I checked the temp in my truck as I was leaving this morning & it read 68. The outside temp is usually about 10 degrees different so I figured 58 wasn’t bad. I got about ½ way to the woods & the temp was 47!! SAY WHAT!!!!! I wasn’t dressed for 47. I have an insulated blanket in the truck & stuffed it in the game bag of my squirrel vest just in case. (Even though it was pretty chilly, I didn’t use it.)
I got to the woods at 08:24 with clear skies & a light breeze. At 09:00, a deer blew behind me & a few minutes later it blew again but closer. Never saw it or heard it again. At 09:50, I took a walk around the woods to try to warm up. I found a nice sunny spot & stood there for 15:00 minutes. I found some fresh acorn (or Akern as some call them lol) caps & some torn up ground that could have been done by squirrels (definitely NOT turkeys) but no fresh cuttings.
The wind had been picking up all morning & was pretty strong at 10:45 when I headed to my niece’s house & then on to lunch. I think this was the 1st time I have not at least seen a bushy so I was pretty disappointed. I plan to hunt the north woods Monday morning & this woods in the afternoon which will probably be the last hunts until I get back from my fall turkey hunting trip.
Sunday 10/09
Since I refuse to waste any time watching the nfl, I decided to slip back to the woods behind the house for an afternoon hunt. I got about ½ back to find a pick-up in the lane, somebody must be bow hunting. Changed plans & headed to “my” secondary turkey woods.
Before I even got into, I spotted a fox about 20 yards inside the woods. It ran to a tree, went up a few feet, around to the far side, & was gone. It was 12:20, 55 degrees, light breeze, & sunny. At 01:41, I saw 1 running down a dead fall to the ground never to be seen again. At 01:52, a fox moved onto a limb & sat looking at me. As I slowly started to mount the rifle, it jumped back to the tree, around the back, & disappeared. At 02:15, I took a walk through the woods to the west. I saw a fox in the far NW corner but it sw me 1st. At 03:30, I took a walk through the NE section seeing nothing. I headed out at 04:00 walking along the edge of the bean field on the south side of the woods &, as I neared a hickory on the side of the road, a fox ran across the road into the opposite woods. Saw 1 going in & 1 going out. It was 60 when I left & pretty breezy but still a nice day to be in the woods.
Monday 10/10
I knew it was supposed to be cold this morning so I dressed warmer, luckily. It was 38 at 08:25 with sunny, clear skies, & no breeze, again luckily. If there had been any wind at all, I don’t think I would have been out very long. I don’t get along with cold at all!!
At 08:47, 2 deer passed to the west pretty far into the woods. I couldn’t tell what they were other than deer. At 09:25, 2 chipmunks started chasing each other all over the woods. It was fun watching them. About 5 minutes later, a red started running around. One of the chippies started the “cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep” yelling with the red scolding back. Finally, after 10 solid minutes, my last nerve frayed, I picked up a piece of wood & chucked it at the chip which stopped cheeping. This also proves that you don’t have to be a woodchuck to chuck wood. At 10:00 the !@#$%^&*()_+ thing started cheeping again!!!! Aaarrrggghhh!!!! This time it shut-up on it’s own after 8 minutes. It’s a good thing I couldn’t see it or it may have met Mr. Savage!!
At 11:00, I started walking out for lunch deciding to go up the ridge & out. I have watched reds carrying walnuts up the ridge each time I was in these woods & had no idea where they were going until this morning. I have found small piles before but never a cache like this. The log also serves as a diner. The temp had gotten up to 58.
After lunch, I went back to the woods I had hunted Saturday morning. I got there at 12:29 & the temp was still 58.
At 02:00, I heard a hickory nut hit the ground from the tree 10 yards in front of me but couldn’t see anything. Nothing was happening & I was considering heading out when, at 02:11, a fox started barking in the distance which set of 1 in the hickory from which the nut had fallen. It was scolding like crazy but I couldn’t find it. Finally, at 02:18, I spotted it directly above me. I’m not sure if it was there the whole time or moved there. I literally had to mount the .17 on the top of my shoulder to get a shot. Right after the shot, another started barking behind me but quite after less than a minute. I tried to get pics of how straight up the shot was. Look above the tree that goes from left to right with the end being dead. There is a dead branch with part of it hanging down. The young male hit that tree or would have dropped in my lap. It hit the ground less than 5’ from me. I hit him under the chin & the .17 exploded inside its head & shattered the skull completely. Never had that happen before.
I walked over to another hickory & was there from 03:30 to 04:00 looking for a bushy I though was there. No joy. I headed out at 04:10 with a temp of 64. It was another great day to be in the woods.
Squirrel
