Squirrel hunting

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Yeh , but they ain`t nutten like sitten on ya but shooten shotgun & watchen yer buddy run around haven a blast , ain`t no steak worth that !
 
Season in MOST of Texas, other than east Texas' piney woods, is year round. I used to hunt all year when I was a kid, lived amongst the squirrels near a creek bottom, live oaks. I had a dog, mutt, part terrier, part beagle, would do back flips when I'd pick up a .22 or shotgun, rarin' to go. I know what ya mean about a good four legged friend. My labs have been neat, too (waterfowling).
 
Go deep in those woods, take a seat by a tree, lean back, enjoy the sunrise and listen for the squirrels coming out to play. I'd rather take two in a morning with a handgun than a limit with a shotgun, but I guess to each his own.
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I was taught that method when I was 10-11 yrs old with a shotgun. I really enjoyed it.

Two months ago, those pesky tree rats started dropping 12-14 pears a day out of my backyard tree. They also tried to "eat their way into my attic" last winter. I bought a daisy pump-up BB & Pellet rifle and quietly went out back every day. I learned their "route" through the trees, picked a spot and waited.

I have reduced the number of pears being wasted to about 2-3 per day with 17 1/2 less squirrels in the neighborhood.

1/2? Well I couldn't get a neck/head shot, but he dropped and couldn't climb; but he could still scoot out through the fence and disappear.

I can't bring myself to cook a city squirrel/tree rat, but I always liked the ones Grandma fixed up back in Tennessee over 50 years ago.. Good memories.
 
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Lewis just goes nuts & is ready to go when I say Squirrel !
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He looks like a dog that should be taught the meaning of the word..."rabbit". :D I love hunting rabbits with a good beagle. :D

Yeah, I've got squirrels in my back yard that have robbed all, but 3 of my watermelons from my garde. DANG LITTLE THIEVES!!!!! I'm thinkin' I'll break out the grackle popper on 'em, Crossman .177. :D I don't mine a plate of city tree rat! I've not done it yet, like to watch 'em play, but I sure am miffed over them raiding my garden. Those sandias were delicious, the few they didn't steal. I never knew a squirrel would bust and eat watermelon, the whole thing, not just the meat.
 
MCgunner said:
He looks like a dog that should be taught the meaning of the word..."rabbit". :D I love hunting rabbits with a good beagle. :D

Yeah, I've got squirrels in my back yard that have robbed all, but 3 of my watermelons from my garde. DANG LITTLE THIEVES!!!!! I'm thinkin' I'll break out the grackle popper on 'em, Crossman .177. :D I don't mine a plate of city tree rat! I've not done it yet, like to watch 'em play, but I sure am miffed over them raiding my garden. Those sandias were delicious, the few they didn't steal. I never knew a squirrel would bust and eat watermelon, the whole thing, not just the meat.
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OH , he knows you say squirrel , he goes to looking in the trees , you say rabbit he goes to sniffing the ground , he knows the difference .
 
i tried a shotgun once or twice and it just tore them up too much. my favorite is a marlin .22 mag. although i can and have dropped squirrels at over 100 yards, i still like to try to get close. tried using a handgun with open sights once....now thats a challenge!
 
JEB said:
i tried a shotgun once or twice and it just tore them up too much. my favorite is a marlin .22 mag. although i can and have dropped squirrels at over 100 yards, i still like to try to get close. tried using a handgun with open sights once....now thats a challenge!
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If your tearing them up your using too big of shot, too tight of choke and you are too close.
 
If your tearing them up your using too big of shot, too tight of choke and you are too close.
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was only using #7 1/2 bird shot with an improved cylinder choke. the damage wasnt really all that bad but a headshot with a .22 mag does a lot less. the too close thing is a big issue for me. sometimes they are only a few feet away and i really dont want to splatter them all over the tree they're sitting on.
 
I use my 12 or 16 ga. single shots for early season when theres still alot of leaves on the trees. Later in the season when the leaves fall, i use my .22 mag for headshots.
matt z
 
I use one of my 870's or my CZ O/U when squirrel and rabbit hunting at the land near my country house. No, not because I want to but because this area is limited to shotgun only because of cattle and other livestock. The grazing rights have been leased out (public land).

Some years back the cattle raisers got tired of idiots ventilating their livestock so convinced the forest service to limit the hunting to certain areas and also limit hunters to shotgun or bow. While I would prefer to use my .22, the old shotgun gets the job done for me. Bad part is that the meat is messed up and the hides are only useful for tying flies.

Progress I guess... :banghead:

Ron in Texas
 
I've had to use shotgun on public land, before. It's a legitimate concern IMHO around houses and, I guess, cattle. Worst, though, is a rather remote marsh near me that is shotgun only for hogs and it must be BUCKSHOT, not buck and ball loads or slugs. I have been out there a couple of times with my 10 gauge loaded with 3.5" 00. I sure wouldn't wanna pee one off with that shotgun, though. :rolleyes: I wish they'd make that marsh black powder or at least slug legal.

I've also taken a shotgun to hunt rabbits AND squirrel. I've shot rabbits on the run with a .22 rifle, but I need lead time to get on him. The usual shot is QUICK and you have barely a second or two. Shotguns work best for that and if a squirrel presensts itself, well, hell, why not? :D For those quick shots like that on rabbit, it's danged hard to beat my 20 gauge coach gun with I/C-mod or cylinder-mod installed. The modified barrel would be for the squirrels. :D
 
870 wingmaster 20 gauge all day. saw em out boys!:D Then get the rifle out once the leaves are all gone. If really wanting meat take the shotgun. If you can see fur, its a done deal.
 
Savage 24 in .22 mag/20 gauge. Yeah, the .22 mag is overkill, so it's mostly head shots with that. But it can reach out there for ground squirrels. The 20 gets called on when they're up in the trees.
 
Sure do take your pick 16ga wingmaster 20ga redletter 28ga winchester model 37 410 mossberg all loaded with remington longrange express #6 all full choke barrels.Whack em and stack em.Reload your own shells very much cost effective way to get dinner.A 100 pound bag of #6 drop shot cost me 60 bucks 1000 wads 21 bucks 5 pounds of blue dot 104 dollars 1000 NO9 primers 35 bucks.watching a squirrel for forty minutes just to watch your brother shoot it out and it falls on your head priceless.
 
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