A couple of Winchesters

[Bill Zachow]

Edgar, a somewhat funny story about the gun and those shells. Wehad a bird feeder just outside our kitchen window. One day whem my grand daughter was visiting, a squirrel was on the feeder. I figured, like you, that I would only tickle the squirrel so I took the 61 and loaded a shotshell and told my grand daughter that I was going to scare him. I quietly went outside and peaked around the corner of the house. He was still on the feeder. Pulled up and shot--about 20 feet. Killed him deader than a doornail. Luckily, my grand daughter took it in stride. I was more shoked than her. Shortly thereafter, I targeted the gun and shot on a rusty 50 gallon drum. After seeing the pattern I knew what happened.

[edgarspencer]

I had a similar experience, with the same fatal results.
I had always just dusted the little buggers, and finally ran out of the old crimp-nose shells. I bought a pack (expensive) and figured the same results were a given. Knocked him off the top of the feeder, and dead when he hit the ground. I kinda felt bad. Squirrels and I have an understanding; this is a game, and the winner is the one who controls the feeders. I've just gotten the feeders out, now that the bears have bunked down, and they were sitting on the top, laughing, the first day. There's a slinky with a plastic funnel on the bottom end. That keeps then from climbing up the pole, pushing the slinky. So they learned to jump onto the slinky above the funnel. So far I'm in the lead, because I just raise the funnel up so they can jump onto the slinky from the ground. I figure that bought me a few days at best.