Pretty good amount of action today. It started slow in the fog this morning and then around 10am I starting spotting nutters in the trees and on the ground. Shot at five, came home with two, got lost after losing my sense of direction trying to track one I thought I may have hit in a tree. More details to come…
Update: Kill Shot pics-
This one turned its back to me and tried to scamper off at 10-12 yrds. Flipped his switch with one to the back of the head. Pellet exited the through the front of the forehead. He was DRT.
Hit this one beneath the left ear (down and a little to the rear of the ear.) By the time I walked over to her she was no longer moving. I caught her within 10-15 yards.
Both were caught with nuts in their mouths.
Currently testing ammo so keep checking for updates to this thread. I’ll try to complete it this evening sometime.
Update #2: THE WRITE-UP
I was up before the sun and I'd forgotten that daylight savings kicked in this morning. Not long after dawn broke I started hearing the deer hunters shooting in many different directions. I decided to hunt in a new area that I figured was further from the other hunters. I asked the property owner to explain the boundaries of the property and it sounded really simple. The temperature was 38˚F - 40˚F at dawn and it was damp but didn't feel humid despite the fog. I geared up in layers with thermals, grabbed a couple pair of gloves, and donned full camo, gaiter, boots, and all. I was in the woods in about 10 minutes. The ground was damp, but there were lots of twigs in various places from people cutting firewood so I wasn't all that stealth, but the camo helped make up for it.......or so I thought.
When I found a suitable spot that amongst some relatively mature oaks I employed my usual tactics to set myself up for clear shots into some of the trees. I have a general idea of how long it should take for an active area to come to life in these parts so I knelt and waited. Sure enough within 20 minutes I heard rustling branches and claws on tree trunks, but I couldn't see anything. I began glassing with my scope on 6x magnification and as I was angling my body to scan another oak I started hearing barking from my 3 o'clock. I immediately shifted towards where I thought the sound was coming from and saw mostly green leaves in the trees. Then I zoom in 8x and scan slower - up-and-down, side-to-side, still nothing. Next I zoom out to 5x and move left only to hear barking from my 10 o'clock. I look that way and still saw nothing. It's obvious that these two are now communicating with one another. I pull away from the glass to use my naked eyes, look back to my 3 o'clock and saw a branch and leaves moving. BINGO!! I flipped my safety off as I raised the scope to my face. After steadying the scope I saw Mr. Barkley's tail behind some foliage, scan left to reveal a somewhat long gray body on a branch headed towards an overlapping branch from another tree. Then a shoulder, but the head remained behind leaves. At this point I'm thinking, "Damn the head. I'm taking out the vitals." I steadied myself and took the shot before he reached the other branch, but I shot through some foliage. It didn't take long for the bark to change into what sounded like a whine. His message obviously changed and the other squirrel fell silent. At this time it must've ditched the tree because I heard movement on the ground but I was glued to Mr. Barkley in the scope. He was not moving so I watched for a short time and the whinny bark continued. He sounded injured. Here's where I decided to move in close for the kill. I stood and proceeded to step across brush and branches crushing some in the process heading toward the oak in order to obtain a clear view to deliver the kill shot. Suddenly this little bastard up and bolts from behind the leaves and hits the adjacent tree. Now I'm confused as I stood there watching where he was headed waiting for him to fall. After he hit another two trees I realized the ruse and initiated pursuit. I tracked this little slickster to the rear of the property boundary where I saw bluish-purple paint on some trees and a fence line. Suffice it to say he escaped my freezer. The fake injury was definitely a new trick that I didn't know they had in their repertoire, either that or he had a hell of an adrenaline rush. I've been spotted and barked at before so I'm learning how to play off of their behavior. That move burned the entire area for a while so I headed east and found a creek.
