Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
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Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
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Topic: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel (Read 449 times))
Mole2017
Squirrel Researcher
GTA Senior Contributor
Posts: 2351
Real Name: David
Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
on:
December 16, 2018, 09:21:42 PM »
Wow, a little over a week to go until Christmas...that means only a few days here to wrap up 2018 before our holiday visiting gets busy.
This morning it was church that had me busy: a lot going on today meant I was planning to be there early to practice my part. However, I had a moment to check the feeder and look around. While over by the shed, I thought I heard the trap rattle, but it was a false alarm--nothing. However, I then faintly heard a squirrel squawking. Following it back up the path towards the back door, I decided it must be in the backyard west of the house and I might just have a enough time for a shot...
Rushing in to gear up (R10 and binocs), I grabbed the shooting stick as I stepped off the stoop, scanning the tree tops for a now quiet squirrel. Another step or two further and another scan spotted something way up the one tall pine closest to the "far" feeder out there and on the property line. Binoculars confirm it is a squirrel. And that there is a twig closer to him blocking the line of fire.
Moving up another step and guessing at least 25 yards, I raise the R10 for the shot, and do about 3/4 mil dot of hold under at 9x for the 45 degree elevation. The squirrel pauses from grooming himself and takes a head shot on the left cheek. He recoils and starts swinging his paws like I had stung his snout--"uh-oh," I thought, "must have pulled that shot!" However he only moved back a few inches before falling off the branch and 20 yards to the ground.
He starts flopping and flipping so much I thought he might have it in him to recover and bolt across the neighbor's yard! Fortunately, he finally collapsed, and I didn't wait to walk up to him to figure out his condition, opting to send a body-length body shot from about 18 yards. That popped him loudly in the low abdomen and went up the body, and he lay there. (I forgot to look for that pellet after church.)
Upon recovery and photographing, I noticed some body tension, like he wasn't quite gone, so he got the squeeze (and reacted, though not strongly) and it was over. The shot had hit him in the left cheek and neatly exited the top of his head almost directly above the impact, i.e. left frontal lobe damage only, hence the imperfect head shot. It was blood loss that finally made him stop, I think.
The range was actually 28 yards (measured after the fact); a full mil dot hold under would have probably served better, but it sure was nice to have an even slightly challenging shot. He was about an ounce or two under average (only the 2nd 11 ounce male caught around this date in the spreadsheet records).
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Pendleton, SC
Gamo CFX .177 and .22, old style triggers
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Real Name: Tom
Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #1 on:
December 16, 2018, 09:30:57 PM »
Wow....Good for you ! Nice Squirrel ..David !
Best Wishes - Tom
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The North Woods - We have 2 seasons, Winter & Mosquito/Tick season
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dk1677
Squirrel !
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"Disco Dave"
Real Name: Dave
Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #2 on:
December 16, 2018, 10:01:03 PM »
Nice shooting David!
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NY
22 Disco, Hammerli 850 22, Beeman RS3 22 ,Gamo viper express,Crosman 180 22 . One of many Dave's
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ranchibi
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Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #3 on:
December 17, 2018, 01:23:20 AM »
David, excellent shots!
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Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #4 on:
December 17, 2018, 01:28:21 AM »
He wasn't going anywhere after the first shot, but it's good that you finished him quickly.
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Hudson Valley, NY
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wolverine
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Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #5 on:
December 17, 2018, 01:46:00 AM »
great write up!
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Mole2017
Squirrel Researcher
GTA Senior Contributor
Posts: 2351
Real Name: David
Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #6 on:
December 17, 2018, 02:58:01 AM »
Thanks guys! I just finished working on some things (prepping a guitar bridge for re-gluing) and goofing off some on YouTube and thought I really should take another look at that squirrel to see where that second shot had ended up.
I was feeling him over for a pellet under the skin, but wasn't finding it, so it was looking like I'd have to open him up, which I wasn't looking forward to--he's a pretty stiff squirrel now. But it turns out I didn't have too. After about the third time over the body, I realized the left arm was broken below the shoulder. I doubted he did it falling out of the tree and as I poked a little more near the break, I could feel the pellet under the skin and was able to cut it out! The pellet had run up the left side of the abdomen, exited the chest wall at some point and smashed the humerus before stopping.
Edit: This morning I took the camera with me to get a picture of that pellet alongside another less deformed pellet for comparison. Behind the gashes shown there is another gash just as big--this pellet hit the bone head on. And at the risk of a crummy photo being worse than no photo, here is a shot from my back door looking almost directly west. I've circled the two areas where the squirrels give me the fun shots in this tree--this guy had the higher one. The arrow points to the far feeder, 29 yards away. When I shot this squirrel, I was standing in the path at the lower right corner of this picture--my ankles would have been cut off in the picture.
«
Last Edit: December 17, 2018, 09:25:02 AM by Mole2017
»
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Pendleton, SC
Gamo CFX .177 and .22, old style triggers
BSA R10 MK2 .177
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accu fan
Sharp Shooter
Posts: 629
yes
Real Name: Tim
Re: Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel
«
Reply #7 on:
December 17, 2018, 11:20:53 PM »
David you got that bsa dialed. Nise shot.
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Chester, Plumas County, CA, USA
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Ho Ho Ho, last minute Christmas shooting...got a nice shot on a grey squirrel