LOL, you too, huh?
I also frequently got that box checked “Doesn’t play well with others”.
However, I was a pro when it came to coloring between the lines.
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2024/2025 Squirrel Hunting Thread...........
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I also frequently got that box checked “Doesn’t play well with others”.
However, I was a pro when it came to coloring between the lines.
Jim, all of the pics in your posts are nice. It’s good to see pics from members of some of their squirrel hunts.
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Those small .310 RB’s do a pretty darn good job on closer up squirrels overall, even on a not so good of shot placement. However, they don’t perform miracles. Done my fair share of chasing down wounded squirrels. Knowing the actual shot distance(s) would help reduce some of those.
Keep the pics coming from you alls squirrel hunts, fellers.
Keep the pics coming from you alls squirrel hunts, fellers.
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Switching gears here a little bit. Still directly relevant to squirrel hunting with a trad ML.
Never been one to carry electronics or anything unnecessary with me in the mountains. That includes GPS or cell phone. Heck, I dislike even carrying binoculars.
With that said, considering what I have learned about how to play this game, and taking this often very steep terrain in mind, this old boy finally came to a conclusion. After losing much of my squirrel hunting grounds, I’m finding it more and more important to not educate squirrels. As it is now, at much of the areas I have recently found, squirrels are very spooky. The last thing I want to do is add to the situation.
Previously, ever since I’ve gotten into this squirrel hunting with a small caliber ML, I was fighting deteriorating eyesight. In these often dark hardwoods in the Appalachians, that exasperated things. It has been difficult even trying to target shoot. Therefore, I simply was not confident enough to determine the actual effective range of my Crockett. It was literally one of those hit and miss situations with more unnecessary missing than acceptable.
So, it’s time for a change. That change would be adding in a device called a rangefinder. In the past, even being a hardcore bow hunter, I did pretty good at judging distance on big game. Living out west for years, I’ve killed quite a few deer and elk that I knew was past 300 yards with unmentionables. I never used a rangefinder. But that was on a larger animal to where an inch or more either way usually mattered not. As you all know, squirrel hunting with a small caliber ML does not offer the same flexibility. It’s much more of a precise game than a couple of inches either way.
Without doubt, hunting in steep, mountainous terrain adds an additional factor to the hunt. Hardly ever does trying to step off a distance work out, even when one is set up near an active den tree. The steepness of the hillsides are not very forgiving in most any circumstance. Drainages and in un-walkable areas adds to this conundrum. In all cases, hunting in steeper hills or mountains equates to additional work.
Fortunately, this old worn out hunter was blessed enough to have gotten my eyes and vision corrected without glasses. Now I can see how to target shoot and hunt in lower light conditions much better. Open sights are clear as can be. Not everything is perfect with the install of lenses and situations change some, but it’s improving as time progresses.
So, it’s time to put my Crockett through its paces to establish its effective distance. Once that is established, I will know the shot distance limit to take on a squirrel. That will be a good start.
After that, it is my full intention to start using a rangefinder on some of the, not so sure, shot distances. If it’s past the maximum known yardage, or borderline of it, time to wait for a better shot. No sense in educating more squirrels and wasting shot and powder. Also, hopefully cutting back on the number of wounded squirrels.
Additionally, being an old die hard bow hunter, it was established many years ago what elevation can do to a shot. Fortunately, most halfway decent rangefinders has build in ARC, or some other brand term for angle compensating. As some of you may know, this provides us with the corrected distance on uphill or downhill shots. For this geographic area, this can pay big dividends when taking shots up in those tall trees on steep hillsides.
In short, it’s darn difficult to know the actual distance on many shots while hunting in steep mountains. Although I do not like packing anything along on my hunts that is not necessary, it’s time to take a rangefinder for a few test drives. Do I think a rangefinder will prevent all missed shots? Absolutely not. However, I’m not getting any younger and anything short of a scope on my Crockett to help out is worth a try. Yes, it is somewhat coloring outside the lines, in terms of being traditional. However, I’m quite certain that traditionally, most mountain men gave up the mountains whenever things became too difficult for them and then migrated to lower, and/or flatter terrain.
Never been one to carry electronics or anything unnecessary with me in the mountains. That includes GPS or cell phone. Heck, I dislike even carrying binoculars.
With that said, considering what I have learned about how to play this game, and taking this often very steep terrain in mind, this old boy finally came to a conclusion. After losing much of my squirrel hunting grounds, I’m finding it more and more important to not educate squirrels. As it is now, at much of the areas I have recently found, squirrels are very spooky. The last thing I want to do is add to the situation.
Previously, ever since I’ve gotten into this squirrel hunting with a small caliber ML, I was fighting deteriorating eyesight. In these often dark hardwoods in the Appalachians, that exasperated things. It has been difficult even trying to target shoot. Therefore, I simply was not confident enough to determine the actual effective range of my Crockett. It was literally one of those hit and miss situations with more unnecessary missing than acceptable.
So, it’s time for a change. That change would be adding in a device called a rangefinder. In the past, even being a hardcore bow hunter, I did pretty good at judging distance on big game. Living out west for years, I’ve killed quite a few deer and elk that I knew was past 300 yards with unmentionables. I never used a rangefinder. But that was on a larger animal to where an inch or more either way usually mattered not. As you all know, squirrel hunting with a small caliber ML does not offer the same flexibility. It’s much more of a precise game than a couple of inches either way.
Without doubt, hunting in steep, mountainous terrain adds an additional factor to the hunt. Hardly ever does trying to step off a distance work out, even when one is set up near an active den tree. The steepness of the hillsides are not very forgiving in most any circumstance. Drainages and in un-walkable areas adds to this conundrum. In all cases, hunting in steeper hills or mountains equates to additional work.
Fortunately, this old worn out hunter was blessed enough to have gotten my eyes and vision corrected without glasses. Now I can see how to target shoot and hunt in lower light conditions much better. Open sights are clear as can be. Not everything is perfect with the install of lenses and situations change some, but it’s improving as time progresses.
So, it’s time to put my Crockett through its paces to establish its effective distance. Once that is established, I will know the shot distance limit to take on a squirrel. That will be a good start.
After that, it is my full intention to start using a rangefinder on some of the, not so sure, shot distances. If it’s past the maximum known yardage, or borderline of it, time to wait for a better shot. No sense in educating more squirrels and wasting shot and powder. Also, hopefully cutting back on the number of wounded squirrels.
Additionally, being an old die hard bow hunter, it was established many years ago what elevation can do to a shot. Fortunately, most halfway decent rangefinders has build in ARC, or some other brand term for angle compensating. As some of you may know, this provides us with the corrected distance on uphill or downhill shots. For this geographic area, this can pay big dividends when taking shots up in those tall trees on steep hillsides.
In short, it’s darn difficult to know the actual distance on many shots while hunting in steep mountains. Although I do not like packing anything along on my hunts that is not necessary, it’s time to take a rangefinder for a few test drives. Do I think a rangefinder will prevent all missed shots? Absolutely not. However, I’m not getting any younger and anything short of a scope on my Crockett to help out is worth a try. Yes, it is somewhat coloring outside the lines, in terms of being traditional. However, I’m quite certain that traditionally, most mountain men gave up the mountains whenever things became too difficult for them and then migrated to lower, and/or flatter terrain.
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