Once at the creak I found a low point in the creek bed and started to settle there before I realized I was giving up too much of my view of the ground. I moved up the bank on the other side and sat next to a downed tree with shelf fungi and moss growing on its bark. I sat and waited. I ranged a few trees in the area to get an Idea of which parallax settings were needed for which shots. I can't say how much time passed before I saw a gray come down a tree trunk across the creek. I took my safety off and picked him up as he hit the ground moving to the right of the tree. He stopped to grab an acorn, I aimed for a shoulder and squeezed. I admit I was anxious because I didn't want him to take off, so yea I missed and racked another round. He didn't seem too alarmed before popping his head up. He looked around, took a few steps, and stopped again. Again I squeezed and missed. I cocked Lelya again and stood up out of frustration and the squirrel hopped off like Pepe L'Pew. I went up to the top of the bank and knelt among some brush and saplings for a while before I grew impatient. I then decided to follow the creek some more thinking that I was heading east. Along the way I saw a few squirrels but they weren't still long enough to take quality shots. All the while I'm hearing intermittent rifle rounds on occasion from different directions. I ended up encountering a young tree stand of some beautiful trees in a somewhat symmetrical formation - not as if they were intentionally planted this way. They may have been a variety of oak, I'm unsure. So I found a hiding place to wait for activity. Some more of the same occurred, heard em, saw em, but could only catch a glimpse before they ran through the foliage which I find very difficult to track after transitioning from using my eyes to scanning with the scope when they aren't in plain sight. The ones on the ground were stepping so lightly that I hardly heard them atop the leaves.
At this point I begin getting warmer now that the sun is up, the fog is around the canopy top, and dew is dripping from all of the trees. I remove my hood, adjust my beanie and the gaiter on the back of my neck. I get up and start to walk again. Before long I see what appears to be a structure through the trees, then another. The closer I get I realize that it looks like another small community that I've seen a couple of times. I couldn't believe that I'd walked that far off not thinking about the fact that the creek doesn't run in a straight line. I probably was 0.5 miles beyond where I should be. I had to have crossed a downed fence at some point. Then I saw the strangest thing. Someone had built a shooting blind onto the side of their home and I was facing the slit that they shoot out of. Now I'm thinking, "Oh poop! Let me get the hell away from here!" So I turned around and headed deeper into the woods. I didn't care what direction I just wanted some wood in between me and that blind. I walked, bent, stooped, and edged my way through thickets, brush, and who knows how many face full of spider webs spun and woven between branches. After walking for about 15 minutes I realize that I was lost. So I stop and pull my phone out, turned on the GPS, opened a navigation app, oriented myself, and headed north. I didn't look too far off on the map so I kept walking and hit the path below that I didn’t stay on too long.
After a while I saw the creek and headed toward it. As I cleared some brush, about 15 yards in front of me was a gray grabbing an acorn from beneath the leaves. I stood still and couldn't tell if it could see me. I knelt down and it turned away. In that moment I flipped my safety off in the same motion that I raised the scope to my eye, trigger finger at the ready. I must have lined up the head-shot because that's where I hit it, but quite frankly I was functioning on autopilot. I let the lead fly and he folded and dropped to his side. I don't recall much movement, but there was a LOT of blood.
I walked over, tied him up, looked around briefly, picked him up, and looked for a fallen tree or a low point to cross the deep creek. I followed the creek for some time before I crossed, only to encounter other branches of the waterway. I pulled out my phone to consult with my GPS again and it appeared that I was now parallel with the main road so I headed west along the creek. Shortly after moving once more, I encountered a brownish gray squirrel 10-15 yards away on the ground (these distances are really estimates. both were close). She appeared to be digging to bury an acorn. I went through my motions and lined up my cross hairs and let one rip. I don't recall my exact POA, but I nailed her below the ear. She flopped for a little while. By the time I stood over her she was done. I tied her to the other with my cord, picked them up and walked some more. I stopped a couple more times, but didn't get anything else. The two pictured made the day worth it. I felt as if I worked for those two and they came easier than they should have if that makes any sense.
Shortly after the GPS ended up guiding me too far west and to the cusp of a bonafide hunting camp. I came to a dirt road and heard a vehicle driving so I ducked down in the brush until he passed and got the hell away from there as I did the shooting blind. Only this time on the way out I encountered an obviously frightened deer that made a noise a little different and louder than the wheeze I'm used to hearing them make before running. It ran and I got scared as hell. I went the opposite direction. Now I'm really concerned for my safety so i went into the densest thicket I could find heading east. I got hung up a couple times which was scary because I've seen a buck caught in a thicket and didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Eventually I worked my way through it until I saw familiar surrounding through the treeline.
Lesson learned - get someone to show me the property boundaries visually before hunting on land that is unfamiliar to me. Today was a literal disaster waiting to happen and I am extremely thankful that nothing tragic happened. By the sound and frequency of the shots it seemed as if the deer hunters took the majority of their shots around dawn. I have definitely gained a new perspective in regards to dealing with other hunters who may find themselves lost in the woods or on my property. This is a long post, but I hope that someone may learn from my mistakes or provide insight into elements I may have overlooked for all of our benefits. If you made it this far thanks for taking the time to read this. I may add a few more pics of areas in the woods.
