ok another weird sort of day in Harry's 0.91 acres of wilderness.
With wife & son gone to the in-laws for the day, I decided to try and outsmart the crows again. I opened up all windows and doors in preparation for the crows I could hear & see up the road. I decided to bait them this time. I had saved the squirrel's tail from yesterday as well as the feet and put them out in the back yard on the snow about 25yds out so they 're visible to the crows from up above. It didn't take long for the crows to start gathering in the trees around the bait. Every attempt I made to come in within 6 feet of an open window or door, resulted in the crows flying away even after I let them pick on the squirrel's toes :)
About 2hrs later after not having seen them for 45min. I gave up and started closing all the doors and windows thinking of my heating bill, when I see a nutter starting to approach. I grab the 350 and wait until he 's within 30-31yds. He comes to rest at the typical spot where the trunk meets a large branch but presenting me with a nice broadside shot. He 's a good size and clearly visible. I take my place at my favorite window, raise the 350 up to his height about 35-40ft off the ground, and resting on the window sill I put the iron sights on his upper chest behind the neck and squeeze the trigger. The JSB exact 15.9gr makes a loud thump and the tree rat falls straight down almost touching the trunk on the way down. He lands at the base of the tree and starts flopping slowly like a fish out of water. 2-3secs later after a couple of convulsions I lose sight of him. I was like what the hey? This was my first kill with JSB Jumbos and was happy I finally used them in the field but where the hek is my squirrel? I grab the binaculars and notice a big hole in the ground next to the trunk. It's one of the old ground hog holes!
Oh well, I grab the 850 .22 that was next to me in case I needed a quick follow up shot and get ready to go check things out but not before I spot some movement in the tree adjacent to the one the other squirrel fell from. It's a big nutter! One of the biggest I 've seen in a long time. I zoom in on him and set the A/O. It got clear when it was between the 25 and 30yd mark. I look out and I estimate about 26-27yds. He comes down 1 branch and he 's approximately the same level as my upstairs window now. I 'm debating whether to take him now or wait until he comes closer. I also had loaded a clip of Crosman Pointed pellets this time as I was doing some target shooting with them earlier experimenting with different pellets on the 850. I decide to give these pellets a try on fur for the first time and break my 25yd rule I had set for the 850 .22. The left side of his body and head were slightly turned away from me so I decide to go for neck/head shot. I put the crosshairs at the base of the neck and aim 1/2" higher to account for some drop since I have about 90 shots through this CO2 cylinder and I have not yet put it through the chrony at various stages to get a grip on power loss as I go through a 88gr CO2 bottle. The gun's forearm feels a little warm because the gun was laying flat on the floor next to the radiator for a couple of hours so I 'm confident I 'll get some decent velocity & power. The squirrel starts barking now still in the same spot (only 4-5secs have gone by since he stopped moving). I raise the crosshairs slightly more to almost where his spine is, an inch and a half at the most behind the ear and squeeze the trigger. I hear a "quiet" thump as the Crosman pointed pellet strikes and see the squirrel fall through the scope. He hits the ground and slides down the icy slope and comes to a stop. He 's not moving! Wow I 'm thinking are the pointed pellets that good?
I pick up the camera and walk out to look for the 1st one. As I 'm walking by the 2nd squirrel and making my way towards the other tree, I notice the big squirrel suddenly opened his mouth. He was still alive barely taking his last slow breaths. I immediately backup put the A/O all the way down to 7.5yds and put one through his eyes to end his suffering. First thing that goes through my mind was, had I used the 350, this squirrel would have probably been dead before he hit the ground. I examine him and the pellet had dropped more than I thought. POI was almost 1" lower than the crosshairs but still lined up perfectly at the base of the neck. No exit would either as I had suspected. I continue up the hill about 4-5yds away and see blood stains around the base of the tree and around the hole where the squirrel took a dive. It's deep and dark. I don't see anything except some more blood about a foot down on a leaf. I stuck my hand down but got an erie feeling thinking that possom I 've been trying to get ran towards this tree a couple of weeks ago when I was shining a flashlight on him and trying to get a shot. With the hair starting to raise on my back I wrote him off and returned to the other to take some pics. This is a big nutter. His body is longer than my 13" long scope without the tail. He 's also the heaviest I 've picked up. Easily more than 2lbs. He 'll make a fine meal.
I was thinking 20 squirrels so far - it was a good season.. when suddenly I realized why the tree rats were so abundant the last couple of days. The neighbor directly behind my trees that border his property, had put out not 1 but 2 bird feeders at either end of their property at the top of the hill where mine ends. Yesterday I noticed the 1 bird feeder. Today I saw the other feeder on top of the hill where his lawn ends and my trees start, about 25yds apart from each other. No wonder it was like a zoo here today with Cardinals, chickadees, mocking birds and finches flying everywhere the better part of the day. These bird lovers unbeknownst to them have helped lure more tree rats in for me! :-) I feel bad I can't walk over and thank them, hehehe
