Morning squirrel hunt.

[T Gregory]

I took my .40 flintlock on a squirrel hunt this morning and ended up having an amazing outing. I walked an area I havent been to before and had action right from the start. Before I was 75yds from my car I saw my first of two deer for the day. About 7am a turkey on the adjacent ridge fired up and started gobbling. Then another one farther down the same ridge started up also. They gobbled 1-2 times per minute for the next hour. Too bad season ended 2 weeks ago and I didn't draw a permit for this WMA anyway. Shortly after the turkeys fired up I missed my first squirrel. A bit later I got on another one and missed him twice! Time to settle down and follow through. I was slipping down the ridge about 20min later and looked up and spotted a coyote coming across in front of me. I let him get to about 25yds and whistled at him. He stopped and I drilled him. He went down and got back up and stumbled away. I lost sight of him behind a blow down. I reloaded and realized that my flint had broken on the shot. I pulled out my .22 pistol and went to where I had last saw him and he was nowhere to be found. He was pretty mangy so I figured I'd done him a favor. I replaced the flint in my rifle and proceeded on. A few minutes later a squirrel came across a limb above and ahead of me and stopped. I took a rest and really focused on my sight right at the bottom of his chin and sqeezed it off and followed through. There was just enough of a breeze that the smoke cleared instantly and he DIDN'T EVEN MOVE! How did I miss that shot? About 3 seconds went by and his tail started twitching then he fell. Holy cow I got him! I have killed dozens of squirrels in my life but this was my first with a flintlock. I was as stoked as I was when I got my first flintlock deer with the same rifle this past fall. I love hunting with this rifle. Hopefully I can get my wife to make me a small pot of squirrel and dumplings. The rest of the morning was uneventful as I made my way back to my vehicle. I can't wait to get out again. Now I get to clean my gun.

 

[TNTraveler]

Awesome hunt, days like that don't come around often but you'll remember it for a lifetime, beautiful rifle

 

[upperplains]

Great job telling your story too!

 

[snakebit]

I have a couple of 32 caliber side locks that I love missing squirrels with. I catch myself actually giggling out loud every now and then. I manage to hit one every now and then if they are within 25 yards. Haven't ventured into the flintlock zone yet. Hopefully all your future hunts will be as good! Thanks for taking us along!

 

[Hermit Tim]

Sounds like a really good time. I have never hunted in the spring season but you folks are making me think about it. Pretty cool right now in Giles county so I might give it a go early next week. That's a great rifle ya have there.

 

[ETipp]

Like to hunt squirrels with my .32 Crockett Squirrel Rifle. Its a real challenge. My success rate increase big time after I installed a Tom A Hawks peep sight and a different front bead.

 

[longhunter1217]

You got me fired up. It's squirrel season here too.

 

[MAC1967]

Heck of a good shot on that Grey Squirrel !!

 

[ETipp]

Awesome morning you had there TG. Congrats.

 

[bushytail]

 

[Spikebuck]

Congrats on a great hunt.

With that hit, I'm amazed it didn't blow it right off the limb? Clearly the squirrel never knew what hit him.

 

[TransYank]

Nice I was about 50% on hits with my 36caliber with buck horn rear sight. Installed a peep and now on good days I can usually go about 80% to 100% on squirrels.

 

[ETipp]

Yup, same here. I went from about a 50% success rate with iron sights to 90%+ with a peep and finer front bead.

 

[T Gregory]

Nice I was about 50% on hits with my 36caliber with buck horn rear sight. Installed a peep and now on good days I can usually go about 80% to 100% on squirrels.

I actually have a peep sight on my rifle. I have been using it ghost ring style with no insert but I think for squirrels I am going to use a smaller peep insert to help center it up better. Being off 1-2 inches on a deer at less than 50 yards isnt usually even noticeable. Being off 1 inch on a squirrel's head at 25 yards is a complete miss.

 

[bronko220002]

Cool story and a fun outing. I got a .36 Seneca a couple weeks ago. I'm going to be trying it out on tree rats this year.

 

[JasonGTA]

Congrats on a nice hunt!