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Final Hunt Till Pheasant Season

Hunting with a Ruger SingleSix .17HMR

It was raining out this morning, and sunrise is when I should be out hunting squirrels. It's rare that anything moves at noon, but I went out anyway, grabbing the revolver instead of my Henry. The handgun is much easier to carry, and though my odds of hitting something as small as a squirrel are greatly reduced, chances are that I wouldn't get a shot at anything anyway. It's sometimes nice to travel light and walk through the woods with my hands free. I did run into a few deer and saw a chuck run across the path; too fast to even draw the gun. Flood water cut the meadows in half, which once again limited my hunting area. I pulled up a stump in one spot and sat there for fifteen minutes and just listened. Everything was wet and quiet, though with my ProHear amplifier plugged in my ear, I was able to hear movement way up in the trees. I didn't spot a single squirrel today, but it was an enjoyable three hours. The smell of fresh air, the sound of birds in the trees and the sight of nearby deer always make the hunt worth while. Mosquitoes are still a problem, but it will only take a single freeze to make them a thing of the past. I sure hope that happens before pheasant season opens so I can get rid of the netting. I wouldn't last five minutes out here these days without it.

That's the end of the season until hunting resumes on October 15th with the opening of pheasant season. So far I've only bagged 3 squirrels this month. A hurricane and major flooding that submerged the meadows under around 7 feet of water have once again ruined the season. Last winter five plus feet of snow made the woods impassable. Hopefully this Fall and Winter will be an improvement over last. If you're having a good season, feel free to share your experiences in the comments section of any of my posts. See you again on opening day.

Two in the bag on a perfect morning

I had no idea if the woods would be in any condition to hunt today following the flooding caused by hurricane Irene and the hurricane that brushed by us the following week. I was amazed that water levels have gone from 7 feet to bone dry in just two weeks. What a fantastic day to squirrel hunt.

Season total: 3

'The Hunt' by Jim Drescher

Hi, Bob.

This morning, I woke to some fog and very little wind, just right for a walk.  Ruger in hand, I got into the woods about 7:30 or so knowing on a day like this, the squirrels like to sleep in a bit.  Stood for a bit, just looking and listening, as usual, and sure enough, saw the branches moving and shaking.  Yep, is gonna be a good day.

   Snuck along and spotted a black squirrel cutting nuts.  Had never shot a black one before so I got ready.  Could see him well enough with the eyes but when I put the scope on him, almost couldn't!  He was so black that he blended in perfectly with the wet bark on the trees.  And talk about fast!  Them little buggers sure can move when they want to.  Never did slow down enough for a shot.  He had an idea of where he wanted to go.  Then I saw the fox squirrels jumping in the branches.  Passed the black and started the sneak on the bigger ones.  Nearly twice the size of the blacks, I was going to get them for sure.  As I was sneaking, I saw another black to my left.  Then another!  They were moving well.  After getting to my favorite tree, I just stood.  By this time, I could hear the rain coming thru the trees.  Oh, great!  But could tell by how it was acting that it wasn't gonna be a toad choker so I stayed put.

The fox squirrels decided it was time to play hide and seek so I sat down, hoping the rain didn't get any worse.  Covered the scope and wasn't getting too wet, so I waited for something to show.  Not sure what it was that saw me, probably a coon, but he sure wasn't sticking around for me to see HIM!  Then the tree in front of me produced a nice shiny little black squirrel.  He was doing  his normal routine so I got ready.  Leaned on a small tree, rock steady, crosshairs on his chest, and down he came.  Great, my first one!!  (I know they are a color phase of grays, but this is a novelty to me)  Sat back, didn't move, and there was another one that came down the same tree.  Bingo, double.  Then the fox squirrel showed up.  40 yrd shot, easy, but he was traveling too.  I watched him disappear into the undergrowth.

Heard a tree fall, the section ahead of me was very flooded and it must have been an old one because it made a tremedous racket!  Crack, boom, crash!  Then could hear it get all ground up by the moving water.   Interesting sound for sure.  Walked down to where I thought I heard it fall and learned an important lesson.  A fox squirrel was barking his head off at me, seeing me come down the trail.  Ok, another to add to the bag.  Careful aim, shot, he hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and immediately bounced into the water.  Sank like a rock.  Didn't even get to see what he looked like!!  Note to self, make sure you can get them if you shoot one.  Not gonna make that mistake again!

The rain stopped, the sun came out, turned into a beautiful day.  Now I have to go skin so that's the new story!

   Jim~

Great story buddy! Thanks for brightening up our September 11th. Jim and I served together in the Navy Seabees at the Naval Station Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands.

Opening day, 2011

Squirrel season opened today so I took a vacation day to try my luck. It's less than a week since hurricane Irene trashed our state, so I was expecting the worst. The CT River had reached a record level, which tends to end up in the Meadows, flooding everything out.I was hoping for the best, but in the back of my mind I knew what I would be facing.

As I neared the parking area, my worse fear was a reality. The entire parking lot was under at least a foot of water.  If you follow this blog, you are aware of how bad it's been the last couple years. In those years we had as much as 5 feet of water in spots. Today was worse. The entrance gate was almost totally submerged. I've never seen that happen before.

Today is opening day, so I decided to make the best of it and hunt the small paths that run left and right of the parking lot. Even here hunting was limited because much of the path was submerged and impassable. I turned around to hit another path, and soon I heard movement in a tree. The floodwater prohibited me from getting any closer, so I stood still and waited about a minute until I had a clear shot. I brought along my Henry Pioneer H001T lever gun with a Cabela's 9X scope. Usually I wouldn't have taken the shot because the squirrel was over water and irretrievable, but who knows when or if I'll see another squirrel for some time? I got the squirrel in my cross hairs and squeezed one off. The squirrel dropped and splashed into the water. One down. 39 to go. That broke the ice for the season, but after about an hour more of walking around and seeing nothing, I decided to leave. Next stop, Roraback WMA.

Roraback is a beautiful area to hunt, and I've posted plenty of photos of it over the years. The problem is that small game hunting in the area stinks. The WMA has plenty of deer and turkey, but small game is rare. The DEP says the problem is habitat. Who knows, but one thing I do know is that I usually see nothing.

