Yesterday, I got out and scouted some new territory for tree squirrel hunting. One of the things I like to do while scouting, is to take along an air rifle I plan to hunt with, and just shoot targets of opportunity. Sort of a tune up for the squirrel hunts to come.
There is a big difference between hunting prairie dogs and tree squirrels. Prairie dogs, my main pursuit here lately, are shot over fairly flat ground. Tree squirrels present shots that can be uphill, down hill, straight ahead, or at really steep angles up in the pine trees.
As a tune up, I'll scout an area, and at the same time shoot at pine cones on the ground, in the trees, small rocks, and dirt clods about the size of squirrel heads, etc. I'll shoot at stuff from about 30 yards out to 60 or so, paying particular attention to the hold under and overs.
Chipmunks, and Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels also inhabit these same forest areas. They are classified as vermin, with no limit or season. Hunting them while scouting, is also good practice for the coming tree squirrel season.
So yesterday, while I'm out scouting around, I spot an old downed log, that has little pieces of broken off branches sticking out about 5 or 6 inches from the side of the tree. They're about the same size as a tree squirrel sitting on its haunches. I decided to pick one and see if I can start at the tip, and shoot pieces off of it until it is about flush with the trunk. Shooting at the tip is good practice for making head shots.
It's at exactly 50 yards. I'm sighted in dead on at that distance. As usual, I'm shooting off of my Stoney Point bipod, so I go to work on this thing. There is a slight wind shifting from left to right and back. I'm holding off a bit in either direction, depending on what the wind is doing during that particular shot.
Chunks and bits and pieces are flying left and right. I shoot one mag out of my AA 410CRBSL at it, but there are still a few jagged pieces left, so I slide in another mag and go back to work. I'm shooting 15.9 JSB Exact Jumbo's.
I'm happily knocking pieces off of this thing, enjoying the accuracy of the rifle, when to my amazement, out of nowhere, a chipmunk appears on the log, six inches to the left of the little nub of a branch I've been disassembling. I figure what the heck, you can't look a gift chipmunk in the nose, or what ever that saying is, so I put the crosshairs right between it's front legs and launched a pellet. I never knew chipmunks could fly, let alone fly backwards, but that guy launched like an RPG.
I saw a good amount of tree squirrel sign in the area, and several more chipmunks, but never got another shot. They have got to be the most nervous, flitty, gitty critters on the planet. I'm sure they're told at a young age, "don't ever stop moving, something will git ya". That guy yesterday, proved that advice to be very true.
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