Dan "22fowl" and I had agreed that a late winter squirrel hunt at "The Land" (my lease) was in order. Our first chosen date in January was cancelled due to below zero temps and very high winds. Oh...we probably would have gone except that the squirrels would have been smarter than we were and stayed in their hidey holes! :grin:
Our next chosen weekend was Feb 5 - 7. While last Friday started out cold with single digit below zero temps, the day warmed up to the 20's and Saturday and Sunday were both in the 30's for highs...PERFECT!
The 800+ acre lease has an old farm house almost a mile back off the gravel township road and with the drifted packed snow several feet deep on the driveway, we had to pack in anything we wanted (notice I didn't say "needed" :shocked2: )
Here's Dan taking a break on the pull in. Is that sled loaded or what! Dan made it look easy though.
The old farm house was a welcome sight after pulling sleds for over an hour.
Is that the sled the Grinch pulled up Mt Crumpit? No...it's Dan's loaded sled! :grin:
Here's my sled...I wonder which one pulled easier? :hmm:
We agreed that if we did this again we definitely need a better consolidated list of what to bring! But I will say, we were comfortable during the stay!
We were anxious to get going, so we got the house heater going, stowed our gear, and headed separate ways into the woods. The afternoon was absolutely gorgeous! We had some success! My .62 Virginia smooth rifle loaded with 50 gr of KiK 2F and 1 1/8 oz of #6's spoke first.
It wasn't but a few minutes when I heard Dan's .32 caliber rifle speak with authority. It was loaded with 25 gr of 2F Swiss, a ticking patch lubed with Hoppes, and a .310 round ball.
The day rounded out with a few more:
Dan also took a few pictures of the landscape:
The next morning it was time to load a crock pot with the evening's dinner...a venison roast from my buck taken with bow in November, and we added Dan's squirrels from the afternoon. Topped it off with potatoes, carrots, celery, and Lipton Onion Soup and let it simmer all day.
Dan was heading for the far southeast side of the property for the day. Here he is ready for a day of great adventure this time with his .40 cal loaded with 40 gr of 2F Swiss, a .024 cotton patch lubed with Hoppes, and a .395 round ball:
And he had success, including his first BP Rabbit!
In the meantime, I headed to the North end of the property. Unfortunately that area was devoid of squirrel sign, so I reversed and headed to the middle of the property for the afternoon. I had to cross back past the house on the way and kicked five Tom Turkeys off the old crab apple tree in the farm yard. Cool!
I did find a couple of squirrels. Put a stalk on one and just before I shot I heard another squaking about 100 yards up the ravine. So after shooting and cleaning the first one I went after the other who wanted nothing to do with me. Fortunately my aim was on as he ran leaping from tree to tree and finally across a branch high in a tree about 20 yards away and my moving aim was on and #2 of the afternoon was in my game bag.
When the squirrels fell, they sometimes just buried in the snow. On a few, just the tip of the tail would be sticking out...others you could see.
After a long day in the field, the glow of the old farm house lights were a welcome sight!
And the crock pot meal was superb!
As the sun rose over the squirrel woods on Sunday, our final day...
Dan and I headed out together to hit "the big ridge" in the middle of the property. Here I am geared up for the day.
We split up each taking one side of the ridge. Dan snapped a few photos of the scenery:
Taking aim:
And we got a few more:
It was getting on towards noon and since we had to pack up and get back to "civilization" we headed back. We were just about out of the woods when Dan saw another squirrel that ran up a large oak tree.
And that's when the trouble started! I shot that squirrel way up in the big oak and as it tumbled down it hit a piece of trunk that was leaning at a 45 degree angle. The squirrel literally rolled down this long section of trunk head over heals as true as a bowling ball stuck in the gutter. Dan and I had to chuckle a bit at the sight and that's when the "squirrel gods" decided they had had enough of us! :slap:
I had barely retrieved the squirrel from the bottom of the tree...
when Dan said "Look...there's a tail in that tree...it's a big fox squirrel!" Well, Dan got lined up on that squirrel and "poof"...a flash in the pan. The squirrel went WAY to the top of a very tall, branch-choked tree. I walked around the other side and at least it moved around so Dan could try again. "Poof." Again..."Poof." What the heck! :idunno:
As Dan was figuring out that he in fact had a dryball (more to come) I tried a shot, but there was just too much "stuff" in the way for the shot pattern to make it to the squirrel. As I went to reload I noticed that the exceptionally beautiful pick that Dave2C made and my daughters had just given me for Christmas had come off my necklace.