When I arrived, I started down the main dirt road. This is really a beautiful place. Unlike the Meadows, it's dead quiet and bugs are few. Nut trees line both sides of the road, and it wasn't long before a found nuts split and chipped all over the ground. I sat down and listened. Tiny objects were dropping from the trees, and a squirrel was barking in the distance.

The state converted Roraback's old house into the DEP headquarters, and it's only a couple hundred yards from where I was hunting. There are also houses that surround the WMA, which a .22LR could easily reach. For that reason I left the Henry in the car and brought along my old Mossburg bolt action 20 gauge shotgun. I knew that these trees would be high and leafy, making it almost impossible to get a visual on a squirrel for more than seconds. A shotgun would increase my chances enormously, as well as removing the concern that a stray shot placed up in the air might make it to a neighbor's house.

In time that squirrel showed itself at the top of a high tree. I took a shot and it dropped to a lower branch, likely stung by a few BBs but not badly wounded. It was clearly out of kill range. In about 5 minutes I spotted the squirrel again, but I lost sight of it and couldn't acquire the target again. I sat the spot out for 30 minutes, and though I could hear squirrels in the tree tops, I couldn't spot them. In time I left and hunted other areas. That was the end of this morning's action, so I put the shotgun away and headed home.

Today was a disappointment, and I'm not really sure what to do next. Roraback is a long haul, and the squirrels are so few and far between that I don't plan to return very soon. The Meadows will not be huntable for months. Where to go next? I have tomorrow off, so I think I'll spend the day shooting my Henry's at the range. I hope you're having better luck than I am. Please post a comment if you have a story to tell. We're all looking forward to reading about your day.

In the woods at 5:15am

It's been some time since I've been in the woods for two reasons. First, because small game hunting stinks around here due to the explosion in the predator population, which includes hawks, fisher cats and coyote. And second because it's so hot and bug infested. The state is broke and laying off over a thousand state workers this month. They are no longer spraying for mosquitoes, and 'White Nose Syndrome' has decimated out bat population, so the area around the swamps were I hunt is even more infested than usual. That means I have to be covered from head to toe, and I over heat once it gets much over 70F. Last night was in the low 60's, and it was going to quickly go up to 90F by about 10am, so I decided to get into the woods early.

I set the alarm for 4am and reached my hunting spot by 5:15. Sunrise is supposed to be at 4:35, but when I arrived it was almost pitch dark, even with a full moon and I could barely see well enough to make my way through the woods. I was carrying my scoped Henry .22LR octagon and my objective was to bag a woodchuck.

I reached the place in the woods where I planned to sit it out until I could see something through my scope, and took a seat to just listened. There was a crash to my left, which I'm guessing was a deer that I spooked. It really is quite spooky sitting in the dark while knowing that the nocturnal animals can see me, but I can't see them.

By 5:30 the sky was bright enough to begin hunting. I came across 2 rabbits, but as usual, they are not in season. By October they will be gone as they are every year. Very few survive the predators until fall, and when they do, the pheasant hunting dogs flush them out.

I hunted for about 2 hours without seeing a single squirrel, which doesn't raise my hopes for the September squirrel hunting season. I definitely need to explore a new spot over the summer. No woodchucks either. That's not unusual, since small game hunting has been horrible here for years since the increase in the predator population. Coyotes can be hunted, but the hawks are protected and fisher-cats can only be trapped. The DEP needs to get involved in getting these populations under control. WMA stands for 'Wildlife Management Area'. The problem is that there's very little management. I've contact the DEP and the DEP Biologist numerous times regarding this problem, and thus far they have done nothing. Since the state is drastically budget cutting, I don't see things getting any better.

Once again today's hunt has turned into another nice walk through the woods. I sometimes wonder why I bother to carry a rifle. Next time I will be hunting from a new location and maybe things will begin to turn around. Time to Google a new hunting spot. 

White Nose Syndrome Continues to Decimate Bat Populations Outlook for Connecticut’s Bats is Bleak (From the DEP wedsite)

"A syndrome that attacks hibernating bats continues to kill them at alarming rates both in Connecticut and in expanding areas range-wide, which will lead to a dramatic reduction in the size of the state’s bat population this summer, according to wildlife experts at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

DEP Commissioner Amey Marrella said, "On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the outbreak of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) that we are seeing serves as a reminder of the fragility of our planet and the interconnectedness of all living things. The massive die-off of the bat population that it is causing is also likely to have serious impacts on agriculture, forestry and other sectors of our economy."

Jenny Dickson, DEP Supervising Wildlife Biologist, said, "White Nose Syndrome continues to have a catastrophic effect on bats. Just three short years ago, one of Connecticut’s largest hibernacula had over 3,300 wintering bats. This year fewer than a dozen remain—all but one showed active signs of WNS. The outlook for their survival is grim."

The DEP says visits to other winter hibernacula – caves and mines where bats hibernate– revealed similar mortality rates. Another large site showed a 95% decline in bat numbers since a winter count in 2007. The only positive note from the 2010 surveys was that only three of the remaining bats at that site showed visible signs of the fungus.

Dickson also noted that WNS continues to take a devastating toll in the nearby states of New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, where a significant percentage of the state’s bat population hibernates for the winter...."

Spam hitting my blog!

I just noticed that there were two posts on my blog that I didn't put there. They are obviously spam. If you happen to come across any, I'd really appreciate it if you'd post a comment telling me 'this post is spam' so I can get rid of it. Sorry, and thanks very much for your help.

Ready to hunt in the morning

Hunting has been so bad lately that I'll enjoy an early morning walk through the woods, traveling light with a Ruger SingleSix 17HMR and a Triple-K holster. If I happen to come across a chuck or a coyote, I'll be ready because this revolver is now shooting nearly like a rifle at 25 yards. I talked to a delivery driver at work today and he said that his yard is full of chucks, squirrels and coyote. Small game is thriving in suburbia where food is abundant. Predators like coyote follow them there where neither can be hunted.

Not a bad one-handed shot while taking a movie with the other. Ruger SingleSix .17HMR

SingleSix in a Triple-K Holster

When will management of the growing hawk population begin?

