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You can hit them, Fredster. Aim small, miss small is key with the Crockett rifle.

In terms of squirrels themselves, might want to maintain patience and don't fire until they are real close. At least until you get your confidence built up some. I certainly wouldn't be aiming for their heads at this point.

Best of luck to ya, buddy. Let us know how it goes.

BTW, how's ole Henry doing?
God morning, Ed.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Brother.
Yes, Ed I can and will hit them.
Like I told my wife, just need to shoot my Crockett more and get to the woods more. We've got alot going on, my wife has some health issues, work , not complaining it life.
I might go deer hunting tomorrow with a buddy of mine. I will be hunting squirrel for sure, down by the Slough. Myrtle my wife said " lf you hunting with Scott Friday, take you Crockett rifle with too."
I said 2 rifles. " Just do it, Fred" she said.
As far as Ole Henry, his doing just fine.
He trees the squirrels out back, every day. Wife said she likes it when stops and looks up in to the tree tops.
He did get a good scolding for getting a bunch of Beggers Lice in his hair. They are hard to get out. Again hopefully some pictures of squirrels in next post.
Thanks for the advice, Ed.
Take Care Stay Safe
Fred
 
God morning, Ed.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Brother.
Yes, Ed I can and will hit them.
Like I told my wife, just need to shoot my Crockett more and get to the woods more. We've got alot going on, my wife has some health issues, work , not complaining it life.
I might go deer hunting tomorrow with a buddy of mine. I will be hunting squirrel for sure, down by the Slough. Myrtle my wife said " lf you hunting with Scott Friday, take you Crockett rifle with too."
I said 2 rifles. " Just do it, Fred" she said.
As far as Ole Henry, his doing just fine.
He trees the squirrels out back, every day. Wife said she likes it when stops and looks up in to the tree tops.
He did get a good scolding for getting a bunch of Beggers Lice in his hair. They are hard to get out. Again hopefully some pictures of squirrels in next post.
Thanks for the advice, Ed.
Take Care Stay Safe
Fred
Good luck down there. Looking forward to the pics and story.
 
Good luck down there. Looking forward to the pics and story.
Yes I hunt squirrels in my long garden, referring to the “ do you shoot airguns,” above Yes saved my life when the police took away my firearms certificate? I can have em on the wall even cuddle them, But cannot shoot them . So a couple of unmentionable pcp bsa scorpios saved my life, can knock heads of squirrels at 50 yards . I just put a bid on a poor cape rifle to add to my collection , I already have one . Ha ha needs a lot of work during coming winter. I usually have a cage of peanuts at 30 yards and the squirrels come over from the local woods, and get nailed, eat them sometimes but not masters skinning them like you folks do over there in one quick pull . Forum “ do you shoot airguns “
would no let me reply to airguns string above Enjoy ps no I did not bid on the flintlocks. ££££££££. For your pleasure
My .6 cape rifle. And restocked a .5 double rifle. Of course at 80 I am utterly mad. Ha h
 

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Yes I hunt squirrels in my long garden, referring to the “ do you shoot airguns,” above Yes saved my life when the police took away my firearms certificate? I can have em on the wall even cuddle them, But cannot shoot them . So a couple of unmentionable pcp bsa scorpios saved my life, can knock heads of squirrels at 50 yards . I just put a bid on a poor cape rifle to add to my collection , I already have one . Ha ha needs a lot of work during coming winter. I usually have a cage of peanuts at 30 yards and the squirrels come over from the local woods, and get nailed, eat them sometimes but not masters skinning them like you folks do over there in one quick pull . Forum “ do you shoot airguns “
would no let me reply to airguns string above Enjoy ps no I did not bid on the flintlocks. ££££££££. For your pleasure
My .6 cape rifle. And restocked a .5 double rifle. Of course at 80 I am utterly mad. Ha h
You have some neat old ML there for sure.
 
You have some neat old ML there for sure.

