ARGH! Those Pesky Squirrels!
 

Went out today and saw a good bit of squirrels but my goodness, I couldn't get a good clean shot at them! They are so damn fast and swing from branch to branch like a bunch of monkeys!! I got played today!

I was using the scoped Marlin 22 LR and I'm just wondering if I need to go with a shot gun instead? I shot my first squirrel with a 20 gauge shot gun but that is my son's gun. I also shot and killed a squirrel with the 22 last week though but it was pretty close, on the side of a tree. I have a 16 gauge here and a friend of my hubby's just dropped off a 12 gauge pump.

I'm cool with the 16 gauge but wonder if a 12 gauge is too much for those lil rascals or is it all good? :evil:

If you guys had to choose, would you go with a scoped 22 or a shot gun? I need some help/tips killing these damn squirrels! :poke: I swear, they're laughing at me! <You guys probably are too> :o

I'm going to go back out on Thursday, very early... like wake up the woods early! :s4:

how far was them squirrels??

up to 75 yards or so... guesstimating.

I even stalked one as quietly as I could and still couldn't get the buggar! :confused0024:

I killed 29 squirrels last season with an old 870 12 gauge with low brass #6.Ive killed 9 this season with a stoeger 2000 12 gauge with high brass #6.I love a shotgun for shots under 35 yards,but where i hunt,the shots can be 60 yards,so i take the 17 HMR most of the time.I recommend u use #6 rather than #7 1/2,(with a 12 ga.)b/c u put so much shot in the meat,and it aint fun to chomp down on 1 of um!!!!!I like a full choke,but pattern with different choke/shell combination so u git the best pattern.Pattern at the longest range u plan to shoot,with me its 40 yards.good luck

MAN!!!!!!!U cant let um git no closer than that?:)Id have a hard time hittin um with my 17HMR at 75 yards.Anyway,if u see 1,just sit STILL AND QUIET!!!DONT MOVE IF U CAN HELP IT!!!Ive killed a few at 60+ yards just to be a ''Showoff''.Try 2 let um git as close as they will git,then BUST THEM BUSHYTAILZ!!!!

Whatdaya want me to do, sing to them?! :D

They are difficult to shoot but maybe it's just me since you slay dem squirrels so easily!

If I sit still, and I do, I see them in the distance and I try to sneak up on them. I stalked that one for 5 minutes til I got about 30 yards from his tree. Sometimes I get lucky and they're closer to me when I'm still and sometimes not.

I have tried to read up on everything I can to be successful at squirrel hunting. Maybe it's because this is my first year? I dunno... :confused0024: I'm not totally frustrated yet, it's just that every time I come home empty handed, I wanna go back out and giv'em hell again the next chance I get and it starts all over again. :eek2:

Pepsi on the computer screen!!!Ok,if they r 75 yards away,git ur tail out there:Db4 daylight,setup about 20 yards away from where u saw the squirrels,take the 12 gauge pump with #6,(full choke preferably)so when they come out,there U will be,wait til they git within about 30-35 yards,put the bead behind his shoulder and fill his @$$ full of #6!When he falls,look around to see if theres any more squirrels around u,after u shoot the other squirrels will go into the nest,or in holes in the trees,EASE over there and git the dead squirrel,sit down and shut up!!!if another1 comes out,(most of the time it takes up to an hour for them to git over the shotgun blast,then they continue feeding)again under 35 yards,BLAST HIM!!!!!!!!!!If more come out,etc,etc,etc,til u limit out.:s4:Hope this helps,Good luck.

I was just putting a scope on my Marlin 22 tonight. I figure to to try and get a few myself. There's this one, I swear he was laughing at me during Archery Season, but I know where he lives! :)

My brother told me one time that it's a lot easier with the shotgun. He said he decided to go with the Marlin 22 LR <he won it at a gun bash> for a challenge.

Well, it's hard! :action-smiley-099: :D *smirk* :D

be patient

Okay. :) I will.

I'm going out tomorrow. :D

Can you tell us what a typical hunt for you is? Just walk me though it. The thing is they're tough to hunt, thats just a given. Its your first year so you've just began to learn what to do. Remember that slow movements are key because at this stage in the game there are few to no leaves left on the trees so they'll be more apt to see you coming. Get to your spot and wait. If squirrels are in the area then you will move often than not get your shot after sitting for a while. Be patient. Stay with your 22lr(try for a shorter shot). Its quieter and from what you are saying on ranges it or a 17hmr is the way to go. If you have access to a 17 that would be the way I would go if 70 yards is really your average shot.

