Tree Chickens heading South

[LuckyStrike]

 About 10 days ago my buddy and I got permission to set up a tree chicken feeder on a 10 acre forested plot with plenty of wildlife. This is the feed box view and blind setup beside an old shed on the property.(photo1) I have refilled the feed several times, but today was my first go at actually shooting.

Above is the first customer .. He came waltzing in along the ground about 5 min after refilling .. Fed briefly on the ground then climbed up the side of the tree and stopped. At 20 yards my .22 Streamline is something I wouldn't want to bet against so a medium pwr shot just below the ear made this tree chicken plummet South.

 After about a 20 minute wait and quite a rain squall, I noticed a puffy grey plume entering the area from the woods on the left and set up for a second pop. This fat female spent a long time scuffling around on the ground then after what seemed like ages climbed up the right side of the feeder, stopped to grab some grub then went up top and sat looking towards me nibbling. I put the bead right under the chin for a neck shot and this pellet exited just at the base of the skull. I wondered for a second as the fluffy tree chicken bolted full tilt in a Northerly direction about 6 feet up to the first branch, turned and as I prepared to take a second shot , plummeted stone dead in a Southerly direction. ( Gravity, I'm sure has something to do with that rapid Southerly descent!) 

 

Natures cooler (It snowed up here a few days ago so still a few snow piles about) provided a good resting spot for these 2 until I packed up. Never saw another one but didn't hang around too long after the second one.

Maybe I can persuade my pal to post his story too, because he had a crack at this location a few days ago! (and I believe he has pictures to explain the term Tree Chicken)

Hope you enjoyed this little tale of airgunning from the Pacific NW .. Thanks for looking and all the best



Lucky ... 

 

[bltefft]

Tree chicken??? Never heard a tree rat called that before. Great fun.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post. 

 

[Dankleinman]

Maybe he thinks they taste like chicken...........

I wouldn't know I have never had squirrel aka tree chicken



Dan 

 

[TNT19]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post.

. I was expecting the same thing. We call them the bullet proof tree rat. Seen one take 5 shots from a 25 cal before it tasted the dirt. 

 

[bltefft]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post.

. I was expecting the same thing. We call them the bullet proof tree rat. Seen one take 5 shots from a 25 cal before it tasted the dirt.

I can vouch for their toughness, I have a .22 FX Royale 400 that develops around 33 fpe with an H&N Baracuda match 21.3 gr pellet.. I remember one tree rat I had to shoot 3 times to take him out - all shots at about 23-27 yards - he bounced all over the place.

Now, I have a Daystate Wolverine R HP in .25. I only got it a couple of days ago and am waiting for another tree rat to get on one of my bird feeders. This .25 is getting 48 ft-lps from an H&N 28.24 gr Baracuda Hunter Extreme, gonna be a nice thump.

 

[Beezer]

If you shoot a lot of squirrels, you might consider selling the tails to Mepps. My youngest brother once made money selling his squirrel tails to Mepps because they need squirrel hair for fishing lures. One of his tricks was quietly drifting down a creek in his canoe and shooting them from trees that lined the creek. He had a Border Terrier/Airedale mixed breed dog that retrieved the squirrels for him.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Beezer Looked up that program. Seems like a good way to trade tails for a few premium fishing lures made with hair from squirrel tails. I can’t see anyone making much money selling tails to Mepps considering that they can only be legally harvested in season, at least in Texas. I don’t know how it works in other states or when they present a nuisance and destroy property. Here’s a link to the Mepps program. They list prices and pay a paltry sum for these tree chicken feathers.

https://www.mepps.com/squirrel-tail/

 

[SeeOhTwo]

Here in Texas the slang name I hear the most is NUT MONKEY if someone is describing a squirrel. "Tree Chickens" are Chachalacas from the southern tip of our state. Never actually saw one though.

Glenn in Texas

 

[SDellinger]

What's wrong with squirrel?

 

[Guest]

Fine eatin' ... Guess that's why most everywhere you find them they are game species.

A crockpot or pressure cooker will make them nice and tender.

 

[qball]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post.

. I was expecting the same thing. We call them the bullet proof tree rat. Seen one take 5 shots from a 25 cal before it tasted the dirt.

I can vouch for their toughness, I have a .22 FX Royale 400 that develops around 33 fpe with an H&N Baracuda match 21.3 gr pellet.. I remember one tree rat I had to shoot 3 times to take him out - all shots at about 23-27 yards - he bounced all over the place.

Now, I have a Daystate Wolverine R HP in .25. I only got it a couple of days ago and am waiting for another tree rat to get on one of my bird feeders. This .25 is getting 48 ft-lps from an H&N 28.24 gr Baracuda Hunter Extreme, gonna be a nice thump.

Believe it or not but a 550-600FPS .25 pellet is more effective than a 900fps pellet unless it can expand like crazy. With higher speed the pellet just poke a hole straight through, at slower speed the pellet transfers much more energy and the pellets tend to tumble more. Granted it's not the easiest to shoot 600fps at range but anything under 50 yards the .25 hades are just devastating at low speed. However 900fps slugs are a completely different conversation.

 

[boscoebrea]

 a catch phase.

 

[crazyhorse]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post.

. I was expecting the same thing. We call them the bullet proof tree rat. Seen one take 5 shots from a 25 cal before it tasted the dirt.

