Nice walk in the squirrel woods this afternoon…

[roundball]

Only saw one but ”˜dragged’ him out. Easing trough dry leaves like corn flakes, he saw me at about 50yds and ran up a big tree. Very thick woods with lots of understory branches from smaller 20ft trees, couldn’t go left or right so my only choice was to try to sneak closer. Got all the way to the big tree but couldn’t see him and had nothing to toss past it to the other side. But just then nature intervened and a brief gust of wind blew the last couple inches of his tail around the side of the trunk so I had him located but I still needed to see him.

Figured my best option was to just slowly start walking away from the tree to try and fool him into thinking I was leaving and sure enough, at about 30yds past the tree he peeked around showing his head / neck. I took a couple more steps to find a clear ally back up through 10-15 feet of branches and the .40cal Late Lancaster did its job...very satisfying little hunt capped off with about a 35yd shot offhand.

PS: Some ask how much damage the .40cal does to a squirrel...if you look close you can see the ball size hole on the left side of his neck, and there's a corresponding size exit hole on the other side.

 

[Moose Guide]

Well done, nice squirrel and a beautiful gun!

 

[dbutch]

Good shot..Off hand too! :thumbsup: Nice picture..

 

[AWsaddles]

Sounds like a great hunt. Nice shooting

 

[George]

Nice hunt, Roundball. Squirrel hunting with a flintlock rifle is hard to beat, isn't it?.

Reading your trick with the wind flicking the squirrel's tail and showing you where it was reminded me of some unexpected but welcome help I got on a hunt several years ago. A squirrel was hiding on one side of a tree and I was standing on the other with my rifle shouldered, waiting. I was about to decide the critter was gone, give up and move on, but suddenly and very loudly, a doe, one of three, blew at me from behind the squirrel. Startled me, but startled the squirrel, too, and it zipped around the tree and froze on the side opposite the deer. Bad move, that's where I was. My shot startled the three deer, too.

Spence

 

[roundball]

Nice hunt, Roundball. Squirrel hunting with a flintlock rifle is hard to beat, isn't it?.

Reading your trick with the wind flicking the squirrel's tail and showing you where it was reminded me of some unexpected but welcome help I got on a hunt several years ago. A squirrel was hiding on one side of a tree and I was standing on the other with my rifle shouldered, waiting. I was about to decide the critter was gone, give up and move on, but suddenly and very loudly, a doe, one of three, blew at me from behind the squirrel. Startled me, but startled the squirrel, too, and it zipped around the tree and froze on the side opposite the deer. Bad move, that's where I was. My shot startled the three deer, too.
Spence

Hunted all my life and for me, nothing compares to hunting with Flintlocks, both rifles and smoothbores.
(and your terrific article "The Versatile Smoothbore" was huge in helping me decide on getting my first smoothbore)

The story of those Does snorting that squirrel around to your side was a good one.

The wind wasn't much today, forecast 7-10 mph with occasional gusts to 15...and just as I was about to give up on this squirrel, movement caught my eye and it was the end of his tail blown around the trunk...if I hadn't been looking in that exact direction, I never would have noticed it...a good little memorable hunt.

 

[Spikebuck]

I often wonder how many I walk by hanging on the opposite side of trees unseen on any given day afield. They are masters of circling around just where you cannot see them, even as you move around the tree.

Great 35 yard shot...although I assume you were aiming for the head, so maybe off an inch??? :grin: Must have been just a "hole" because of the soft neck tissue? When I hit them in the head with a .36 they come down headless, for the most part.

I carry a pair of binoculars when squirrel hunting and have many times spotted the very smallest patch of hair that gives the squirrel away. When I hunted with a .22 I just used the scope to do the same thing....but that method doesn't work too well with open sights!

 

[roundball]

They are masters of circling around just where you cannot see them, even as you move around the tree.

I normally carry a kids hollow rubber ball about the size of a softball...have it pushed down and tied into the corner of an old white pillow case that is then cut into strips to make a streamer effect. I usually carry it in my hunting vest to throw up / past / behind a tree...but forgot and left it at the house

 

[ny griz]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Griz

 

[smo]

I use a wrist rocket sling shot and shoot rocks through the tree tops of near by trees . That will usually make one move around the tree. :thumbsup: Good Hunt & nice shoot by the way RB.

 

[vthunter52]

I congradulate on not only a great looking rifle, but a successful hunt. I envy you, as I sit here in Vt., it's snowing and the temp is 15 degrees, heading to -10 tonight with wind chills to -20+. The grey squirrels that come to my feeders have headed for cover.

 

[jrmflintlock]

Awesome Roundball!!! :thumbsup:

I wish I could still be squirrel Hunting!! I have not even had a chance to chase Bunnies Lately.

 

[Eterry]

I used to use my little brother as a decoy; send him walking around the tree, then when he got older we'd flip to see who stood and who walked.

BTW, Roundball, whats ur charge in that 40 cal for squirrel?

Eterry

 

[roundball]

I used to use my little brother as a decoy; send him walking around the tree, then when he got older we'd flip to see who stood and who walked.

BTW, Roundball, whats ur charge in that 40 cal for squirrel?

Eterry

My main use of the .40cal is for year round range plinking, and I simply set it up with "the caliber" as the range load...and finding that it shoots flat through 25yds to the 50yds I've tried it, I just use the same load / sight setting for squirrels:

40grns Goex 3F
.018" pillow ticking
.395" ball