favorite squirl load

[charlie cleveland]

whats your favcrite squirl load...mine has to be the 10 ga with 1 1/4 shot ive made some unreal kills with this load in no 6 or 5 loads...if i could have 2 choices the next would be the 410. ga in 3 inch chambering and s load of 7 1/2 chilled chot... charlie

[Jay Gardner]

.32 cal. prb over 20 gr. of FFF. Makes a neat little hole and smells good too. ;-)

[Steve Havener]

.22 Long Rifle Hollow Point fired from a Winchester Model 69.

[Dave Miles]

100 yd head shoots, with a Cooper 22 LR, MTV.

[Dean Romig]

.270 with 110 grain bullets.

[Marc Retallack]

.270 with 110 grain bullets.

Robert Ruark would be proud:cheers:

[Theodore LeDurt]

How do you find fault with a man who uses a 10 gauge for squirrels?! Charlie, you rate up there with my friend who uses his 8 gauge for dove and pheasant.

[Rich Anderson]

As a fan of Robert Ruark I'll say 400 gr solids from a custom made 416 Taylor. In reality I much prefer the 40gr .22LRHP from my Kimber Super America or a little tricked out Ruger 10/22.

[charlie cleveland]

theodore i too use the 8 ga on squirls byt if you if your sneaking thru the woods that old 8 gets mighty heavy...now i know why you fellas use them bear rifles for squirls you cleanim and guttem with one shot..gotta get me a bear rifle for squirls too... charlie

[Steve Havener]

.270s --- .416s --- 10 gauges --- 8 gauges where has the sportsmanship of our youth gone? No I'll answer that it's gone with our strong bodies, keen eyesight and steady hands of our youth.

[charlie cleveland]

steve your rite all of our good qualitys are about gone.... charlie

[Steve Havener]

steve your rite all of our good qualitys are about gone.... charlie

Well Charlie after thinking about it a bit longer as I sit here surrounded by my Llewellin Setter, fine Parker, Fox and Lefever bird guns I have come to realize what we have lost with our youth is more than compensated for by experience and style we have acquired through the years. I am content in believing that it is an even trade.

[charlie cleveland]

steve i never thought of it that way.. we all have more good things to look after such as parkers and lc smith and even a few old stevens as we got older...but a little youth to go along with these things would be ok too....well back too the squirl guns i still like the old 10 ga and thats what i will be totin this coming week end... charlie

[King Brown]

charlie, I'm pleased you still carry the heavy guns. I've been looking to the lighter ones for the last 10 years. This year will be different, though, because my shabby 2-frame VH 12 was restocked beautifully by newf and, with just-right blue and colour for its age and wear, it will be first in the blind this year.

[charlie cleveland]

king i like the small gauges and the light weight but they just dont have the ..i really cant explain it... hope you do well in the blind i know that 12 ga will do its part...its hard to beat a 12 ga all the way around....ive killed my share of game with the 12 ga... charlie

[King Brown]

You're right, charlie. Light is easier when older but heavier is better.

[calvin humburg]

Setter man how about a picture of that 32 flint or cap. Dean excellent!!!

[Rich Anderson]

I like my upland guns fast and light and a 16 is a big gun for me and haven't used a 12 in the field (other than a grade 3 hammer gun for one Goose hunt last year) for years.

As hunting Tree Rats is a good tune up for deer season my weaponary runs the gamut from light to big to really big. I'm working up loads for a 257Roberts, 300 H&H and my 375 H&H. I have a great 325gr load already for the 416Taylor:eek:

[Jay Gardner]

Setter man how about a picture of that 32 flint or cap. Dean excellent!!!

You'll have to take a rain check. I left her down in Indiana to have a little cosmetic stock work done. Can't believe I am the only one on this board who chases tree-rats with a front-stuffer. I just love the way the smoke hangs in the air of a cool morning woods.

[charlie cleveland]

have cleaned the old parker 10 ga p grade 32 inch full and full twist barrels...have my special shells loaded up....25 grains blue dot and a 1 1/8 ounce load of no 6...all i need to do is drag out my grandfathers old game bagthat my grandmother made out of pillow ticking for him...been many of a squirl possum and mink carried in this bag by my grandfather and my dad...now its been passed down to me and i think it deserves at least another trip to the woods..hopefully we will have something to put in the bag besides candy bar wrappers and empty pop cans... charlie

[John Mazza]

Setter Man:

Occasionally, I also use a front-loader. It's a 24 bore flintlock fowler - based on a French fusil. It was aged by the previous owner to look like a 200+ year old original. The patterns aren't too great, and the frizzen is getting soft - but that sure makes it a challenge !

[charlie cleveland]

how far out can you kill a squirl with that 24 ga fowler...what kind of load do you use ... and did you say flintlock..... ive got a 12 ga double barrel front stuffer you boys have made me want to try it on squirls.... charlie

[John Mazza]

Approx. 25 yards - maybe 30...

