Squirrel with the Savage 25
My lady has been using my 32 S&W H&R single shot to hunt squirrel with me
So I cut a 70 gr Flat nose , plain base mold for the 25 Hornet Savage model 25
I put a Tasco WorldClass 3-9 X 40 on it , sort of over sized for the rifle ... but I had it and it works well when hunting groundhogs
1 Grease grove design .... sort of based off the looks of the Lee 358 - 158 - RF
But it drops a .260 - .261 70 gr plain base bullet out of a range lead that is slightly harder than WW
I size the bullet to .260 and use a 50-50 lube
Pushed to 950 FPS with 2400 .... nice as it less crack or BOOM than when I shoot faster loads
Groups great to about 100 yards , but at 150 yards it starts to keyhole .... LOL I don't plan on hunting squirrel at that range
This morning it was calm and even above freezing
So I grabbed the rifle and ammo
I hunted in a woods I have permission to hunt 3 miles from home , more of a 150 yard wide and 3/4 mile long tree line
Maple , White Oak and Beach are most of the trees on the end I started at
White Ash WERE a large part of the trees at the far end , but most of them are dead and are getting cut for lumber and fire wood
I parked in the driveway next to the barn and walked 3-400 yards to the woods down a nice grass lane ... why I hunt there , mud lanes are a mess to walk on now with the snow just melted
At about 8 AM I was standing just into the edge of the woods looking for squirrel
When a Coopers hawk flew through the woods , it got the first squirrel of the morning
So I just waited and enjoyed the woods coming alive
Maybe I had to wait 10 min till I saw a nice fox squirrel on the side of a maple tree 30 or so yards away
I put the crosshairs on its head and that fast the first squirrel was mine
I moved 50 or so yards farther and waited , not 5 min latter another fox squirrel was chattering at me from a 2" tree not 10 feet from me and about eye level
LOL I want a tree as a back stop for the bullets , so I took a step to the side and bagged #2
I am sure it had no clue it was in trouble till it was to late
I went next to a large maple tree and skinned the first 2
Wiped my hands off , stepped back around the tree and could see 3 more squirrels on the ground with in 50 yards finding nuts .... This is why I hunt this woods .... help the land owner and I am the only one that can hunt there :-D
Shot #3 and 4 with in the next 10 min
6 is the limit , but I didn't want or need any more
So I skinned those 2 and headed home
This evening I had squirrel stew from 1/2 of one of the squirrels , cut them all up and I put the rest in the freezer
I couldn't sleep again , so I am up early LOL
So I will head out to the marsh and see if the ducks want to play
John
