2023 Fall Squirrel Season...........

[ETipp]

I have a .32 Cherokee also. It came with a peep sight on it. Unlike everyone else on this forum, I couldn’t see squat through it. Never even shot with it on. The rear sight was missing. So I bought front and rear fiber optic sights for it. I can see those well.

I don’t shoot that rifle much anymore. I mostly hunt with my .36 kibler and this year I bought a Crockett. I painted both front sights with white finger nail polish. I can’t see it at the range when it’s bright. But in the dark woods the white shows up real well. I’m thinking of painting around the rear sight notch just a little line.

I really enjoyed your story and hope you get to go out with the .32 some more.

If you cannot see through your peep then the aperture is too small. Drill it out larger. You can still get very good accuracy out of a peep IF the aperture is big enough. I have proven this time and time again.

 

[ETipp]

Yep, in my muzzleloader tackle box my homemade 'speed loaders' consisting of 30-30 shells and cut .410 hulls were still there from all those years ago. I put four of those together and with the loaded rifle had 5 shots ready to go. It does help to keep all the extra movements down.

Yes, white paint could help quite a bit. I'll need to to that to see if these low light situations can still be productive.

I'm considering a bullet board.

 

[ETipp]

Ah, as long as the fun meter spiked high then the write up was worth th effort. As was the hunt.

Though the sky was bright under all the canopy those blackened sights are just hard to see on target. Share with me the peeps you use. I'm curious to check them out. Just switched to a Leopold from the Skinner Alaskan peep sight on the 45/70 I've used for years, so I'm used to using them. Just need more precision at longer range now. Can't see shooting this .32 much over 30 yards, though.

Yes, I've done the same with squirrel and deer when it comes to reloading immediately, yet slowly in the chance for a follow-up shot. I was getting the opportunity to yesterday, also. Just messed it up when the ball got stuck half way down the bore. Excitement got the better of me. Its all fine. A memory was made. Glad you folks enjoyed the story.

I have made it a habit to talk to myself through the sequence every time I load.

Powder.

Tap (on the side of the butt stock).

Patch.

Ball.

Run it home (seat the ball all the way).

Remove spent cap and install new cap.

Sometimes I think the squirrels can hear me talking to myself through this even though its under my breath.

 

[Jim K]

If you cannot see through your peep then the aperture is too small. Drill it out larger. You can still get very good accuracy out of a peep IF the aperture is big enough. I have proven this time and time again.

I sold it. Just wasn’t for me. I know lots of guys like them though. I read it on here a lot.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

I too want to thanks everyone contributing to this thread .
Due health issues, for both my wife and myself the last couple of years has lacked hunting.
This is the first year that we'll be back in the woods for all hunts. Archery and Muzzleloading are my favorites.
Deer, Turkey, and Hog have been my quest for years. We would go out and do some small game hunting from time to time. I had told her earlier this year that I wanted to get a .32 caliber for squirrels this year, always use my 12ga double barrel muzzleloader.
Then I seen this thread, for whatever reason it took me back 50 plus years, wait for squirrel season to open so I could go with my Big Brother Willie.
I'm really excited about Squirrel Season this year and this thread has alot to with it.
Just want to say thanks, I enjoy the stories, tales, and the sagasof the squirrels. Still have just under a month to go, so I hope be able to share some of my hunts right here and give back to y'all.
Take Care And Stay Safe.

 

[Jim K]

I too want to thanks everyone contributing to this thread .
Due health issues, for both my wife and myself the last couple of years has lacked hunting.
This is the first year that we'll be back in the woods for all hunts. Archery and Muzzleloading are my favorites.
Deer, Turkey, and Hog have been my quest for years. We would go out and do some small game hunting from time to time. I had told her earlier this year that I wanted to get a .32 caliber for squirrels this year, always use my 12ga double barrel muzzleloader.
Then I seen this thread, for whatever reason it took me back 50 plus years, wait for squirrel season to open so I could go with my Big Brother Willie.
I'm really excited about Squirrel Season this year and this thread has alot to with it.
Just want to say thanks, I enjoy the stories, tales, and the sagasof the squirrels. Still have just under a month to go, so I hope be able to share some of my hunts right here and give back to y'all.
Take Care And Stay Safe.

That’s great. I’m glad you’ll be able to hunt this year. I look forward to you contributing to this thread.

I don’t have any diehard squirrel hunting friends. It’s nice to have a group here to share with.

