Has anyone here successfully barked a squirrel?

[nchawkeye]

Why would you try that vs a head shot?

It's been passed down though the ages that's how they did it years ago...

 

[oldwood]

Still maintain that barkin' squirrels should be left up to four legged experts.

 

[JeffG]

To me it's like putting salt on a bird's tail. If you can put salt on his tail, you can catch him.

Just shoot them in the head. Better to aim a skosh low and take a little bark, than to shoot over them.

 

[Nobody85]

I barked a squirrel one time when I was a little kid. I wasn’t squirrel hunting at all. I was in a deer stand about 15 feet off the ground. A squirrel kept climbing up my ladder stand and messing with me. Kept making me give myself away by kicking and yelling obscenities at him. He did this a couple times until he finally left. He was gone for about ten minutes and I thought for good too! That’s when I slowly turned to my left. He had climbed up the adjacent tree about 10 feet away from me. When I looked at him, he was just staring at me; at which point he began to let out a barrage of barks and squeals. I had had just about enough. I fired what I remember as some sort of maxi-ball right under his abdomen. It killed him instantly. When I cleaned him later his body was all bruised up once his skin was off. It will work, but probably easier just to shoot the thing. That’s just my little story.

 

[akroguy]

Barking squirrels, gigging snakes,

What's next?

You kids these days...

 

[D.Summers]

I did it once. Mistake like. I pulled down on that bushytail, and let 'er rip, and I missed, but the bullet did hit the limb right under his head, and popped him good! He fell right out of the tree, but he was still alive when I got to him. Had to hit him in the head with the gun butt!. My dad wasn't sure he believed my story!!

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

I did it once. Mistake like. I pulled down on that bushytail, and let 'er rip, and I missed, but the bullet did hit the limb right under his head, and popped him good! He fell right out of the tree, but he was still alive when I got to him. Had to hit him in the head with the gun butt!. My dad wasn't sure he believed my story!!

i believe it.

 

[SDSmlf]

Never had much success ‘barking’ squirrels. Typically, if I got the squirrel, I hit directly, although I do remember a few that you could called ‘barked’. Wounded or kill many tree limbs and trees while attempting. Fortunately, wounded trees are quite easy to track as they don’t go too far after being hit.

 

[ETipp]

Cleaner transport ok.

But if you can hit the spot needed to bark him, you can put it in his ear.

Not necessarily so. A tree limb or the side of a tree the squirrel is hanging on can be a much longer and larger target, especially at longer distances. Often times their are limbs and obstructions in the way of the squirrel.

To my understanding, the technique if barking squirrels was found back in the early frontier days. Where men only one caliber of rifle and a limited supply of powder, shot, and other provisions. Never knowing what they might be up against, many would use a load that would take down big game (deer and bear) but was a bit much on squirrels. It was learned that by barking the squirrel they wound up with more to eat than just part of one leg and a small chunk of back meat.

Pretty sure those fellas were better shots and hunters than most folks on the internet and could surely have just "put one through the ear" instead, if it were all that easy of a target, especially at longer distances.

To be clear. Many folks do shoot squirrels in the head, myself included every now and then. I'll surely take them if I am presented with one. However, those shots are not the norm and they are much more difficult to make. There's a big difference between target shooting on flat, level, open ground, off of a bench, and squirrel hunting up in unlevel, rocky, steep, thick, dark, mountain hillsides of the SE.

 

[ETipp]

To me it's like putting salt on a bird's tail. If you can put salt on his tail, you can catch him.

Just shoot them in the head. Better to aim a skosh low and take a little bark, than to shoot over them.

IF and only IF one can clearly see the head. It just doesn't happen that much in these dark mountains here. And many times when it does, its a very small target indeed.

 

[Loja man]

Maybe just maybe if you wanted the brains for tanning the hide….

 

[ETipp]

I always shot squirrels to eat , not for proving I could do trick shots.

With all due respect. I would wager that most all of us that hunts does so for the meat. I myself have put 69 squirrels in my freezer this year with my Crockett squirrel rifle. That does not count the squirrels that got hung up in the tops of the trees but were dead, or that I couldn't find on the steep, thick hillsides.

Also, I'm failing to see where this is about taking "trick shot's".

No offense intended, Oldwood. Just curious to see how many people out there that has actually barked a squirrel. That's all.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

With all due respect. I would wager that most all of us that hunts does so for the meat. I myself have put 69 squirrels in my freezer this year with my Crockett squirrel rifle. That does not count the squirrels that got hung up in the tops of the trees but were dead, or that I couldn't find on the steep, thick hillsides.