I can vouch for their toughness, I have a .22 FX Royale 400 that develops around 33 fpe with an H&N Baracuda match 21.3 gr pellet.. I remember one tree rat I had to shoot 3 times to take him out - all shots at about 23-27 yards - he bounced all over the place.

Now, I have a Daystate Wolverine R HP in .25. I only got it a couple of days ago and am waiting for another tree rat to get on one of my bird feeders. This .25 is getting 48 ft-lps from an H&N 28.24 gr Baracuda Hunter Extreme, gonna be a nice thump.

Believe it or not but a 550-600FPS .25 pellet is more effective than a 900fps pellet unless it can expand like crazy. With higher speed the pellet just poke a hole straight through, at slower speed the pellet transfers much more energy and the pellets tend to tumble more. Granted it's not the easiest to shoot 600fps at range but anything under 50 yards the .25 hades are just devastating at low speed. However 900fps slugs are a completely different conversation.

I agree. Lately I have been using my 1975 and 1991 Sheridan .20 cal both shooting about 650 @ 8 pumps...At 30 yards you can clearly hear a "Thump' as pellet hits its mark. Impact at that range abt 560 fps and 8 ft lbs. H&N 11gr BC 20.

 

[bltefft]

@LuckyStrike Is “tree chicken” your own personal moniker for squirrels or is it regional slang? I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one. I was expecting to see pics of some sort of bird after reading the title of the post.

. I was expecting the same thing. We call them the bullet proof tree rat. Seen one take 5 shots from a 25 cal before it tasted the dirt.

I can vouch for their toughness, I have a .22 FX Royale 400 that develops around 33 fpe with an H&N Baracuda match 21.3 gr pellet.. I remember one tree rat I had to shoot 3 times to take him out - all shots at about 23-27 yards - he bounced all over the place.

Now, I have a Daystate Wolverine R HP in .25. I only got it a couple of days ago and am waiting for another tree rat to get on one of my bird feeders. This .25 is getting 48 ft-lps from an H&N 28.24 gr Baracuda Hunter Extreme, gonna be a nice thump.

Believe it or not but a 550-600FPS .25 pellet is more effective than a 900fps pellet unless it can expand like crazy. With higher speed the pellet just poke a hole straight through, at slower speed the pellet transfers much more energy and the pellets tend to tumble more. Granted it's not the easiest to shoot 600fps at range but anything under 50 yards the .25 hades are just devastating at low speed. However 900fps slugs are a completely different conversation.

Ok, a slower moving .25 pellet would be more lethal to a tree rat than a faster .25 pellet. With that thought in mind, I reckon a heavier pellet, like a H&N 30.86 gr round nose, traveling slower, would be more lethal than a 28.24 gr H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme Hollow point pellet - but, is there enough difference to matter, considering weight difference and type of two pellets?

 

[Smashby59]

I hit one yesterday 4 times pretty sure twice in the head neck area. I know one for sure because I saw the nut he was eating explode on the first shot. He didn't move until I shot him a second time where I thought I hit him in the neck only for him to jump to the next tree and stop to see what was hitting him shot him 2 more times and he ran in a nest. Pretty sure he is dead 50 feet up in the nest but they are tough.

 

[Ranchibi]

Very nice set up, shooting and photos!

 

[dparsons]

I took 70 plus squirrels with a Dar 22 with crosmans and jsb pellets, they are not hard to kill at all, my Dar is a three hundred dollar pcp it all shot placement head or chest will do the job

 

[LuckyStrike]

Greetings Fellow air enthusiasts! ( I spose AirHeads might be considered a poor term?

Just wanted to say thank you for all the comments ... Very appreciated ... Those Tree Chickens are tough indeed , but a well placed shot will take them out without question. A chest vital shot will send them often scurrying off until they expire, very similar to shooting a deer that might run 100 yards or more as they virtually are the running dead but adrenaline will propel them onwards. Most animals are tough creatures and their will to survive is great.

Speed might kill, but I noticed a few bits of wisdom here laying out not only shot placement, but also velocity. My Streamline at medium pwr is spitting out those 18 grain JB's somewhere around the 700 fps and they are devastating. I use low pwr on starlings and same thing. Unless one shoots poorly or pulls the shot, they fall to earth rapidly after a hit. If the energy of a pellet is dumped into the kritter , it is much more effective than a high speed shot that passes through carrying much of its energy beyond the target. (Again shot placement.. A brain shot on almost any pwr will pretty much instantly be fatal.)

Building a feeder and setting up a blind/ shooting station is likely the most humane way of removing this invasive animal...

BTW, they were "released" here in the 1970's along with cottontail rabbits and have expanded their range throughout much of the province of BC They are devastating to songbirds, as they eat virtually anything and once they find a nest will consume eggs & hatchlings) Also on VancouverIsland our native Red Squirrels have been decimated by these invaders, so we are encouraged on many fronts to deal with them accordingly. The other thing that many have not yet realized is that these pesky varmints can be cooked up as gourmet delights. I know many here know this but there is a stigma attached to tree rat so Tree Chicken might be more appropriate.

Also as was kindly pointed our, their fur is highly prized by fly tyers and tails/hides can be sold.

Sorry for the ramble, but I did enjoy reading all your comments ... Perhaps more stories to follow as just yesterday we installed yet another feeding box on a different permission. I do believe 2021 is going to be a bit squirrely!

Cheers from Tree Chicken central



Lucky...