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

[Duk]

I'm glad your doing better Ed another couple weeks the doctors will have you back to normal. (Glad you better)

 

[ETipp]

I'm glad your doing better Ed another couple weeks the doctors will have you back to normal. (Glad you better)

Thank you. I hope so. Docs said 8 weeks but we shall see.

My Crockett squirrel rifle is still loaded and is in my truck, locked in the garage. I had planned on going squirrel hunting Wednesday morning. I never fired it the day before. I simply do not have the energy to go out and get it, fire it, then clean it. With this colder, damp weather, I think it be best to keep it out there for a while to help prevent rust from forming due to sweating/moisture.

 

[Jim K]

Ed, I’m sure it will be fine. Especially if using mink oil. I’ve already had mine loaded after a hunt I didn’t shoot any and didn’t get out for a week and it fired fine. The grease will keep it rust free.

Oh, and I had brought it inside too. But leaving out in the truck would probably be better.

Could you put a little piece of rubber or something over the nipple and lower the cock to keep any moisture from getting in?

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Now that’s a big fat male squirrel

Ps wrong gun in photo. I used a pcp 22?with scope

 

[Gordoncourtney]

My apologies posting on squirrels. Ed I had not read the previous paragraphs , you poor guy suffering so badly. , I spent the morning at the cancer hospital , blood and scans etc. but not suffering like you . Our thoughts and prayers are with you from across the big pond Gordon

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks Jim. Prayers sent for Ed and family. I think he has introduced a bunch of to looking at squirrel hunting in a whole new way. I hope for his speedy recovery.

The above was sent before I saw all the posts but it still goes. Just should be worded a little differently.

 

[Staredge]

Glad to hear you’re on the mend, Ed. Now some hunting stories.

Got out Wednesday to a new area I hadn’t hunted before. Our son and I went wandering through the woods.
View attachment IMG_2437.jpeg
Pretty area, nice walk. Didn’t see many squirrels. Sat at a couple of places but nothing was moving. The few we saw were right off the trail in the brambles. As we walked along the ridge, we saw a couple of bald eagles flying over. Crossed the stream farther down and found a place to sit for a little while longer.

Still nothing. Pondering the day for a bit, I realized that all the famous long hunters had names for their rifles, and I’d been remiss in not giving mine one. Tried to come up with a good one, and after a while of thinking it hit me.

Little Ann. Character from one of my favorite books when I was a kid, and also my favorite Aunt. Now that I’d gotten that taken care of, we kept walking. Still not seeing much of anything. Later I heard from someone else that was up in the same area with a dog, and they worked pretty hard to find any.

Got up this morning and got out for a couple of hours. Colder, cloudy, and the wind is picking up. Someone else was in the woods as well and I never heard any shots from him. I may head out later this afternoon to see if they’ve woken up yet.

 

[ETipp]

Ed, I’m sure it will be fine. Especially if using mink oil. I’ve already had mine loaded after a hunt I didn’t shoot any and didn’t get out for a week and it fired fine. The grease will keep it rust free.

Oh, and I had brought it inside too. But leaving out in the truck would probably be better.

Could you put a little piece of rubber or something over the nipple and lower the cock to keep any moisture from getting in?

Agreed, Jim. I'm not generally concerned about rust. I'm sure the Mink Oil will keep it in good shape for the most part. However, I was wrong on the days. I actually loaded it Sunday night and hunted with it in high humidity on Monday and Tuesday. There were some fog and light rain. I still think it will be okay. I don't have a balloon or condom to place over the muzzle. I do have a piece of leather to put over the nipple. I think it will be okay for another day or two in the cab of my truck.

 

[ETipp]

Glad to hear you’re on the mend, Ed. Now some hunting stories.

Got out Wednesday to a new area I hadn’t hunted before. Our son and I went wandering through the woods.
View attachment 365124
Pretty area, nice walk. Didn’t see many squirrels. Sat at a couple of places but nothing was moving. The few we saw were right off the trail in the brambles. As we walked along the ridge, we saw a couple of bald eagles flying over. Crossed the stream farther down and found a place to sit for a little while longer.
View attachment 365125
Still nothing. Pondering the day for a bit, I realized that all the famous long hunters had names for their rifles, and I’d been remiss in not giving mine one. Tried to come up with a good one, and after a while of thinking it hit me.
View attachment 365126
Little Ann. Character from one of my favorite books when I was a kid, and also my favorite Aunt. Now that I’d gotten that taken care of, we kept walking. Still not seeing much of anything. Later I heard from someone else that was up in the same area with a dog, and they worked pretty hard to find any.

