Today's Hunt. a long read-pics at end

[wolverine]

i left the house early with the hopes to be in the woods before sun up.  as i exited our subdivision onto the county road i could barely make out the white line along the edge of the road.  FOG!  if this fog is all over the county, it will make the 2 hour drive much longer.  well, the fog was along for the long haul.  the normal 2 hour drive took 3 hours and 20 minutes.  to make things worse, it was 37* when i left home, arriving south 99 miles as the crow flys (thanks google earth) it's only 24* and everything is covered in frost.  there is a jeep parked in the lot and i know from talking with him on a prior hunt he is a beginner deer hunter.  i decide not to disturb him and head east across the lake to try my luck.  not knowing the terrain i choose to take the Brocock Contour and at exactly 7am head into the woods. i'm less than 50 yards in when i spot the 1st squirrel, but not before it spotted me and he scrambles up a tree.  i remove my backpack and lay my pad on a fallen tree and have a sit while overlooking a ravine.  my favorite type up terrain.   like the west side, the large mature oaks, maples, and sycamore's canopies make it hard for the undergrowth to take root.  this allows me to see 150+- yards and finding a downed squirrel easy. it's not long when a very angry fox squirrel starts barking at me.  it must have been on it's way down the tree when it spotted me and didn't like what it saw.  it couldn't have been more than 20yds away and the Contour sends a JSB 15.89 into the left side of his head and out the other side.  i retrieve the squirrel and lay it across the fallen tree to cool.  just as i sit back down i glance to my left and catch a bit of movement some 50yds away in another tree.  i believe it's the 1st squirrel so i slowly make my way around to it's blind side.  again i'm not more than 20yds when i send the JSB to almost the exact same spot as the other squirrel.  i check my watch, 724, 2 squirrels in 24 minutes.  nice.  by now the sun is up over the treeline and melting the frost which is now falling like a light rain.  since i'm not more than 100yds from the truck i return and put the squirrels on ice before heading back out.  very slowly walking the trail i spot 4 more squirrels and stop and sit for 20 or so minutes before moving on.  now i'm listening to a large murder of crows disrupting the solitude of my morning.  investigating, i see a large raptor with a dark mottled color and not far from it, a bald eagle is circling.  as i dig into my pack for a camera a runner clad in blaze orange comes up to me.  we chat and she wishes me luck on my hunt with a warning that every wednesday the local running club uses this trail.  sure enough 40 or 50 more runners all talking aloud make their way through the woods in small groups. i decide to move to another woods so first i return to the truck and replenish with water.  after my break i head across the parking lot and into the very thick section of woods. here there is no path.  not even a game trail.  the sun is in my eyes as i try to scan the trees.  the undergrowth dictate which way i go and every few feet i have to stop to pick a sticker bush from a sleeve.  now it's getting warm, too warm, so i remove my jacket and put it in the crutch of a tree.  i take 3 or 4 steps and OUCH!  i sharp thorn has penetrated my rubber hunting boot.  once i'm good to go i hear the bark of another squirrel but can't find it because the sun is too bright.  shielding my eyes i finally see the squirrel close enough i could have kissed it.  i turn my back to it and head to the south east side of the tree giving me a 20yd buffer.  the squirrel is still barking at me when i look for it.  it ascends a branch and stops behind 3 branches forming a small triangle.  this shot has to be perfect, all i can see is it's left eye, and that triangle only looks to be 2" across.  Contour don't fail me now, and it doesn't. the pellet strikes just right of the left eye and as if it happened in slow motion, i see the eye bulge that goes with a good head shot just before she somersaults to the ground.  i place the squirrel in the crutch of another tree and move on.  i cross a shallow ravine and come upon the father of all white oak trees.  magnificently standing with all it's leaves in full color as if bronzed.  wait, what's this?  a maple tree with the largest base of any maple i've ever seen, and there across the creek!  a massive sycamore tree towering over all as if to say, ""dang" right i belong here".  so under the oak i take my lunch and wonder, "what do trees talk about among themselves"?  after lunch i decide my day is done an i head back.  but now the sun is gone behind the clouds, and because of the underbrush i left my pack with the compass in the truck.  which way do i go? where' that squirrel?  where's my jacket?  traversing the ravine i see what appears to be a raccoon in the top of a broken tree.  a look through the scope and yep, that's a raccoon.  asleep from a full nights foray no doubt.  after some fighting my way through the needles and thorns, i find the squirrel and my jacket.  returning to the truck i look out at the lake and feel disgust as it looks as though some one has thrown a white plastic bag of trash in the water.  until it moves.  looking through the binoculars it's very large, solid white pelican. a nice end to great day afield.

the last pic is the 3rd squirrel.  one stick shows the entry and the other where i found the pellet just under the skin

[35 shooter]

Enjoyed reading about your hunt! Good shooting and a great day spent in the woods.

[Wayne52]

Great shooting on those three fox squirrels Carl !!!

[VaporTrail]

great story, great shooting! Those dowels really make it hit home that you need to visualize your shot's path beyond impact.

Sometimes I get caught up on just the POI and don't take into account the possible direction of travel that the pellet will take.

Like that 3rd pic. Hard to imagine a more effective shot than that. 

[Tater]

Good shooting and hunt Carl.

[dk1677]

Nice haul Carl!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Carl...Congratulations on a successful day of hunting.

Good shooting on those three Fox Squirrels.



Best Wishes  -  Tom

[wolverine]

thanks all! 
i've thought about selling the Contour several times and then i have a day like yesterday.  at less than 32" in length and 6lbs with the bugbuster on it, it's perfect for an all day trek in the woods.  i'm 5' 8" and i can carry it with the muzzle straight down and not have to worry about hitting the ground.  the 15 fpe is more than enough for squirrels and from a bench it's true dime size groups at 50yrds.  i think i;ll hand this one down to the youngest grandson.  he's only 6 y.o. but he's already shooting a compound bow.


pic is the 1st and 2nd squirrels from yesterday

[Mossonarock]

The stock on your rifle has my kind of thumbhole. Huge!

[Bicycleman]

Car4l, those are some nice Fox Squirrels.  Well done.

[ranchibi]

Carl, excellent storyline and shooting with your Contour! Description says it was a surreal day in the woods and felt I was right there with ya! 🤓👍

[smythsg]

Very nice read Carl, and great shooting on some plump looking squirrels.