Well I was in my turkey blind this afternoon when a grey squirrel wondered in to 8 yards, and stood up looking at me like a ground hog. I grabbed my judo point arrow and came to full draw and released. I watched the arrow hit the squirrel square in the chest, nocking him backwards 3 or 4 feet then he jumped around before climbing a tree. I shoot VPA SGT heads in 150 gr. This is the second time I have shot a squirrel and hit it but not kill it. What small game heads do you guys use?
RFA Talon. Whicked little head!! Great service too.
AAAHHH ya just need more bow :biglaugh:
Talon or Ace Hexhead! Thing is, those squirrels are tough!
You say you grabbed a judo point and shot that. Then you mentioned you shoot VPA SGT heads. Forgive me, but did you hit the squirrel with the judo or the VPA?
If you shot him with the judo and he still ran up a tree, I've had the same thing happen before. I quit using judos on squirrels. Quite a few guys use old broadheads if they're on the ground since they are such tough skinned critters. But I wouldn't suggest that if they're up a tree.
If you shot that squirrel with a VPA SGT and hit him square in the chest, he should have been dead. Them things really pack a punch.
Wait till one runs up a tree with your judo (arrow connected). 58# longbow! Perhaps a 2 blade broadhead.
I killed a half dozen or so grouse this fall with Ace Hex heads. Worked great. I think the narrowness packs a wallop. Didn't lose any arrows, they all flew straight up in the air like they're supposed to, but I did bury one in a stump and had a helluva time getting it out. I like it but I think it will punch a hole in rabbits. Hope to see in the morning.
I'm looking at the Hammer from 3R, too. I like the look of the SGT heads but they seem light. I like 175 gr. so I'd have to do brass inserts or something.
PaddyMac, VPA SGT screw in's go up to 300 grain and our glue on's go up to 250. We make both in 175 grain too.
:thumbsup:
Both the Hammer and the SGT's pack a heck of a punch on small game. I imagine the Ace Hex heads do too. Judo points are awesome for stump shooting, but all of my small game hunting is done with the newer designed heads like the SGT's and Hammers.
A wheelie buddy of mine nailed a squirrel the other day at 15yds with a bow that shoots well over 300fps with a judo point. The squirrel ran around in circles quickly four or five times very upset and then climbed a small tree and then ran into a hollow log under his stand that we tried hard to get into. No squirrel stew for us. Tough little dudes.
Try a G5 SGH
To clearify I shot him with a SGT with the same bow I shot my first deer with yesterday.
I use ACE Hexheads. They always penetrate but that doesent always stop the squirrel. Had a few take off with me arrows.
QuoteOriginally posted by kykiller:
To clearify I shot him with a SGT with the same bow I shot my first deer with yesterday.
Gotcha. I'm surprised that SGT didn't do the trick. Congrats on your first deer by the way!
I've used broadheads...i, too, have hit squirrels with judos only to have them run off seemingly unscathed. OTOH...I've hit them with HTM blunts and blown them apart (insides)...go figure.
Zwickey deltas.
I'm trying out the hammer head from 3 rivers devastating on rabbits. Heading out tomorrow night to hunt possums to see how well they work on tough skinned small game.
good post... never thought a squirrel could survive any kind of hit. I'm heading out today with 150 gr Eagle Talons.
I use the Hammer, they work great. Some use field points with an adder behind them.
I think I will try these heads again on rabbits next weekend. I've still back and forth on a squirrl head, maybe just pick up some old broadheads.
David here is what I use. Not sure where to get them I have had them forever and I can't even remember where I got them.
(http://i.imgur.com/lrQLF.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/f9TzM.jpg)
Of course I usually shoot at squirrels from an elevated position so not worried about arrow skipping off and out of my life. If you hit one in the chest with this setup I promise it will be ugly. Another benefit is these things have to be very inexpensive. Heck with your skills I would say you could even get some aluminum and make your own.
Bodkin broadheads are inexpensive. I've dubbed the tips of them and used those also. TJ, is that called the Adder?
I use the hammer also. It will flat ruin a rabbit or squirrels day.
Shot one with a field point and carbon shaft. Then it climbed the tree with my arrow. luckily it got hung up, giving me two more shots to bring it down. Lost those two arrows.
QuoteOriginally posted by owlbait:
Bodkin broadheads are inexpensive. I've dubbed the tips of them and used those also. TJ, is that called the Adder? [/QUOTE
If my memory serves me correctly I believe you are right Mike.
If you were to see the other side of this guy it was a mess. He never flinched after it hit him.
(http://i.imgur.com/Qvr4m.jpg)
My son hunts small game a LOT and he uses VPA's SGT. Last Saturday he took home three rabbits and two squirrels using the SGT -- great head!
There was a good post recently last month in the Pow Wow section, titled squirrel hunting started by TxAg. Do a search you'll find it. On page 3 of the post Jerry Jeffer posted picture of his home made small game head. Since then I have copied his small game head and have killed several squirrels with that head. I was looking for a heavier head so it would bring a higher kinetic energy upon impact on squirrels because they are very tough and will take a hard shot and escape.
Hmmm... interesting... I use a variety of small game heads too but with just rubber blunts I have killed grouse, ducks, and snowshoe hares.
Never shot at a grey squirrel though... we don't have them.
