Has anyone here successfully barked a squirrel?

[ETipp]

Looking for information on barking squirrels from those that has actually done it. I don't mean put on a collar, go out in the back yard, get down on all fours, lean up against a tree, then look up and bark.

Where did you aim for?

Where do you think the ball hit?

What caliber ML?

How many attempts did it take before you were successful?

 

[Rancocas]

Yes. Squirrel on the side of a tree. Aimed just in front of its nose so the bullet struck the tree very close to the squirrel's head. Actually, hit the squirrel in the nose a few times.
My uncle knocked one out this way. He picked it up and was about to gut it. At the first prick of the knife point in its stomach the squirrel woke up, doubled up, and bit my uncle on his finger. The squirrel escaped by running back up the tree.

 

[Loja man]

I put a 50 cal round ball pushed by 30 grains of powder 1/2”-3/4” away from a squirrels head into a tree trunk. It ran away. At that point I decided I could just as easily shot them in the head…so I gave up the idea of barking them!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Looking for information on barking squirrels from those that has actually done it. I don't mean put on a collar, go out in the back yard, get down on all fours, lean up against a tree, then look up and bark.

Where did you aim for?

Where do you think the ball hit?

What caliber ML?

How many attempts did it take before you were successful?

I've done it three times.
.54 caliber round ball, 70 grains of 3Fg, and at about 20 yards.



All three times was right under the chest area. The first one was just like you read in books, , the squirrel tumbled out of the tree, and it was dead when I picked it up. Not a mark on him. Was it dead when it fell or dead because of impact I cannot say, The second one was a tiny bit high, and the squirrel tumbled out of the tree to the ground. When I picked it up there were a couple splinters of green wood in its chest. The last one was too high and it moved when the shot was fired, and I actually hit the squirrel in the diaphragm region.

I haven't done it since, because I'm in a rather populated area, and when I got the third one my hunting buddy asked me, "Hey Dave, after that ball goes through that tiny branch, where does it come down?" Since I was shooting upwards at about a 50° angle, and there were neighborhoods not too far away, and I could always miss, I stopped using it as a hunting technique.

LD

 

[LME]

Looking for information on barking squirrels from those that has actually done it. I don't mean put on a collar, go out in the back yard, get down on all fours, lean up against a tree, then look up and bark.

Where did you aim for?

Where do you think the ball hit?

What caliber ML?

How many attempts did it take before you were successful?

Never with a M.Z. once with a MODERN RIFLE.

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

Yes. Squirrel on the side of a tree. Aimed just in front of its nose so the bullet struck the tree very close to the squirrel's head. Actually, hit the squirrel in the nose a few times.
My uncle knocked one out this way. He picked it up and was about to gut it. At the first prick of the knife point in its stomach the squirrel woke up, doubled up, and bit my uncle on his finger. The squirrel escaped by running back up the tree.

danggg. bet that hurt

 

[hockeyref]

Had an “semi-unsuccessful barking” once with a 54 prb. Created “rocky the nearly headless flying squirrel”.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

I did it once with witnesses. At a club shoot a squirrel came out on the branch of a tree beside the range. It became a contest to see who could hit him. Several people tried and missed. Came my turn and I was aiming for the branch right under his head and that is where they said I hit. I was using a .54 that day.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Answer: the same number as fishermen who have caught record sized fish.

 

[ETipp]

Answer: the same number as fishermen who have caught record sized fish.

Well, I'm running short on time but I'm giving serious consideration on giving it try anyway. Still a little unsure of where to aim for. I understand perhaps aiming for the branch under where a squirrel may be sitting on. But what if the squirrel is hanging on the side of a tree?

I'm thinking of 30 grains of 3F with a .530 RB.

 

[William Sublette]

What's the advantage as opposed to just shooting them in the head?

 

[godutch]

Yes. Squirrel on the side of a tree. Aimed just in front of its nose so the bullet struck the tree very close to the squirrel's head. Actually, hit the squirrel in the nose a few times.
My uncle knocked one out this way. He picked it up and was about to gut it. At the first prick of the knife point in its stomach the squirrel woke up, doubled up, and bit my uncle on his finger. The squirrel escaped by running back up the tree.

That sounds like Jeff Foxworthy's story about the guy who picked up the beaver they'd hit and it curled up and bit his nipple off. I'll take the squirrel to the finger bite, thank you.

 

[ETipp]

What's the advantage as opposed to just shooting them in the head?

No mess whatsoever to deal with.

Also, squirrels ain't so easy to hit in the head most of the time.

 

[Colonial Boy]

Never barked one but I have growled at a few in India, where they are something of a nuisance in some cities, but not a patch on monkeys; monkeys will actually pick your pocket.

 

[Gun Tramp]

I don't mean put on a collar, go out in the back yard, get down on all fours, lean up against a tree, then look up and bark.

Been told I did just that at our last Harkin family get-together in Iowa.

 

[dsotm]

Why would you try that vs a head shot?

 

[William Sublette]

No mess whatsoever to deal with.

Also, squirrels ain't so easy to hit in the head most of the time.

Cleaner transport ok.

But if you can hit the spot needed to bark him, you can put it in his ear.

 

[snakebit]

Cleaner transport ok.

But if you can hit the spot needed to bark him, you can put it in his ear.

Watched my pap do it once with a S&W model 10. Long time ago, but I'm pretty sure it was a shag bark hickory (lots of potential shrapnel). I'm thinking it was a target of opportunity. I know he did most of his squirrel hunting with a 22 or 410.

 

[Ricochet]

Ive never tried to bark a squirrel but maybe I should have learned. Most old timers in both sides of my family would change moods real fast when you would show them how good of a shot that you are with a bunch of head shot squirrels. Hard to eat squirrel brains and eggs if you don't have any brains, jmho

 

[oldwood]

I always shot squirrels to eat , not for proving I could do trick shots.