One other thing I can suggest to you is on practicing you're shots. Now bear in mind I have no clue how and if you practice. I would definately zero in at around 35 or 40 yards. I'd then see how the gun hits at around 15-20 yards and then also at 60-70 yards. You'll learn how you need to adjust. I'm hoping that when you practice shooting that you are not just shooting at a paper target nailed or taped to a board. If you are then I suggest taking 2 or 3 of 20oz coke (or some other bottle with a label that you can clearly see). the trick is to shoot the label of a bottle and readjust on the next bottle as quickly as possible shoot and continue as fast as you can accurately shoot. The point is to teach you to look for the impact if you miss and adjust your aiming. I've shot competition in rifle, pistol, and shotgun time trials and this is the best way I've learned to practice.

Lastly, you're obviously picking and choosing your shots as any good hunter should do but you may be choosing to cautious of shots. Many times from the ranges you're describing you can shoot and if you do miss the squirrel will not realize where you are and will look right away for something out of the ordinary orrun off and comeback in the next few minutes to scope things out and find out what the heck just happened. So when you do miss stay still and wait for that other shot. If you are moving around he will see you and he will bolt.

On the topic of using a 16 or 20 or 12 gauge shotgun, they're great at the right time of the season. In the early part of the season when the leaves will break up your outline and you can get close they're great. But they're noisy as all heck and will scare other squirrels out of the area.

I generally stillhunt them with an open sight .22. I find that success is most likely when I do it just like I would stillhunting a deer--inching through the woods and absolutely utilizing cover (stay close to it and try to keep it between you and the game). I don't move more than a couple of feet every minute or so.

Let me just say that I've shot and killed two squirrels on my own with out the boy. My first with a 20 gauge and the second with the Marlin 22 LR. I don't have a 17 or I'd try with that! :D

So this is what I typically do. I like to get in the woods before the sun comes up #1, find <my> a spot and sit there as quietly and still as can be and wait for them. I can sit in one spot for hours but sometimes, I can hear them up over the hill <where I also hunt> running through the leaves and they won't come down so I have to go to them, ofcourse as quietly as I can. Sometimes, I'll see one anywhere from 20 ft away up to 70 yards and try for it with the scoped 22. When I saw the squirrels at a distance, they have more than not been jumping tree to tree so I guess I'm basically trying for a running squirrel but sometimes they do stop while I have the scope on them and then they move before I can get the shot off hence missing them! If they don't stop, I usually don't bother with the shot cuz I know I'll miss the buggar! I'd rather not shoot it than actually shoot and maim it without killing it!

I suggest taking 2 or 3 of 20oz coke (or some other bottle with a label that you can clearly see). the trick is to shoot the label of a bottle and readjust on the next bottle as quickly as possible shoot and continue as fast as you can accurately shoot.

I will have to just do that then. I feel like I'm a good shot but obviously, I can always do better and should be practicing!

I agree that a shotgun is rather loud though and would make my day out there even longer since they'll hide from the blast.

When I saw the squirrels I was after the last time I hunted them, it was far but didn't seem like a long shot at the time. In this instance, I got up and quietly went towards them, sneaking up on trees for cover, between it and me, waiting for another shot, either attempting it or moving closer, all the while having it still run up and down the trees ext without it seeing me. This last time, I had my boy though and his knees don't bend so he sloshes through the woods and it get's to me but I don't want to leave him home when I can take him. I tell him about it all the time! You have knees that bend for a reason! Pick your damn feet up!

Lastly, you're obviously picking and choosing your shots as any good hunter should do but you may be choosing to cautious of shots.

Thank you. Can you explain the cautious part a lil more for me? When I aim for them, I'm trying to aim to kill it on the first shot and I believe I maybe wasting those precious seconds to get that shot and the it moves! <practice more!!!> I lost a squirrel trying to get it and although I hit it and it did the roll, it ran off on me and I never did find it!

I have time today, I'm going to go get my pop bottles gathered up here and go practice in the next 20 minutes. I'll let you know how I do. Thank you for your responses. I know it's my first year and am finding out that they are difficult to hunt! I love it though even if I don't get anything... just being in the woods has been a blessing that has far outweighed my unsuccessful squirrel hunting abilities thus far! :D Spending time in the woods is something I'd of never thought about doing before! It's addictive though.

I get to go on Monday for deer! EEEEP! Talk about being excited! :barmy: