Squirrel Opener

[Spartan]

Today was our squirrel opener in MD. 80 degrees. Could have been worse, but the mosquitos were tearing me up! Called it quits one short of my bag limit because of the bugs.

Mix of head and body shots since they were scurrying around at various ranges.

And who says those Hades/Atomics don't expand well?? Managed to recover two of them from the body shots. 22 cal Atomics, ~27fpe. Hits em hard. That's what I typically see, but people seem to complain about their expansion. Never had a problem in my gear.

 

[Filnez]

Good shooting. Looks like the pellets did exactly as designed. Squirrels season in Alabama is coming up in a couple of weekends!

 

[Coinwa]

Nice! I love the Hades/Atomics…. They do good work on critters.

 

[cthao]

Can't wait for our season opening. Still have a 1 month wait. Oct. 14. Hopefully the temperature cools down a bit by then it's pretty hot and humid where I'm from.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Spartan Sounds like a good start to your squirrel season. The Atomics look gnarled!! Good shooting. In what range did you shoot?

 

[Spartan]

@Spartan Sounds like a good start to your squirrel season. The Atomics look gnarled!! Good shooting. In what range did you shoot?

Today was all 15-30yd shots. That's what I typically go for. Sometimes I'll stretch it out to 50yds or so max with that gun if it's a clean shot opportunity, but not today.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Today was all 15-30yd shots. That's what I typically go for. Sometimes I'll stretch it out to 50yds or so max with that gun if it's a clean shot opportunity, but not today.

@Spartan Nicely done. In which types of areas were you seeing them? I wouldn’t expect to see many runners in that range, especially with pellets expanding like yours. Makes me want to try them. I don’t even use mine.

 

[Spartan]

@Spartan Nicely done. In which types of areas were you seeing them? I wouldn’t expect to see many runners in that range, especially with pellets expanding like yours. Makes me want to try them. I don’t even use mine.

Yeah, no runners on this one. This was a 25 acre stand of mixed hardwoods in between two small suburban developments. There's a patch of oaks I setup by, ambush style, where they keep their dreys year-round. They funnel right through. I highly recommend those pellets. I've been using them for years now with fantastic results. I used domes for years prior, mostly for the accuracy, but there is no comparison, IMO. Just as accurate as the domes, but with that added smack. Can't beat it.

 

[JimD]

Nice shooting. Is your limit 6? Our season doesn't start until October 1. Leaves will still be on trees into at least early November so they will be harder to locate when the season opens.

 

[Spartan]

Nice shooting. Is your limit 6? Our season doesn't start until October 1. Leaves will still be on trees into at least early November so they will be harder to locate when the season opens.

Thanks. Yes, 6 is our bag limit for the greys. Sometimes on bountiful days I do wish it was higher, especially since they are so densely populated in my area. But then when it comes time to clean them, I'm often reminded that I'm ok with only having 6

 

[JimD]

Your picture looked like all back legs. Is that all you keep? I keep the back legs, the front legs, and the back portion of the spine. The 5 little pieces look a whole lot less like a rat than the entire carcase. There is not much meat on anything other than these 5 pieces.

 

[Ranchibi]

Awesome shooting and hunt! Nice pics! Looks like a fantastic meal

 

[Spartan]

Your picture looked like all back legs. Is that all you keep? I keep the back legs, the front legs, and the back portion of the spine. The 5 little pieces look a whole lot less like a rat than the entire carcase. There is not much meat on anything other than these 5 pieces.

Yes, these days I often just keep the back legs. It's the part I prefer. But sometimes I will also cut out the little backstraps if making a stew. Saves quite a bit of space and time doing it that way for me, and the end result is the meat I want most. I often get upwards of 100 squirrels each year for management, so there is no squirrel meat shortage, and this is the process I have landed on. I've also found that the back legs are much easier for getting non-hunters to eat them. They turn their noses up at the other bits, but the back legs look more appealing as you alluded to, so they are more inclined to eat them. But in years past I would clean/eat the entire squirrel.

 

[SteveV]

Today was our squirrel opener in MD. 80 degrees. Could have been worse, but the mosquitos were tearing me up! Called it quits one short of my bag limit because of the bugs.

Mix of head and body shots since they were scurrying around at various ranges.

And who says those Hades/Atomics don't expand well?? Managed to recover two of them from the body shots. 22 cal Atomics, ~27fpe. Hits em hard. That's what I typically see, but people seem to complain about their expansion. Never had a problem in my gear.


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Way to go! To me that looks like great terminal performance @27 fpe -

 

[Firewalker]

Crow only for us right now, squirrel opens on the 14th here.

 

[bdzjlz]

Today was our squirrel opener in MD. 80 degrees. Could have been worse, but the mosquitos were tearing me up! Called it quits one short of my bag limit because of the bugs.

Mix of head and body shots since they were scurrying around at various ranges.

And who says those Hades/Atomics don't expand well?? Managed to recover two of them from the body shots. 22 cal Atomics, ~27fpe. Hits em hard. That's what I typically see, but people seem to complain about their expansion. Never had a problem in my gear.


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VWD - Congrats!

 

[MongooseV8]

I didnt even need to read the pellet type; I knew those were Hades/Atomics immediately after seeing your pics! The 22Cal version is the perfect match for squirrels and Norwegian Tree Rats, they really smash them and rarely pass through. Most of my setups are similar speeds to your little Dreamline menace and I have had lots and lots of success. Good hunting, but I wish those legs were as big as they look like on my TV screen haha. They look like boneless chicken breasss that could feed a family of 9. I like your rifle setup it looks nice and handy, what scope is that?

 

[orinthesnow]

How do you cook your meat? I've been debating putting some squirrel meat on my kamado smoker low and slow or perhaps braise it a bit - interested if you have any decent recipes.

 

[bowwild]

I've always eaten all four legs and even the back off the bone. I will admit though those front legs are pretty stringy and not much meat. The little bit on the back is quite good and my favorite part of rabbit which is bigger on them than squirrel.

 

[Spartan]

I didnt even need to read the pellet type; I knew those were Hades/Atomics immediately after seeing your pics! The 22Cal version is the perfect match for squirrels and Norwegian Tree Rats, they really smash them and rarely pass through. Most of my setups are similar speeds to your little Dreamline menace and I have had lots and lots of success. Good hunting, but I wish those legs were as big as they look like on my TV screen haha. They look like boneless chicken breasss that could feed a family of 9. I like your rifle setup it looks nice and handy, what scope is that?

Thanks. Scope is the Vector Veyron 3-12 FFP. Fantastic scope for the price.