Smoothbore Squirrels and Such

Had a delightful day yesterday, chasing Illinois bushytails with a friend. Hunted a park in Central Illinois that only allows shotguns. Normally, I'm not enamored with using a scattergun on squirrel, but the application is as old as time so I don't mind a little subsistence style hunting for the little tree rats.

I was using my Pedersoli 12ga SXS and it scored 100% and I took home by daily limit during a 6 mile woods walk.

My load was 60 grains Goex FFFg, two OS cards, one 1/4 inch lubricated cushion wad, 1 and 1/4 oz #6 shot and finishing up with a 3rd OS card.

I use the OS cards rather than typical over powder wads because I can easily bend the OS card stock to fit through my full chokes. This load literally hammered these squirrels, to include a really obese Foxy whose back straps were nearly big enough to butterfly and grill!!! (well, maybe not that big!)

My friend was shooting his modern 870 and I have to tell you, the BP scattergun has a throaty roar that a modern shotgun just cannot dublicate! I swear the 870 was a little embarrassed by it all, though it acquitted itself fairly.

It was a fabulous afternoon, made more memorable because of the Pedersoli.

Dan

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a fun time with a good friend. Maybe you can recruit him next time?? Emery

That sounds like a great outing...and that you also feel its really no longer about the "how many"...its all about the "how"
:hatsoff:

Making great memories with friends. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Adding some blackpowder makes it even better. Good story. :thumbsup: Teton Ted

I'm with ya! I've put a load of limb bacon in the pan over the years with my Pedersoli double.

This load literally hammered these squirrels, to include a really obese Foxy whose back straps were nearly big enough to butterfly and grill!!! (well, maybe not that big!)


Ha! That "BIG" squirrel would go good with some "BIG" Morrel mushrooms I found once.

I cut it down with an axe, and a Sow and three pigglets ran out from under it :surrender:

which park you hunt at? In Sand ridge you can use muzzle loaders or 22 cal rifles in addition to shotguns. I would hope our soon to be indicted gov. will re open Moraine View State Park.

Jim Edgar state park down below Chanlerville is a good place to hunt and has alot of area to move around in.They formerly called it Panther creek.

Sam Dale Lake, near Mount Vernon.

Dan

I re-newed my interest in bushytails using a French fusil this fall, I don't have a small rifle anymore so made do with what was at hand and it was a blast, also the one area I hunt is pretty sensitive to shooting rilfes in the air much more so than back when I was a kid in the 60's so the smoothy worked fine all the way around.