Took the scope off my 22LR and sent it to Henry for repair. When it returned I screwed the scope back on and took it hunting this morning. Wasn't sure if it would still be on target. Took one shot at a one shot whiskey bottle at 50 yards and blew it up. Excellent!

I hunted this morning but I'm sorry to say that I have nothing to write about. It seems that everywhere I went there was a hawk sitting in a tree hunting the same area. Is it any wonder that all the small game appear to be cleaned out? I can't remember the last time I saw a squirrel, and chuck hunting last year was lousy. How can we stand a chance against a predator who is patrolling our hunting spots around the clock from a constantly moving tree-stand with the eye of an eagle? The DEP needs to manage the predator population in the WMA's or small game hunting will be a thing of the past, and so will youth's entry into the sport.

The difficulties of hunting in CT

Last Saturday was a beautiful day and I decided to go on an early woodchuck hunt. Chances are slim that I'd see anything so early in the year, but the season is open so I thought I'd give it a shot.

About halfway through my hunt, I veered off the main path and began hunting the water's edge. I had my ProEars on which greatly magnify sound, and at a distance I began to hear the deep roar of engines. Within a minute two dirt bikes came blasting down the path that I had just been walking for chucks. Getting on my cell, I dialed up the DEP Hotline. Their response was that there were no officers anywhere in the area. No offer to call the local police since bringing a motor vehicle into a Wildlife Management Area is illegal. Nothing.

The woods are lawless in Connecticut's WMA's during these days of budget cuts. Only four years ago CO's could be seen regularly in the woods, greeting hunters, checking licenses, verifying calibers, etc. But over the past three years CO's simply don't exist where I hunt. I sometimes wonder how many hunters don't have licenses, tags, and may be exceeding the game limit?

Most hunters in this state only have Saturday to hunt due to the Blue Laws which prohibit Sunday hunting (an idiotic law). One incident like this and the week's opportunity to hunt is over. This is not good for an already dying sport. The numbers of hunters in this state is steadily declining. Along with the decrease in CO's there's obviously a reduced number of birds being stocked weekly. Too many hunters are leaving the areas on Saturday with an empty bag and without even having the opportunity to take a shot. Read through my blog to see how many times I've walked the WMA's without a single squirrel sighting.

How many young people from this digital generation are inclined to spend their Saturday's walking the woods and seeing nothing? Most (including my son) would prefer to be in their heated, bug-free room playing a networked game of 'Call of Duty' with their online friends. There they socialize with their buddies in the comfort of their room while firing the most awesome array of weapons of war in incredibly realistic high definition environments. I hate to say it but days like this make me wonder why I bother to beat a dead horse. Maybe I should return to river fishing instead. Didn't I say that last year? I guess it only takes one good sighting and a clean kill to remind me how great it still can be and why it's still worth all this frustration.

This video was taken the following weekend

Effective Range (According to Henry)

• Caliber 22LR 75 yards
• Caliber 17HMR 200 yards

Eagle spotted in CT!

The weather was amazing yesterday, sunny and 73 degrees, so I decided I'd take advantage of it and take a walk through the woods. It's still early in the ear for chucks, but you never know. It wasn't quite as warm today (50F) but nice enough compared to the constant snow we've had all winter. I didn't spot a chuck, but I did confront a herd of deer, spotted lots of muskrats, saw coyote tracks and scat, and amazingly had a huge beautiful bald eagle glide over my head. In the Navy Seabees I spent a year stationed on Adak Island, AK in the Aleutians, which is a wildlife sanctuary. The island has one of the largest American Eagle population anywhere, and I worked as a telephone lineman. While on those poles I came face to face with countless eagles, and they can be intimidating while being held in place with only two thin spikes. Eagles were to Adak as crows are to Connecticut. There was no mistaking them, and there was no mistaking that what I saw today. I didn't have the camera on, so you'll have to take my word for it. I've seen plenty of hawks in the area in the past, and some have had semi-white heads. This was clearly different. Pure white head and tail with pitch black torso. I could see it clearly for around 20 seconds and it flew just over treetop level. I am still amazed by the sighting. Not by the eagle itself, but rather by the fact that it's in Connecticut! Things like this make it worth coming out.

By the way, since this was the first time taking out the new scope on the Henry 22LR octagon so I thought I should test it out. I put a plastic bottle on its side, cap forward and took one shot from around 25 yards. Took the cap right off. This should work nicely.

I received this quick response from the DEP Biologist on Monday:

Thanks Bob:

Your sighting was reported to me on 3/21/11 by the DEP Webmaster. Connecticut is home to about 100 eagles in the winter months and last year there were 22 pairs of eagles during the nesting season in the state: 4 were territorial, 18 were active. Of the 18 active nests: 6 pairs failed and 12 pairs fledged 23 chicks...

Last hunt of the season

FRIDAY EVENING
It's been raining all day today but should stop by morning. It will be the last hunt of the season. It's been so bad this year that I don't expect much, but I do enjoy walking through the woods in the very early morning with a lever gun or revolver. Who knows what might be there? It's always sad to see the season end, but before we know it we'll be out for chucks and coyote and the snow will be a distant memory. Good luck if you're going out tomorrow and have a great weekend!

"I hear coyotes howling everywhere must be a pack"

SATURDAY MORNING
I text messaged the line above from the field this morning. I was in the woods at 6:30 am. It had rained all yesterday and today the snow was frozen solid. I reached my hunting spot and minutes later I heard dogs barking. I was a bit concerned that there could be some lose neighborhood dogs running around, so I put on my ProEars and listened. The barking soon turned into howling! In all the years I've hunted these areas, I've never heard a coyote howl. It was amazing. They were in the meadow, across the ice on a small piece of land. I was truly amazed by how much the coyote calls sound like the real thing. Some of you may be thinking that I was hearing hunters calling. First, there's no way to reach the piece of land over the thin ice. There were no cars in the lot and no one hunts coyote here anyway. The calls were coming from 3 or 4 locations, all east of the meadow. They'd bark, howl, then maybe bark a little more, followed by a few minutes of silence before they'd start up again. They sounded more like dogs growling and fighting than the barks we make with calls. Very guttural sounding. This happened over and over. It soon became obvious that we way over call. We call over and over. They call once and stop. Sometimes the calls would overlap from various locations, but they didn't last long. This went on for about 20 minutes and then it was over. It was a fantastic way to end the hunting season. Next time I go out with full camo, without the blaze (not required after Feb) and I'll have my coyote calls. Better get into practice! Bark Bark Bark Waaoooooooooooooooo!!

