# Squirrel hunting failure story and a question



## squirrel squasher (May 17, 2013)

On Suday I went hunting with my friend. He has a large nature preserve next to his house, but it is right next to a busy road and many people hike out there, so we did not want to bring the pellet guns. I brought an extra slingshot, and he was imediatly a good shoot because of his bow skills. So we went through the woods stoping at some places, but the squirrels were not active due to it being 20 degress farenhite(the slingshots were in our coat pockets to keep the bands warm) and cloudy. We saw three squirrels, but they were all were running before we spoted them, and they disipeared. Then the fourth squirrel was up in a tree, a large oak, about 70 or 80 feet up. So I took about five shots, but missed by inches on them all.(I have been shooting at a close range in the basement due to cold weather and I have never really shot this far). Then I told my friend to take some shots, but his bands slipped of so I switched slingshots. I then went to rety the bands onto the fork, and he said that the squirrel was hit on the back, and that it was slowely coming down. I did not witness the hit so it may have been a tall tale, but the squirrel started to come down, and then it jumped to another tree and scurried out of site.

My question is what caused the squirrel to stay alive. Was it the cold wether reactinng with the bands, or the distance of the shot or a combination of both. I was using 7/16 steel, and tbg cut 1 inch to 3/4 inch taper with an active length of six inches and a half inches and a maximum strech of the bands.

all help is apprciated thankyou in advance


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

A misplaced shot is what kept the squirrel alive, though it's possibly injured. If you're not used to shooting at a distance, don't start with living targets. Also, hunting on a nature preserve? C'mon...it's not pictures of clean kills that's going to excite the activists into letters to legislators, it's this sh¡t.


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## August West (Jan 21, 2012)

Squirrels are hella tough and only a solid headshot or spine shot will bring them down and if it is a spine shot they will have to be finished when they are on the ground. 7/16 steel is a little on the light side for squirrels imo.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I would essentially agree with most comments above. Shot placement is crucial. And I would use heavier ammo ... 1/2 inch steel or .44 lead. Probably the temperature had something to do with it ... if you took 5 shots and then passed the slingshot on to your buddy, the bands had ample time to cool. Sounds like the squirrel just got tired of you guys sniping at it and decided to buzz off.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

they are tough i have shot them and they have had bird shot in them from some one else hunt.


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

If you can't hit something the size of your thumb at... well, any distance really. You might want to hold off on squashing squirrels until you can. Jus' Sayin'.


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## oldstevie (Dec 7, 2013)

i,m not saying that the squirrel wasn,t hit but i,ve foung that sometimes after a few missed shots they come down or even leap from the tree onto the ground then run off to another tree.

i,ve no idea why they do this when it would be more logical to go up higher.

not a great strategy especialy with dogs waiting for them.


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## Clever Moniker (May 12, 2013)

@ TT, I don't think he was hunting in the nature preserve, just that it was adjacent is all. At least that's how I took it.

I have taken quite a few squirrels, and August is right. When he says their tough, that might be an understatement.

With lead you can hit the vitals and quickly dispatch when he hits the ground if necessary, but I have found steel is simply ineffective unless you can get a headshot. Since you knew the squirrel was a bit out of your range, and only had steel... I may have held off on the shot. Nothing wrong with being patient and waiting for the shot where you know you will take him. 

Cheers,

Clever Moniker


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

when they come down they know its harder to hit them in the brush i have had them jump out of trees 60 plus feet and run off


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## squirrel squasher (May 17, 2013)

All advice has been taken into acount. I will deffinetly wait for the skills to come before I start those long shots again. I said I was hunting on a nature preserve, but in reality it was just a public park with woods and trails. This hunting with a slingshot is really a new thing for me. I have hunted squirrels with my rifles and pellet guns, and it is much easier. I think that the slingshot will have its back up gun for those long range shots next time I go out.


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