2012

Rifle: CZ 452 16” American (Morning)

Scope: Clearidge Ultra XP 6-20x40AO

Ammo: CCI Mini Mag 36gr. HP

Rifle: CZ 452 American 17Hm2 (Afternoon)

Scope: Weaver V16 4-16x42AO

Ammo: Eley 17gr. 17Hm2

I hunted with Daddy and Kevin this morning on the property my brother has access to. Koda and Sassy also tagged along. Daddy carried his Marlin Model 60, that he bought from Terry (an old friend and co-worker) for $1, in case he ever wanted it back. Topped with a fixed 4 power scope with see-through rings! Needless to say the scope sits high above the bore. Kevin hunted with his Ruger 10/22 with a fixed 4 power scope also.

We got started about 10 minutes before sunup. Very cold this morning with thick frost, I remember seeing 23 degrees on my phone. Our first kill happened in the swampy area, where I killed a couple of coons last year on video. We were shaking vines as the dogs weren’t finding any squirrels to tree. Daddy shook a vine to a rather large nest in the split of a white oak tree. Out popped a raccoon’s head. I had made mention that it had the makings of a raccoon sized nest, and it sure was that. I told Daddy to shake more to get him to come out, as I didn’t want to shoot and he die in the nest. The coon ended up running out on a limb, as I posted on a leaning tree at 6 power. Once he stopped I took a shot that hit him in between the shoulder blades, and he came plummeting out of the tree almost to fall on Daddy. The dogs sailed in on the coon and I wasn’t sure he was dead yet so I didn’t want them to get bit. He was dead on impact to the ground and Sassy was chewing and shaking his rear end, and Koda working his face nipping and barking. A giant coon I had been trying to get all season to satisfy Milton’s wife. I had finally succeeded.

The next squirrel came in that same swampy bottom. He just happened to scurry up the tree as we were walking through and Kevin saw him. I had a shot on him so I took my time, and missed…. He went to Kevin’s side. I think both Kevin and Daddy fired. He moved back into the “V” and Kevin made a hit, but not vital. When I broke my next shot it was right in the bean.

The next squirrel wasn’t far from the sewer lines. Sassy ran it out of the overhang in the creek bed. She went in & he came out. With Koda very close on his tail treeing him in a poplar tree. I don’t really remember the shot count here, but I remember taking him with a shot to the noggin.

The next squirrel was in an area where I had killed 3 deer in one setting last year. It was in a really viney, dead tree. Kevin shook him out into a “V” and I wanted to roll footage so I didn’t shoot. He went back in the nest. Kevin shook him back out, he went back in the nest. Kevin finally got him to bail out of that tree, and into a tree where he could make a shot. Another squirrel down.

The last squirrel was on our second loop and Sassy was staying behind as we were headed towards the truck. I told Kevin, if she is that solid we should investigate. After a little glassing I found him facing toward the sky in a poplar. I sat down and put my rifle in my stix. Powered up to around 12 and missed….. the squirrel came down to a “V” and went back up and turned a faced down. The whole time I had been tracking him in my scope. When he stopped, I settle and fired. Another head shot.

We finished up around 11:30am and then headed to the store to have some hotdogs for lunch.

AFTERNOON HUNT

For the afternoon, I headed over to Stacy’s with Brad as he got off work early. We probably got started around 3:30. No dogs this time. We walked in around the pond past the poacher stand and I made mention to Brad that there may be a squirrel on the path eating corn. We rounded the corner slowly, and I stopped Brad with a “closed fist”. Sure enough a likely culprit eating some of the corn for the deer. Brad told me to take the shot, after a little coaxing I did. I tried using my stix in a kneeling position, but I couldn’t make the squirrel. I headed over to a white oak tree, when the stix wouldn’t work to get a better, higher rest. Once there I steadied and powered up to between 14-16. I watched the squirrel fold up in the scope. I created calm, and had a great trigger press. Brad was wowed and proceeded to step off the distance. It was 65 walking paces, which means somewhere between 60-65 yards! It was a mature male, and shot was in the neck! Starting off good.

We headed down the path to the large overlook of oaks. Pick us a couple of spots and sat down. We could hear squirrels when we moved in but they got quiet quickly. I soon found out why. I was just about to check my phone for the sunset time when I heard scratching on bark. I looked up to see a squirrel coming down a large tree in front of me, then into a small one and on the ground. It scurried down the creek, not to be seen again. I was standing at this point and glassed the same tree to see another squirrel. I turned to motion Brad to come my way, then I lost balance on the hillside and regained it. This movement made the squirrel go to the backside of the tree. I let Brad get into position and I made my way to the bottom to move the squirrel to his side of the tree. Brad’s first shot missed and made the squirrel go high. His next shot made contact, but didn’t bring the squirrel out. A third shot sent him to the forest floor.

As I was making my way up the hill with Brad’s kill he spotted another squirrel in a poplar close to where I was coming up the hill. I was able to make a neck shot on this squirrel.

We finished up close to the trailers, overlooking a ravine. I made two shots at a squirrel out in front of me in a large leaning tree. Both misses. I did go into the bottom with almost 10 minutes of light left to take a small male squirrel.

Not a bad hunt. Brad had been sick over Christmas vacation and hadn’t hunted in 2 weeks so he was very glad to have shot at least one squirrel. He also gifted me a shooting rest that I was planning on paying for, but he would have none of that. It nice to get in the woods with people that share the same love of squirrel hunting as you do.