Well been collecting since I was 14. Think that’s 66 years. Only started buying at Holts uk auction at 70 for surviving cancer Git a 450/400 double around 1906 for my birthday lives in my gun safe, got plenty of brass too.! My other big £2200 buy was a .36 double ml around 1886 Other than that I make from from bits and relics Git some Swiss 7,5-53 martini , nice But july spent £850 on a Feldstutzer, see utube, fantastic 1853 ml sniper rifle . Keeps me happy Got a grandson too , now waiting for the grim reaper Ha ha
 

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Another squirrel hunting report from Kentucky.

This last week has been quite an experience for this ole boy and his beloved squirrel hunting. And some of it not to my liking nor my credit. Lets just say, much frustration.

Went out several times, but due to the crazy orange army season I have pretty much hunted a thicket where no one else should be in there. That, in itself, introduces additional challenges to the game of squirrel hunting. I was able to take a few squirrels out of there, but with much effort and less than acceptable results. For whatever reason(s), even before orange army crazy season, I have been experiencing an abby-normal amount of misses and/or poorly placed shots on squirrels. I shot two squirrels down out of the tops of trees that was never found. It was simply a hit/miss situation that was becoming increasingly worse on the miss side of things.

Yesterday morning I went back to that thicket in hopes of getting number 50 for the year. That too, resulted in two more misses that should have been hits. Even though there were still squirrels still out and about, that was the last straw for this ole boy. So, I called it quits for that hunt and headed home.

Arriving home I cleaned my Crockett squirrel rifle, set up a target out back, loaded Mr. Crockett again and went to investigating. For whatever reason(s), some shots were hitting 1.75" to 2" to the right from only 25 yards. All hits were scattered and definitely not uniform. This puzzled me. After a couple of hours had passed, I wound up changing a few things to where it was hitting well again with much tighter and more uniform groups, then headed right back out for an evening hunt. This time I went to one of my squirrel hunting big woods.

Arriving there, I chatted with my buddy (the land owner) for a while. While doing so we saw a couple of squirrels in the distance that were out and about so I grabbed my Crockett rifle and possibles bag out of my truck and proceeded to climb one very steep hillside that comes right down to his house and garage, to a location that I know squirrels hang out. While doing so, I happened to have heard some squirrels rustling in the leaves that sounded fairly close. Looking to my right and uphill about 25 yards, I noticed two bushy tails chasing each other up and down, around and around a tree. That type of scenario has proven to be very beneficial in the past, as the squirrels get so focused on each other that they lower their guard and pay less attention to their surroundings. I was trying the best I could at going up the very steep hill a few feet trying to get to a tree, hopefully to get a good rest off of, but both squirrels bolted across in front of me with the trailing squirrel seeing me in motion. It jumped up on the side of a smaller tree about 25 yards away or so and just hung there looking at me. As steep as that darn hillside is, I knew there was no way I could make the shot offhanded. I could barely stand up the way it was. Really wanting that number 50, I decided to try something I have never done before. I slowly laid down on my belly, got a good bead off of my elbows and the ground, and fired up the steep hill. I was laying so flat that the leaves blew out in front of the barrel about 4 feet or so and up into the air. The sound of the shot was muffled as well. A very unique and different type of sound than what I am used to out of this ML.

Number 50 had just hit the ground quite dead.

Feeling satisfied, I clawed my way up the hill to where number 50 was laying, tied him to my stringer, ran a couple of damp patches that had Windex on them down the barrel, followed up with a couple dry patches, reloaded and continued my ascent to a fairly flat bench. Even though this was in the big woods, it is still fairly thick with brush, as well as with extremely dry and thick leaves on the ground that made it difficult to sneak around without alerting everything in the next county over.

Easing around a bit I ran up on another squirrel that, as is often the case for this time of year, saw me first and headed up the side of a tree. From my position I knew there was no getting any closer to that one, and I did have a small diameter tree to get a half-way rest off of, but I could not get a clear shot at that squirrel. There were simply too many tree limbs in the way. He finally moved up just a little bit so I took aim at the only part I could see fairly well, his head. Fired and missed. Two shots, one squirrel. Not looking great again for ETipp.