The windiest hunt I can remember

I just returned from spending the last three hours walking through the woods during one of the windiest days in memory. It reminded me of the Aleutian Williwaw, with the wind roaring through the trees and the branches swaying about as far as they could bend. How the heck did we climb telephone poles in those conditions? (Click here for more on that).

Trees had been snapping and lay on the surface of the snow, with branches strewn everywhere. Squirrels stayed hidden, but they were smart to stay off the branches. The way the trees were swaying, it wouldn't have surprised me to see a gray squirrel catapulted through the air like a flying squirrel. I had my ProEars on which helped keep my ears warm, but I had to turn off the volume because the roar of the amplified wind was deafening.

Over the past week the temperature has risen to 60 degrees, causing a major meltdown, dropping the 5 feet of snow on the ground about a foot. Today's major drop in temperature made it possible to walk on the snow surface if I stayed on the path. For some reason the moment I stepped off the path I fell through the icy crust, well past my knee. The same thing happened occasionally while on the path, but it was the exception rather than the rule.

When I reached the very end of the WMA, I stumbled upon and startled a herd of deer. 4 deer broke straight ahead, walking on frozen pond and crossed towards a main road. 4 more broke to my right, circling around and headed towards the center of the WMA. I tried to make out if any of the 8 had racks, but they moved so quickly and my view was obstructed so it was impossible to tell.

This morning I did some wheeling and dealing with one of my shooting buddies. We did a bit of horse trading and I came home with my old Ruger 17HMR SingleSix. Today was the perfect day to carry a revolver instead of a rifle, freeing both hands to pull myself out of holes. A cross-draw shoulder holster was the perfect solution, giving me quick access to the handgun should an unfortunate critter cross my path. I took the opportunity to fire off a few rounds to be sure all was well with the gun. Now I have to explain to my wife the bullet holes in my handkerchief.

Next weekend will be the last squirrel hunting weekend of the season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that conditions improve so I might have some chance to finish out the season with something in the bag.

The following weekend Dan "Red Bear" and I will be visiting my friend Dirk's range, and we'll have some fun blasting together again. My Henry 22 Octagon began misfiring Wednesday at the range, so I called Henry and two days later I received a prepaid shipping label to return the rifle free of charge for repair. I'm sure I'll have the rifle back next week, so sighting it in will be a priority to prepare it for chuck season. I also want to zero in the SingleSix, and Red Bear is bringing his muzzle loader and offered to teach me how to load and shoot it. Check the blog in a couple of weeks for a report on the shoot. Now get out there next week and bag some squirrels.

This has been one lousy hunting season

We near the end of the worst hunting season in recent memory. March of 2010 was the wettest March in Connecticut history. Unending rain put my hunting area under five feet of water until summer. When the Fall hunting season opened and the pheasant hunters finally left the woods, we began a winter of record breaking snowfall. The snow became so deep that it became impassible until recently when melting and refreezing began, making it possible to walk on the ice crust. Tomorrow it will be in the low 60's which will turn the woods into 3 feet of wet snow. I plan to give hunting a shot Saturday since there are only two weekends left of the season, but I don't expect much.

Maybe this weather is a good thing, keeping those like myself out of the WMA's which will allow small game to repopulate the woods. I'm afraid that once the melting begins, flooding will follow, displacing the woodchuck population as it did last year. We can only hope for the best. Best of luck over the next two weeks, and keep your fingers crossed for the rest of the year.

Walking above three feet of snow

Ct has been blanketed with over 50" of snow this winter, which has ruined small game hunting this year. The snow is up to mid-thigh (I'm 6') so it's been impossible to hunt. We've been getting thawing followed by freezing for the past month, which had dropped the snow height a bit and today made the snow hard enough to walk on in places. Being so high made it easy to look over the terrain, and the snow being above the brush really opened things up. If anything was moving today I would see it, but I'm sorry to say that the woods were dead. It was nice to walk around out there after doing nothing but shoveling on the weekends for the past month. This may be my last squirrel hunt until September, since the season closes March 1st. This has been one heck of a lousy year for small game hunting, with record flooding early in the season followed by record snowfall at the end. Lets hope things turn around as things warm up, and that melting snow doesn't begin a season of flooding which will prohibit woodchuck hunting. I am hoping to get a couple coyote hunts in prior to the resurrection of the woodchucks in the spring, so check back to see if that happens. Hope you had a better season than we did in the northeast.

A final observation: In this video you will see a hole that a squirrel made digging into the snow for a nut. I saw 6 holes like this today, and all but this one had pieces of nut shell all around it. That means that somehow, these squirrels have the ability to locate the nuts they buried in the Fall, under 3' of snow, and they were able to dig directly to the spot, as if they had a GPS implanted in their head. God's creations never cease to amaze me.

Check out the Feb 2011 issue!

Will the snow ever stop?!

My son helping to dig us out. We've received at least another foot since this was taken.

It's killing me that the snow is now so deep, and it's so cold that it's become impossible to hunt in my neck of the woods. CT has received more snowfall this year than during any time on record, and the snow continues to fall. We received more snow on Friday and it will hit again on Wednesday. They just got around to using a mini-plow to clear our sidewalks, and when I took my dog for a walk yesterday, I was amazed to discover that the snow was from 2-4.5' deep! I'm not talking snow piles or drifts. I am not even going to attempt to plow through that snow carrying a rifle considering that I'm not 18 any more. The fact that there's only a little more than a month left to squirrel season makes it even worse. On the positive side, squirrel populations have been down in recent years, so maybe this is God's way of keeping us out of the woods so the population can regenerate. Who knows, but it's harder to get mad if God is behind it.

