Squirrel Hunting

[richhodg66]

184696
Today was the first day we've had in a while with good weather that wouldn't freeze you to death. After a meeting at church, came home, got dressed, got a rifle and my hunting seat and went up on a knoll I like to hunt from. While going through my Dad's stuff, I found a coffee can of old .30-30 loads he had, pretty sure it's the little Lee soupcan bullet and his notes said five grains of Clays. Anyway, it was one hole accurate at 25 yards in this little H&R, so figured I'd use it for hunting.

It was a nice day. A big, friendly tomcat that adopted us a year or so back followed me out from the house and hung out with me while I sat. Never hunted anything with a purring cat on my lap before. We both had a good time, though I only saw this one. Shot it through the shoulders, clean hole all the way through though it dropped it right there. I think this is the fattest squirrel I ever shot.

[Tradhunter]

Sounds like fun! That is a nice one for sure!

[725]

Nice to sit with your Dad's old stuff and just enjoy it all. Good for you.

[Omega]

Wow, 30-30 for squirrels? I have used larger calibers for p-dogs, but squirrels always got the .22 or sg. In any case, looks like you did good with them, squirrel doesn't look the worse for it. I guess if you had fun, and it sounds like you did, then it's all good.

[skeettx]

Well done
Did the cat retrieve the squirrel?

[richhodg66]

This rifle is one I configured for my youngest son's first deer rifle, but I kind of like the shortness of it and how light and handy it is. It's surprisingly accurate too, H&R from the early '80s. I have experimented with .32 wadcutters and five grains of Bullseye which would have been very similar, but I had these loads and wanted to use them.

I have no idea what velocity these are traveling at, but there's enough of a crack to suggest its super sonic. I had use a couple of .22 Hornets the past few years with cast and getting similar results. I like using cast centerfires on squirrels now.

I grew up in S.C. where we had gray squirrels which are a lot smaller, but I really believe these fox squirrels here die a lot easier. I remember grays taking a charge of #6s from a 12 gauge or shooting them with my .22 WMR and still having a lot of life left in them.

[richhodg66]

Well done
Did the cat retrieve the squirrel?

He tried, but needed help finding it. We've had single digit temps for a while and I had him locked up inside as a result which he hates after a day or two. Today was the first day he's been out in a while and he was loving it, I think the squirrel smell and taste was icing on the cake for him. I tossed him the skin with the head, feet and tail, he was enjoying gnawing in them when I came inside.

[shoot-n-lead]

Sounds like you and the cat enjoyed the hunt.

[T-Bird]

That's cool, used to have a female client (I'm a vet.) that had a cat that deer hunted with her.She hunted her own land and the cat would follow her to her stand, sit at the base of the tree till she came down and follow her home.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Hard enough bullet would pass through with out too much damage. Bigger hole maybe. Enjoyment , funny about the cat going .

[T-Bird]

Cat's name was Sally and lived to be 19yrs IIRC.

[richhodg66]

Hard enough bullet would pass through with out too much damage. Bigger hole maybe. Enjoyment , funny about the cat going .

Dad wasn't much of a hunter and as such, tended to cast things with a lot harder alloys than I usually do. No real idea of what these are (I can ask him, but I doubt he'll remember) but I'm guessing it was one part lino type to two parts range salvage. This made a real neat hole in and out, but energy transfer was good apparently.

[PaulG67]

Loved the cat part of your story, hope you had enough squirrel left for breakfast with your eggs:drinks:

[Les Staley]

Looks like fun! If I ever head back to Michigan for a visit, I'll be sure to go sometime in Oct. After the leaves all come down and get in a little squirrel hunting. I have a relined Winchester 92 made in 1911 that loves 62 gr 257420 boolets of COWW and gas checked. Should make a fine squirrel rifle (25/20). It's pretty tough on ground squirrels here in Idaho.

[Tracy]

I have a cat that follows me to the stand when I deer hunt too, and she will actually climb into the stand with me if I let her.
What part of Alabama is your practice in, Tbird?

[smoked turkey]

richhodg66 sounds like a great hunting trip. The 30-30 is a great cartridge. I do enjoy shooting cast boolits in my old Savage 340. I confess though I have never hunted squirrel that way. I enjoy squirrel hunting but when I go it is usually the grandson and I and we still hunt rather than sit. Been very cold here too but sounds like squirrel should be on the menu here too, with a centerfire and cast of course.