 

[ETipp]

I too want to thanks everyone contributing to this thread .
Due health issues, for both my wife and myself the last couple of years has lacked hunting.
This is the first year that we'll be back in the woods for all hunts. Archery and Muzzleloading are my favorites.
Deer, Turkey, and Hog have been my quest for years. We would go out and do some small game hunting from time to time. I had told her earlier this year that I wanted to get a .32 caliber for squirrels this year, always use my 12ga double barrel muzzleloader.
Then I seen this thread, for whatever reason it took me back 50 plus years, wait for squirrel season to open so I could go with my Big Brother Willie.
I'm really excited about Squirrel Season this year and this thread has alot to with it.
Just want to say thanks, I enjoy the stories, tales, and the sagasof the squirrels. Still have just under a month to go, so I hope be able to share some of my hunts right here and give back to y'all.
Take Care And Stay Safe.

I think its awesome that you plan on squirrel hunting this year, Fred. My guess is Henry will agree.

Looking forward to reading your posts on your hunts.

 

[Christophero]

I sold it. Just wasn’t for me. I know lots of guys like them though. I read it on here a lot.

Thanks for the response. Using the Skinner I found out it helped to remove the screw in aperture completely for hunting, especially at pre-sunrise and after sunset. I can still see well, but those periods of dim, or dimmer light really makes me struggle to fix a proper sight picture unless the animal has a lighter background to stand out in. Thus the reason I could hit the squirrel I did drop the other evening, it the background wasn't heavy foliage for that shot as it was for the first two tries.

 

[ETipp]

Guys, I went back out chasing gray squirrels this morning. I came home empty handed. However, I was able to establish this. Squirrels are there but..........

As I have have suspected, there has been a shift in the dynamics in this neck of the woods, on several fronts. As I have previously stated, squirrels have dispersed more. I have not seen more than 2 squirrels in one tree for about 2 weeks now. And whenever two or more get close to each other, the fight is on. In other words, the food source is reduced to what it was a few weeks ago. What I have observed is there are still squirrels out and about, but the ones I have been observing are scattered and they remain in one tree for shorter periods of time. In short, they are most definitely on the go more. This makes it much more difficult to get a shot. I have chased a many of squirrel in the last week or so where as soon as they get up into the top of a tree and start cutting, and I work my way over to them, they head out somewhere else. Definitely on the go.

Also, I have found they are cutting on beech mash now, along with what hickory nuts remain on the trees. So, as the Bob Dylan sang goes, "Times are a changen".

It won't be too much longer until the leaves begin to fall. Many trees are already getting a little thin, mostly due to dry conditions. In about 3 more weeks I predict squirrels will be on the ground much of the time in search of storing up on nuts for the winter. As of now, IMO, they are still just trying to get a meal and fattening up for winter, but they are definitely working harder for it.

With that said, and considering the above, I plan on taking a little time off from chasing squirrels and focus on getting a couple of deer for the freezer with my crossbow, which is most important. If/when I accomplish that, then its back after gray squirrels with my Crockett squirrel rifle. I look forward to when I have to just about throw rocks at them to get them out of the way, like they do while I'm deer hunting.

 

[Jim K]

I found a beech tree the other day that had beech nuts. There was a squirrel cutting in it instead of the two hickory’s near by. Good luck with the deer Ed.

 

[smokepolehall]

One of these days i am getting one of my smaller ML's sighted in. I see half dz . grays up in the Hickory behind my cargo trailer every day n the season is open.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

I think its awesome that you plan on squirrel hunting this year, Fred. My guess is Henry will agree.

Looking forward to reading your posts on your hunts.

Yes looking forward to it very much this year. 58 and I'm as excited about it more than when I was kid...
Ed, you guessed right......
Ol'e Slough Dog Henry is given them hell, out back every day, I know the boy is itching to get one and shake the hell out of it...
I'll do my best to post some good tales of The Squirrel Hunt...

Thanks, Ed, and to all the Muzzleloading, Squirrel Hunting, Brothers.
Take Care and Stay Safe....
Down in There...

 

[Brutus09]

Squirrel season started on 9/1. Wife loves to squirrel hunt but with garden stuff to can and I put up 19 facecord of firewood we hadn't gone out back to enjoy our woods and get some tree rats. Yesterday we decided it's time to take a day off and hunt. Wife got her trusty 20 gauge and I felt a bit cowboyish so I took an Uberti 1858 Colt replica but w/ a .45 Colt conversion cylinder. Watched a fawn 20 ft in front of me for 15 minutes and as I turned around there was a red squirrel on the tree behind me, I drew the revolver, cocked the hammer and made my first kill with my "cowboy six gun". From about 25 ft I scored a prefect head shot. Into the freezer till we get a few more and have a good stew.