Update: Kill Shot pics-
This one turned its back to me and tried to scamper off at 10-12 yrds. Flipped his switch with one to the back of the head. Pellet exited the through the front of the forehead. He was DRT.
Hit this one beneath the left ear (down and a little to the rear of the ear.) By the time I walked over to her she was no longer moving. I caught her within 10-15 yards.
Both were caught with nuts in their mouths.
Currently testing ammo so keep checking for updates to this thread. I’ll try to complete it this evening sometime.
Update #2: THE WRITE-UP
I was up before the sun and I'd forgotten that daylight savings kicked in this morning. Not long after dawn broke I started hearing the deer hunters shooting in many different directions. I decided to hunt in a new area that I figured was further from the other hunters. I asked the property owner to explain the boundaries of the property and it sounded really simple. The temperature was 38˚F - 40˚F at dawn and it was damp but didn't feel humid despite the fog. I geared up in layers with thermals, grabbed a couple pair of gloves, and donned full camo, gaiter, boots, and all. I was in the woods in about 10 minutes. The ground was damp, but there were lots of twigs in various places from people cutting firewood so I wasn't all that stealth, but the camo helped make up for it.......or so I thought.
When I found a suitable spot that amongst some relatively mature oaks I employed my usual tactics to set myself up for clear shots into some of the trees. I have a general idea of how long it should take for an active area to come to life in these parts so I knelt and waited. Sure enough within 20 minutes I heard rustling branches and claws on tree trunks, but I couldn't see anything. I began glassing with my scope on 6x magnification and as I was angling my body to scan another oak I started hearing barking from my 3 o'clock. I immediately shifted towards where I thought the sound was coming from and saw mostly green leaves in the trees. Then I zoom in 8x and scan slower - up-and-down, side-to-side, still nothing. Next I zoom out to 5x and move left only to hear barking from my 10 o'clock. I look that way and still saw nothing. It's obvious that these two are now communicating with one another. I pull away from the glass to use my naked eyes, look back to my 3 o'clock and saw a branch and leaves moving. BINGO!! I flipped my safety off as I raised the scope to my face. After steadying the scope I saw Mr. Barkley's tail behind some foliage, scan left to reveal a somewhat long gray body on a branch headed towards an overlapping branch from another tree. Then a shoulder, but the head remained behind leaves. At this point I'm thinking, "Damn the head. I'm taking out the vitals." I steadied myself and took the shot before he reached the other branch, but I shot through some foliage. It didn't take long for the bark to change into what sounded like a whine. His message obviously changed and the other squirrel fell silent. At this time it must've ditched the tree because I heard movement on the ground but I was glued to Mr. Barkley in the scope. He was not moving so I watched for a short time and the whinny bark continued. He sounded injured. Here's where I decided to move in close for the kill. I stood and proceeded to step across brush and branches crushing some in the process heading toward the oak in order to obtain a clear view to deliver the kill shot. Suddenly this little bastard up and bolts from behind the leaves and hits the adjacent tree. Now I'm confused as I stood there watching where he was headed waiting for him to fall. After he hit another two trees I realized the ruse and initiated pursuit. I tracked this little slickster to the rear of the property boundary where I saw bluish-purple paint on some trees and a fence line. Suffice it to say he escaped my freezer. The fake injury was definitely a new trick that I didn't know they had in their repertoire, either that or he had a hell of an adrenaline rush. I've been spotted and barked at before so I'm learning how to play off of their behavior. That move burned the entire area for a while so I headed east and found a creek.
Once at the creak I found a low point in the creek bed and started to settle there before I realized I was giving up too much of my view of the ground. I moved up the bank on the other side and sat next to a downed tree with shelf fungi and moss growing on its bark. I sat and waited. I ranged a few trees in the area to get an Idea of which parallax settings were needed for which shots. I can't say how much time passed before I saw a gray come down a tree trunk across the creek. I took my safety off and picked him up as he hit the ground moving to the right of the tree. He stopped to grab an acorn, I aimed for a shoulder and squeezed. I admit I was anxious because I didn't want him to take off, so yea I missed and racked another round. He didn't seem too alarmed before popping his head up. He looked around, took a few steps, and stopped again. Again I squeezed and missed. I cocked Lelya again and stood up out of frustration and the squirrel hopped off like Pepe L'Pew. I went up to the top of the bank and knelt among some brush and saplings for a while before I grew impatient. I then decided to follow the creek some more thinking that I was heading east. Along the way I saw a few squirrels but they weren't still long enough to take quality shots. All the while I'm hearing intermittent rifle rounds on occasion from different directions. I ended up encountering a young tree stand of some beautiful trees in a somewhat symmetrical formation - not as if they were intentionally planted this way. They may have been a variety of oak, I'm unsure. So I found a hiding place to wait for activity. Some more of the same occurred, heard em, saw em, but could only catch a glimpse before they ran through the foliage which I find very difficult to track after transitioning from using my eyes to scanning with the scope when they aren't in plain sight. The ones on the ground were stepping so lightly that I hardly heard them atop the leaves.