FEB 1 UPDATE
And the snow keeps coming! We've had 2 more storms since I wrote the last post, making the snow chest deep in my front yard. Tonight we are having an ice storm, expecting to dump more snow and 2" of frozen liquid on us, in one form or another. The hunting areas are impossible to pass, and if the snow ever stops, the flooding will last for months once the CT River begins to overflow. I expect that the disasterous 2010 flooding will seem like nothing compared to this. Until there's a major weather change around here, the 2011 Small Game Hunting Page will only remain a future hope.

A reminder for all my hunting friends in CT that your hunting license is valid from Jan. 1st thru Dec. 31st. Some of you may think that if you bought your license for the September season, it's good till next September. It isn't. Don't get caught in the woods with last years license. I love this new hunting license system which allows us to purchase our licenses online. It should take only a matter of minutes to renew your license if you're already in the system. Another thing I like about this is being able to print out multiple copies. I print one that I keep in my wallet and one to pin onto each of my hunting jackets (in those little plastic cases). If you haven't renewed, consider doing so now before you forget. I think the price has increase a few bucks since last year, but at least it hasn't doubled as originally planned. The democrats now have total control of the state, so I expect all licenses and gun permits to substantially increase in price. Don't blame me. You can guess who I voted for.

In the single numbers with knee deep snow

I think this will be my last post before I start my 2011 Hunting Page. The snow was from 12" to knee deep and it was in the single numbers. I would have gotten out earlier, but it was below zero. Guess who forgot to put on his snow pants?! My legs were stinging from the cold. I stayed out for about 1 hour, then left because nothing was moving (including me). This was one morning that I was actually looking forward to seeing snow mobile tracks so I'd have a path to walk in. It was even too deep for them. It was beautiful out there though.

I Know Where You Live

I arrived in the woods well before sunrise and it was so dark I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I hunted yesterday and saw plenty of tracks in one area, but though it was early and the tracks were fresh, there wasn't a squirrel to be found. My thoughts were that these squirrels had to be foraging around very early, so it was my plan to be there early enough to greet them. I was able to locate the spot in the dark by spotting the familiar outline of a big tree. I could barely make out its silhouette against the deep violet hint of light that was in the sky. It was now one half hour before sunrise and I was free to load my rifle.

I sat silently under a tree in the snow and watched for any sign of movement. Within 10 minutes I saw the shape of something moving to my left. It was the squirrel I was looking for and it was about 25 yards away. Excellent! For a few moments it was in the clear, then it disappeared behind a tree as it foraged around in the snow. It still hadn't see me, but I quickly lost sight of it. "Where the heck did it go?" I thought. I was amazed how quickly the area was beginning to light. Literally second by second what was only a shape moments ago began to fill with warm color and become recognizable. About 50 yards in front of me I caught a gimps of another squirrel on a tree trunk. This is great! Was it the same squirrel or another? I had no way of knowing, so I sat tight so as not to give away my position. I figured that once I took my first shot, I was busted and the game would be over. I held off taking a shot, hoping to still bag the squirrel that was closer and on the ground. I needed to move in.

Getting on my stomach in 6" of snow, I began to slowly crawl towards the target. "Where is it?" I still couldn't locate its position. Maybe that one 50 yards out and this one are one in the same. From the tracks I studied yesterday it was interesting to watch how these squirrels moved only a few feet on the ground, then leaped to the nearest tree, moved to the back of the trunk, leaped off and moved onto the next tree. Never did I see a track run around a tree. They moved tree to tree, which made it obvious why these bushy tails were so difficult to hunt. I would only see them for seconds before they disappeared to the back of the tree and moved on to the next. They were smart, and that's why they're still alive. "Survival of the fittest", and these survivors were the best. After all, they made it through five months of hunting in this intensely hunted area.

In time I silently got on my feet and carefully scouted out the area. My hunch was correct that these squirrels only moved in the dark, and once it was light they were gone. I hunted for the next two hours and saw nothing.

It was a fun morning, crawling through the snow in the dark while stalking a squirrel like I did when I was a kid. These squirrels will survive to see the new year, and it was good to know that I now know where they live and how they move, which opens the new year to the possibility of some interesting and fun hunting adventures.

Wishing you a Safe and Happy New Year, and may it be filled with many new hunting adventures!

Just one in the bag today

It was a perfect morning for hunting, and the only guys in the woods were the deer hunters that were silently waiting in their tree stands. I hunted for a couple of hours without seeing anything, then a squirrel finally showed up to add some excitement to the morning.

Thinking back, I've been hunting this area for 3 years and have likely taken a hundred of so squirrels out. It's very possible that the squirrel population has simply become too thin between my constant hunting and the predatory hawks and fisher cats that are always working the area. It's time to find a new spot.

At least today I had some fun and got to bag another with my Henry 17HMR at around 75 yards. Watch the video.

Season total to date: 12

2010 Season Highlights

Just unpacked a new Henry Golden Boy .17HMR

A restful afternoon in the woods, and sounding off on the WMA's

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After working 12 long, high pressure days, it was good to once again rest under a tree in freshly fallen leaves, waiting for the appearance of a gray furry friend. I really needed some rest today, so there was no way I was going to get up at sunrise to meet the squirrels while they feed. Instead, I didn't get into the woods until noon. Everything was against me; it was cloudy, windy and the time was wrong. As expected, nothing moved, but it was good to just 'be there' today.

It was quiet in the woods for a Saturday. Usually most of the pheasant hunters are out early, and get frustrated and leave by around 11:00. There were still a few stragglers that I had an opportunity to talk with. I'm sorry to report that the feeling from all was frustration and disgust. One hunter said that he piled stones on the fence that the DEP has to open to drop off the birds. It had been many days since he set the trap and the stones were still untouched. That means that they aren't stocking 3 times a week as they should. Two hunters said that they would no longer waste $28 on a pheasant stamp. I'll make that 3. I haven't seen anyone walk out with a bird in weeks.

