Hey guys, last week my good friend Terry and my dog Marley and I went for a venture into the rugged and remote mountains just North of us for some Ground Squirrel hunting. This particular location is one we visit a few times per year and is usually always very productive. I have filmed many adventures on this property over the years and we usually leave with no less than 200+ kills per day. The weather has been very monsoonal that's pretty typical for this time of year, the big difference is we had a very dry winter that can sometimes impact the Ground Squirrel populations. For this trip I would be using the American Air Arms EVOL Mini in .22 caliber and Terry had brought his .22 caliber Leshiy Classic, both excellent carry and offhand shooting guns. Our first stop was to one of the old barns on the main ranch that was built in the mid 1800's, lots of really cool history that would take an entire few pages to discuss.
This was an absolutely beautiful ranch to hunt and offered some of the best Ground Squirrel habitat I've ever seen over the many years of hunting them.
The area had lots of rolling hills with many acers of Oak trees, old fences, fell trees and large rock outcroppings that these Ground Squirrels use for habitat. As we made our way further into the back portion of this ranch we saw several Ground Squirrels but nowhere near as many as the previous year.
We stopped at one of the first hot spots to check out the activity and to get a few kills under our belts.
Terry and I sat in the shade and were able to spot several of these Ground Squirrels moving about at ranges out to 70 yards. Terry took a good size adult at around 65 yards and I was able to get my own at just over 50.
Throughout the next few hours we were able to connect with a few more but nothing close to what it was the year before. The fact that we hit the place so hard the year before along with a dry winter I think really applied to bringing the population down. By this time it was up over 90+ degrees and time too cool off in the shade and take a much needed break.
We headed down to the water where it was much cooler and allowed Marley the opportunity to do a little swimming. That little girl absolutely loves the water and has no problem occupying herself all day if she has access to it.
After taking a break in the shade we loaded up the truck and headed a bit higher on the property where we were able to spot a few more Ground Squirrels from 30 yards out to 75 yards. It was pretty hot still but we were able to find a few shaded areas to sit and wait for the activity to pick up.
Unfortunately was didn't take down anywhere near as many Ground Squirrels as the years before but it was still fun to get out, use our equipment and be able to explore some new areas for future trips. With hunting we never have any guarantees and this was a good example of why it's never good to put expectations on a hunting trip. I did document our adventure in video form and have included some footage from the year before where we used a variety of different guns from Daystate, Edgun, Brocock and American Air Arms. Hope to share more when the time allows, Cheers
https://youtu.be/3k50-X6Soxc
This was an absolutely beautiful ranch to hunt and offered some of the best Ground Squirrel habitat I've ever seen over the many years of hunting them.
The area had lots of rolling hills with many acers of Oak trees, old fences, fell trees and large rock outcroppings that these Ground Squirrels use for habitat. As we made our way further into the back portion of this ranch we saw several Ground Squirrels but nowhere near as many as the previous year.
We stopped at one of the first hot spots to check out the activity and to get a few kills under our belts.
Terry and I sat in the shade and were able to spot several of these Ground Squirrels moving about at ranges out to 70 yards. Terry took a good size adult at around 65 yards and I was able to get my own at just over 50.
Throughout the next few hours we were able to connect with a few more but nothing close to what it was the year before. The fact that we hit the place so hard the year before along with a dry winter I think really applied to bringing the population down. By this time it was up over 90+ degrees and time too cool off in the shade and take a much needed break.
We headed down to the water where it was much cooler and allowed Marley the opportunity to do a little swimming. That little girl absolutely loves the water and has no problem occupying herself all day if she has access to it.
After taking a break in the shade we loaded up the truck and headed a bit higher on the property where we were able to spot a few more Ground Squirrels from 30 yards out to 75 yards. It was pretty hot still but we were able to find a few shaded areas to sit and wait for the activity to pick up.
Unfortunately was didn't take down anywhere near as many Ground Squirrels as the years before but it was still fun to get out, use our equipment and be able to explore some new areas for future trips. With hunting we never have any guarantees and this was a good example of why it's never good to put expectations on a hunting trip. I did document our adventure in video form and have included some footage from the year before where we used a variety of different guns from Daystate, Edgun, Brocock and American Air Arms. Hope to share more when the time allows, Cheers
https://youtu.be/3k50-X6Soxc