After reloading I eased my way around the side of the slope until the bench ended and I was once again on steep hillsides. Due to an approaching low pressure system moving in, the winds all of a sudden picked up on that side of the hill. The stronger the wind became, the less squirrels I saw. So I headed back towards the direction I came from and thinking perhaps I was only going to get this one squirrel on this hunt. My plan was to go in there up higher and return down lower. So returning I walked back downslope a ways on that difficult to walk on, steep hillside, then worked my way back towards my truck. I just happened to look over and I saw a squirrel downhill on the ground trotting with a walnut in its mouth, but the squirrel disappeared just behind a ledge. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, I quietly as possible moved downhill to a suitable tree to take a rest off of and waited. I stood there for a minute or so hoping the squirrel would show itself again, and I happened notice a jagged chunk on the end a of stump. Then it dawned on me, that jagged edge was that squirrel sitting there with a walnut in its mouth. Quickly taking aim, I fired, and the squirrel vanished. Not knowing if I actually hit the squirrel or if I had missed again and the furry little critter just high tailed it downhill, I worked my way over to the edge and took a peek down. The squirrel was laying about 7 feet downhill. Very well then, things were looking a bit better here. 3 shots, 2 squirrels.

By the time I tied my squirrel on my stringer, ran a few patches down the bore, and reloaded, with the increasing low clouds, I was running out of daylight for the day, at least on that side of the hill. Thinking this was going to be my total for this hunt, but still moving slowly and as quietly as possible, I walked up on two more squirrels that were on the ground, but moving straight away from me. I froze in position while trying to keep the last squirrel in sight, I was pleased to see that he decided to stick to that one smaller area about 40 yards away rather than keep going straight away from me like his buddy did. He actually came back towards me maybe 10-15 yards or so. In very slow motion and being as quite as possible in the darn noisiest woods I have ever been in, l eased over to a tree to get a rest off of. The squirrel just happened to have climbed up a smaller tree and parked on a branch all hunkered over like they often do. Getting a bit darker on that side of the hill, it was difficult to tell exactly which way the squirrel was actually facing. Fully realizing this was going to be it, that there was not going to be another chance for this hunt, I centered the sight on the fur ball and fired. I had just gotten my third and final squirrel for the day. So, 4 shots, 3 squirrels. Much more acceptable than what I had been experiencing.

I had been at it since early morning. Going out on my first hunt before daylight and staying out until late morning, realizing there was something not exactly right, returning home, tweaking and shooting my Crockett, cleaning it several times, one final cleaning, reloading and heading right back out for the evening hunt.

By the time I had arrived home it was dark. Then the work picked back up again by having to clean ole Crockett, clean squirrels, shower, eat and bedtime. But alas, I was finally able to get number 50 for the year with Mr. Crockett, and with a couple extra squirrels to boot. I simply could not let it go at 49. I had tried 6 or 7 times over the last few days to get number 50 and failed. That, in itself, was eating away at me. Facing knee replacement in 3 weeks, and with tons of work that needs to be done around this old home place before then, I was still not about give up until I had achieved this.

With the said, I already have Mr. Crockett loaded up for the next hunt. My wife is about to shoot me with it if I don't get all the chores done before knee surgery. I keep telling her to give me just one more last chance to get out and chase squirrels with my Crockett Squirrel Rifle before I am laid up for a few months. In addition, I also keep promising I'll get all the chores done before then but she's growing impatient and getting about as ornery as a gut-shot grizzle bear. Not sure how many more last chances I can get by with.

I'm really looking forward to my hunt tomorrow. :)
Another squirrel hunting report from Kentucky.

This last week has been quite an experience for this ole boy and his beloved squirrel hunting. And some of it not to my liking nor my credit. Lets just say, much frustration.

Went out several times, but due to the crazy orange army season I have pretty much hunted a thicket where no one else should be in there. That, in itself, introduces additional challenges to the game of squirrel hunting. I was able to take a few squirrels out of there, but with much effort and less than acceptable results. For whatever reason(s), even before orange army crazy season, I have been experiencing an abby-normal amount of misses and/or poorly placed shots on squirrels. I shot two squirrels down out of the tops of trees that was never found. It was simply a hit/miss situation that was becoming increasingly worse on the miss side of things.

Yesterday morning I went back to that thicket in hopes of getting number 50 for the year. That too, resulted in two more misses that should have been hits. Even though there were still squirrels still out and about, that was the last straw for this ole boy. So, I called it quits for that hunt and headed home.

