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Squirrel hunting troubles?
I'm having squirrel hunting troubles. I hunt in my woods behind my house. I hunt with a Benjamin superstreak .22 airgun. My scope is a little messed up. But it's sighted in. But it shoots in a 3 inch area at 35 yards. It's sighted In as close as I could get it. When I hunt, I lay down in the middle of a bundle of bushes. I have a bipod. I don't have any camo so I just where an old dark blue jacket. I see squirrels 80-100 yards away but I think there out of range. I usually hunt an hour before dark and on the weekends I hunt in the mornings and before dark. So if any one could help me out, that would be great.
Simon,
I have solo hunted Pine, Gray, Red and Tassel Eared squirrels in various parts of the US and I have never heard of a squirrel hunter with a bi-pod. In my younger days I preferred a .22 rifle with a 4 power scope, and did my best to make head shots, but as I got older and less patient I just shotgun them with a .410 bore.
I have used camouflage, but have found that blue jeans and a solid colored shirt in brown, or green works just as well. Squirrel hunting is about stalking and waiting, so just having an hour can hamper you. First you need to see where they are feeding. Where I live now in Arkansas the acorns have been dropping for a while now, and the pecans are just starting to ripen. This time of year they like to raid the trees between 8 and 10 in the morning, unless it gets real cold then they will wait for it to warm up. They are also active in the evening, but not as much. You need to find yourself a call, the simple one with a plunger on one end you can tap against your thigh is just fine. Then learn to mimic their chatter. I have learned to do this with my mouth and can get one to come see what's going on. If you learn their chatter when they are confronting one another (rapid barking), it is even better. Just like kids on the playground they scramble to see if there is going to be a fight. They are very curious animals.
Squirrel hunting is a game of patience. They will usually see you first and move to the backside of a tree where you can't see them and this is why some people hunt in 2 man teams or with a dog. It is to cover both sides of the trees. When you walk quietly into a feeding area you need to get against a tree and just freeze. If there are any behind the trees you have to wait them out. They will eventually get curious as to where you went and come out to look. You need to remain perfectly still and if you have to move make it slow. They seem to pick up on quick movements the best. I have shot one, picked it up and moved a few feet and froze in place and then shot a second one who had come to see what was going on.
Like I have said you need to learn the woods and how to move and stalk. You have to be willing to stay still for a half hour or more. If you have a call you can actually hear them moving closer to you, so there are advantages. Get near trees that bear nuts and/or a water source if you are going to lay in ambush. It is harder to hunt them here right now because there are still some grumpy Copperhead snakes around, so you have to look up in the trees and watch where you walk all at once. Be safe out there.
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