One guy I said that he called the DEP and they told him that they are only stocking twice a week, and not on Saturdays. As I've said before, working people only have one day to hunt in CT. Are they stocking only for the retired and unemployed? They must be, because by Saturday the shotguns are mostly silent. It's a fact that the number of hunters in CT has been decreasing every year. I took my son out a couple times and it was so dead that he never came out again. Many teens would prefer to spend the afternoon firing a large caliber automatic weapon in a HD movie-like battle of 'Tour of Duty' that to walk in the woods for hours and leave bored, tired and dirty, with an empty game bag. I'm almost sure that he will never again develop an interest in hunting. What a loss, and I blame the lack of wildlife management in the Wildlife Management Areas.

When I've contacted the DEP over concerns I've had about the decrease in wildlife in these areas, there has never been a follow-up or an investigation. My comment is always treated like 'I know, you don't'. Well I'm the guy who is in these woods just about every weekend throughout the entire year. They're sure not out here (I haven't seen a CO in years), and they have never asked me for my observations or taken any comments I've made seriously. Maybe this is a department that needs to be privatized, but that would never happen in this liberal state.

What does the 'management' in WMA mean? Simply cutting paths through the woods in October and dumping some pheasant off for two months? You know I'm finding the lack of small game in these areas very disturbing. If predators like Fisher-Cats are the problem as a DEP biologist told me, why isn't a hunting season open on them instead of trapping only? I've seen 2 this year that I might have been able to take out with my rifle. I'm not looking for fir. I would like to 'manage' the population. How about managing the hawks? I'm guessing the left-wing environmentalists wouldn't allow that. There are roving packs of coyote in some of the WMA's. Why not increase the allowed calibers to something exceeding a 22LR in the more open areas? Not even a .22 Magnum allowed? They've got to be kidding. I'm not a biologist, but it seems to me that underbrush could be introduced into an area like Roraback to increase small game populations. How about capturing and moving around some wildlife? The industrial park where I work is infested with squirrels. Why can't some of this population be trapped and moved to the WMA's to breed? Food is plentiful and could easily support an increase in population. I've offered to do this myself, but the DEP told me not to because if I were seen with a squirrel in a trap, they might think I was taking the animal out instead of seeding the area. How about issuing a special permit to do so? Let's be a little creative! It's worked with turkeys and other species. If they had to close squirrel season for a year to bring back the population, I'd even be in support of that.

It's obvious that small game is being hunted out of existence by predators and hunters. I hope the DEP finally takes notice before the sport of hunting is lost for good in CT. By the way, Thanksgiving Day is the last day pheasants will be stocked. That means that bird hunters will be gone in a couple of weeks and we can get serious about hunting again. Although it is often discouraging, there are those moments when things come alive and it all becomes worth it. I'll be out and I hope you will be too. Good luck, and post a comment to let me know how you make out.

Make some noise to open Sunday hunting in CT!

Mr. Rich,

I apologize for the delay in responding to your email dated 10/30 concerning Sunday hunting in Connecticut, the election season can be a little turbulent. Anyway, as a quick introduction I am currently the Director of Government Relations/State Affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It came with great pleasure to read your email concerning finally getting Sunday hunting passed in Connecticut . I wanted to let you know that it has become a major priority to pass this legislation in the 7 states that currently outlaw Sunday hunting completely. The state of Connecticut is very high on the priority list esp. since it is right in our backyard.

As we have come to understand everything comes down to dollars and cents. Fortunately, the passage of Sunday hunting legislation can be a quick economic catalyst that many states could use in these difficult economic times. NSSF just recently completed a study on the economic impact of Sunday hunting for Connecticut . In total the economic impact is in the area of 500 additional jobs and over $38 million impact for the state.

I will be happy to forward you a final copy of the report when it is completed in the near future. Also please feel free to forward my contact information onto anyone that may be of assistance to getting this legislation passed in Connecticut . I would ask that you reach out to any friends or family who support Sunday hunting and ask them if they could contact both their state representative and state senator. The more noise created by sportsmen on the topic of Sunday hunting; the greater the chances for success.

Thank you again for your time.

Jake McGuigan
Director, Government Relations
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
11 Mile Hill Road
Newtown, CT 06470-2359
(203)426-1320 ext 238
(203)426-1087 - FAX
jmcguigan@nssf.org
www.nssf.org

From my Oct 30th post...

One last thought: Can anyone explain to me the reason for the blue law against hunting on Sunday in CT, and if not, how the heck can we get it repealed? I'm in contact with a lot of hunters from across the country on facebook, and none of them can believe we can't hunt on Sunday in this state! Working people only have 2 days available to hunt, and the rest of the week the woods are quiet. There's no reason for this law to exist! If it rains on Saturday we are screwed for the week. It also might give us a chance of bagging something if the stocking truck doesn't show until Saturday afternoon. When I was a teen I remember watching the store manager from 'Two Guys' department store on the Berlin Turnpike get arrested for opening his store on Sunday. They finally repealed those laws some 40 years ago. Has it been a left-wing environmental group or politician that has been working to keep this anti-hunting law in place? If the Republicans can get control of the state, it's something we should work to repeal, though I'm not holding my breath.

UPDATE: Now that we got our backside kicked during the recent election in just about every CT office, I'd be amazed if the left in this state would even consider opening hunting on Sunday. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to make some noise about this just to preserve the hunting rights that we currently have! Write your state and local legislators, as well as the newspapers and let your voice be heard. Once our hunting rights are gone it will be almost impossible to get them back.

Bagged just one today

Only saw one squirrel this morning. I can't wait until it snows and the pheasant hunters go away so I can do some serious squirrel hunting again with the Henry 17HMR. The leaves are gone, the cold is coming and I'm itching to go!

Lots of action but an empty gamebag

Last weekend's hunt was so disappointing that I decided to see if I could take off from work today at noon, using 3 hours of vacation time to hunt. My buddy said that the state stocks on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and since I didn't see them stock on Saturday, I was hoping that they stocked after everyone had left. There's no Sunday hunting in CT, and if they stocked today, there's a good chance that I'd see some action.

Today was in the upper 40's, maybe 50 when I hit the woods. I pushed through brush for about 45 minutes and didn't see a thing or hear a single shot. Even though it was cool, the sun was shining and I was beginning to sweat out the shirt that was under my jacket and vest. I decided to stop, take a drink and cool myself down. I leaned my shotgun against a tree and the moment I began to undo my jacket, a hen flushed from the dried ferns, just to my left. I grabbed the shotgun and it headed into a huge mass of pricker bushes. I chased it as far as I could go, then made my way around the other side. I could hear the distinctive cooing of the pheasant somewhere in the dense prickery brush. I pushed through the area and examined every inch within sight, but there was no sign of the bird. After half an hour I finally gave up the chase. It was time to move on.

