Today is the 2024 Squirrel Season Opener in East Texas

Ezana4CE

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Yes! It's finally here. Today is the season opener for squirrels in East Texas. Unlike most of the rest of the state, we have seasons for squirrel hunting here which used to be immensely popular in the region. They are one of my favorite game animals to hunt. I also just enjoy watching these agile and active arboreal rodents. The taste great too!!

The gray squirrel also known as the "cat squirrel" in these parts is a great game animal for myraid small land owners in this region because these small animals can be abundant on a few acres of land permitting property owners to hunt at home with low-powered airguns greatly reducing the risk of property damage or injury from stray projectiles. This is feasible where laws permit hunting on your property. In rural areas that seems to be almost every place outside of the cities in this region. Unlike West Texas, a one hundred acre parcel is considered a large plot of land around here and ranches can be as small as 25 acres. A buddy of mine in a different region likes to call these little ranches "ranchitos," as many a Tejano has in eras past. Anyhow, I woke up early and plan to be in the woods within the next hour with my Huben K1 topped with a Primary Arms 4-16x44mm FFP IR ARC-2 MOA scope. I will be shooting FX 18.1 grain diabolo pellets at around 1000 fps. Yea, she's humming them. Wish me luck as these old piney woods beckon this airgun hunter once again. It just doesn't seem right to not be in the woods on a season opener when you live in the woods.
 
No dice. Shot at two and missed both. Lots of them out there. Getting into position without being busted is the challenge with so many sticks on the forest floor. I think I got barked at more than anything. When I shot at the first squirrel, several scattered though the trees. Later I bumped the trigger and shot a pellet into the canopy, so five shots and a couple of barkers burned that spot. Ended seeing an important call that I’d missed when I was at my first location, so I had to leave about an hour in to return the call. When I went back I changed spots and the squirrels spotted me before I could see them. They’ve always done that on this property. Either way it felt good to be back out there. I wasn’t so focused on taking photos but I did snap this one during a lull to give y’all an idea of what it looks like out here.
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It seems like what was lacking earlier was validating my DOPE and reviewing my holds. I hadn’t shot this pellet weight in a while. I was into shooting 25 grain pellets and heavier with this rifle. The 18.1 grainers still pack a wallop. The way the gray reacted, I thought I’d hit it in the head. I hit it coming down that tree behind it in the photo and when its head was by that broken branch I popped him. Then he locked up, swung around the trunk and back slowly with a curled tail while hanging on for several seconds before falling. I shot two more times as he hung on. One shot hit that broken branch area that was next to his head by that time and the other ricocheted off of a branch. Ultimately the first shot ended up being enough. Caught him behind the shoulder and got a double-lung pass through. If you look at the small branch above him you’ll see where he was when he was first hit as there’s a drop of blood on it. It was a decent outing. I had to collect the carcasses after I shot the second squirrel because I didn’t want to let it get too dark, forget where they fell, and have to leave them in the woods. I made a good amount of noise stepping on fallen branches while dodging vines and spiderwebs to the face in order to retrieve the my quarry. Between that and the four shots, I had burned that spot for the evening so it was a good time to pack it in. Although I did walk the treeline on the other side of the woods once I exited with my squirrels.
 
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A view from the second spot I posted in this evening.
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I didn’t want to do plastic bags today so I toted them out old school style. Both were head shot at steep angles from 10-15 yards out. One and done shots.
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Gray number one
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Gray number two
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Here’s how it looked where the above squirrel fell. It took a minute to creep through all of that just to get close to that tree. I had to go around a bunch of tangled vines and undergrowth that didn’t quite constitute a thicket.
IMG_6584.jpeg

It may not seem like much but I worked for them. Especially that second squirrel. That had to at least have been a half hour to forty minute stalk. I missed the first squirrel I shot at and had to leave that spot because I burned it then I had to slowly slip into the one where these were shot. Decent outing for a little under two hours.
 
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Careful, you're burning more calories getting them than eating them! :)
I’m replacing some of them with a cold one right now. I’m still sweaty. It was warm and humid and I had to work to move slowly through all of that mess. I think you know you’re doing well on a stalk when deer walk up on you and are startled when you finally start moving again. That second squirrel was so busy I started making noise stepping on branches just to get a clear shot. He was high up in an oak and didn’t run off when I shot the first squirrel. It just took some time to get to him. It was work, but I genuinely love this type of hunting.
 
Yes! It's finally here. Today is the season opener for squirrels in East Texas. Unlike most of the rest of the state, we have seasons for squirrel hunting here which used to be immensely popular in the region. They are one of my favorite game animals to hunt. I also just enjoy watching these agile and active arboreal rodents. The taste great too!!

The gray squirrel also known as the "cat squirrel" in these parts is a great game animal for myraid small land owners in this region because these small animals can be abundant on a few acres of land permitting property owners to hunt at home with low-powered airguns greatly reducing the risk of property damage or injury from stray projectiles. This is feasible where laws permit hunting on your property. In rural areas that seems to be almost every place outside of the cities in this region. Unlike West Texas, a one hundred acre parcel is considered a large plot of land around here and ranches can be as small as 25 acres. A buddy of mine in a different region likes to call these little ranches "ranchitos," as many a Tejano has in eras past. Anyhow, I woke up early and plan to be in the woods within the next hour with my Huben K1 topped with a Primary Arms 4-16x44mm FFP IR ARC-2 MOA scope. I will be shooting FX 18.1 grain diabolo pellets at around 1000 fps. Yea, she's humming them. Wish me luck as these old piney woods beckon this airgun hunter once again. It just doesn't seem right to not be in the woods on a season opener when you live in the woods.
Hope you had a great day hunting!
 
Congratulations, they can be some of the most difficult animals to hunt. I bet it was brutal with the humidity, I cheat and use my dog. Lol
@MountainSportAirguns Thanks. I just woke up wondering how to wipe down my Huben. I was dripping sweat on my gun and on the magazine. I was very sweaty by the time I returned home, but I'm used to that. I prefer morning hunting because I like hunting during the cooler part(s) of the day. It's more comfortable.

@Dogowski Thanks I did. I like to have more time though. The good thing is the season just started so I hope to have some longer days where I can get about 5 hours in per day (morning and evening combined).
 
@MountainSportAirguns Thanks. I just woke up wondering how to wipe down my Huben. I was dripping sweat on my gun and on the magazine. I was very sweaty by the time I returned home, but I'm used to that. I prefer morning hunting because I like hunting during the cooler part(s) of the day. It's more comfortable.

@Dogowski Thanks I did. I like to have more time though. The good thing is the season just started so I hope to have some longer days where I can get about 5 hours in per day (morning and evening combined).
The weather should cool down soon and make for some superb hunting!
 

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