for our first full week of squirrel hunting, we did pretty good. I had to take Wednesday off to run some errands, went to investigate a new place on some public ground on Thursday. was not a very good day. squirrels not moving at either of the two places I went, but we covered a good bit of new ground and revisited some old and only managed three squirrels. two we got at the new place, our first stop. Might try it again there this week.
Friday was a career day for the dog. we started hunting at 9, and I put squirrel number six in my vest at 10:30. squirrels really moving good for a short time in the morning and we were in the right place. We went a ways before he found the first one, which I made a perfect head shot on. usually when you head shoot them they lunge or convulse or something and fly out of the tree in dramatic fashion. this one did not flinch, but just slunked straight down a few inches into a crotch just big enough to keep him up there. I put two more in his lifeless head to try and move him enough to knock him out, but no dice. Meanwhile, while I was wasting ammo, Lefty must have seen another squirrel because he sprinted off the tree about 80 yards to another and cut loose. I picked up an empty Gator-Ade bottle and placed it on a dead stump to mark the location of dead rat number one and hurried over to the dog, found the squirrel, made the shot, picked her up and headed back to the first one. found my marker and the squirrel, made my way to the opposite side of tree from where I originally shot to see if could shoot him out from there. nothing to lose, so I put a couple directly beneath his tail with a quick "double tap" and out he came, with nary a mark on him besides his pulverized head from the first three rounds. they get hung up sometimes, and this is part of the game, but it bothers me a lot to leave them. shooting them out only works about 25% of the time, but it's always worth a try.
So off we go several hundred yards, and Lefty is out about 150 yards ahead and treed solid. we are approaching a property line, but it is not marked in any way, so I'm not exactly sure where it is.The two ladder stands 30 yards apart was a good enough indicator for me. dog is treed right on the line, and I see the squirrel. after brief consideration of where I am, I decide that I'm in good shape and start to move into position for a shot. I'm about 30 yards from the tree wading through a tangle of greenbriars heading to the only sturdy tree in sight to use for a rest when I jump a rabbit. Lefty heard, saw it and sprints off of the tree. My blood pressure went up about 50 mm of Hg in the blink of an eye. I can't believe my head didn't explode. I couldn't pull my trainer out fast enough while screaming at the dog. gave him the tone while still shouting, turn it up to lowest stimulation and laid on it, which got his attention and snapped him out of chase mode. I ordered him back on to the tree, and the squirrel was still there, so I shot it out once the dog settled back on the tree. major screw up by the dog. left a tree to chase trash. I should have lit him up with full power just for meanness. at least he went right back to the tree and finished his job. after all the shouting and commotion, I figured we best move along quickly, just in case we may have drawn unwanted attention.
We go another 300 yards or so, and Lefty trees again, literally right on the property line, which is the woods we're in and a mowed field. mowed field off limits. I find the squirrel and notice a second one in same tree. I nailed the first one, the second ran up to the tree top, down the tree to the ground where Lefty was waiting with his mouth wide open. Squirrel runs back up the tree, slow enough that I can get the scope on it and I shot it running up the main trunk. didn't lead it quite enough and saw that I hit right in the ribs instead of the head. squirrel runs up to the first fork and tries to climb onto the branch, but could not hold on for long and tumbled out a few seconds later. number four and five in the bag. I'm thinking to myself that this is a little surreal, and my adrenaline is pumping pretty good by now. all of what I just described happened in about 45 minutes! 5 large fox squirrels in my Filson strap vest is a sizeable load, so I took a moment to adjust straps, gather my wit, and down some water. I head back in the direction of the truck, pretty optimistic that we can find one more somewhere along the 3/4 mile we have to cover, about half of which is good timber. just about when I'm thinking I need to call in the dog and go to the truck, Lefty starts singing for me again. number six didn't come quietly, though. I hit some twigs on my first two shots and squirrel bailed, but just kept running around in the tops of a couple trees, dog right with it. I just had to wait for it to stop long enough for me to get the reticle on it. had to take a little bit longer of a shot that I usually like, but managed a neck shot, which is practically as good as a head shot.
Love is in the air in the squirrel woods. The first two were a boar and sow, very close together, probably feeling frisky, the two in same tree were a boar and sow, definitely feeling frisky. aside from the dogs' shithead moment of running off a tree and chasing a damn rabbit, he was really performing.
Nancy had taken a half day off from work to come and meet us for an afternoon hunt. I pretty much had all the squirrels cleaned by the time she found us, so we ate lunch and hit a couple of other spots. made lots of den trees, but we did manage 4 more for the canner before calling it quits.
Went to Hocking county yesterday to squirrel hunt for the first time. dog did not hunt worth a darn. he was just plain worn out from hunting all week and the hills, humidity, and unseasonably warm weather wiped him out pretty fast. we got two greys, missed one and had two more timber out to holes on us before dog ran out of gas. was a short day, but we had plenty of action for a couple of hours. dog resting today and tomorrow. back after it on Tuesday.
