Post Poison Squeak Shooting

[jds holler]

Weather around here has been crap for the last month, and I haven't got in much squirrel shooting so far. It's all the worse since I've been getting off work at 2 PM, which would leave me a couple hour of good shooting -- if the rain and snow wasn't blowing side-ways about 30 MPH.

Well, this afternoon was the best weather so far, and I came home and grabbed my rifle and hit the killing fields. My favorite spot is only a couple miles from the house, and is a great place but--
the owner poisoned the place in the last couple weeks, and what would normally be thousands of squirrels is now hundreds.

I'm not gonna cry about it, and actually found it to be both relaxing and challenging. Since I'd just swapped stocks on my little .20, and checked torque on my scope mounts, I put a 100 yard target out toward the best shooting zone to tune my rifle, and as a distance gauge for the critters in that direction.

I shot five shots for fowlers and barrel warmers, (into an inch), adjusted my scope, and proceeded to shoot two three shot groups in the .2's Breeze was up a bit, but I was set up to shoot directly into it.

I shot the first squeak, about ten yards behind my target, and over the next couple hours, leisurely took them as they popped up, mostly between 125 and 200 yards. Took a few out at 250+, and missed some too. I was using my bench and bags, so my ratio was pretty good, but these little devils are small, and the alfalfa is already getting tall enough that my targets were pretty sketchy.

Through it all, I only shot fifty shells, never over heated my barrel, and had a very nice time. No pics of my excursion today, but maybe I'll get some this weekend. I think we've got a couple nice days ahead. jd

 

[NV_Dmax]

I grew up shooting diggers but would venture over to the dry side to shoot squeaks. I can remeber several trips there would be many hundreds up and scurrying around at the same time. We wore out our old butler creek speed loaders keeping the 10/22s fed. Sure do miss those days. Sounds like you had a nice time.

 

[Shrek]

I’m a little jealous ! That’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

 

[bloc]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time even with a reduced number of rats. I know the feeling.

As an aside, I think people who've never seen a field infested with thousands of squeeks can't imagine what it's like. When I look across such a field without focussing on any point, it almost seems like the whole field is moving. It's really quite something.

 

[jds holler]

Here's a pic, I've posted before, of my field in the "pre-poison" condition. You might understand why the owner might want to poison. That many squirrels can eat a serious amount of alfalfa. jd

 

[jepp2]

That many squirrels can eat a serious amount of alfalfa

Is the only loss what they eat?

I hunt prairie dogs and when the alfalfa gets high enough they just cut it down so they can see threats. One day the field will look normal, the next day it will have what looks like crop circles from them cutting down the alfalfa. Way more loss due to waste than what they eat. Here is what it looks like after they have cut it down.

 

[Bc'z]

Wow that's devastation to a farmers crop and finances right there.

 

[Rustytigwire]

If it doesnt make you money then it costs you money. Kill it. I have never seen that much grass for them to eat. Good times, hard times.
Oklahoma panhandle dogs. During a poison event you may see some doing a whirling arms waving up on hind legs zombie greatful dead dance. It kills by gastrointestinal means so must be pretty painful like a kidney stone. More interesting to shoot at for sure.