint of heart!

 

[Jamie]

Poor old Lefty. By Lefty standards he did have a decent day. He did hunt a little bit, did not interfere with Slick on trees, and generally behaved himself. He only chewed up a couple of the dead ones before I could reach them. Still, I gave him more credit than he earned yesterday. I don’t need Lefty’s fan club upset with me.