That was a good sign. The DEP must have stocked as I had thought, but though there were a half dozen trucks in the lot, I still hadn't heard a shot. I plowed through brush for another hour and now I was starting to tire. I decided to head back, walking the edge of the swamp. Many times when birds are released or they escape a hunter, they fly directly into a reeds that make up the swamp.

I passed through an area of ferns and weeds that is miserable to walk through during the summer, being chest high and swarming with bugs. Now that we've had a freeze, everything has died down and it was actually nice to walk through the area. The dried brush now stood only six inches to a foot high, and with such thin cover, I really didn't expect to see anything in the area. I threw the Mossburg over my left arm and continued walking.

Suddenly about 25 feet in front of me rose a beautiful ringneck pheasant! This was not a black cock like the last one I bagged, but instead, a brown and red classic ringneck. I couldn't believe it! I quickly tossed the shotgun into my right hand and and flicked off the safety. I put the bead just ahead of the bird and pulled the trigger. The bird stopped dead, feathers flew, and it dropped end over. I bagged it! Awesome! There was no doubt because I saw it drop like a stone. But not to take a chance, I ran toward the bird to be sure it wasn't moving.

"It was like hitting the lottery, then realizing that I was really just one number off. Total disappointment."

What an understatement! There was the brown head of the bird poking up above the brush and moving as fast as it could toward the swamp! If I wasn't so stunned, I would have had to laugh. It reminded me of Daffy Duck hightailing it out of trouble.

I took another shot as I ran but the bird headed directly into the swamp. It was gone. Could there have been two? Hey, I'm an optimist. I retraced my footsteps, hoping to see my bird lying there. Maybe the running one was a drinking buddy. No such luck. It was like hitting the lottery, then realizing that I was really just one number off. Total disappointment.

Then I thought back to the beginning of the hunt. As usual, since I need all the help I can get, I prayed silently as I walked, "Lord, chances are really slim that I'll come across anything today, but you can make anything happen. Even if I can get some action, I'll be happy." Well my prayer was answered, so I'm not going to whine about the birds that got away. I saw two birds when even the guys with dogs weren't shooting, and actually knocked down a huge cock pheasant. Maybe my 20 gauge wasn't enough. I'm guessing a 12 would have bagged it for sure. Whatever, I did have fun so I thanked the Lord for giving me a story that I could pass onto you today. It was a heck of a lot better than working, but I'm sure glad I don't have to depend on hunting for food. I'll get him next time.

First Pheasant of the 2010 season

Bagged a pheasant and a squirrel opening morning. I'm tired.

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Hit the woods at 7:00am this morning along with an army of hunters dressed in blaze. Hunting dogs were everywhere with their owners yelling and blowing whistles to get their attention. I ran into a guy with his young son and dog that I found were searching for their lost hunting license. The guy told me that if his dog put up a bird I could shoot it since he couldn't by law take anything. His son was obviously greatly disappointed that the day he likely had been waiting all summer for was here, and his hunt was already over.

I headed off in my own direction and within 10 minutes I ran into a guy carrying a blaze orange sleeve. He asked me if I lost a license and I told him that I didn't, but I know who did. I tracked the hunter and his son down and they were ecstatic! The father actually offered to give me a reward, but it was enough to see the relief in their faces.


Competition is fierce for birds, especially considering that so many hunters have at least one dog. Some have as many as five! How can I find something if they can't? They can cover ten times the area that I can in a fraction of the time, and they can smell the birds! If you can't beat them, use them.

A lot of the dog hunters remind me of golfers that drive from hole to hole in their golf carts. Forget doing any work. They just stroll down the path with their buddies and scream at their dogs while the dogs do all the work. I estimate how far they can shoot before that bird that their dog puts up is hidden by trees, and I hunt outside that area. That way when a dog flushes a bird and I hear a shot, I ready myself in the direction of the sound and wait to see if a bird comes hightailing it in my direction. Today that strategy worked, and a hen came flying right at me. Within seconds I was on it, took a shot and knocked it down. There's nothing like the feeling of coming out of the woods with a bird in your bag when the guys with the expensive shotguns and dogs come out empty handed. See, God does answer prayer ;) Hope you had a fun and memorable opening day.

Last chuck hunt before opening day of squirrel season 2010

Squirrel evolution

As you can see, the squirrels in my area have been evolving to withstand small caliber gunfire.

Squirrel Calling

I went squirrel hunting this morning, but it was so windy that nothing was moving so I thought I'd see if I could call some out. The problem is that when they do come out to investigate the calls, they usually stay on the branches. With the wind causing ambient noise and movement, and with the dense leaves hiding them, even if they were out they'd be almost impossible to locate. At least it was a chance to play with the call without my wife yelling at me to knock it off.

A reminder that tomorrow is the last weekend in CT you can hunt before hunting closes for 2 weeks prior to opening day of the regular hunting season.

Jacob's squirrel hunt

Bob, here are a couple of photos from Jacob's squirrel hunt. He was pumped though about getting out and getting a few shots off! Seen 5 and shot at two with the Ruger .17 HMR bolt action. I hope to get him out on Wednesday morning before school. They have late starts on Wednesday's so we can get in about 2 hours of hunting and the woods are only about 10 miles from my house so we can get out and sneak in a few hours of squirrel stalking!

Mike Adams, Mossy Oak Pro Staff, Up North Journal

UPDATE

Jake with his two squirrels he shot today while hunting with my dad. One Grey Squirrel & One Fox Squirrel. Jake is a squirrel shootin' machine! My dad took him out after school for a quick hunt. He shot at and missed two others. That little Ruger .17 HMR does a job on them when he head shoots them! The scope is a little BSA 4 x 16 with illuminated crosshairs that I got at Cabelas for less than $100. I got it for night hunting coyotes. Works great!

