squirrel barking

[Gary]

I've read about barking a squirrel. What kills the furry rodent? Does the bark enter Rocky or is it the concussion from the bark against Rocky? M-T-mines wanna no (empty minds want to know) TIA. :master:

 

[jaybeach]

I've always understood that it was supposed to be the concussion of the bark hitting the poor little guy in the head. :cry: It's possible that he wasn't even dead when he fell from the tree and had to be dispatched after hitting the ground.

IM jaybe :thumbsup:

 

[cayugad]

I guess I have always thought a miss a miss. I have shot at them with a .44 caliber black powder revolver and came real close to hitting them, but never killed one with the impact of the bullet to the bark of the tree.

I have shot a few of the squirrels with a black powder rifle. I must have nicked the head because of the damage I find. I really don't think the bark would have done the damage I find...

interesting question..

 

[Tumblernotch]

:agree: I have to agree with you there. I hunt wood rats almost exclusively with a .40 flintlock, and I try my best to get a headshot. A ball hitting the tip of the nose will generally take most of the head off. And you know what one will do in the body. I've never actually "barked" one and killed it. I've seen the bark fly very close, but the squirrels got away. A strange thing happened one time, when I shot a squirrel with a .58 cal. rifled musket in the head. It left the head intact with a thumb sized hole in it. I guess because of the low (960fps) velocity. My .40, much higher, not sure exactly but close to twice the velocity will tear the head off. I've rattled enough. This is my first post so forgive my rambling on. I look forward to more of these. By the way, with mast being non-existant here, I didn't get to shoot any of my favorite food this year. I have a couple eating out of bird feeders here at the house, but I don't want to kill 'em. Have a good'un!

 

[Huntinfool]

Hey Kanawha Ranger I like that handle I believe I've heard that somewhere!

Glad you finally made it here Bob!

Did you go to the TMA site. You need to go up and introduce yourself in the top sections!

Huntinfool

 

It is my understanding that "barking" is when a shooter gets into a position to take a shot at a squirrel from the side so that the ball will go under the belly of the critter hit enough of wood and thus peal off a sliver of bark from the tree which will hit the target with enough force to stun it. Target is stuned, falls to earth, hunter dispatches same without destroyng meat. There are two issues with this as I see it. 1 - I am not a good enough shot to do this "barking" thing. 2 - Frankly, I don't take shots -especailly into the air - for which I do not have a positive backstop. We had a pregnant woman hit in the head here in PA this past hunting season with a stray round and all hell has broken out. She lived, the baby is okay, but apparently she has some dificaulty in speaking now. Watch that backstop!

 

[shmrck1]

Chet,
are you suggesting no tree rat hunting??
sounds like it!!!!
snake-eyes :hmm: eace: :thumbsup:

 

[blackpowder shooter]

I have heard about barking a squirrel since I started shooting black powder. I have known some pretty darn good shooters, but have never heard anybody bragging of barking a squirrel. :bull:

 

[Dave K]

Just an opinion. But, if you can bark a squirrel you can hit them in the head. That is the only way, IMHO, that you want to do it anyhow. If I ever bark one, it is because I missed. :m2c:

 

[Tumblernotch]

Hey fellers. I have to agree with Dave. Why take a chance on missing if you can hit it in the head? Now if you're one of those old timers who like to eat squirrel brains like my Granddaddy did, you may have a problem. I always go for the head, some times I miss, no point in lying about it. And Chet has a good point. I'm uncomfortable silhouette shooting at a squirrel. I like to have tree or hillside behind it when I draw trigger. I have no problem doing that with a shotgun if I'm far enough away from houses, etc. To tell you the truth, I've never seen anybody bark a squirrel and kill it. As for concussion doing the job, I believe it would take a high velocity center fire rifle hitting VERY close to do it. And however you can do it, I'm not crazy about picking splinters out of the meat. What do ya'll think? :imo: Of course opinions are like......