Arriving home I cleaned my Crockett squirrel rifle, set up a target out back, loaded Mr. Crockett again and went to investigating. For whatever reason(s), some shots were hitting 1.75" to 2" to the right from only 25 yards. All hits were scattered and definitely not uniform. This puzzled me. After a couple of hours had passed, I wound up changing a few things to where it was hitting well again with much tighter and more uniform groups, then headed right back out for an evening hunt. This time I went to one of my squirrel hunting big woods.

Arriving there, I chatted with my buddy (the land owner) for a while. While doing so we saw a couple of squirrels in the distance that were out and about so I grabbed my Crockett rifle and possibles bag out of my truck and proceeded to climb one very steep hillside that comes right down to his house and garage, to a location that I know squirrels hang out. While doing so, I happened to have heard some squirrels rustling in the leaves that sounded fairly close. Looking to my right and uphill about 25 yards, I noticed two bushy tails chasing each other up and down, around and around a tree. That type of scenario has proven to be very beneficial in the past, as the squirrels get so focused on each other that they lower their guard and pay less attention to their surroundings. I was trying the best I could at going up the very steep hill a few feet trying to get to a tree, hopefully to get a good rest off of, but both squirrels bolted across in front of me with the trailing squirrel seeing me in motion. It jumped up on the side of a smaller tree about 25 yards away or so and just hung there looking at me. As steep as that darn hillside is, I knew there was no way I could make the shot offhanded. I could barely stand up the way it was. Really wanting that number 50, I decided to try something I have never done before. I slowly laid down on my belly, got a good bead off of my elbows and the ground, and fired up the steep hill. I was laying so flat that the leaves blew out in front of the barrel about 4 feet or so and up into the air. The sound of the shot was muffled as well. A very unique and different type of sound than what I am used to out of this ML.

Number 50 had just hit the ground quite dead.

Feeling satisfied, I clawed my way up the hill to where number 50 was laying, tied him to my stringer, ran a couple of damp patches that had Windex on them down the barrel, followed up with a couple dry patches, reloaded and continued my ascent to a fairly flat bench. Even though this was in the big woods, it is still fairly thick with brush, as well as with extremely dry and thick leaves on the ground that made it difficult to sneak around without alerting everything in the next county over.

Easing around a bit I ran up on another squirrel that, as is often the case for this time of year, saw me first and headed up the side of a tree. From my position I knew there was no getting any closer to that one, and I did have a small diameter tree to get a half-way rest off of, but I could not get a clear shot at that squirrel. There were simply too many tree limbs in the way. He finally moved up just a little bit so I took aim at the only part I could see fairly well, his head. Fired and missed. Two shots, one squirrel. Not looking great again for ETipp.

After reloading I eased my way around the side of the slope until the bench ended and I was once again on steep hillsides. Due to an approaching low pressure system moving in, the winds all of a sudden picked up on that side of the hill. The stronger the wind became, the less squirrels I saw. So I headed back towards the direction I came from and thinking perhaps I was only going to get this one squirrel on this hunt. My plan was to go in there up higher and return down lower. So returning I walked back downslope a ways on that difficult to walk on, steep hillside, then worked my way back towards my truck. I just happened to look over and I saw a squirrel downhill on the ground trotting with a walnut in its mouth, but the squirrel disappeared just behind a ledge. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, I quietly as possible moved downhill to a suitable tree to take a rest off of and waited. I stood there for a minute or so hoping the squirrel would show itself again, and I happened notice a jagged chunk on the end a of stump. Then it dawned on me, that jagged edge was that squirrel sitting there with a walnut in its mouth. Quickly taking aim, I fired, and the squirrel vanished. Not knowing if I actually hit the squirrel or if I had missed again and the furry little critter just high tailed it downhill, I worked my way over to the edge and took a peek down. The squirrel was laying about 7 feet downhill. Very well then, things were looking a bit better here. 3 shots, 2 squirrels.