Never heard of “ Barked” a squirrel in UK , Seems you kill with a near miss shock wave, It’s possible as there are reports of people being killed buy cannon ball as it wizzed past them by giving the body a terrible shock wave . Not a mark on the dead body. I have actually killed more squirrels in my box trap that I have ever shot . Today , for me, in uk , squirrel hunting is with a 177 or 22 with a bsa Scorpio pcp out to 50yards , I struggle with skinning, they are same as yours greys brought over from the USA years ago . I was in Bath uk, stopped for lunch in city park and the squirrels were all over us , sitting on my head and shoulders waiting for food, yes cute things , but the do so much damage to trees, and the pox they carry kills our red squirrels Nice to chat I wish you all well
Ps Yes very tasty , I boil then roast

Interesting


Also, I'm failing to see where this is about taking "trick shot's".

No offense intended, Oldwood. Just curious to see how many people out there that has actually barked a squirrel. That's all.

danggg. bet that hurt

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've never tried barking them and gave up shooting for meat. I'm the worlds worst squirrel skinner. But, I do kill them often for control and property protection. Some years they are pure vermin.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

Why would you try that vs a head shot?

The one time I did it I was shooting a .54 so even if I had hit him in the head there probably wouldn't have been much left to eat. A .32 or .36 I would definitely be taking a head shot because there probably wouldn't be enough of a shockwave to work with those smaller calibers.

 

[johnraleksa]

With all due respect. I would wager that most all of us that hunts does so for the meat. I myself have put 69 squirrels in my freezer this year with my Crockett squirrel rifle. That does not count the squirrels that got hung up in the tops of the trees but were dead, or that I couldn't find on the steep, thick hillsides.

Also, I'm failing to see where this is about taking "trick shot's".

No offense intended, Oldwood. Just curious to see how many people out there that has actually barked a squirrel. That's all.

When I was a young teenager and could shoot decent I would always try to shot them in the head with my 22. Many times the squirrel never had a hole anywhere on it body, figured that what I did. Never did try it on purpose. Yes I did pick up a live squirrel ONE time, and last time. 60+ years later still remember that pain, lucky it miss the bone in my finger.
.

 

[LSLibelo]

In the late 80's in Montana was at a Range with a friend sighting in the modern he inherited from his father.

A squirrel came out on a pine branch over the target chittered at us.

I fired one shot from my pistol at the branch hit just under its neck, splintering through the top.

The squirrel, not having been struck, fell dead with the branch. No obvious wound.

I was not trying to kill the squirrel but did add it to lunch.

 

[Whitworth]

I think a lot of rural legend is behind barking squirrels off tree limbs and tree trunks. Lot of lucky shots were claimed to be intentional "barked" shots I suspect. I imagine they also loaded their rifle for what they were hunting. Why waste precious powder and use 60 grains when 30 would kill a small critter if you don't expect to shoot a deer or bear. Back to barking, we're asking for pinpoint accuracy, excellent eyesight and shooting skills for accomplishing such feats. YMMV

 

[Loyalist Dave]

To my understanding, the technique if barking squirrels was found back in the early frontier days. Where men only one caliber of rifle and a limited supply of powder, shot, and other provisions. Never knowing what they might be up against, many would use a load that would take down big game (deer and bear) but was a bit much on squirrels. It was learned that by barking the squirrel they wound up with more to eat than just part of one leg and a small chunk of back meat.

Correct. It's not a "trick shot" as suggested by another member. It was mentioned being done by a frontiersman who had not seen any big game for a couple days, and was very hungry, not having brought food with him. To get the most possible meat, he shot the branch under the squirrel instead of blowing the critter into little pieces with a full deer load. IF the squirrel was hanging on a tree trunk, and not moving, then he'd a shot the squirrel in the head. BUT part of the technique is also to pick a spot on the branch in front of the moving squirrel, and wait, and when the critter reaches the right spot you fire the rifle, and the ball hits the branch just under the squirrel as he is moving, and voila, meat for the pot.

I tried it just to see if it would work or if the story as a bit of a myth. When it worked the first time, I thought maybe I was just lucky, so tried it again. The second time the squirrel was on a branch on a fallen tree on a hill, so there was a backstop. The third time (all of these were done the same day) I was shooting upwards at a pretty good angle, got the squirrel, then got asked about where the shot went by my buddy. So I stopped.

Downloading the load might not work. The branch needs to burst, and I wonder if a 30 grain load would be enough.

LD

 

[Mike in FL]

Many decades ago my dad taught me how to skin. Make skin cuts under the tail right up against his butt and sort of around it to get it started, then step on the tail and pull by the hind legs. Hide comes right off the entire squirrel up to his head. You gotta learn that by doing. The first few I messed up.