At this point I begin getting warmer now that the sun is up, the fog is around the canopy top, and dew is dripping from all of the trees. I remove my hood, adjust my beanie and the gaiter on the back of my neck. I get up and start to walk again. Before long I see what appears to be a structure through the trees, then another. The closer I get I realize that it looks like another small community that I've seen a couple of times. I couldn't believe that I'd walked that far off not thinking about the fact that the creek doesn't run in a straight line. I probably was 0.5 miles beyond where I should be. I had to have crossed a downed fence at some point. Then I saw the strangest thing. Someone had built a shooting blind onto the side of their home and I was facing the slit that they shoot out of. Now I'm thinking, "Oh poop! Let me get the hell away from here!" So I turned around and headed deeper into the woods. I didn't care what direction I just wanted some wood in between me and that blind. I walked, bent, stooped, and edged my way through thickets, brush, and who knows how many face full of spider webs spun and woven between branches. After walking for about 15 minutes I realize that I was lost. So I stop and pull my phone out, turned on the GPS, opened a navigation app, oriented myself, and headed north. I didn't look too far off on the map so I kept walking and hit the path below that I didn’t stay on too long.
After a while I saw the creek and headed toward it. As I cleared some brush, about 15 yards in front of me was a gray grabbing an acorn from beneath the leaves. I stood still and couldn't tell if it could see me. I knelt down and it turned away. In that moment I flipped my safety off in the same motion that I raised the scope to my eye, trigger finger at the ready. I must have lined up the head-shot because that's where I hit it, but quite frankly I was functioning on autopilot. I let the lead fly and he folded and dropped to his side. I don't recall much movement, but there was a LOT of blood.
I walked over, tied him up, looked around briefly, picked him up, and looked for a fallen tree or a low point to cross the deep creek. I followed the creek for some time before I crossed, only to encounter other branches of the waterway. I pulled out my phone to consult with my GPS again and it appeared that I was now parallel with the main road so I headed west along the creek. Shortly after moving once more, I encountered a brownish gray squirrel 10-15 yards away on the ground (these distances are really estimates. both were close). She appeared to be digging to bury an acorn. I went through my motions and lined up my cross hairs and let one rip. I don't recall my exact POA, but I nailed her below the ear. She flopped for a little while. By the time I stood over her she was done. I tied her to the other with my cord, picked them up and walked some more. I stopped a couple more times, but didn't get anything else. The two pictured made the day worth it. I felt as if I worked for those two and they came easier than they should have if that makes any sense.
Shortly after the GPS ended up guiding me too far west and to the cusp of a bonafide hunting camp. I came to a dirt road and heard a vehicle driving so I ducked down in the brush until he passed and got the hell away from there as I did the shooting blind. Only this time on the way out I encountered an obviously frightened deer that made a noise a little different and louder than the wheeze I'm used to hearing them make before running. It ran and I got scared as hell. I went the opposite direction. Now I'm really concerned for my safety so i went into the densest thicket I could find heading east. I got hung up a couple times which was scary because I've seen a buck caught in a thicket and didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Eventually I worked my way through it until I saw familiar surrounding through the treeline.
Lesson learned - get someone to show me the property boundaries visually before hunting on land that is unfamiliar to me. Today was a literal disaster waiting to happen and I am extremely thankful that nothing tragic happened. By the sound and frequency of the shots it seemed as if the deer hunters took the majority of their shots around dawn. I have definitely gained a new perspective in regards to dealing with other hunters who may find themselves lost in the woods or on my property. This is a long post, but I hope that someone may learn from my mistakes or provide insight into elements I may have overlooked for all of our benefits. If you made it this far thanks for taking the time to read this. I may add a few more pics of areas in the woods.
they look on the fatty side too, so should be good eating.