By the time I tied my squirrel on my stringer, ran a few patches down the bore, and reloaded, with the increasing low clouds, I was running out of daylight for the day, at least on that side of the hill. Thinking this was going to be my total for this hunt, but still moving slowly and as quietly as possible, I walked up on two more squirrels that were on the ground, but moving straight away from me. I froze in position while trying to keep the last squirrel in sight, I was pleased to see that he decided to stick to that one smaller area about 40 yards away rather than keep going straight away from me like his buddy did. He actually came back towards me maybe 10-15 yards or so. In very slow motion and being as quite as possible in the darn noisiest woods I have ever been in, l eased over to a tree to get a rest off of. The squirrel just happened to have climbed up a smaller tree and parked on a branch all hunkered over like they often do. Getting a bit darker on that side of the hill, it was difficult to tell exactly which way the squirrel was actually facing. Fully realizing this was going to be it, that there was not going to be another chance for this hunt, I centered the sight on the fur ball and fired. I had just gotten my third and final squirrel for the day. So, 4 shots, 3 squirrels. Much more acceptable than what I had been experiencing.

I had been at it since early morning. Going out on my first hunt before daylight and staying out until late morning, realizing there was something not exactly right, returning home, tweaking and shooting my Crockett, cleaning it several times, one final cleaning, reloading and heading right back out for the evening hunt.

By the time I had arrived home it was dark. Then the work picked back up again by having to clean ole Crockett, clean squirrels, shower, eat and bedtime. But alas, I was finally able to get number 50 for the year with Mr. Crockett, and with a couple extra squirrels to boot. I simply could not let it go at 49. I had tried 6 or 7 times over the last few days to get number 50 and failed. That, in itself, was eating away at me. Facing knee replacement in 3 weeks, and with tons of work that needs to be done around this old home place before then, I was still not about give up until I had achieved this.

With the said, I already have Mr. Crockett loaded up for the next hunt. My wife is about to shoot me with it if I don't get all the chores done before knee surgery. I keep telling her to give me just one more last chance to get out and chase squirrels with my Crockett Squirrel Rifle before I am laid up for a few months. In addition, I also keep promising I'll get all the chores done before then but she's growing impatient and getting about as ornery as a gut-shot grizzle bear. Not sure how many more last chances I can get by with.

I'm really looking forward to my hunt tomorrow. :)
Good morning, Ed.
What make is that tang/peep sight ya have on that there Crockett Rifle?
 
Good morning, Ed.
What make is that tang/peep sight ya have on that there Crockett Rifle?
Hello, Fredster.

Right now I'm using a Tom A Hawks peep. He is a member and can be found on here. I drilled it out a little larger so as to see better in low light conditions. Its a fairly good peep overall but for the Crockett rifle it is held by only one bolt. I had to order another through bolt and cut it down a little so it would work. Just got to kind of tighten it down well and it stays put, for the most part.

It will most likely require a taller front bead as well. I put one on mine that I removed from my New Englander. Its a smaller diameter fiber optic. However, a couple of days ago I removed the green fiber optic piece and modified a small, bright, white piece of round plastic to accommodate my poor color vision better. I can see the white much better and find its flat awesome for poor light conditions when trying to get a bead on a squirrels.

Not sure if they can still be had but Marble Arms used to make a taller front bead that is white. It has a 3/8 dove tail that would most likely need a little filing on for proper fit.

If I had to do it over again, and I might do so anyway, I would like to get a tang peep that screws into the rear stock. They are for target shooting but I am fairly certain the disc could be drilled out a bit for hunting purposes.
 
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Hello, Fredster.

Right now I'm using a Tom A Hawks peep. He is a member and can be found on here. I drilled it out a little larger so as to see better in low light conditions. Its a fairly good peep overall but for the Crockett rifle it is held by only one bolt. I had to order another through bolt and cut it down a little so it would work. Just got to kind of tighten it down well and it stays put, for the most part.

It will most likely require a taller front bead as well. I put one on mine that I removed from my New Englander. Its a smaller diameter fiber optic. However, a couple of days ago I removed the green fiber optic piece and modified a small, bright, white piece of round plastic to accommodate my poor color vision better. I can see the white much better and find its flat awesome for poor light conditions when trying to get a bead on a squirrels.

Not sure if they can still be had but Marble Arms used to make a taller front bead that is white. It has a 3/8 dove tail that would most likely need a little filing on for proper fit.

