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Finally....Squirrel season for me


bruno22rf
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Finally got the call today to say that the Squizzers are back on the feeders and then the TXT to say which one is busiest, happens to be one of the easiest to shoot due to natural camouflage so the next few days are going to be early starts. Also ran into a chap who controls 168 acres of woodland, spoken to him in the past re shooting and he said that no shooting whatsoever was allowed as the Woodland was Council owned, but he's told me today that the Council have washed their hands of the whole site and that a charity has got a 99 year lease on it....guess what....he needs the Squirrels thinning out ASAP, Happy Days :good:

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I'm jealous!

 

The only two things I miss about leaving the UK are pigeon decoying with the shotgun and squirrel shooting with the air rifle. For me squirrels provide the perfect targets for air rifle users, although taking them off the feeders isn't as satisfying as stalking them in the tree canopy in late summer IMO. I'd still love to go back and do some though.

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They are all reds out here in France as far as I know. We've got other American nuisibles such as signal Crayfish and Coypu but thankfully no grey squirrels.

 

The woods on our shoot near Barnsley were riddled with them. I'd typically shoot a hundred or more every year plus another load trapped, but the shoot was bordered by a country park on two sides so there were plenty more coming in to replace the ones killed.

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To eat, they are like chicken with a slightly 'nutty' flavour . I only Cook and eat the loin, and the legs , Baked in butter ,wrapped in silver foil in the oven for fifteen minutes, or 'slow cooked'

with carrots, onions and chunked potatoes , with a few pieces of diced pigeon breast mmmmm. !

In America , (where my daughter lives) , they fry them in a breadcrumb/cream sauce.

There is plenty of info on the 'tinterweb' on how to prep them. :yes:

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Opened the Batting with 2 this morning...up at 5:50 but it didn't get light till 7 :sad1: ...first one came in while it was too dark to see it clearly and I had to wait for a side on silhouette before I could spoil his day, second one ...no thud!! just the pellet hitting the steel backstop but dropped like a stone.

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Opened the Batting with 2 this morning...up at 5:50 but it didn't get light till 7 :sad1: ...first one came in while it was too dark to see it clearly and I had to wait for a side on silhouette before I could spoil his day, second one ...no thud!! just the pellet hitting the steel backstop but dropped like a stone.

 

I found that on our shoot the squirrels would start to come in a couple of hours after dawn. They seemed to wait until the pheasants had taken their fill and wandered off. Sometimes dominant cock pheasants will drive off squirrels on feeders. The squirrels would feed in the dark, but then there was a hiatus until about two hours after dawn. That's what I found anyway.

 

If i was up before dawn I'd take the opportunity to try and sneak up on corvids and then go to the feeders later.

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Corvids are off the menu where I am shooting at the moment, unless they land on the feeder. Public woodland with people wandering around means that shots can only be taken from one position at each feeder and quarry must be shot on the actual feeder itself to utilise the steel backstop, every aspect has been H&S checked and I have to sign a form each year agreeing to the restrictions.

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Not saying I'm afraid as we are not allowed to publicise the locations due to possible complaints - the land is run by a Trust but council owned (actually - both my squirrel perms are) and the Trust have the task of vermin control. There is a manager who controls the shooting and interviews each potential "member" of the team, if accepted you then have to sign documents relating to H&S regs as well as behaviour expected. A map is given of all locations with the positions of each feeder being numbered and on a Friday we get a txt indicating the busiest feeders and which ones we have been designated. This manager fills the feeders during the week and now also, as UKPoacher has mentioned, spreads peanut butter on the platform of the feeder. We all have to produce proof of insurance and each outing has to be reported to the Police beforehand and a URN recorded.

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That does sound like work however it sounds like a real good set up. Yeah my spot is very close to and overlooked by a popular tourist area so I have to be careful of complaints or people phoning the police. Fair play mate you nail them nutty little greys

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Opened the Batting with 2 this morning...up at 5:50 but it didn't get light till 7 :sad1: ...first one came in while it was too dark to see it clearly and I had to wait for a side on silhouette before I could spoil his day, second one ...no thud!! just the pellet hitting the steel backstop but dropped like a stone.

In my patch here we have what is a squirrel free zone. If one dares to encroach it is usually dead and buzzard bait within 48hrs and that is if I am shooting on Saturday :yes:

I have some new ground with three nice little woods and I am seeing lots of grey tree rats, so was considering putting up a couple of feeder stations and hides adequate to accommodate my Tx200 .177. Some plans for the feeder set up would be appreciated and what range can you come in to before they are likely to know you are there.

Appreciate any suggestions. Photos etc.

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Basically a squirrel will come within a foot or less of you if you remain still. I often used to notice my dog looking back and on carefully turning around would see a squirrel totally unaware of my presence within a few feet of where I was sat. But to maximise success the best thing is to set up feeders in clear areas within around 20 - 25 yds of an ambush point. And, if possible to the west of your ambush point as the prevailing wind is from the west. You don' need much cover as long as you keep still. I preferred to sit with my back to a tree as this broke up my outline. Typically I would put my game bag in front of my legs if I was on my own, or put a low scrim or poncho over my legs and the dog if the dog was with me. I'd sit on a gardener's kneeling mat, back to a tree with the gun laid across my knees. Once a squirrel came in view I would wait until it was looking the other way or was out of sight and slowly raise the rifle to my shoulder. Sometimes you can see them coming in from a long way when the leaves have dropped and have rifle up and ready long before they get to the feeder.

 

I would put a stick in the ground to one side of the feeder and paste Nutella onto the top of the stick. This would attract the squirrels and I would shoot them as they sat upon their haunches to lick the Nutella.That way their heads were still when I took aim.Leave the stick there after you've finished and paste on more Nuetlla next time.

 

If you want to make your own feeders you can get some plastic barrels, around 5 gallons size for nothing. The square profile ones are best. Three barrels makes two feeders. You cut one on half longways and stand one barrel in each half then cut a slot at the bottom of the upright barrel to allow grain to spill out into the half barrel. I would put some wood lats in and screw the two parts together and also drill some drain holes in the 'tray'. Fill the barrels with wheat using a funnel, or cut a flap out of the top. Other barrels such as the blue type with black lids are also ideal if you can find a suitable tray.

 

Squirrels will typically scatter the grain by digging into it. That is one of the reasons we shot them as they spoilt too much grain by chucking it on the wet ground. So you will need to keep the feeders topped up regularly as they waste a lot. Also, in wet weather if the grain sticks and they can't get to it they will destroy the feeder to get in.

 

If you hit a squirrel and it runs off don't send the dog after it. By all means go and look for it, but don't let the dog near it unless you are 100% sure it is dead. Quite often they will run a couple of metres and might be found under a log or bush. Mostly though a head shot will drop them straight away.

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