favorite squirl load
 

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

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

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

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

.270 with 110 grain bullets.

Robert Ruark would be proud:cheers:

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.

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.

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

.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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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:

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.

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

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 !

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

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 !

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

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

Good luck to you !

Be safe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.