If I had to do it over again, and I might do so anyway, I would like to get a tang peep that screws into the rear stock. They are for target shooting but I am fairly certain the disc could be drilled out a bit for hunting purposes.


I drilled the peep hole out on my 1853 Feldstutzer as I could not see a thing , much better now , takes some getting used to
 

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Hello, Fredster.

Right now I'm using a Tom A Hawks peep. He is a member and can be found on here. I drilled it out a little larger so as to see better in low light conditions. Its a fairly good peep overall but for the Crockett rifle it is held by only one bolt. I had to order another through bolt and cut it down a little so it would work. Just got to kind of tighten it down well and it stays put, for the most part.

It will most likely require a taller front bead as well. I put one on mine that I removed from my New Englander. Its a smaller diameter fiber optic. However, a couple of days ago I removed the green fiber optic piece and modified a small, bright, white piece of round plastic to accommodate my poor color vision better. I can see the white much better and find its flat awesome for poor light conditions when trying to get a bead on a squirrels.

Not sure if they can still be had but Marble Arms used to make a taller front bead that is white. It has a 3/8 dove tail that would most likely need a little filing on for proper fit.

If I had to do it over again, and I might do so anyway, I would like to get a tang peep that screws into the rear stock. They are for target shooting but I am fairly certain the disc could be drilled out a bit for hunting purposes.
Thanks Ed.
I wear progressive lens and have stigmatism,, hard get foucus on rear, front, and what I'm shooting at. I want to something different.

Take Care Stay Safe.
Fred
 
Thanks Ed.
I wear progressive lens and have stigmatism,, hard get foucus on rear, front, and what I'm shooting at. I want to something different.

Take Care Stay Safe.
Fred
A peep or ghost ring would most likely be conducive for you.

I was about to give up on my Crockett rifle, as well as my big bores, until I went to peep sights. They have saved the day for this ole boy. I wear trifocals and have astigmatism.

When you get the time send me a PM and we can go over a few things that I have found that may help you with your Crockett rifle, as well as squirrel hunting with it. I have a few questions for you also.
 
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Went back out to that thicket yesterday morning chasing squirrels with Mr. Crockett. Saw a few squirrels but only connected with one. The first one I saw was within 4 minutes from when I got off of my ATV. I thought this was going to be a very good hunt. However, things just did not work out well this time. However, I was able to put the sneak on one that took about an hour. He was traveling with another squirrel and they were all over the place, never stopping for more than a few seconds. When they made their way out towards the edges of the thicket, I could see them better out there and it was easier to keep up with them. Finally, after about an hour (yes I often keep track of the time when I trying to maneuver for a shot) the trailing squirrel stopped on a downed old log up in the air that was next to a giant bolder. I was out in the open between trees so it was an offhanded shot of, not far, maybe 15-18 yards. I am not very good at shooting Mr. Crockett offhanded.

Squirrel hunting a thicket is a whole new game. Very limited sight distance and difficult walking through. Sometimes squirrels jump right out in front of you because they too, cannot see very far in there. Its like a game of cat and mouse. Sometimes I can see them up in what few larger, taller trees there is standing. Then the sneak is on. Squirrels win most of the time.

Thankfully, crazy orange army season closes tomorrow. So I will be able to get back out and hunt the big woods again.

Got an invite to hunt a bigger woods today that I have never hunted before. Its only 9 acers but no one should be in there with high powered rifles. At least its across the road from that thicket so if I don't do well there I can always go back in the the thicket for a while.
 
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Crazy orange season starts here in PA today, squirrels season ended yesterday for the next two weeks. I got out for the last couple hours. Saw a few but got no shots. Once deer season ends in two weeks it comes back in again until the end of February.

I’ll be busy caping out deer heads for awhile and getting the capes prepped and salted and ready for the tannery but will try and get out a couple hours here and there when it comes back in.

in PA we have to wear orange hat and vests when small game hunting. I wish we didn’t but we do. I’ve had to many squirrels close to me and not see me that I don’t think it matters but I don’t like wearing it. I’m envious of you guys that don’t have to wear it!
 
Crazy orange season starts here in PA today, squirrels season ended yesterday for the next two weeks. I got out for the last couple hours. Saw a few but got no shots. Once deer season ends in two weeks it comes back in again until the end of February.