 

[ETipp]

Squirrel season started on 9/1. Wife loves to squirrel hunt but with garden stuff to can and I put up 19 facecord of firewood we hadn't gone out back to enjoy our woods and get some tree rats. Yesterday we decided it's time to take a day off and hunt. Wife got her trusty 20 gauge and I felt a bit cowboyish so I took an Uberti 1858 Colt replica but w/ a .45 Colt conversion cylinder. Watched a fawn 20 ft in front of me for 15 minutes and as I turned around there was a red squirrel on the tree behind me, I drew the revolver, cocked the hammer and made my first kill with my "cowboy six gun". From about 25 ft I scored a prefect head shot. Into the freezer till we get a few more and have a good stew.

Now there's a first I've heard of, a black powder pistol squirrel kill. Congrats.

 

[ETipp]

One other thing I wanted to mention. As I have previously stated I was going to do, I took my GPR out with me the last time. Charge was reduced to 30 grains of 3F, which is accurate. However, after lugging that thing around with me in the mountains for over 3 hours, it has become clear to me that its just too darn heavy for this ole boy, at least for squirrel hunting. It will make a great deer hunting tool, mostly hunting out of a stand and/or stationary hunts. That's what I got if for.

Crockett Squirrel Rifle wins again. Its simply so nice, light and easy to pack around.

Also, the only squirrel that I had a chance at yesterday was close, like about 10 yards close on the side of a smaller tree. It was still early and fairly dark in the thick hardwoods. I was surprised to find that I could not for the life of me see that larger, wider and taller front bead. Not even after it has been painted white. I could see through the peep just fine. I could see the squirrel fairly well through the peep, but try as I did, I could not see the front blade sight. I had practiced aiming with that thing out back of my house while focusing on and/or up in trees. I knew it was not great seeing the front blade whenever I was in the shadows. However, I also found that if/when I had fair sunlight behind me, that white stuck out like a turd in a punch bowl.

With that said, looks like ole ETipp will be looking for some sort of fiber optic front sight for my GPR. My thinking is, if that can happen on a close up squirrel, then it can definitely happen on a deer that's out yonder a bit. So if any of you all have any suggestions for a fiber optic front sight that will fit the GPR, please post up.

 

[ETipp]

Yes looking forward to it very much this year. 58 and I'm as excited about it more than when I was kid...
Ed, you guessed right......
Ol'e Slough Dog Henry is given them hell, out back every day, I know the boy is itching to get one and shake the hell out of it...
I'll do my best to post some good tales of The Squirrel Hunt...

Thanks, Ed, and to all the Muzzleloading, Squirrel Hunting, Brothers.
Take Care and Stay Safe....
Down in There...

Well Fred, I'm now 65 and I get as excited about squirrel hunting with my Crockett Squirrel Rifle I did when I was a kid at Christmas. Strange I know and I can't "splain" it, as Ricky Recardo used to say.

To be honest, I know I could have killed at least 3-4 times the number of squirrels this year had I taken an unmentionable of some sort as a squirrel tool. But that's not where my interest is. A .32 caliber ML shooting a single RB makes all the difference in the world, in terms of pegging the satisfaction meter.

I hope you and Henry the very best of luck squirrel hunting soon. And make sure you post up about your hunts. Also, by all means, you just have to post some pics of Henry with a squirrel. He is one cool looking dog for sure.

 

[Jim K]

Yes, if it was just about killing squirrels I’d have my cz.22 with 3-12 scope out there. But it’s not!

 

[Salty Cracker]

Been a bit too warm for me here in Eastern PA. At least on the days I could have gotten out. Might be another week or more before I get in the woods. I am excited though.

 

[Christophero]

Now there's a first I've heard of, a black powder pistol squirrel kill. Congrats.

Brutus09, Way to Go! That's some good shooting. I tried at a squirrel's head at a mere 15' this morning with a .22lr single action but missed twice. The dirt behind it showed I was close, but cigar.

Way back when the Cherokee .32 and I took to the woods often I also toted a .36 Colt 1851 kit BP Percussion Revolver. At least three squirrels succumbed to those roundballs fired from the pistol that I can recall. Man, cleaning squirrels, the rifle and then the revolver took too much of my day, but those were fine shots and good memories to harken back to.

 

[Jim K]

I hunted this morning at home. Saw three got one shot. No excuses on that. Should have had him. You can see where I grazed the tree. He was hanging on the side.

this evening I hunted half mile down the road. Most squirrels I’ve see this year. Got three shots but only one squirrel. First one of the year finally. It’s been rough.
going back in there in the morning. Gonna take my Crockett.