Got up this morning and got out for a couple of hours. Colder, cloudy, and the wind is picking up. Someone else was in the woods as well and I never heard any shots from him. I may head out later this afternoon to see if they’ve woken up yet.

Thank you for the story. Glad you were able to get out there. Very open woods for sure.

 

[ETipp]

@GordonCortney. Its okay, Gordon. I'm no longer suffering. Just weak and do not feel good. But thank you anyway.

Good looking squirrel you got yourself. Congrats.

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

Hello everyone.

First off I want to take this time to thank each and everyone of you for the prayers and support. It means a lot to me. I will try to cover the this situation as briefly as I can with the hopes of informing you all on something that I had absolutely no idea about, until now. This is in hopes of helping anyone else in the event they ever experience such.

I was awaken at 0312 with the strangest pain at the back of my tongue. It was a very dull pain. As soon as I moved to get out of bed, the pain radiated all the way down my esophagus to the top of my stomach area. It was a very dull pain that I have never felt in my life on any part of my body. The more I moved, the worse it became. I tried to drink a little bit of milk, Tums, and a few other things. The pain kept increasing. I laid back down in hopes of the pain subsiding, but it never.

Laura got up, got ready and went work. I assured her I was fine. After getting out of bed the second time, the pain had elevated to the degree that I was having a difficult time breathing. The pain also expanded to include my entire upper chest area, especially over my heart and the tops of my lungs. Then came the coughing with each tiny and shallow breath I tried to take. I could only take in a small amount of air with each breadth.

Realizing this was not good and medical attention was required, I wanted to take a shower and get dressed first, then call Laura at work and have her drive me to a decent hospital an hours drive away. When I got out of the chair, the pain went through the roof. The higher intensity of pain, the tighter my chest got and the less oxygen I was getting with each shallow, tiny breath. My heart began to race like a weedeater at full throttle. I got back into a dining room chair just as things were getting fuzzy.

I've always considered myself a very strong-minded person during any sort of emergency situation. I told myself to think and that I was going to be okay. So I reached over and picked up a bag of Halls cough drops, emptied it on the table, placed the bag over my mouth and began trying to contain my runaway heart and rapid shallow breathing by breathing into the bag. It helped very little.

At this point I was thinking it was a heart attack. Thankfully, my cell was within reaching distance. So I called Laura and told her the situation and asked her to "get home now" and get me to the London hospital. She said she was on her way. Getting back up from the chair trying to get dressed was a mistake. The more I moved, the pain increased to what appeared to be exponentially. The pain was like being hit in the chest with a 20 pound sledgehammer. Getting back into the chair I called Laura back and told her I didn't think I could make it another hour to London plus her 20 minute drive home. I told her to call an ambulance.

Long story short, the only way the ambulance EMS folks and the hospital could get control of this situation was with Morphine. Was given a very little bit in the ambulance but the hospital increased the dosage. It was the only way they could get the pain under control which slowed down my heartrate. It was like a runaway train. The worse the pain became, the tighter my chest got from the pain, the faster my heartrate, the worse the pain become. Very strange situation.

After much testing, I was assured it was not a heart attack. However, as soon as the morphine began to wear off, the terrible pain was back. I was given morphine every few hours the entire time. It was like a Dodge pickup truck was parked on top of my chest. After all day of testing, being up most of the night, more testing yesterday morning, then two new doctors going over everything, the best I can relay until more testing is done is this, per the report.

"Your symptoms are likely related to peptic ulcer disease and advanced gastroesophageal reflux disease with gastritis/esophagitis (I would reckon that means GERD in medical lingo). Due to also having a hiatal hernia, decreasing pressure on stomach will also help with your symptoms. You were also found with moderate stool within the intestines and some sort of partial blockage is suspected".

Try as they did, and after being violated by not just one, not two, but three pretty nurses, two different times, they have not been successful at removing the partial blockage. I'm not bound up, and things are moving and getting past the partial blockage, evidently just not like it should be.