:shocked2: The big fox squirrel looked down on us and laughed a sinister laugh as Dan had his ramrod screwed into a ball at one end and hooked on a branch at the other violently pulling and I, in anguish, frantically searched the snow for the pick. :surrender: For those of you not familiar with Dave2C's pick and brush sets, they are works of art as well as highly effective tools. It wasn't like losing a piece of wire. :shake:
As Dan continued to perform surgery on his rifle, I decided to get the last squirrel cleaned (we both clean them right away instead of at camp as they skin so much easier when warm) then follow my tracks back looking for the pick...like a needle in a haystack. In the meantime Dan did get one ball pulled and the charge behind it out only to discover there was another ball, even more stubborn, stuck at the breech. :redface: :redface: His rifle was done for the day.
As I searched Dan graciously followed up behind me to the site of the squirrel kill prior to the last one I shot as I figured that was the last place I saw it on my necklace. After some looking and not finding it Dan headed back on our original trail out while I decided I would walk back on a track I had made earlier in the day...just in case. Neither of us had gone far when Dan called out that he had found it. It was buried in the snow to the hilt and somehow Dan saw this dark little blob in the snow which turned out to be the pick! Thanks again, Dan. At least the evil squirrel God's didn't win that one! But they did convince us the hunt was over.
As we packed up some visitors came to the old crab apple tree:
We were both tired by the time we got the sleds back to the truck, even though they were lighter. The hunt was officially over. But Dan did send me this picture of his bounty about to go on his table at home...a nice Squirrel, Rabbit, and Pheasant stew....game from a new hunt, as well as an old hunt.
Good friends, good times, good food...this hunt for small game with flintlocks at the land was really what it's all about.
Thanks for sharing our adventure.
Our next chosen weekend was Feb 5 - 7. While last Friday started out cold with single digit below zero temps, the day warmed up to the 20's and Saturday and Sunday were both in the 30's for highs...PERFECT!
The 800+ acre lease has an old farm house almost a mile back off the gravel township road and with the drifted packed snow several feet deep on the driveway, we had to pack in anything we wanted (notice I didn't say "needed" :shocked2: )
Here's Dan taking a break on the pull in. Is that sled loaded or what! Dan made it look easy though.
The old farm house was a welcome sight after pulling sleds for over an hour.
Is that the sled the Grinch pulled up Mt Crumpit? No...it's Dan's loaded sled! :grin:
Here's my sled...I wonder which one pulled easier? :hmm:
We agreed that if we did this again we definitely need a better consolidated list of what to bring! But I will say, we were comfortable during the stay!
We were anxious to get going, so we got the house heater going, stowed our gear, and headed separate ways into the woods. The afternoon was absolutely gorgeous! We had some success! My .62 Virginia smooth rifle loaded with 50 gr of KiK 2F and 1 1/8 oz of #6's spoke first.
It wasn't but a few minutes when I heard Dan's .32 caliber rifle speak with authority. It was loaded with 25 gr of 2F Swiss, a ticking patch lubed with Hoppes, and a .310 round ball.
The day rounded out with a few more:
Dan also took a few pictures of the landscape:
The next morning it was time to load a crock pot with the evening's dinner...a venison roast from my buck taken with bow in November, and we added Dan's squirrels from the afternoon. Topped it off with potatoes, carrots, celery, and Lipton Onion Soup and let it simmer all day.
Dan was heading for the far southeast side of the property for the day. Here he is ready for a day of great adventure this time with his .40 cal loaded with 40 gr of 2F Swiss, a .024 cotton patch lubed with Hoppes, and a .395 round ball:
And he had success, including his first BP Rabbit!