Shot 3, bagged 2 this morning with the Mossberg

It was a cool and overcast morning, and by the time I reached the WMA at 6:30am there were about 10 pickups in the lot. "You've got to be kidding!" I thought to myself. These can't be all squirrel hunters! As I began walking down the trail, I discovered that deer season must have opened, and bow hunters were everywhere. I told a couple of young guys that I passed that I saw 8 or so deer two weeks ago. The deer seem to sense the season, so I'm betting they high-tailed it deep into the swamps where know one travels.

Within a couple of minutes, I spotted my first squirrel on the ground. It headed for a large tree and disappeared, so I decided to give it five minutes to make a mistake. It did, moving to a profile position on the trunk. I fired the Mossberg 20 gauge and it went down like a bean bag. Later, when I gutted the squirrel I noticed that 2 BB's hit it in the head. The rest penetrated only the fir, not making it into the muscle or the inner layer of flesh that contains the organs. When I pulled off the fir, all the shot simply fell out! I guess it's not really that surprising, considering how tough that outer layer of skin and fir are. It's not easy getting my sharpened knife to make that first cut, especially if they've begin to assume room tempature.

SQUIRREL CALLING

Once I reached my planned destination, another squirrel appeared, running towards a downed tree. I fired, and it shot straight up into the air, hit the ground and began thrashing wildly. I chambered another shell and fired. Once again I hit it, but it continues moving and dragged itself into the swamp's tall reeds. I searched the area for about 20 minutes for it, but I'm sorry to say that was the last I saw of it. That's one of the drawbacks of hunting squirrels with a shotgun. It's easier than a rifle to knock them down, but it doesn't always finish them off like a bullet does, especially if there's a substantial distance between yourself and the varmint.

Next I took a seat under a big tree, snapped off a tree branch and got out my squirrel call. I began giving out a frantic-type wounded squirrel call while slapping the leafy branch against my leg. That simulates a hawk attacking a squirrel. Though it won't always draw them out, it sometimes starts them barking which gives me a location. This time it started one running across a branch and I was able to nail it. That was the last one I saw through 11am. The call must have been convincing, because within 5 minutes I spotted something big about 60 yards out sitting on a branch. It launched itself straight at me and in a second I knew I had called in a hawk! It took a hard left and disappeared. I'm guessing it was looking for leftovers.

The Mossberg shot great, though the new magazine stuck on me a couple of times. I'm going to hit it with a dab of grease tonight and that should fix the problem. I wore my new ProEars today and they were fantastic. I could literally hear a pin drop. I remember thinking at one point how active the woods was this morning! Then it dawned on me that I had the ears on. I took them off and it was completely silent. Amazing! Shotgunning for squirrels is fun, but I still think that there's nothing like dropping a squirrel from a distant treetop with a rimfire rifle.

Dear Uncle Bob,
Thank you for the squirrel tails! We got them in the mail this week. My dad is going to put one up in his class room, Anne-Marie is going to take one to show her teacher and I am going to tack one on to my teacher....heh heh! I look forward to hunting with you one day. ~Alex

Season total: 8

Squirrel calling

I haven't done much with squirrel calling over the years because I've never had much luck with them. This week I decided to order a new call from Cabela's and I hope this might draw some of that tree bacon out of hiding. It's worth a try. This should be fun, and I'll post something as soon as I give it a try. Your squirrel calling tips are welcome. Please consider posting a 'Comment'.

September 11, 2010 Hunt

Season total: 6

4 in the bag on a fun morning!

This morning was perfect. I was in the woods before sunrise and the temperature was a crisp 50F with no clouds or humidity. Within minutes a got a glimpse of my first squirrel, but I wasn't fast enough to get off a shot. Further down the path a fisher-cat came out of the bushes 20 yards in front of me! It was pitch black with it's huge tail pointed straight out. It must have been as long as its body. I'm guessing it was following something because it didn't even look in my direction. That's the 2nd one I've seen this year, and only the 2nd I've ever seen.

To my left I heard a CRASH and 3 deer took off. A minute later 2 leap out at my right. As I entered my hunting spot, I set up a stool and took a seat. It wasn't long until another deer was standing right in front of me, followed by another. Until I started waving my arms they didn't move. Taking off my backpack, I began sneaking around the area looking for squirrels. I hear a rustling in the brush and move in, thinking it's a squirrel. It was another deer, and we were face to face. I think I should start deer hunting. In total I counted 9 deer.

Squirrels after a few hours in my crockpot

By 9am I had bagged 4 squirrels with my Henry 17HMR, and they are now in my crock pot slow cooking. Squirrels aren't the greatest things to eat because there isn't a lot of meat and there's a lot of small bones, but my dog loves them, so I cook them up and mix a little in with her food every day. Be careful to pull out the small bones before feeding it to your dog. In case you're wondering, yes, you can eat the squirrels (I have on many occasions) and it tastes like roast beef when prepared this way. When I cook squirrel for myself, I pull out all the bones, then add potatoes, onion, carrots, garlic and whatever. It does make a nice stew, though I'm the only one in my house that will eat it. I think my family relates it to something like eating the neighbor's cat.

Today was a great ending to my much needed vacation. Hope you're having a nice labor day and are having some luck this squirrel season. Drop me a 'comment' to let us know. Alex asked me to mail him a squirrel tail. You've got 4 coming buddy!

I can still clearly remember being 16 (the year before I entered the Navy), sitting under a tree with my brother who just returned from a year in Nam, smoking a cigarette with a light snow on the ground waiting for a squirrel to come out. We didn’t often sit down and talk, so these times were important, and they return to me often when I’m in the field today.

My first squirrel of 2010

This was my first time out during the 2010 squirrel season. I was on vacation Wednesday and at 37,000 ft, so I missed opening day this year. Day 2 was in the mid 90's with oppressive humidity, so I worked on mounting my scope and quickly sighting it in. Even though it was a bit cooler today, it couldn't get more humid. Being covered up to keep from being eaten alive by bugs in the swamp, I could only hunt a couple of hours. My goal was to bag a squirrel dedicated to my nephew's son who lives in Washington State. He's chomping at the bit to get his own 22LR and start hunting. This one's for you Alexander.