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Vetmx

Vetmx

Member
Dec 4, 2017
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Pa, United States
I saw three bucks last evening and six this evening. I want to hunt squirrel so bad but I just can’t until a buck is hanging. I’m getting concerned that I might lower my buck standards just a little so I can just relax and squirrel hunt. I did it last year and promised myself I wouldn’t this year. I guess I’ll see how it plays out. In the meantime I’ll check out the squirrels you guys are picking off.

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Deer hunted for a lot of years 32 and killed a ton of deer with a few bigger not huge bucks largest scored 154, but to me hunting for just big bucks took the fun out of it. I decided if I wanted to kill a decent or small buck I would but I primarily hunted for the meat as we would eat 5-8 deer a year when kids were at home.. even by ourselves we would eat 2-3.
Main reason I quit deer hunting was a beat up body that cant sit for long periods anymore and I just didnt enjoy it anymore hence the reason why I squirrel hunt so much. I grew up trapping, running/raising beagles rabbit hunting and squirrel hunting so my 1st love is small game hunting/fishing. Started deer hunting when I was 29 or 30 and quit when I was 62 now 63. I can honestly say as much as I liked it I dont miss it.
 
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DeanB said:
Deer hunted for a lot of years 32 and killed a ton of deer with a few bigger not huge bucks largest scored 154, but to me hunting for just big bucks took the fun out of it. I decided if I wanted to kill a decent or small buck I would but I primarily hunted for the meat as we would eat 5-8 deer a year when kids were at home.. even by ourselves we would eat 2-3.
Main reason I quit deer hunting was a beat up body that cant sit for long periods anymore and I just didnt enjoy it anymore hence the reason why I squirrel hunt so much. I grew up trapping, running/raising beagles rabbit hunting and squirrel hunting so my 1st love is small game hunting/fishing. Started deer hunting when I was 29 or 30 and quit when I was 62 now 63. I can honestly say as much as I liked it I dont miss it.
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I'm there now also. Even though I have new hips & shoulders , I'm not able to sit or stand more than 15 minutes or so w/o discomfort. Throw " Arther" ( ritis )
Cold & moisture in the mix and it's easy to just make coffee & watch the sun come up from the breakfast nook ! I'll just enjoy my airgun in the basement or pest from the drivers side window.
 
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DeanB said:
Deer hunted for a lot of years 32 and killed a ton of deer with a few bigger not huge bucks largest scored 154, but to me hunting for just big bucks took the fun out of it. I decided if I wanted to kill a decent or small buck I would but I primarily hunted for the meat as we would eat 5-8 deer a year when kids were at home.. even by ourselves we would eat 2-3.
Main reason I quit deer hunting was a beat up body that cant sit for long periods anymore and I just didnt enjoy it anymore hence the reason why I squirrel hunt so much. I grew up trapping, running/raising beagles rabbit hunting and squirrel hunting so my 1st love is small game hunting/fishing. Started deer hunting when I was 29 or 30 and quit when I was 62 now 63. I can honestly say as much as I liked it I dont miss it.
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That’s why I hunt two states. One state is for fun and some meat, the other is all businesses. I’ve been bow hunting 44 years, trophy hunting 31 years. I started getting burned out on the trophy BS about 5 years ago so I started having friends from home come to my camp. Their excitement and screwups have extended my enjoyment of this side of things. I told them something when they got all jacked up about hunting at my camp and now are playing the trophy game at home. If all I did for the last 31 years was trophy hunt, I would have sailed myself off a bridge or started to hate hunting at about year 25. They said good, we have a bunch of years left. I’m just starting to get tired of thinking and work. I don’t sit over food plots in a ladder stand. I’m constantly on the go. I’m glad you don’t miss it and hope I won’t when this all falls apart because everything eventually does.
 
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Years ago, many years ago my dad took me to Wyoming to hunt Antelope. For a month prior we were at the loading bench cranking out ammo for his varmint rifles. I was puzzled as to the amount of preparation he was putting into varmint ammo.
When we got to Wyoming we went antelope hunting opening day and we each got one antelope and had another tag each to fill. The next day my dad was pushing my brother and I to get our last tag filled. We finally relented still not wanting the antelope hunt to end.
that afternoon we discovered the fun of shooting prairie dogs at distance. Now I knew why dad was so anxious to get those lope tags punched. Get past the big meat and spend the rest of the week popping P dogs.
Vetmx, I know what you are feeling right now
 
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@Vetmx Get in it while you can. If your vigor wanes then I think that it is something to pay attention to, although that can be temporary as other priorities in life can take precedence over hunting. As for the squirrels, you know how it tends to go: when deer hunting you a lot of squirrels. When squirrel hunting you see a lot of deer. I deer hunted one day over the weekend, had my Lelya in my pack, and saw plenty of squirrels before 8am. I was tempted to pick some off, but I was focused on getting to specific parts of the property and working my way through certain areas. The good thing is it's still pre-rut (at least out here) and early in the season, so you have time. I don't know how many antlerled deer tags you are allowed, but maybe bag a decent one to satify the itch for a little while until you see "the one." Would doing throw a wrench in your plans considerinfg that you hunt in two states? Were the bucks you saw just not presneting the shot(s) you wanted? As for squrriel hunting while deer hunting a Prod with a decent moderator would be my choice if stealth was the objective. Of my airguns, that is the quietest airgun that I hunt squirrel with. As long as you don't gut shoot a squirrel and it's not too hot, they should be acceptable if left on the ground for a few hours before skinning. They're easier to skin once the body cools anyway. The trick for me is to remember where they fall if I intend to stay put for a while. Taking photos helps if I can manage to do so inconspicuously. What do think is an ideal squirrel gun for deer hunting from a tree stand and moving around with a bow? Also, I like your style of moving and not hunting over food plots.
 