They went on to explain there could be damage to the esophagus in several places but they will not know for certain until I have an endoscopy in a couple of weeks. So, several issues going on at the same time for sure. I have medicine to get me by for a while, and I am very limited as to what can can eat for a while. I am still weak but getting a little stronger. The pain is mostly gone now and my breathing is better but the cough is still there if I move around too much, especially if I begin to breath heavily. My chest muscles are still sore, for whatever reason.

I was not in any shape to type, at all, due to being so wooggered out on morphine and being weak. Last night was a pretty good night for me, actually got some sleep, finally. Being on a limited liquid diet, not sleeping, pain, morphine, light breathing.........it all took its toll on me. Who would ever thought that the above could put a man down like that, to the degree that I was certain I was having a heart attack?

I have known for over 20 years that I have had some issues in the stomach area. It got better for the most part. However, the signs were increasing the last few months. At first I refused to believe it. Then I hid it. Then I was trying to live with it thinking it would improve again, despite issues increasing. I reckon there were simply too many issues going on at the same time to avoid putting it off. It made sure of that one.

Also, I was informed last night that one of Laura's sisters (which is a nurse) experienced the same basic thing as I did several years ago. She too, was certain she was having a heart attack.

Again, I thank you all for the support and prayers. It means a lot.

thank you for informing us.glad u are home. please be careful and safe. still praying for you and the wife. hope u get to relax some and plenty Of rest.

 

[snakebit]

Glad you are home Amigo, and are safe from the pretty nurses. Take it a day at a time buddy. You'll be back in the saddle and doing what you like.

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

Thank you for the story. Glad you were able to get out there. Very open woods for sure.

ohhh I like the pics. thank you

 

[Daytime Smoker]

Ok fellas, here is an ETipp update: Ed called me this morning. He said he is 50% better than yesterday, Praise the Lord!

He said his heart is fine. He had a hiatal hernia years ago and it is back along with a problem with the sphincter valve in his esophagus. He said this can cause pressure on his different organs.

He is going home today and has to take medicine for this condition. He said it is easier to talk than to text or post on the forum. He said in a couple days we should hear from him.

He wanted me to thank you all for the prayers. Keep them coming fellas. I look forward to him being back to good health and his usual vibrant self.

I think it’s pretty neat that we all can have friendships with guys we’ve never met through our forum

Happy Thanksgiving fellas. Have a great day!

I am glad to hear he is recovering. He has always taken the time to respond to my questions. I consider him a friend even though I’ve never met him in person. Get well soon Ed!

 

[cjgregory]

You guys have no idea how lucky you are to have plenty of squirrels. I envy this. I will be leaving Colorado in the next year. I haven’t decided where to go.
Hunted in Kentucky two years ago at my brother’s place in Bracken County. I’ve never seen so many deer in my life.
A good squirrel haven is like an inch of cream cheese frosting on a thin cake.

 

[FishnRod]

Glad to hear you're on the mend.
Prayers are amazing!!

 

[ETipp]

Glad you are home Amigo, and are safe from the pretty nurses. Take it a day at a time buddy. You'll be back in the saddle and doing what you like.

Six to eight weeks for many people. Hopefully my recovery will be faster. I usually bounce back fairly quickly. Feel like I’ve been ran over by a cement truck. My entire upper body is sore as heck, especially my chest. Still difficult breathing well. Only half-breadths at most. Very tired.

 

[Boomerang]

Get well soon Ed! You are in my prayers.
I went out today. It was in the 20’s and windy with snow. It was pretty, but not very comfortable. Only saw two squirrels and they were on the run.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

I am glad to hear he is recovering. He has always taken the time to respond to my questions. I consider him a friend even though I’ve never met him in person. Get well soon Ed!

Always takes time to answer questions.

Friend indeed.

Like I said a good while back, I blame Ed for me purchasing a Crockett Rifle.

 

[Jim K]

My family is in from Michigan for thanksgiving. My sil and grandson two friends and I went pheasant hunting at a shooting preserve which we do every thanksgiving. My Sil brought his turkey fryer along and deep fried our turkey on Thursday. We decided to do our pheasants and some squirrels today. I was really looking forward to trying the squirrels this way.

We dipped in egg and put in a bag of flour with seasoning then in the deep frier. Everyone loved it.

We’re going to their house for Christmas. I asked my Sil if he’d smoke some for me when we come out. I’m anxious to try it. I know it’s Ed’s favorite.

Any way, the deep fried is the best squirrel I’ve had so far.