I’ll be busy caping out deer heads for awhile and getting the capes prepped and salted and ready for the tannery but will try and get out a couple hours here and there when it comes back in.

in PA we have to wear orange hat and vests when small game hunting. I wish we didn’t but we do. I’ve had to many squirrels close to me and not see me that I don’t think it matters but I don’t like wearing it. I’m envious of you guys that don’t have to wear it!
I do not wear orange unless there's some other firearms season open, like now. I hate the stuff. And I mean hate it. Camo orange is illegal here. Has to be solid, unbroken orange. Go figure!

Tomorrow is the end of crazy orange army season. However, on December 9th the either sex ML season opens for 10 days or so. I will take my chances and squirrel hunt without wearing orange. I've had enough of that silliness for this year. Might as well be carrying a strobe light around with me in the woods while squirrel hunting.
 
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Well, that new chunk of land I want to hunt was a bust a couple of days ago. Way too much noise in the area for that day. It should work out okay for during the week.

So, I went back to the brushy old thicket. Knowing full well that it is not a high numbers place, in terms of actually bagging squirrels, it does, however, provide one of the most high action locations I have ever been to. The squirrels are in there. I always see them. But they often see me, too. Lots of action, however. While slipping around in there, you just never know when one will pop right out in front of you. Often times too close and too late to react. But boy howdy, it is interesting hunting there. A true game of cat and mouse. Sometimes its boring as heck and just about the time I give up and am on my walk out not even trying to walk slow, nor quiet, "Prang" there's a couple of squirrels looking at me.

I got two yesterday in that thicket. Both were hard earned. Both were seen early, both were on the go, both required some following around for a while through that thicket, and both required some sneaking up on to finally get it done.

The second experience was quite unique. I was easing up an old log road I had opened up last year. I've been able to keep it fairly clear since then, but it is narrow with high brush on both sides, for the most part anyway. As I was easing uphill on that log road, I noticed a squirrel that jumped into the log road about 60 yards away, stopped, and, I think, was looking at me (I froze and didn't move), then he hopped over into the thicket on the other side. I could see him a little bit while he was on the go in the thick stuff, went up a tree, down the tree, to another tree, then back down on the ground and disappeared into the thicket as he was jumping away from me. I took that opportunity to quietly and quickly advance forward to the approximate area, then stopped and waited. Looking around I couldn't see that squirrel anywhere. Thinking he must have hopped away, I was about to start easing around again when I heard something close. To my left that squirrel appeared out of the tall brush not 10 feet away, but ran up a smaller tree about 7 feet and, for whatever reason, stopped on a limb for a few seconds. There was a fair amount of brush and limbs in the way but I quickly cocked my Crockett rifle while raising the folding peep sight at about the same time, set the trigger on the way up to my shoulder, centered the bead on the squirrel in the limbs and fired. The shot distance was no more than 10 feet.

That's how fast and close it can happen while squirrel hunting this time of year in a thicket.

After wiping the bore of my Crockett, reloading and tying my squirrel on my stringer, I once again started easing around. Saw another squirrel over a ways and focused in on that one. It was at the edge of the thicket and I was in the thicket. I maneuvered around a bit as the squirrel did the same. Then ole Mr. Squirrel finally decided to hop towards me. Standing next to a smaller tree that had a chunk of log up against it (from previous logging years ago) I readied for the shot. Then the squirrel disappeared. Last I saw he jumped up on a smaller tree so I kept scanning up and down that tree using as little head movement as possible. I also kept looking down on the ground around that tree. But no squirrel. Then I heard something very close to me. When I looked over to my right, there was a squirrel on the ground, again no more than 10 feet away. He came from the same direction as the squirrel I was trying to put the sneak on. He didn't see me move my head and he quickly hopped straight away from me for about 10 yards before I could even turn and shoulder my Crockett. And just like that, he vanished into the thickness. Thinking that was the squirrel I had been sneaking up on, I started to move slowly again. I took one step and there went the squirrel that I was after to begin with. It had been behind some brush, logs, limbs and all that other nasty stuff that lives in that thicket all along and I never knew it. So, that other squirrel that hopped up so close to me was a different squirrel than the one I was after.

