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2024/2025 Squirrel Hunting Thread...........

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Good shooting, looks like you got a sound rifle. Now go get you some squirrel
Thanks, Duk. I have a work day tomorrow at my property, and I'll take some time to scout around some more, maybe take a shot if the opportunity arises. 85 miles distant. I don't have confidence, though. It's rugged 78 acre Appalachian terrain, and I haven't scouted over every part of it, but the lack of dreys and nests where I would normally see them is disconcerting. My fallback is "The pawpaw patch", a spot on a NWR closer to me, on the TN River, that I know has a large population of the them. We'll see. I'm not salivating to slaughter them by the dozens. I just want to relax and harvest a few and re-live my youth.
 
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Thanks, Duk. I have a work day tomorrow at my property, and I'll take some time to scout around some more, maybe take a shot if the opportunity arises. 85 miles distant. I don't have confidence, though. It's rugged 78 acre Appalachian terrain, and I haven't scouted over every part of it, but the lack of dreys and nests where I would normally see them is disconcerting. My fallback is "The pawpaw patch", a spot on a NWR closer to me, on the TN River, that I know has a large population of the them. We'll see. I'm not salivating to slaughter them by the dozens. I just want to relax and harvest a few and re-live my youth.
Shoot a few. Be a good excuse for mamma to make you a pan of biscuits 😉
 
Thanks, Duk. I have a work day tomorrow at my property, and I'll take some time to scout around some more, maybe take a shot if the opportunity arises. 85 miles distant. I don't have confidence, though. It's rugged 78 acre Appalachian terrain, and I haven't scouted over every part of it, but the lack of dreys and nests where I would normally see them is disconcerting. My fallback is "The pawpaw patch", a spot on a NWR closer to me, on the TN River, that I know has a large population of the them. We'll see. I'm not salivating to slaughter them by the dozens. I just want to relax and harvest a few and re-live my youth.
Stan, in all actuality, I’ve killed way more squirrels in my life in areas where there were no visible dreys. There may be many den trees there that you never see. Also, squirrels will travel a few hundred yards on a daily basis for nut crops, twice a day or more. Then we have squirrel stupid season that will be upon us in a couple of weeks. Squirrels will be everywhere on the ground digging for nuts that have fallen.

It might pay off to check that area out. 78 acres is a lot of ground so you’re bound to find squirrels during stupid season. That is unless the area has been logged recently.
 
Thanks, Duk. I have a work day tomorrow at my property, and I'll take some time to scout around some more, maybe take a shot if the opportunity arises. 85 miles distant. I don't have confidence, though. It's rugged 78 acre Appalachian terrain, and I haven't scouted over every part of it, but the lack of dreys and nests where I would normally see them is disconcerting. My fallback is "The pawpaw patch", a spot on a NWR closer to me, on the TN River, that I know has a large population of the them. We'll see. I'm not salivating to slaughter them by the dozens. I just want to relax and harvest a few and re-live my youth.
I'm with you if I can get enough for a few good meals I'll be happy.
And Ed is probably correct, i know around here den trees are quite common. I didn't realize it until i started to hunt them this year.
 
I'm with you if I can get enough for a few good meals I'll be happy.
And Ed is probably correct, i know around here den trees are quite common. I didn't realize it until i started to hunt them this year.
Wife showed me a video she found on FB of a guy that cut a smaller tree, perhaps 4-5 inches in diameter. He was using a hand saw and the tree was fairly horizontal. He said he heard a screeching sound about half way through and thought it was his saw blade binding. When he cut all the way through the tree, he said this is what he found. It was about 3-4 inches of a fox squirrel tail. 😁

Ya just never know for sure what tree a squirrel might have found to use as a den. On more than one occasion I have stopped, sat or stood by the same tree that I had no idea was den tree. Then one day “prang” all of a sudden a squirrel pops out. Also, many times while walking back and forth in the woods I have come across places that was the last place I thought I would see squirrels, but they were there nonetheless.

Interesting little buggers they are.
 
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Wife showed me a video she found on FB of a guy that cut a smaller tree, perhaps 4-5 inches in diameter. He was using a hand saw and the tree was fairly horizontal. He said he heard a screeching sound about half way through and thought it was his saw blade bonding. When he cut all the way through the tree, he said this is what he found. It was about 3-4 inches of a fox squirrel tail. 😁

Ya just never know for sure what tree a squirrel might have found to use as a den.
Poor thing😟
 
Usually this early squirrel season I don’t do as well because of all the leaves and under brush, but this season I have lucked out. Just shot my eighth squirrel today with my 25 caliber flintlock. My doctor told me that I should take a walk every day so I just substituted my walking stick for my shooting stick — go figure . I hope my luck holds out because Saturday is the first day of early muzzleloading deer season in Pennsylvania. Of course my grandson and I will be out with our flintlocks
 

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Usually this early squirrel season I don’t do as well because of all the leaves and under brush, but this season I have lucked out. Just shot my eighth squirrel today with my 25 caliber flintlock. My doctor told me that I should take a walk every day so I just substituted my walking stick for my shooting stick — go figure . I hope my luck holds out because Saturday is the first day of early muzzleloading deer season in Pennsylvania. Of course my grandson and I will be out with our flintlocks
Heck yeah buddy 👍 I'm a bit north of you. I'm going to skip Saturday, I only hunt game lands, and they get kinda small when the lead starts flying. I'm going to greet the sun on Monday. Best of luck! Be safe.
 
Usually this early squirrel season I don’t do as well because of all the leaves and under brush, but this season I have lucked out. Just shot my eighth squirrel today with my 25 caliber flintlock. My doctor told me that I should take a walk every day so I just substituted my walking stick for my shooting stick — go figure . I hope my luck holds out because Saturday is the first day of early muzzleloading deer season in Pennsylvania. Of course my grandson and I will be out with our flintlocks
Congrats on another successful hunt, emery.
 
The past few mornings here in PA have been awesome but I'm holding out for a nice buck while being taunted by up to five squirrels at a time. I most certainly could have taken a half dozen shots each morning... how many I hit is debatable but the opportunities are there. For me it's still a lot of squirrel watching. No stirring up my woodlot shooting squirrels until the late season or until a deer or two are in the freezer.
 
The past few mornings here in PA have been awesome but I'm holding out for a nice buck while being taunted by up to five squirrels at a time. I most certainly could have taken a half dozen shots each morning... how many I hit is debatable but the opportunities are there. For me it's still a lot of squirrel watching. No stirring up my woodlot shooting squirrels until the late season or until a deer or two are in the freezer.
Understandable.
They like to taunt us...
Don't they?
 
Usually this early squirrel season I don’t do as well because of all the leaves and under brush, but this season I have lucked out. Just shot my eighth squirrel today with my 25 caliber flintlock. My doctor told me that I should take a walk every day so I just substituted my walking stick for my shooting stick — go figure . I hope my luck holds out because Saturday is the first day of early muzzleloading deer season in Pennsylvania. Of course my grandson and I will be out with our flintlocks
Sounds like taking the doctor's advice is win win all the way around.
Except for the Squirrels that is.
 
The past few mornings here in PA have been awesome but I'm holding out for a nice buck while being taunted by up to five squirrels at a time. I most certainly could have taken a half dozen shots each morning... how many I hit is debatable but the opportunities are there. For me it's still a lot of squirrel watching. No stirring up my woodlot shooting squirrels until the late season or until a deer or two are in the freezer.
The last 2 years during early ML, I've had legal, borderline decent bucks come by me in bow range. Hopefully break the cycle next week.
 
So I saw something very unique today on my way back from sighing in my GPR and Mr. Crockett. It was on a very narrow, one-lane road coming out of the holler that I hunt and hang out in. A squirrel crossed the road in front of me. I had to have sunglasses on due to my recent eye work done. Just by looking at its tail I knew, or though I knew, it was a fox squirrel. There are a few that hang out low around that road there. As I got a closer I was still not sure of the color of the body but the tail was definitely red and the last 2 to 3 inches (tip) was as white as snow. The squirrel was going on the other side of a tree but I could have sworn it had a gray body. However, I was so amazed at that large, bushy tail with a white tip that I might not have seen the color of the body that I thought it was.

Also, on the drive over there this morning I saw several gray squirrels running across the roads. It was 0930.
 
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