[Blackwater]

Squirrel hunting is one of our greatest pleasures in the woods. It's just plain, ol' fashioned FUN. And the squirrels in my back yard are as fat as they can be this year, but I just don't have the heart to shoot any of them. We live next to a branch that's full of them, and they were my son's first "big game" target. He shot so many with his .22, I thought WE were going to grow bushy tails! So then I put him on a pellet gun, and he STILL kept bringing them in in abundance. So then I limited him to only 3 pellets a day, and he wound up bringing in a nice sized coon! If I ever get hungry, and need a meal, I'll be going to HIS house!

But sitting and waiting on them to come out from hiding and resume feeding gives a person a wonderful view of the woods, and one can learn a lot from that, if they look INTO it, rather than merely at it. And they're VERY tricky and alert quarry, too! Camo really helps, and you have to be as still as a stump to get the big, fat, smart ones. I always like to wait until there are several in view before selecting which ones I want to shoot. This educates the rest, and makes them more challenging quarries for later. And they DO get smart REALLY quickly, too!

I won't shoot those in my yard because my dog gets so much of a charge out of chasing them. She hasn't caught one yet, but she did knock one over, rolling it sideways about 4 times, and skidding to a stop and winding up plowing ground with her chin she was going so fast. She almost got that one before it jumped up a tree. Boy! Those things can be FAST when they have something chasing them! They've gotten so scared of my young pup that they sometimes just fly through the trees and go to the branch before stopping. But they're still getting fat. I put out corn for them, and they LOVE that stuff! Now, in the later part of winter, they really need it. Keeps 'em fat and sassy. And they ARE sassy here, too! They'll sit and charge at the pup, obviously calling her vile names in squirrel language. She just sits and barks, obviously telling them to come down out of that tree and mix it up if they feel that way. Very amusing to watch. Great entertainment for all concerned, I think?

Anyone ever eaten squirrel perlew? That's what an elder cousin of mine, deceased not long ago, called it anyway. It's basically just squirrel cooked to pieces and taken off the bone, stewed low and slow with carrots, onions and potatoes, and whatever else looks like it might be good thrown in. Simmer for a couple of hours, with salt, pepper and garlic, and I'm bettin' you'll lick your lips for a while after a meal like that! Pour over rice, or biscuits or whatever else ya' got handy, and it'll "stick to yer ribs" as the old timers used to say. Brings a big ol' smile to the face, too. Ideal for a good, cold winter's day fare. DANG! I've gone and made myself HONGRY! Might have to rethink taking a couple of those squirrels now!

[richhodg66]

I used to do that long ago, pick it apart after boiling and add some boullion and make kind of like chicken and rice. Good stuff.

[Wolfer]

Ive put whole cleaned squirrels in a crock pot on low until the meat fell off the bone. Dumped the whole mess into a spaghetti strainer and picked the bones out. Dumped the meat back into the crock pot and added chili fixens. Pretty darn good and uses all the meat on the squirrel.

My 30-30 pushes the 311008 to a little above 1200 fps with 5 gr of clays. That was the first load I tried with that boolit and never saw a reason to experiment further.

[EMC45]

I prefer squirrel hunting to deer or hog hunting.

[gunseller]

Never used my 30-30 to squirrel hunt but have used a 30-06 with cast and a lot of 223 with a 60 gr cast. Even shot a few with a 45 Colt using a cast out of an 1884 mold. Never much meat damage. Cool to be using things from your Dad.
Steve

[richhodg66]

186398

I've been enjoying the late Winter squirrel hunting. Got home early enough to sit about an hour before the sun went down. My wife gave me this little 20 gauge for Christmas a while back because I wanted it and I hadn't done anything with it, so I found some old shells I've had forever and went out. This guy showed up after about 45 minutes and I re-learned what I learned when I was about 14; a 7/8 ounce of #6 shot is a pretty darn good small game getter. It's been years since I killed one with a scattergun, but I used a little H&R all through my teenage years when I didn't use a .22, kinda good to get back to one.

[Rick Hodges]

I look forward to squirrel season in the fall here in Michigan...hunt with a 22 rimfire mostly. I cook the meat off the bones and make a "white chili" with it...more of a soup than chili, but very tasty.