# First Squirrel



## Thumper (Jun 8, 2012)

Havn't been out hunting for a while as I've been spending time getting into traditional archery and bowmaking but decided to try the last two hours of daylight in the woods with the slingshot.

Setting up next to what looked like a drey seemed a likely spot but nothing moved for an hour and a half ,a few wood pigeons came into roost but nowhere near me and the only other interest was seeing a small fox cub out hunting as the light faded. 

 Suddenly shaking leaves to my right announced a squirrel, skipping through the top branches and heading for the drey, pausing briefly I clean missed him but he didn't hang around for a second shot. Thinking that would be my only chance I felt a bit despondant but decided to give it five more minutes.

Almost immediately another squirrel appeared to my side again heading for the drey. I tracked this one but he did'nt stop and went straight in. By now I wasn't just despondant but seriously unhappy when unbelievably he came out again, ran higher up the tree and stopped.

 At the shot I knew I'd hit him but he climbed another 2ft and sat rocking on a branch. Fumbling in my pocket with shaking hands for more ammo the next shot sent him tumbling down. Not quite dead he managed to give my hand a nasty scratch with his back legs (fair enough) before he went in the bag.

Despite this I was so elated to have got one and with the adrenaline going did'nt even feel the pain till I got home and put him in the freezer.

A great little hunt. 

Slingshot-natural ash fork.
Bands-single theraband gold 30mm tapering to 25mm 8.5" long.
Ammo-11mm ballbearing.
Range-7meters.
Place-Cornwall UK.


----------



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

A delightful tale (and tail!) with a happy ending for you. Thanks for posting this account ... made me feel I was right there with you. Enjoy that squirrel!

Cheers ...... Charles


----------



## SonoftheRepublic (Jul 3, 2011)

Nice story and good shooting! Squirrels can be quite a challenge for the slingshot hunter and are tough little buggers to bring down! . . . a tale to be proud of.

How will you prepare him?


----------



## reecemurg (Oct 9, 2011)

nice mate !!
got a squirrel yesterday with a 10mm lead and double tbg 20mm-15mm 
he was about 30ft straight up !!

i know what you mean about them being tuff ! my first shot downed him , even after the 30ft fall he was still kicking ,,

great account mate !!
and nice shot !!!


----------



## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

nice kill .


----------



## Hopsturgeon (Sep 2, 2012)

Well done! A mentor of mine told me this about slingshot hunting squirrels: "In the world of slingshot hunting, a Rabbit is to a Whitetail Deer as a squirrel is to a Cape Buffalo. I have hit a ton of them with a slingshot that live to this day. Again, well done and good shooting. Hop


----------



## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing and well done.


----------



## Thumper (Jun 8, 2012)

Thank you all for the encouraging comments.
sonoftherepublic,I will probably just fry him.

Yesterday I saw the strangest thing in my back garden. A stoat appeared on the lawn and began racing around randomly, rolling over, jumping and generally behaving like it was mad! A sparrow was watching it transfixed from the branch of a low bush and at one point the stoat got to within 2 ft of it, jumped up tried to grab it but missed at which point the sparrow flew away.
Anybody seen anything similar?


----------



## Tinbum (Sep 10, 2012)

The trick with squirrel hunting is to have two shooters to surround the tree/drey. A shot into the drey will bring them out, but theyll sit tight if they can't see a clear escape route. Having a shooter either side means a shot will be presented most of the time.

God I love the autumn!


----------



## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

great shooting congrats, i have not managed to shoot many with a slingshot, i tend to stick to the rabbits as there are a tonne of them on the estate where i shoot.


----------



## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

next time give him another before you decide to pick him up. they are notoriously tough creatures.


----------



## philibone (Apr 24, 2012)

stoats mesmerize their prey


----------



## danmakesshooters (Oct 6, 2012)

Do you hunt on public or private land? I'm finding it difficult to find somewhere suitable


----------



## Thumper (Jun 8, 2012)

Danmakesshooters.

I hunt on private land but I can sympathise with your problem.
Over the years I have lost farm's that have changed hands and it is something that you never really get over!

My advice would be to find a farmer that has a problem with pests, (pigeons feeding on oilseed rape) or rats on pig farms etc.
Also sheep farmers generally do not like crows, particularly at lambing time.

When you ask for permission it is sometimes best to just ask for a 'day' as then the farmer is not commited to giving full permission but you may get this in time.
Best of luck.


----------



## danmakesshooters (Oct 6, 2012)

thats great help, thanks


----------



## Longtang (Oct 12, 2012)

Dear musters: I hav been searching for the answer, but hav not found the answer to my question. I kno that when hunting tree squirrels, use a cutting call is gd.

But how about hunting ground squirrels? I see the ground squirrels there. I plan to use a ghillie suit. But my approach ..... Does it require that I hav the wind to my face? Can they scent you and run? When hunting frm the ground, do I hav to hav wind to my face? Is it what I nd to do?

Thx!

Ground.


----------



## reecemurg (Oct 9, 2011)

Generaly wind blowing in your face is a good idea .. It carries your scent away and also carries any small sounds you make away from the prey


----------



## Jim Williams (Jul 6, 2011)

Great shooting Thumper, have you tried using double theraband gold?


----------



## Thumper (Jun 8, 2012)

Jim.
I have tried various DTG setups but cannot achieve any consistent accuracy with it.


----------



## NCLeadSlinger (Sep 18, 2012)

I finally read all these, great account brother. Out here we cannot shoot in to a drey, its illegal, so check your laws just in case someone says something. But using a mate to hunt with is a great idea! Or you kids happy hunting.


----------

