14 ” Squirrel Sniper Alpha Team”

Rifle: CZ 452 American 22lr. “The beater”

Ammo: SK HV HP 40gr.

I came really close to missing out on this hunt due to lack of sleep and the high potential for rain . I basically took a 3 hour and 45 minute nap, before having to get up, gear up and head out. A 40 minute trip to Brad’s, then another 30 minutes to Mike’s and then another 20 minutes to the excellent squirrel hunting hardwoods that Mike has access to. No I don’t need anybody to call a “Whambulance” , I only want to describe to you those days you’ve said, “Ah, I’ll just stay in bed.” I certainly could have mailed this one in, but had I, I would have missed out on one of the best morning hunts of the season. Missing the action is only one aspect, but missing the action and the enthusiasm we all have while chasing squirrels, well that’s why I love squirrel hunting so much. If you hunt with a couple of fellas that share the same passion you do, then it just intensifies the enjoyment of the hunt.

We headed into the woods just before first light. Mike put us in a white oak ridge that had good movement. We all spread out within 150 yards of each other and settled into our spots. Mike (aka SquirrelAssassin) fired the first shot of the morning during twilight. Then he fired a second, third and fourth as the morning went on. I had only seen two squirrels by this time and after ranging a dead fall tree at 50 yards, the squirrels I had eyes on had to be 100 yards away. I received a text to move towards Mike, but failed to read it as soon as my phone buzzed. Lucky for me, as I was about to get to fire my first shot of the morning.

A squirrel at the dead fall tree came into sight. I made adjustments to get that squirrel in my scope. I failed to to a stealthy job of moving into position and the squirrel scurried away. I then checked my phone and prepped for the move. When I did, I spooked squirrel two, which ran up a red oak and began to chatter and flap its tail. I powered to the max of 9 and put my rifle in the stix. The squirrel came down the tree just a little and gave me a head shot only. I was hunting with another one of my CZ 452’s this day and haven’t shot it a whole lot this season. (enter excuse here.) When I broke the shot it was a complete miss, but close enough to send the squirrel off through the woods in a hurry.

I then started over to Mike and Brad’s location. As I reached them the rain started, so we began the search to collect Mike’s squirrels. After about 20 minutes of searching we only found two.

After collecting these, we headed for cover under a metal carport on the property. The carport faced a patch of woods that Mike had taken squirrels out of previously. It didn’t take long and Brad spotted one, then two, and then a third. Looked like the action was about to pick up for us all. Brad posted up on one of the legs of the carport to settle in to take one of the squirrels. They had no idea we existed. They continued to chase each other around the tree (found out there was a hot female in the bunch). One of the squirrels took a detour out on branch of the poplar tree. Brad’s rifle “The Green Mile” barked and the squirrel instantly deflated on the branch. It was like nap time for the squirrel, there was zero movement.

The other two squirrels became still. It took a little binocular work to find them but we did. Mike learned on this trip, that binoculars are an essential piece of gear for squirrel hunting, and vowed to order some after the hunt. I found the first one backed into a tree in the classic squirrel hunch position. The second then made itself known. Mike was tracking them in the scope and I was rolling film. The squirrels started leisurely chasing each other around the tree again. There was too much movement to break a shot, Mike waited for one to settle down. Mike took his shot free handed, which after ranged, made it an excellent shot. Once one of the squirrels settled Mike sent a 36 grain CCI Mini-mag right to the noodle as he likes to say. The squirrel crashed down to the forest floor. Both of these shots were later ranged to be somewhere between 55-60 yards! I was up next.

The rain had lightened, so we moved into the patch of woods after the third squirrel. As we crept in we spooked a fourth squirrel. We keyed in on one of the two once it got settled. I prepped for the shot. Shooting from my stix I parallaxed down to 30 yards and up to 9 power. Mike filmed for me and told the squirrel to say goodbye. My rifle spoke, “Crack.” It’s been a while since I fired a shot that loud. The squirrel took a SK HV HP to the bean. Mike thought, for a second, the squirrel would be stuck in the tree, but she oozed out and down she fell. Immediately we transitioned to the fourth squirrel. Mike took the first shot and missed. It began to come down the tree. Jumping trees toward me, it stopped for me to take a shot. Well I blew that opportunity by missing, which sent the squirrel down the tree and Mike in chase of the squirrel. The squirrel crossed over a property line we weren’t allowed to access, to live another day.

Time to get out Brad’s squirrel that took a nap on the branch. Brad braced on a tree and put a CCI Mini-mag in the head to bring the squirrel out. We then collected the three squirrels and discussed what we’d do next. We did go over to another neighboring piece of property, and saw a few while driving in. We sat for a spell in a couple of spots but there was no movement. It was getting closer to lunch and the squirrel movement had almost stopped.

We discussed plans for lunch and talked over the morning hunt’s fun times, and to think, I could have laid in the bed asleep and missed all the fun. I was reminded of this a few times. On Brad’s suggestion, I broke out the camera to get a few group shots of all of us. What a great idea. You always want to capture that place in time by picture, whenever possible. It’s so much fun looking back on pictures and letting them flood your memory with the great times you had. I use to be a sour puss when it came to being photographed, but now I see what type of treasure is held inside those photos. It’s the whole reason I type out each of these journal entries. Make sure to bring a camera on your outdoor adventures. It’s about the memories you make and the memories you share.

I sure love to make folks smile, it’s one of my goals in life. Check out these smiles when I decided to aim my rifle at the camera (on timer and on tripod). We sure had a great time. I look forward to many more.