What kind of arrows and bows are the best for having fun killin some squirrels
See you are already doing it.
Great place to start is on squirrels. You have to buy a bow first and then we can help you with the arrows. There are things about you and your bow that we will all need to know so we can help you with arrows. You want a bow that is the lowest weight allowed by law to hunt with in Indy. That is what you will have to start with to be able to learn how to shoot. You can always add weight later.
Three Rivers Archery is a sponsor of this site and they are in Indy. If you drive over there they will be able to help you a lot. I don't know the store hours so you will need to call.
Hunting bow setup should work. Several small game head options. I wouldn't know about killing a squirrel, but having fun chasing them this is how we do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl34IHMLN04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncnZKDsMQoI
Rubber blunts. What goes up must come down.
I am thinking carbon arrows and no shots into the trees unless you are rich. If you are going to go with flu flu arrows I would look at Gurus tutorial in the how to section. I have some wooden 3 fletch flu flus and they go a long way. I would think Gurus way they would not go as far. I try to get as close as I can I like 10 yards or closer because those squirels can dodge an arrow at 240 fps at 10 yards if they want to, I know. treestands work well and you don't lose any arrows but it is much more fun to stalk them
Ramin Dowel Arrows! Not Out Much $$ If Ya Lose It!!!
My step dad has a 45# recurve I mess with and one of his buds let me use his recurve but it takes all I got to pull it back
I need to find some heat seeking arrows for shooting squierrels. I've shot at 6 this year and haven't conected yet.
I have a flu flu and a regular arrow in my quiver with hex heads on them. Both are carbons that I have footed for max toughness. If the squierrel is in the tree I pull out the flu flu and the reg arrows is if it's on the ground.
The bow would be whatever you can shoot well enough. The killin takes a real good shot; wound it and the chase is on..not fun.
Arrows...well, I have no vote for best. However, most often I use aluminums...regular fletch with a steel blunt for the "long" shots, and flu flu's with different blunts for either on the ground or up a tree. The flu flu's I use are heavily fletched and do not travel out of sight. Rick.
Ah...I think the picture is a bit clearer, and you can correct me if I'm wrong.
Just about any bow is capable of taking a squirrel...and just as capable of wounding one. It is placement of the shot that makes the difference.
You said you'd been messing with a 45# recurve...can you shoot it well? Shooting so that you can group your arrows can be fun...and very rewarding. I spent a lot of time learning to shoot before I started hunting and if I had to do it again, I would...it's something that lasts a lifetime.
You definitely should check your state's game laws before beginning to hunt. Abiding those laws is the best insurance any of us have to be able to continue hunting in the future. FYI, in my state you need a 40# bow @ 28" to hunt big game. There is no restriction on bow weight for small game. So, a novice archer who can shoot a lighter bow...that they probably should be shooting, anyhow...still has the opportunity to hunt for small game.
I hope you will give the matter a little more thought and your archery more practice. Practice is what is what many of us do the most. Take Care, Rick.
Sounds good so far. I just got another squirrel this morning. This one wasn't my best shot though, and it took a follow on arrow. Not a lot of fun to watch for a few seconds. As mentioned, shot placement is key. Pick a spot on the head. If you shoot low, it's still in the vitals. If you're high, no harm done. Use a point of some sort that penetrates (field point, old broadhead, etc) unless you can get a shot where the squirrel is pasted up against a tree or rock. They are AMAZINGLY tough critters and even a steel blunt is likely to just roll them if there isn't a solid backstop behind to make them take the full force of it. Keep a blunt or two in the quiver for shots like that though if you want.
Anyway, that's my tidbit. Great fun to hunt, but try and get close and shoot tight. They are cool little guys and have always been probably my single favorite hunt, even long before I bow hunted. Tasty too.
Squirrles are tough little buggers! You dont need a heavy bow. I use my bows that I hunt whitetails/ big game with . I bought these small game heads from Ted@Raptor (he is a sponsor here) and they really seem to knock the wind out of them!
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/frassettor/DSC00610.jpg)
(http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/frassettor/DSC00611.jpg)
Dave
Those videos of you, your daughter and your best friend are just wonderful. You taking your daughter out with you like that says a lot about what kind of man you are. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
i use flu flu with allen broadheads/ 40# bow is my fave for this / please don't use field tips or blunts or judo points/ they kill but it takes a long time and its pretty grusome to watch, the allen is inexpensive and will kill a squirrel quick / i sliced one shoulder to hip this morning dead in a sec.i had a complete passthrough with a field point earlier this week / omg was awful / squeeling / growling wreathing and still scampered up tree
Old broadhead and a pop-up ground blind. Even if it is set up just an hour earlier, the squirrels will run right past!
I like to spot and stalk them in rain or windy conditions. Shot this one this week just before the big cold front came crashing through. He was stone dead as soon as the 250 grain "Small Game Thumper" hit him. This is the best squirrel head I've ever used. Thye guys who make the Terminator broadhead also makes the SGT.