In the meantime, I headed to the North end of the property. Unfortunately that area was devoid of squirrel sign, so I reversed and headed to the middle of the property for the afternoon. I had to cross back past the house on the way and kicked five Tom Turkeys off the old crab apple tree in the farm yard. Cool!
I did find a couple of squirrels. Put a stalk on one and just before I shot I heard another squaking about 100 yards up the ravine. So after shooting and cleaning the first one I went after the other who wanted nothing to do with me. Fortunately my aim was on as he ran leaping from tree to tree and finally across a branch high in a tree about 20 yards away and my moving aim was on and #2 of the afternoon was in my game bag.
When the squirrels fell, they sometimes just buried in the snow. On a few, just the tip of the tail would be sticking out...others you could see.
After a long day in the field, the glow of the old farm house lights were a welcome sight!
And the crock pot meal was superb!
As the sun rose over the squirrel woods on Sunday, our final day...
Dan and I headed out together to hit "the big ridge" in the middle of the property. Here I am geared up for the day.
We split up each taking one side of the ridge. Dan snapped a few photos of the scenery:
Taking aim:
And we got a few more:
It was getting on towards noon and since we had to pack up and get back to "civilization" we headed back. We were just about out of the woods when Dan saw another squirrel that ran up a large oak tree.
And that's when the trouble started! I shot that squirrel way up in the big oak and as it tumbled down it hit a piece of trunk that was leaning at a 45 degree angle. The squirrel literally rolled down this long section of trunk head over heals as true as a bowling ball stuck in the gutter. Dan and I had to chuckle a bit at the sight and that's when the "squirrel gods" decided they had had enough of us! :slap:
I had barely retrieved the squirrel from the bottom of the tree...
when Dan said "Look...there's a tail in that tree...it's a big fox squirrel!" Well, Dan got lined up on that squirrel and "poof"...a flash in the pan. The squirrel went WAY to the top of a very tall, branch-choked tree. I walked around the other side and at least it moved around so Dan could try again. "Poof." Again..."Poof." What the heck! :idunno:
As Dan was figuring out that he in fact had a dryball (more to come) I tried a shot, but there was just too much "stuff" in the way for the shot pattern to make it to the squirrel. As I went to reload I noticed that the exceptionally beautiful pick that Dave2C made and my daughters had just given me for Christmas had come off my necklace.
:shocked2: The big fox squirrel looked down on us and laughed a sinister laugh as Dan had his ramrod screwed into a ball at one end and hooked on a branch at the other violently pulling and I, in anguish, frantically searched the snow for the pick. :surrender: For those of you not familiar with Dave2C's pick and brush sets, they are works of art as well as highly effective tools. It wasn't like losing a piece of wire. :shake: As Dan continued to perform surgery on his rifle, I decided to get the last squirrel cleaned (we both clean them right away instead of at camp as they skin so much easier when warm) then follow my tracks back looking for the pick...like a needle in a haystack. In the meantime Dan did get one ball pulled and the charge behind it out only to discover there was another ball, even more stubborn, stuck at the breech. :redface: :redface: His rifle was done for the day.
As I searched Dan graciously followed up behind me to the site of the squirrel kill prior to the last one I shot as I figured that was the last place I saw it on my necklace. After some looking and not finding it Dan headed back on our original trail out while I decided I would walk back on a track I had made earlier in the day...just in case. Neither of us had gone far when Dan called out that he had found it. It was buried in the snow to the hilt and somehow Dan saw this dark little blob in the snow which turned out to be the pick! Thanks again, Dan. At least the evil squirrel God's didn't win that one! But they did convince us the hunt was over.
As we packed up some visitors came to the old crab apple tree:
We were both tired by the time we got the sleds back to the truck, even though they were lighter. The hunt was officially over. But Dan did send me this picture of his bounty about to go on his table at home...a nice Squirrel, Rabbit, and Pheasant stew....game from a new hunt, as well as an old hunt.
Good friends, good times, good food...this hunt for small game with flintlocks at the land was really what it's all about.
Thanks for sharing our adventure.