So is the world of squirrel hunting in a thicket. As I have previously stated, this sort of squirrel hunting is new to me. I hated it at first but due to the orange army crazy season, I wanted to hunt somewhere that I know no one should be in there. This is not a high numbers hunting grounds. But boy howdy, it is very different than hunting squirrels in the big woods. Its frustrating, yet very rewarding. A couple of times I told myself I was not going back in there, but due to orange army crazy season, I keep going back anyway. However, now I'm beginning to change my thoughts on that chunk of tough squirrel hunting grounds. Its a real hoot to slip around in there playing the cat and mouse game. Yes, distance is limited for seeing squirrels, but that same thickness makes if difficult for them to see me in there as well. Yes the squirrels often jump out on me that its too late to react to. Yes many squirrels see me first. Yes, it can be extremely frustrating yet extremely rewarding on the same hunt.

To put this into a more perspective, after slowly easing over to recover the first squirrel I shot about 10 minutes earlier, I squatted down to pick it up. Then I tied it to my stinger. When I was about to stand back up, something moved that caught my attention. Thinking it was maybe another squirrel in close proximity, it quickly became apparent that it was a doe not more than 18 yards away, maybe closer. She was close and never saw me. She was eating whatever brush/briars that deer eat in that thicket. I watched her for a couple of minutes until she turned and meandered away from me, never knowing I was there. After a couple of steps she disappeared.

To sum this up, I know not if you, or anyone you know, have ever tried squirrel hunting in a thicket. But if you ever get the opportunity to do so, it can provide some extra fun and challenging times. I had no idea that there could be so many squirrels that either lives in, or just hangs out in, a ticket. One tell tale sign that I overlooked at first but will not do again in the future, is anytime I see squirrel nests (a bunch of leaves clumped together in forks of trees) in what few trees there may be, no matter what the area looks like, its time to hunt squirrels. They will be in there. There may be very few den trees, and the squirrels do travel in and out of those thickets, but if there are nests, you will most likely see squirrels.
 
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Interesting post Ed. I appreciate your inputs on your hunts. I’ll have to try that. I usually avoid the thick stuff.

I walk through some thick stuff on a trail to get to a couple of my favorite areas. I see and hear squirrels but there’s no way I’m shooting at them in there as I don’t want to fight the wall of brush and briars to try and find them lol. But I’ll have to try it some place else.
 
Interesting post Ed. I appreciate your inputs on your hunts. I’ll have to try that. I usually avoid the thick stuff.

I walk through some thick stuff on a trail to get to a couple of my favorite areas. I see and hear squirrels but there’s no way I’m shooting at them in there as I don’t want to fight the wall of brush and briars to try and find them lol. But I’ll have to try it some place else.
It can be rough for sure. However, I suggest you do not discount it until you spend some time in, or around there.

If you see nests up in the trees in that area, I highly suspect the squirrels will be there. At least here, they like to travel in and out of that thicket. I see them traveling out the big woods, steep hillside either going or coming. There doesn't appear to be many, if any, nut crop trees in there. So I know not know why squirrels are attracted to that thicket.

This all is part of the game for this ole boy. Not only the very unique hunting that a thicket can provide, but also the "Why" aspect. The "Why" factor in figuring out the critters I am after.

Its all so interesting.
 
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So a couple of days ago I went out on short squirrel hunt. Saw 4 or 5 squirrels running up and down two trees next to each other. While trying to formulate a plan on how to put the sneak on them without being seen, they ran down the tree, across an old path, then up another tree. Two of the squirrels made their way up to the top of the tree, then out on ends of very thin limbs stretching and reaching for nuts, or whatever they were out after. As I watched waiting for a chance to make my move, I saw one stretch and reach way out, lost his grip with his rear feet, and fall straight down out of that tree. It disappeared behind some briars and I couldn't hear it hit due to some wind. I stood there laughing to myself. From a few other times in my life years ago whenever I saw a squirrel fall from the top of a tree, they sat there for a few seconds then went right back up the tree. So I assume that one did the same.

Gotta love squirrel hunting. They are most interesting little critters.
 
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