(http://brothersofthebow.com/SGTsquirrel.jpg)
I like to use my hunting set up as far as my bow, keeps me in good practice. I use old arrows that are spined close or my hunting arrow work great. I like to use judos or old broadheads. If shooting high in a tree I like flu flus. For judos I genrally go for head shoots but if you miss the barbs work almost like broadheads doing lots of damage for quick kills. This is a judo kill to the head,instant kill. (http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/barebow13/IMG_0114.jpg)
Hey Gray where did you get the SGT at?
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/oldvideos/Squirrels.wmv
I shoot them with arrows setup to fly the same as what I deer hunt with.
Buff I want to hunt squirrels with ya! Love the video. Actually, all your videos! :thumbsup:
Alot of you folks are saying Squirrels are hard to kill if hit poorly. I'm guessing that these are not the Red Squirrels I chase in Alberta. These little fellas are about as tough as a day old kitten. I have killed them with everything from judos, fieldpoints, rubber blunts, broadheads, a wad of duck tape on the end of a cracked carbon arrow, and even once with a clod of dirt. Any of these attached to all types of arrows have killed Squirrels for me, and every hit was lethal whether it hit the hind quarters, chest, or head. No Squirrels have been lost, and the only one requiring a second arrow took a hit it the arse while sitting on a branch. He fell to the ground and with both hind legs busted it was easy to administer the second arrow. All that being said I will confess that they are very difficult targets capable of stunts that put the Matrix movies to shame. Because of this I prefer to use my regular hunting arrows simply because they are faster than flu-flus and harder for the Squirrel to dodge. My favorite head is a rubber blunt since it has alot of surface area and will not snag up in tree branches like a judo will. I try to shoot at Squirrels when they have branches behind them so that if I miss my arrow will usually bounce off these allowing me to recover it.
I agree. The squirrels I've hunted have been hard to hit, but once hit, they were pretty much dead. There's been squirrels that I didn't think I even hit that fell outta the tree dead. I have had to use two arrows before because the first was a bad hit to the bum (just like yours) I took care of it pretty quickly though and put an arrow clean through his chest. I use normal steel blunts. They work fine.
Justin,
It sounds like you have pine squirrels up there. I see a lot of them in Wisconsin, but can't hunt them in that state. They're about half the size of a gray squirrel, which is about half the size of a fox squirrel.
Yup your probably right Mr Wesbrock as I can't say I have ever heard of a Gray Squirrel or Fox Squirrel. How big are they? I have heard of a Squirrel in the south of my province that is almost black and about the size of a Rabbit, are they a Fox or Grey or something else entirely?
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/drewsbow/hdycvcvrccv021.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/drewsbow/hdycvcvrccv015.jpg)
I shot these with hex blunts and hammer heads although it shows a feild point used as a finisher. Any bow and arrow combo will do and cheap wood arrows are a good way to start . Drew
QuoteOriginally posted by Justin Black:
These little fellas are about as tough as a day old kitten.
Now thats funny right there :biglaugh:
Justin,
the "black ones the size of a rabbit" sound like the black-phase of fox squirrel. Quite a bit tougher than the small red-squirrels and quite tasty.
Here, we have the red's, gray's, and fox squirrels with an occasional all black fox . I leave the reds alone---just not worth it with much bigger squirrels around.
Ben
Man I wish we had some of these Fox Squirrels in Northern Alberta. The Reds ain't that great for eating and it takes a bushel of em to make a meal. And there is the fact that I seem to loose about 1 arrow per Squirrel since the little Red buggers are almost never on the ground. All you folks mention stalking Gray and Fox so I am figuring they must spend some time in the dirt.
We have fox squirrels here as big as house cats 8^). They will take your arrow and break it over their knee if you don't hit them good.
Cat size tree rats with attitude! Sounds like a blast!
i guess the squirrels in Indiana are tougher because i shot a black squirrel twice with a bunny buster once in the shoulder and the second in the head and both did not kill it hurt the crap out of it but did not kill it. I ended up killing it with my Third shot with a field point. I felt bad cus i shot it so many times with out killing it.
Capitalization and punctuation....the gift that keeps on giving. :bigsmyl:
I guess the squirrels in Indiana are tougher because I shot a black squirrel twice with a Bunny Buster, once in the shoulder, and the second in the head, and both did not kill it; hurt the crap out of it but did not kill it. I ended up killing it with my third shot with a field point. I felt bad because I shot it so many times without killing it.
QuoteOriginally posted by George D. Stout:
Capitalization and punctuation....the gift that keeps on giving. :bigsmyl:
I guess the squirrels in Indiana are tougher because I shot a black squirrel twice with a Bunny Buster, once in the shoulder, and the second in the head, and both did not kill it; hurt the crap out of it but did not kill it. I ended up killing it with my third shot with a field point. I felt bad because I shot it so many times without killing it.
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
At least his spelling has gotten better! :thumbsup:
(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w266/MGERARDI_2007/cameraphone025.jpg) (http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w266/MGERARDI_2007/cameraphone007.jpg)
Anything you can get your hands on!
Yesterday i lost an arrow shooting at a squrriel. i only had 3 arrows and 1 was broke and the other is a good broadhead .. the other is gone. the squrriel left the tree when i went to get the 22
TTT we go post ur stuff on squirrels