To me small game is the traditional: rabbits, squirrels, quail, pheasant, grouse. As for technique,,, I like to still hunt through the woods, just like deer hunting. I try to move as silently as I can, taking a step or two at a time then standing still for a few minutes to watch and listen for game. After a few minutes I'll take another step or two and repeat the process. When I say a step or two I truly mean only 1 or 2 steps, you'd be amazed how much a step or 2's distance can give you a totally different visual perspective on the woods that you've been scanning. Over the years I've actually learned to rely more on sound, rather than sight, to detect game. I find this also to be true in deer hunting,,, my other passion. 9 time outa 10, if you are truly listening, you will hear the sounds the game is making long before you actually see the animal. Once you detect te sound you can then use it to direct and focus all your other senses to the area the sound is eminating from for futher identification. I hunt mostly wooded areas and this technique works well for me, but as for hunting desert terrain or large open areas I have no experience there so I can't say how one should hunt in those areas, although I would assume the visual senses would be more valuable in those cases.One of my other favorite squirrel hunting techniques is to get fully camo'd, slip into the woods as quitely as possible, position myself on the ground in a prime feeding area in a ground blind constructed out of natural material gathered from the area, and then just sit quietly and watch and wait. Even after I drop a squirrel from my hiding spot I'll leave it lying where it fell and wait for the next squirrel to appear. I eat all the game animals I shoot and relish every morsel, as do my wife and daughters. My favorite dinner is a nice wild game stew or some fried rabbit or squirrel. As for what I consider the size limit for hunting with an air gun I have to admit that this is my first year actually hunting with air guns so I am still learning. The largest animal I've killed with an air gun are the woodchucks that I've taken, a couple of them large adults that weighed in pretty good for a woodchuck. I"ve read about guys taking raccoons with ease, and after killing a few woodchucks with well placed head shots I can see how raccoons, if your aim is true and you're using a suitably powered airgun, are a valid air gun target. And in case you're wondering,,, yes,,, I do eat the woodchucks I shoot if they are smaller younger ones. You may not believe it but they do actually taste very good. The meat can be tough so I usually parboil them, then barbeque them over some mesquite wood or hickory while basting them with some good barbeque sauce. I got into bow hunting years ago because I wanted to take deer hunting to the next challenge level,,, I got into air gun hunting this year for the same reason and the experience has been, and continues to be, one of the most satisfying and enjoyable activities I've ever engaged in.
