There seemed to be more than just a first hint of fall in the air this morning in the mountains. So after coffee, I decided to go for a hunt. Although the Diana 48 /.20 was at hand also, I hadn't sighted it in with confidence, yet, and I just wanted to get out in the woods. So I grabbed the CDT tuned GHE and a dozen Beeman FTS pellets, knowing I could put the pellet on te target. Rode the 4-wheeler out to a likely spot where I had previously seen both a few hickory nut trees and squirrels. In the mountains, even in the green of summer, there is an under carpeting of dead leaves and twigs that, unless there has been a heavy rain, makes any stealthy walking about in the woods unlikely. So I parked the 4-wheeler and hiked without any thought of being as quiet as possible 50 yards or so off the old CCC gravel road (crunch, crunch, snap, crunch. . . ) until I found a fallen tree next to an upright tree trunk that made a reasonably comfortable seat. Then I sat down and waited.
In about 30 minutes, the woods had come back to life and I could hear the critters going about their morning business. The leaves haven't fallen yet, and a heavy overhead canopy of southern hardwoods makes a challenging backdrop. I could hear the little nut crunchers all about but couldn't really see them. Finally, I spotted one high above and maybe 30 - 40 yard (?less) away, but in any case, only in glimpses between brief periods of nut munching and sounds of falling shells. And the trees are thick enough so that the squirrel can easily move about. Over about the next 20 or 30 minutes, the gray squirrel visited several trees, including the one I was leaning against without offering a decent shot. I just stayed as patient as I could and waited. Finally, I got a semi profile shot on my right side, and took a RH shot at about 25 yards ant an angle at maybe 45 to 50 degrees upward, and through a small opening in the foliage. Hold under a couple of inches, Pop! Clean miss. Grrrrrr. A quick scampering noise then quiet.
OK. Lean back and wait again. Sure enough, another 15 minutes or so and it is back to business as usual for the squirrels. Finally another shot presents itself, but this time to my left, a bit closer and a bit steeper upward. I shift the GHE to my left hand, find the squirrel on a horizontal branch in profile, This time, I hold under about 3-4 inches and squeeze a shot off at the torso. Pop/twhack! The hollow sound of a pellet hitting the target. This squirrel disappears into the adjacent foliage, but no sound of scampering. Only quiet. So I wait. Finally, about 5 minutes or so, I hear and see a bit of movement. The squirrel is hanging on with front legs, but dangling from the same branch about a couple of feet from the first shot. Pop/thwack, and gravity takes over. The squirrel falls to the ground stone dead, the second shot having done the trick. It looked like the first shot had been a bit too far aft, but through and through the abdominal cavity with lots of blood. The second shot traveled upward through the belly and exited near the neck.
Well, in the summer, when the tree rats are chewing on my house, they are varmints that need to be exterminated. But in the fall, when I am heading into the woods to the squirrel's territory, that's hunting, and the ethics are different. So here's the Gamo's first kill, marinating and soon to be ready for the grill. A nice morning in the early fall woods, at least for me