 

[boar]

Daniel Boone The sharpshooter did it like this squirrel is laying on limb he shoots under neck in bark the rb snaps neck up killing it I killed a groundhog like this with 54 rb just creased it this way no meat wasted they eat the heads you know Little bit powder, little bit powder shoots far, kill dead Dilly

 

[roundball]

Just an opinion. But, if you can bark a squirrel you can hit them in the head. That is the only way, IMHO, that you want to do it anyhow. If I ever bark one, it is because I missed. :m2c:

I got a squirrel barking in November...missed the head shot low into the limb right under him, he ran further up the tree and sat there barking at all the commotion
:: :: ::

 

Several years ago someone did a seasons reasearch on barking squirrels, it may have been Sam Fadala. I simply can't remember. Anyway, the determination was that it took an absolute minimum of 50 cal. and 54 was better to consistently bark squirrels. The smaller calibers didn't carry enough bullet weight to provide enough shock to shatter enough of the tree limb to stun or kill the squirrel. It made sense to me.

Personally I've never tried it for the same reasons stated by many of you. I'll take my 36 and head shots.

Vic

 

[KyFlintlock]

I never ate squirrel brains and never will. A friend of mine's dad used to mix them with scrambled eggs.

Head shots for me...if I can hold er' still. How much brains is there anyways? Wouldn't it be a lot of work, when eggs are so cheap anyway...

Good luck
Wess

 

No, I am not suggesting no tree rat hunting. What I am saying is that firing a firearm at anything without a positive backstop is asking for trouble and maybe even putting another person or property in danger. Shotguns firing pellets are different, but to my mind a shooter has to know that there is danger there too. Shooting a load of # 9s at Woodcock in flight will not be as problematic as firing a load of OO at a fox walking on the crest of a hill. But the shoter should understand the dynamic and the differences. I recounted the incident here in PA with the young pregnant woman. Here is another near tragedy that was told to me by a PA Game Warden this year. They had a call that a house had been hit by a bullet. The investigation revealed a rifled 12 gage slug had hit a house on the second story, gone through the exterior wall - through one interior wall and was imbedded in a second wall. No one was injured but the potential for tragedy is evident. Further investigation determined that a hunter who was about 1,000 yards away had fired at a deer on the crest of a hill (no hackstop - unless the house served this purpose) and missed -the deer, not the house. He did not even know the house was there as he could not see it. As an aside - I don't know how the people investigating both these cases dit it, but they actually found both the hunters who hit the woman and the house respectively. Appropriate charges have been filed. I pass up all sorts of shots on woodchucks every year because I simply can not get into a position where I have a positive backstop. The farmers don't like to hear me say that but I will not take the risk.
:imo:

 

[SimonKenton]

Chet,

I have known a couple of guys who did bark squirrels when possible. Possible includes only taking shots at fuzzies that are huddled against the bark of a THICK tree trunk! That way the combined concussion of the ball hitting the wood and the sliver of bark either scrambles its brains outright or stuns it so bad you can brain it with a stick when it hits the ground. They used at least .50 caliber guns for this and the shots were close. About 30-40 yards. Forget the legends of frontiersmen barking squirrels from 150 yards out. A waste of powder and lead for a small meal.

-Ray :m2c:

 

[bezoar]

I never understood why you would practice shooting next to the animal in order to stun it with flying bark. Ive been trying to hit the animal in order to stun it...

 

[outdoorman]

I read somewhere once that "barking" was done so the frontiersman could retrieve the lead ball from the tree to be re-melted and used again, since most of the time they did not have an abundance of lead on hand. For this reason, the squirrel had to be low enough on the tree to dig out the ball.

For us today, we probably wouldn't always think of re-using our lead.

 

[cayugad]

I tried to "bark" a little red pine squirrel that was sitting on a stump the other day. I had a .54 caliber Renegade loaded with 90 grains and a 300 grain REAL conical. I aimed for just under his stomach and touched it off. I about cut him in half. I think the rifle shoots a hair high... :thumbsup:

 

[outdoorman]

I have yet to successfully "bark" a squirrel. I have tried a few times, mostly I scare them. This is something that will take a little practice, but it kind of goes against the code of making a clean kill. I'm afraid that until I get the hang of it, I'm going to have several wounded squirrels get away. Therefore, I don't try it too often.