I wrote this back in 2010 or 2011 when the property I live on was overrun by ground squirrels-until then my trusty HW55 shooting a sizzling 560fps in .177 was all I needed to dispatch the occasional squirrel unwise enough to try and set up housekeeping on the ranch. After messing with cheap springers for a year I finally caved and bought a Beeman R9 and got things done in a way I'd never imagined, went from thinking 25yds was a long shot to rarely missing out to 40 yards. This story reflects some of my early hunting experience. Hope you like it.
California ground squirrel hunting basics
So you’ve got your rifle sighted in, plenty of pellets, and your chiropractor on speed dial- You’re ready to go hunting!Look for an area with lots of burrows and squirrel activity. Find a good spot within a realistic range for you, preferably out of view of your neighbors the vegetarian PETA charter members. Get into a nice comfortable position and maybe fire off a ranging shot or two since the squirrels all disappeared once you got within ten yards of the longest shot you’re capable of making. Now wait a while (usually 10-15 minutes past the time your butt goes numb) until the squirrels settle and start to peek out at you. Often while you’re looking at the target area through your scope one will run out right in front of you maybe 5 yards out and freeze while you frantically calculate the holdover on such a near shot. The nanosecond before you squeeze the trigger, it will duck as the pellet zooms harmlessly overhead and then dive down a burrow, spooking all his buddies. Wait another 15-20 minutes longer and look! There’s one within range! Carefully line up….. (breathe)---- squeeeeeeze---OOPS! What the? Oh, heh, heh, safety’s still on! The tiny snick of the safety sends him and all his buddies back into hiding for the rest of the day. Ain’t this fun? Now if you can stand up, it's time to make that chiropractor appointment- hopefully you can still walk well enough to get there!
Good hunting, John
California ground squirrel hunting basics
So you’ve got your rifle sighted in, plenty of pellets, and your chiropractor on speed dial- You’re ready to go hunting!Look for an area with lots of burrows and squirrel activity. Find a good spot within a realistic range for you, preferably out of view of your neighbors the vegetarian PETA charter members. Get into a nice comfortable position and maybe fire off a ranging shot or two since the squirrels all disappeared once you got within ten yards of the longest shot you’re capable of making. Now wait a while (usually 10-15 minutes past the time your butt goes numb) until the squirrels settle and start to peek out at you. Often while you’re looking at the target area through your scope one will run out right in front of you maybe 5 yards out and freeze while you frantically calculate the holdover on such a near shot. The nanosecond before you squeeze the trigger, it will duck as the pellet zooms harmlessly overhead and then dive down a burrow, spooking all his buddies. Wait another 15-20 minutes longer and look! There’s one within range! Carefully line up….. (breathe)---- squeeeeeeze---OOPS! What the? Oh, heh, heh, safety’s still on! The tiny snick of the safety sends him and all his buddies back into hiding for the rest of the day. Ain’t this fun? Now if you can stand up, it's time to make that chiropractor appointment- hopefully you can still walk well enough to get there!
Good hunting, John
