The Tale Of The One That Got Away! (Well... It Almost Got Away!)

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I was out in the woods this Saturday afternoon, enjoying the warm sunshine on a 30 degree day. I was walking a deer trail with my 22cal Benjamin Trail NP XL 1100.  The rifle was loaded with 14.3gr Crosman Pirahana Hunting Pellets.  I was basically, just out for a walk in the woods and I was following the rubs and a scrape line left by a nice Whitetail buck, that lives out there.  From the looks of things, he had survived another firearms season, once again.  This buck is smart and only comes out after dark, during rifle season. (And The Rut )  I was thinking to myself, that he had seemed to be letting his guard down now and would be ripe for an ambush by a well concealed bow hunter that could setup on this scrape line.  I made a mental note to mention this info to my sons.  As I was looking at one of his scrapes, I heard the leaves rustling & the alarm call from a squirrel.  I looked up and spotted a squirrel running across the ground at full speed.  The squirrel had spotted me Big Time and had lit-out of there fast.  He went up the first really tall oak that he came to and went right to the top of it. He was well hid and I lost sight of him.  I took up a position behind a tree with a dead-fall leaning against it.  I was in a position that I could see the top of the tree that the squirrel was in but I was hidden from view from the squirrel.  The squirrel and I began a hide-in-seek scenario, as I stood there waiting and watching for about 10 minutes.  Because he could no longer see his danger, Mr squirrel got nervous and started moving around in the tree, trying to find a location where he could see me.  I spotted him moving and he was high on a central branch.  He paused for awhile and I now had his location pegged.  It was a long shot, possibly 40 - 45 yards or so, but I decided to take it.  I swung out from behind the tree and braced my rifle on the dead-fall.  As soon as I moved out from behind the tree the squirrel saw me and it froze, watching me very intently.  I carefully aimed the rifle and slowly squeezed off my shot.  Because of the distance and branches in-between us, it was an iff'y  type shot, at best.   Luck was with me today and I caught the squirrel in the side of the head, just below the ear.  I saw him fall toward the ground, bouncing off of tree branches on the way down.  Unfortunately after I got over there, the brush was pretty thick and I could not find it.  I looked for about 1/2 an hour then I went back home and got my bulldog Chloe.  The dog sniffed out & found the squirrel right away, no problem.  Once the squirrel was located, I wondered to myself, just how on earth, I could have missed that dog-gone squirrel but then again everything is gray out there and the squirrels blend in perfectly.  As soon as I retrieved the squirrel and took the pictures, we both happily headed home.  My pal Chloe, the Bulldog, was the Hero Of The Day !  She got a special treat when we got back home, for doing such a good job sniffing out that pesky squirrel.  I gave the dog a smoked pig ear and she was very happy.   BTW... So was I !   As of today, 41 squirrels for the season with 13 in my freezer.

Best Wishes & Happy Hunting to All  -  Tom

 
Below is a picture of my shooting position and the red circle is where the squirrel was in the Oak tree.

[BenjiHunter]

Great shot and story, Tom!!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Great shot and story, Tom!!

Thank You Stefan for your reply and kind encouraging words. As it turned out I was happy to FIND this one.   

Best Wishes & Happy Rat Hunting  -  Tom

[dk1677]

Nice one Tom!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Nice one Tom!

Thank You Dave for your kind reply and encouragement.  I got lucky on this one today.      Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[kelvinator]

Great shot there Tom.
And nice work by Chloe too!!!

[jimmykay]

Excellent shot Tom!! Way to fill the freezer.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Great shot there Tom.
And nice work by Chloe too!!!

Thank You Kelvin, for your kind reply.  The Bulldog saved my bacon today.   She is a Really Great Tracker.     Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Excellent shot Tom!! Way to fill the freezer.

Thank You Jim, for your kind reply and encouragement.       My Best Wishes & Happy Hunting to You  -  Tom

[Mosin Marine]

Heck of a shot with a springer!!! Great shooting tom!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Heck of a shot with a springer!!! Great shooting tom!

Thank You Brandon, for your encouragement and kind reply.  It was a lucky shot and I know it.   My dog was the.. Hero Of The Day.  Without her I doubt if I would have found this one before nightfall came.  After dark, predators prowl the woods and they would have gotten the squirrel for sure.

Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[beachgunner]

Nice shooting Tom! Bulldogs rock.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Nice shooting Tom! Bulldogs rock.

Thank You Michael for your kind reply !   Yes Chloe certainly rocked that day for sure. I don't think that I would have recovered that squirrel with out her help, that's for sure.  This was not her first time tracking down squirrels etc. that I have had trouble finding. For a dog with such a short nose, she sure does a good job tracking. She may be a Bulldog in body but she is a Bloodhound at heart.

Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[ranchibi]

Tom, one heck of a shot and one great retrieval by Chloe!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Tom, one heck of a shot and one great retrieval by Chloe!

Thank You Randall for your kind Reply and your approval of Chloe.  Well sir, Chloe was really great in finding that squirrel and as for myself..well I placed a reasonably good shot BUT... I was incredibly lucky to actually have completed it, as well as it turned out. So many things could have gone wrong on that shot.  Wind shifts, branches in the way, the squirrel moving or just plain miscalculation, on my part.    As I said, Luck Was With Me that day and.. well sir... I'll take that shot anyway I can get it.     Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[steveoh]

Great shooting!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Great shooting!

Thank You Steve, for your kind Reply !       My Best Wishes to You & Happy Rat Hunting  -  Tom