An amazing thing happened during squirrel shoot yesterday

[canadian_shooter]

  I came home yesterday afternoon and a very stupid red squirrel is chewing on my outdoor porch furniture. Runs off as I approach and into tree about 35 yrds away. I quickly go in the house and grab my ready to go M11 Mk2 .22 rifle and magazine loaded with 23 gr slugs. Sneak to window facing the tree with suspect squirrel in it. Slide the window open slowly and get a bead on the squirrel and remove most of its head. Now this is the amazing part, the red squirrel barely lands on the snow under the tree and very large Grey Owl swoops from another tree a few yards away and lands on the squirrel, looks right at me and takes the squirrel and flys off into bush out of sight! Now that to me was freak'n amazing. I have had ravens do that before but never an owl. Kinda cool. It's like he looked back and said "thanks for supper". LOL I really need to invest in one of those camera on scope setups but first a HPA compressor.  Just wanted to share this neat experience. Has anyone else ever seen this happen?
Dave

[Wayne52]

David that is soooo cool about that owl, I was trying to follow a red squirrel through a tree once through the scope that I had scared out from behind a branch and a hawk got it before I could get another shot at it.

[canadian_shooter]

David that is soooo cool about that owl, I was trying to follow a red squirrel through a tree once through the scope that I had scared out from behind a branch and a hawk got it before I could get another shot at it.

  Wow! That would have been pretty cool too. Makes being out in the bush all the more better doesn't it?

[Rico14]

There are two owls and a hawk on my property that do this when I shoot starlings. I don't see them in the trees but they are there as soon as the starling hit the ground. The bad thing is I shoot Eurasian doves to eat, but they grab most of them too, before I get a chance to get to them. They seem to know the area is good for an easy meal

[Blowpipe Sam]

Great story!  A couple years ago I was out squirrel hunting.  I worked my way through a thicket and when I came out the other side I suddenly heard a rabbit squeal a few yards to my left.  I spotted the rabbit, expiring in the bushes and just behind it a red Fox glared at me before darting away.  I checked the rabbit out.  He was good and dead.  I thought about keeping it but heck, it was the Fox's kill.  I left it for him. 

[triggertreat]

Neat experience!  I have had a feral cat scoop up a squirrel I shot before I could walk the ~ 40 yards to get it.  We have seen hawks scooping up birds from the bird feeder a number of times.

[Airspace]

David, go to the backroom post and read the  Hootie is becoming a friend chat. He tells of everything taking place with his resident owl. I've seen bald eagles grab a wounded duck in mid air after a duck hunter has shot it. I've also watched ospreys hit the water and come up with fish almost to big for them to handle but they manage.

[Hayfoot]

I had a hawk grab a pigeon I just shot.  as you say... it was an amazing thing to watch... but satisfying to know that the kill didn't go to waste.

[ranchibi]

David, great shot and story! My friend and I shoot starlings up at his place and red tail hawks hear the shots and come swooping in for the buffet.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Wow.....Great Story David !   

Best Wishes - Tom

[Lastdog]

A month ago I came out my back door and saw a gray half way up an oak facing down like he was frozen. Reached back in and grabbed my 22 nova freedom. The squirrel still hadn’t moved an inch. Took my time and squeeze off a shoot. Easiest shot I have ever had. When the gray hit the ground a red tail hawk swoop down and away they went. Now with hind site I realized why the squirrel was acting like he was frozen.

[canadian_shooter]

Wow! Thanks for all the great stories and well wishes. This is the best forum on the planet!

[dk1677]

Yes that cool to see. I had it happen once with a red squirrel and a hawk 

[cherokeesteve]

Wow! Thanks for all the great stories and well wishes. This is the best forum on the planet!

Cool story. Something popped into my head immediately upon reading it...

[arty]

i have a ding donger set up and one night it went off. sure enough large rat in the back yard, took him out with a 25 gr jsb. before i could load another pellet an owl came down grabbed the mouse looked back at the window i was shooting from and then flew off with the mouse in his talons. watched the whole sequence thru my viper nite site.

[Mossonarock]

Helping the food chain along has its own curious sense of satisfaction.

[only1harry]

Those encounters are rare, but for some of us who shoot a lot of pests in the backyard, we have experienced it once or twice.

In my case it was a Pedegrine Falcon that hangs around from time to time and likes the Starlings I shoot.  It also took a Blue Jay on the ground that was below the feeder with lightning speed.  Then flew away with the Blue Jay still screaming in its talons.  I do have a couple of pics of the Falcon.

I also had a Red-tailed Hawk watching a Groundhog that I was not aware of, until after I shot the Groundhog and went out to retrieve it.  That's when I saw the large hawk take off from the closest tree to the G-hog ~15yds out.

The biggest thing that emerged after I shot a squirrel was a Turkey!   As soon as I took the shot with the 48 .22 and downed a Grey, a turkey that was resting high up in one my maple trees about 20 yards from where the squirrel was, started falling out of the tree making a lot of noise, and startled the heck out of me.  I didn't know it was there.  I guess the turkey got startled big time too by the muzzle report and lost its footing.  It hit many branches on the way down to the ground as it had its wings open trying to cushion its fall.  It must have thought it was a shotgun going off and the shot was meant for it, because it was Fall turkey season.  I usually get some turkeys every year that come to my property to get away from hunters.  I can't shoot them with an airgun though, and can't discharge a shotgun in my neighborhood, so all I can do is watch them have the run of my property and trees.  They can be very abnoxiously LOUD too, but it's fun watching them fly to make to the trees before dusk.  They are very noisy flying and brake branches with their large wings.

Harry

[canadian_shooter]

Wow! Thanks for all the great stories and well wishes. This is the best forum on the planet!

Cool story. Something popped into my head immediately upon reading it...

LOL. I remember those commercials. Brings me back.