Yes, it's a flintlock. I use a little less than one ounce of #6 shot (approx. 7/8 or so). Approx. 60 - 65 grains of 2F black, behind an over-powder wad, a cushion wad, then the shot, all covered by a thin over-shot card.

I think a heavier main spring and a newly hardened frizzen would lessen my mis-fires. (But a heavy mainspring would probably ruin the nice trigger pull...)

It just looks "SO DAMN COOL" to stroll through the autumn woods with a fowler that looks every bit like a 250 year old original !!!!

I have hunted pheasants using a modern repro 12 g side by side percussion shotgun. That's a hoot ! (Use approx. 75 grains of 2F black, and the same VOLUME of shot - again with over powder, cushion, and over shot wads/cards. Preload powder and shot into tubes of paper. I use orange paper for powder, and blue paper for shot. Shot tubes in left pocket, and powder tubes in right pocket. Wads in another pocket, and a capper loaded with caps. Be sure you lower hammers to half-cock position after firing, & before you reload - if you only fired one barrel. Better yet to remove the cap altogether ! It's un-nerving to reload the right barrrel when the left one is still fully loaded !!!!!! You just have to be REALLY careful !!!!) Mine doesn't have much choke (and I don't use shot cups), so it throws nice open patterns. Great for hunting over dogs. With this gun, one can "shoot 'em & smoke 'em" all at the same time !

Definitely a good time !

[charlie cleveland]

sounds like a lota fun using thefowler for squirls theres something about using a really old gun...it seems like we slip back into time using these old guns..its seldom i carry a modern gun into the field.... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

just set up me a pop can at 40 steps.. used my squirl loads in 10 ga of 25 grain of bluedot and 1 1/8 ounce lead no 6 ..used a claybrough and sons with open chokes and 32 in barells... had the can been a squirl it would have been in my bag..on the plus side there was very little recoil.... but i will be usiny the parker 10 opening day which is this sunday...look out squirls.... charlie

[John Mazza]

Good luck to you !

Be safe.

[Keith Parrish]

Its Saturday and I'm askin CHARLIE CLEV... howd you do so Monday you can say they've been askin!!!

[charlie cleveland]

got up early this morning was in the woods at day break which was about 6.15 am...wind was blowing at 5 to 10 miles a hour not good squirl hunting morning...seen my first squirl at 6.30 cutting acorns i watched him awhile then i pushed the safety off and fierd the right barrel down that old fat bore came... picked him up and put him in my grandfather old hunting pouch.. it had been a long spell since that old pouch had a squirl in it..did not see another squirl for over 30 minutes then i seen a limb move and i picked up 2 more squirls with the old parker 10...wasnt long tilli spotted another squirl cutting pine burrs put him in the sack too...boy was i on a roll so i thought .just like majic the wind picked up and i didnot see anything for almost an hour..finally spotted one running through the timber at about 50 steps cut down on him and out he tumbled...i hunted for a while longer with no luck gave it up and went home with 5 nice fat squirls....puttem in the deep freeze.. ive got to get a few more then i will have a squirl dinner...going in the morning so wish me luck....that old parker done its job and those old short ten ga shells with a ounce and a 8th of shot done there job.. charlie

[Dean Romig]

Good luck in the morning Charlie! Hoping for a windless morning for you.

[calvin humburg]

Glad you got some Charlie. Bet ol grand-dad was smiling. ch

[charlie cleveland]

boy this morning hunts was a dud...could not ask for a better morning wind was calm but i was not the only hunter in the woods this morning...i was surprized that i was not seeing any squirls finally i saw why the squirls were not moving the other hunters that were now in sight..4 hawks were patrol[ng my hunting area...i stayed about an hour with no squirl seen gave it up and went to the house...my grand daughter called me and ask me would i take her squirl hunting this evening..so about 4.00 we were back in the woods we managed to get 1 gray ...so today was not a total loss which any day in the woods is better than punchinh a clock...my grad daughter made me proud she helped me clean the squirl and took it home to have for supper... charlie

[Marc Retallack]

Charlie

If you had your granddaughter in the woods with you, it doesn't matter how heavy your game bag was at the end of the day.

Cheers
Marc

[Keith Parrish]

Always makes me feel better when i'm using an old gun in the field and some nice reloads when I get to bring a bag full of what ever I am out hunting.

GOOD GOING CHARLIE!!!

My neighbors rabbits got out yesterday and I seen 20 or so hopping round my barn... I'm going to give him til friday at 3:00PM to get them back in his cages then their fair game.
Don't have the tree squriel here where I live, all ours live in the ground and aren't worth feeding to the coyotes.
Might rabbitt stew for the family friday night.
I got some 7/8oz #6's roll crimped I been waiting to give a try on something moving.