VA Squirrel Limit!
Went out yesterday "scouting" in preparation for deer season. I took the .22LR in case I saw a tree rat or two while scouting. After catching a glimpse of my first squirrel, scouting time was over. I cleaned up pretty well over the next two hours, bagging six squirrels.
I've never hunted squirrel before deer season before, only after when all the leaves are off. I'll say that although the squirrels seem to be out and about a bit more with the leaves on the trees, hunting them is much, much tougher. With the leaves off, I'd say my average shot usually around 30-40 yards. With the leaves on (and all the little saplings and brush with their leaves), my average was about 10 yards, and sometimes much less. Four of them were ground squirrels, and I just had to keep stalking until I got close enough for a clear shot. Lots of patience required!
One of the squirrels was a barker. I heard it off in the distance and made a 150-yard beeline to it. Perched on a limb only a few feet in the air, it seemed it was asking for death. It saw me before I saw it, but didn't seem to care. Weird.
The last squirrel was the only true tree squirrel I got. I saw it speed up a very tall tree and disappear. I examined the branches with the binoculars and saw it perched on a bear branch, about 100 feet up. My only shot was perfectly straight up in the air. What a fall!
Is that the longest "squirrel report" ever, or what??! lol