The Great Squirrel Hunting Thread

two4hooking · September 14, 2015, 04:39:00 PM

My deer hunt got rained out here Saturday so I turned lemons into lemonade and hunted squirrels instead.

Got lucky enough to anchor this fine specimen with a blunt while I was moving through the woods. I barely missed one earlier with my broadhead from the tree...man I love taking squirrels with the bow.

Part of the reason I carry so many arrows when deer hunting.

Let's talk all things squirrel!

two4hooking · September 14, 2015, 04:45:00 PM

I have shot them with just about every head including modified field points, .38 shell hulls with a nail in the end, ones with sharpened banding steel, blunts and braodheads and they are tough customers no matter what you hit them with. I shot one last year completely through the body with a ace standard that broke off behind the point on a rock after going through the squirrel. Dang fella managed to crawl off my arrow and run away down a hole before I got my climber down to the bottom of the tree.

I think if you can constantly kill squirrels with the bow deer are no trouble at all. The only practice better than stump shooting I think!

two4hooking · September 14, 2015, 04:53:00 PM

Man O Man!

two4hooking · September 14, 2015, 04:58:00 PM

Some of my past squirrel head projects....

tomsm44 · September 14, 2015, 07:44:00 PM

Looks like a fun thread. I'm planning on trying my hand at squirrel huntin with my longbow this year. I've read how tough they are to kill, so I tried to come up with something for maximum squirrel destruction. Hopefully I'll get to test them this year. Here's the before and after of what I came up with.

frank bullitt · September 14, 2015, 08:49:00 PM

Hey Greg, I agree, squirrels are it!

Shot my first of the season last saturday!

Storms were all around with lightning, dead still and nothing making a sound!

Then I heard cutting close buy. I moved closer to the sound and then here he came bouncing thru the limbs to check me out!

Started barking, then shortly settled back to knawing on the walnut.

I slowly moved on down the trail past him, checking, and looking for a shot. Hoping to get the big catalpa tree directly in line with the shot. I made it about 10 yards past and he was still occupied with his meal.

I found the setup and made slight adjustments, he was about 20 ft. up.

Drew back the Bear Grizzly, shooting a pine, 635 gr. shaft with a field 160 gr. field pt.

A quiet shot, thru the arm pit and down he came! He's now in my daughter's freezer!

Bernie B. · September 14, 2015, 08:59:00 PM

Nice sequence of pictures two4hooking! Great shot on a tough little target!

Bernie

achigan · September 14, 2015, 09:00:00 PM

Last year I hit four, two with judos, two with broadheads and recovered none until the fifth.

[/url] [/IMG]
I gave it to the couple who let me hunt their land. She is old school and really likes the tree rats. My first shot with my new Thunderchild this year drew blood, but it got back to its den :(

Chumster · September 14, 2015, 09:39:00 PM

Just need a couple more for the crock pot.

[

Terry Green · September 14, 2015, 09:46:00 PM

Nice thread.....I need to take time to start shooting them....been a while since I've eaten one....bet my Treager grill would really make them even tastier.

CoachBGriff · September 14, 2015, 11:33:00 PM

two4hooking

That looks like a darn fine evening... squirrel, a brew, and a little traditional bowhunter!

I had one last year that I knocked off a branch from a tree with my hex blunts. He was 10 feet up, and he hit the ground with a thud! Suddenly, he shook to life and headed for his home tree.

I couldn't believe he survived it all.

Charlie Lamb · September 15, 2015, 12:09:00 AM

Archie · September 15, 2015, 01:08:00 AM

Great pics, Charlie!

And this thread makes me want to get out and hunt some squirrels!

September 15, 2015, 01:17:00 AM

My wife and I when out for squirrel this weekend. Never even saw one, we did get a few doves, they were everywhere, so were the mosquitoes in the trees.

two4hooking · September 15, 2015, 08:18:00 AM

Now we are talking! Love that old black and white photo of the squirrel falling Charlie!

Here are a few from past seasons.

Roger Norris · September 15, 2015, 09:42:00 AM

No joke....I would rather eat squirrels than anything else in the woods.

wooddamon1 · September 15, 2015, 10:35:00 AM

That's it, I'm hitting the woods this evening. The fried squirrel pics got me. It is the opener after all...

two4hooking · September 15, 2015, 01:55:00 PM

Even notice the spots that have lots of squirrel also have lots of deer activity....

Doc Nock · September 15, 2015, 03:11:00 PM

Anyone have a GOOD squirrel skinning process? I have seen the vids of cutting across the vent/tail and standing on the tail and pulling the legs... with Northern winter squirrels (thick hide I guess) all I got was a ripped off hing "quarter"! :(

I've tried it several times and always had dismal results so I don't shoot them perishers...

That and the hair gets all over the meat! Nasty!

Flavor wise, better then rabbit which I like a lot!

tomsm44 · September 15, 2015, 03:19:00 PM

I use a little hanger made just for that. Can't remember where it came from. You hang them by the back legs and start the way you said, by cutting under the tail, then pulling the skin downward. You'll sometimes have to cut the skin around under the belly to keep from tearing the tougher ones in half. He'll be left with just a pair of pants on. Flip him around and the hanger has another notch that his neck fits in so you can take his pants off. I've seen people do it alone using their hands and feet, but I never could. A small sharp knife helps a lot. Don't know your age, but a grandson makes a pretty good hanger as well. I learned by holding them for both of my grandfathers and will probably start letting my son help me some this year.