QuoteOriginally posted by PaddyMac:
I killed a half dozen or so grouse this fall with Ace Hex heads. Worked great. I think the narrowness packs a wallop. Didn't lose any arrows, they all flew straight up in the air like they're supposed to, but I did bury one in a stump and had a helluva time getting it out. I like it but I think it will punch a hole in rabbits. Hope to see in the morning.
I'm looking at the Hammer from 3R, too. I like the look of the SGT heads but they seem light. I like 175 gr. so I'd have to do brass inserts or something.
I had the same experience with Hex Heads and grouse -- absolutely devastating, and they don't skip off on a less-than-center hit. With respect to rabbits, they're all I use. I haven't seen a rabbit yet that will stop a Hex head...or survive a hit from one.
kykiller,
I designed the Talon small game head to give you a little bit of both the shock you get with a blunt with the a cutting edge so often needed to cleanly kill small game. The head came about after literally taking hundreds of nutria, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, etc. Small game hunting is probably my favorite thing to do with a bow and arrow and I've used every single type of head available to take them.
There are a couple of points I think are important to make. One is that the right head for you will depend largely on what you're after and what your set up is. There is a world of difference between what a HTM rubber blunt will do from a heavy weight hunting bow and arrow and what it'll do from a 40 pound bow and lighter arrows. Take into account what you're hunting and what your setup is when choosing your small game head.
Another, and I think this is the most critical, is shot placement. My experience having hunted small game with lots of people is that there is an expectation for a head to kill on impact, regardless of shot placement. I think this is because the animals are small, and ocassionally, when shot placement is right on, we do get DOA shots.
The most common shot placement that I made when I first started hunting, and often see people that I take out for the first time, is to shoot center mass. The targets are small and the natural tendency seems to be shooting right for the center. This results in gut shots and longer recoveries. It's hard, I think, but you can train yourself to shoot for a shoulder crease, just like you do with deer. Others prefer head shots for small game. I know that concentrating on shot placement made my shooting at small game get significantly better, and my recovery rate go way up.
Congrats on your first deer!
I would use an old broadhead for squirrels on the ground or a blunt like the Hammer for them in trees.
i used heads similar to tj and the muzzy grasshoppers. but hunting anything other than rabbits i use old broad-heads.
This is the 5G SGH. only problem is, too lite, had to add 100gr brass insert to add punch. makes a wicked kill though.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/jjeffer/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG00992-20120120-2010.jpg)
I hit one square on with a judo. That sucker ran up a tree probably 20 yards from me, looked right at me and barked and whined for what seemed like an hour. Didnt want to waist a good broadhead or I'd shot at him again. Them little boogers are tough. Looks like Im gonna have to get me some of them talons. :0)
Jason
I have been using 9mm casings on target points. Then I cut an X on the end with a hack saw. A blunt that packs energy and holds in grass and brush without burying itself too far. I usually shoot 125, but I start with a 100 grain target point and this boosts it up to about 150 grins. I hit a bunny last weekend and that head shot bulged both his eyes from the sockets. Cheap,as when I am done small game, I just pull em off and apply the 125's
I have lost too many judo and hex heads, so this is economical. Those $4 heads hit the wallet hard when hunting in wild roses thickets
I just bought some 200gr. VPA SGT heads and plan on seeing what they will do to a rabbit and maybe a squirrel next weekend. I'll have to get back to you on what I find out.
Root canal via RFA Talon small game head and a St. Joe River longbow. :eek:
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/Harvests/001.jpg)
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/Harvests/002.jpg)
On a whim I tried something new this year. I ground down the tips of some standard 190 grain field points a bit, and then I sharpened them with a file like mini-broadheads. They took less than five minutes each to make, and I've had complete pass throughs on all three squirrels I've taken so far this year.
I've had squirrels take off after being hit with blunts and fieldpoints, and the old broadheads I've been using do too much damage to small grey squirrels. But these little 'Hawken Heads' I've whipped up have been the perfect solution for me.
For ground shots, the arrow passes through and stops when it hits the ground, leaving the squirrels skewered so they can't run far or climb a tree before they expire.
(http://www.sthubertsrangers.org/HH%20RH%20SQUIRREL%2011%20C.jpg)
I've taken a basket full of big fox and gray squirrels using VPA SGTs in 250 and 300gr weight. Any reasonably solid hit and they were DEAD.
(Note: Press your F5 key to refresh the page if the photo fails to download.)
(http://logsdonstudios.com/SGTsquirrel.jpg)
I've had great success using the VPA Small Game Thumpers this past fall...
This one was with a 125gr. SGT on a 129gr. steel adapter...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame101.jpg)
As you can see this one was with 250gr. SGT...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame102.jpg)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame103.jpg)
More with the 125/125gr. combo...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame104.jpg)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame105.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/smallgame106.JPG)
Only thing I can figure on your shot was maybe the hit wasn't where it appeared. A solid chest hit, and they won't get away...
I make my own, check out the link to see how very easy to make and effective on small game.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=112736;p=1#000000
I really like the VPAs. If a Thumper won't get the job done, it's probably a zombie squirrel. In that case, only a direct head shot will stop them.
(http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.169819550.jpg)
AHAHAHAHAH!!!!! LOL That is way too funny!! :bigsmyl:
Some nice pics getting put up. :cool:
"zombie squirrel"??? So that's what they're called?
This is what I use Self made blunt and an adder.We have zombie ground squirrels out here.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/arrow2135-1.jpg)