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I shot a buck already in my home state. But I think I’ve evolved past itches that need scratched. I’ve killed so much stuff in my life and I’m to the point that I’m running out of room on my walls for big buck mounts. I’m at the stage where all I need is the situation to take place when I can take what I’m after. Sometimes I just don’t. But knowing I did everything right and had him right there is enough. Last year I took a substantial 8 point at my camp. Everyone was here and we had a nice “anticipation” dinner the night before. I usually don’t shoot 8’s no matter how big they are but because everyone was here, I zapped that one. No regrets. It was enjoyable watching everyone’s reactions and sniffing around it.

Could have shot a high rack 8 this morning but I was more interested in the squirrel way up in this one tree. They were balled up way up there in their nibbling stance. I thought if I had my gun, they would never give me such glorious shots. Like you said, lots of squirrel while hunting deer and deer when hunting squirrel. You do know that we see tons of squirrel when deer hunting for two reasons. We don’t move for long periods and no orange.
 
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Vetmx said:
I shot a buck already in my home state. But I think I’ve evolved past itches that need scratched. I’ve killed so much stuff in my life and I’m to the point that I’m running out of room on my walls for big buck mounts. I’m at the stage where all I need is the situation to take place when I can take what I’m after. Sometimes I just don’t. But knowing I did everything right and had him right there is enough. Last year I took a substantial 8 point at my camp. Everyone was here and we had a nice “anticipation” dinner the night before. I usually don’t shoot 8’s no matter how big they are but because everyone was here, I zapped that one. No regrets. It was enjoyable watching everyone’s reactions and sniffing around it.

Could have shot a high rack 8 this morning but I was more interested in the squirrel way up in this one tree. They were balled up way up there in their nibbling stance. I thought if I had my gun, they would never give me such glorious shots. Like you said, lots of squirrel while hunting deer and deer when hunting squirrel. You do know that we see tons of squirrel when deer hunting for two reasons. We don’t move for long periods and no orange.
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@Vetmx In a way I envy you. I'm still new to deer hunting. As for the squirrels and not seeing orange - in Texas I don't wear orange throughout the entire hunt as is required by law in Louisiana on private property when hunting deer. Do you think the squirrels can see it?
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@Vetmx In a way I envy you. I'm still new to deer hunting. As for the squirrels and not seeing orange - in Texas I don't wear orange throughout the entire hunt as is required by law in Louisiana on private property when hunting deer. Do you think the squirrels can see it?
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Movement is what bites us mostly with game animals. But I’ve had better luck with squirrels with no orange. And even better with a face mask and gloves. Just depends on how spooky the squirrels are that you hunt. Some are almost completely oblivious.
 
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Vetmx said:
Movement is what bites us mostly with game animals. But I’ve had better luck with squirrels with no orange. And even better with a face mask and gloves. Just depends on how spooky the squirrels are that you hunt. Some are almost completely oblivious.
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@Vetmx I asked because I've read that deer can see the color blue. As a result I wondered was orange a color that stands out to squirrels. I agree. Most animals key in on movement. Some seem more oblivious than others.
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@Vetmx I asked because I've read that deer can see the color blue. As a result I wondered was orange a color that stands out to squirrels. I agree. Most animals key in on movement. Some seem more oblivious than others.
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I don’t think there is an emphasis on studying squirrel vision. There’s no money to be made like there is with understanding deer vision. Since squirrels don’t operate at night like deer and dogs, I would guess they can see color. A squirrel does not care about a crow or buzzard, but they go nuts when they see a hawk or owl.
 
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Yeah I've pretty much quit deer hunting except for my two boys that like to hunt them still so I help them out a lot. I haven't pulled back my black widow in years on the deer. I still go out so during rifle season usually with one of my pistols but for me to shoot a buck it's gotta be bigger than the ones I have on the wall and I haven't ran across one of those in quite some time. I think though this year I'm going to try to shoot a few slick heads with the old 44 mag it hasn't barked in a while
 
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No longer torn. Buddies are showing up tomorrow to deer hunt so I came up with a plan. Hunted deer this morning then went to one of my favorite spots for squirrel in the evening. Great evening. High winds don’t mess with this spot because it’s so low. Lots of longer range shooting to test the gun and skills. Two shot around 50, two around 75 and one around 60 yards. Did have a FX Impact situation unfortunately. Was shifting shooting positions and spun my valve knob. I always put a grub screw in the knob to lock it down with my hunting guns but I obviously forgot with this one. Had to guess where to spin it back to. Shot three afterwards but I can’t wait to see how close I got it. Now it’s solid buck hunting until I get one.

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Vetmx said:
Couldn’t help myself. It was over 80 degrees today so I slipped up behind my camp for a pm squirrel .177 hunt. Both 40 yard shots. Slugs to the vitals doesn’t kill them on the spot but does a surprisingly good job.

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Awesome work man! That's one of my dream guns right there, in 22 specifically.
 
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