Yesterday I decided to go out for another squirrel hunt. I was feeling good and confident. The weather was also cooperating.
I was in the woods before it was light enough to see much of anything. My first plan was to intercept at least one of the squirrels that traveled through where I had trimmed some limbs at the edge of my friends mowed section. I hadn’t stop the more than 2-3 minutes until saw him hopping limb to limb heading my way. Positioning myself against a tree I waited for that squirrel to stop up in the walnut tree where I’ve seen him eating up in several times. However, this time he kept on moving limb to limb until he went out of sight. As it got a little lighter out, I could see there wasn’t the first walnut to be seen up in that tree. He had cleaned them all off that tree prior.
Okay ETipp, time to put plan two into action. So I eased my way westward heading to the same general area where I had been the last week or so. As the light condition became better, I saw several squirrels in different trees. However, every time I tried to put the sneak on them, by the time I got there, they were gone.
What I’ve noticed is the squirrels were really moving for the most part. They wouldn’t remain still in one tree very long until they would move somewhere else. They are definitely on the hunt for suitable food.
By now I had pulled back the hammer several times only to have to ease it back down. It was nice and cool out, no wind at that time and I could hear squirrels moving and jumping limb to limb in several different locations. I was still confident that it was going to be a productive hunt.
As I had planned, I slowly eased over to that active tree and there were a couple of squirrels were up in, but it was looking pretty darn bare. I positioned myself between the active tree and the east side of the drainage to try to get a shot at the squirrels that were in transit to and from that tree. After pulling back the hammer several more times just to have to ease it back down, finally two squirrels came running down the tree chasing each other round and round. I was already standing next to a tree to use as a rest so once again I pulled back the hammer, made it hot then raised the peep. They finally stopped for a few seconds, actually a bit longer than I had fingered they would as I took aim at one. Then it moved over to the other side of the tree. The other squirrel remained still up a ways higher so I took aim and quietly said “ hey little fella, look what I got”….. bang….thump……”a Crockett rifle”. Score one.
It was 0851 so I figured I still had plenty of time to score a couple more squirrels. I stood by that tree for about another hour but it just wasn’t happening. There just wasn’t much action up in that tree and I did keep seeing squirrels in several other trees. I did get one more shot at one that was leaving that tree but it I flat out missed. It was not a good shot and it would not stop but for a couple of seconds or so. Looking at my watch I figured I best move along.
Again I noticed that the squirrels were really on the move and didn’t stay in one tree for very long before they jumped to another one. I had been hearing hickory nut chunks hitting the ground just uphill about 30 yards or so. I decided what the heck, not the direction I wanted to go, and it is in direct sunlight, but maybe I could ease my way over there without getting busted. So the sneak was on again.
Eased over there doing my best to slip in under those tall and thin hickory trees at a snails pace, and as usual, the secondary canopy was not my friend. This meant I had to move to a couple of other nearby trees trying to see a hole in the leaves to get a shot, all in direct sunlight that left shadows on the ground with every move. Not good.
While standing next to a tree trying to locate one of the three squirrels up in that one tree that I thought was up there, something caught my eye off to my right and not very high up in a small tree. The squirrel stopped for a bit. Pulling back the hammer again, making it hot, then raising the peep, I took a rest from the side of a small diameter tree and took aim. Now I had a problem. The sun was about 90 degrees to my right and very bright. This distorted my sights big time. Knowing that squirrel was not going remain on the side of that tree much longer, I fired despite the glaring sun. The squirrel fell downwards about 3 feet then grabbed ahold of the tree again. It was hit but couldn’t move much. After reloading as quickly as I could and looked back up, the squirrel moved over a little. This was actually a good thing because it provided me with a better shot. I fired and end game for number two squirrel.
Now my confidence was real strong. I needed two more squirrels to reach the number that I’ve been looking for. This is when everything went wrong. Long story short, between not being able to buy another good shot at a squirrel, and taking longer shots than my old eyes are up to as a result, I shot and missed several more squirrels. It’s the most I have missed on one hunt I a long time. The harder I tried, the worse it things got. So I finally had to force myself to give up for the day.
Knowing that bow season opens this morning and I really need to get a couple of deer in the freezer, I was feeling really pressed. I really wanted those last two squirrels. So much so that it had worked against me.
Come to find out, the north wind is really blowing this morning. So, no bow hunting nor squirrel hunting.
My country boy analogy of the change in squirrel behavior is, the squirrels are on the move more in an attempt to find hickory nuts that are more suitable for them. There’s plenty of hickory nuts out there but for whatever reason, the squirrels seem to be on the move more searching for the ones they like best. Also, I’ve noticed that some of the most active hickory trees so far this year are now about bare of nuts.
