It'll be here before you know it, are you guys getting ready for hunting? Last year was my first time trying and this year I may actually invest some money in making it a little better experience.
>>64160248I'm always ready. What do you have in mind as far as extra expenses this year?
>>64160407Clothing. All I used last year was shit I had. Cheap long underwear that wasn't warm enough. A jacket that wasn't warm enough. Shitty old boots. A cheap chair that I didn't like. Just all around noisy, shitty everything.
>>64160457Some of the most successful hunters here in the far north hunt in the same thing they wore at work all day. They just stop on the way home stinking and dirty. Its more about knowing the travel patterns and habbits of your game than anything else.
Anyone has any experience with wolves? How tough are they? 55 grain hollowpoints out of 17” barral within 100-150 yards should be good from what I read- y/n?I have 223 and a 12ga, i hear people shoot them with buckshot also(this is eastern yuropoor btw). Bet even within under 100meters I am way more confident of hitting where im aiming on a moving target with my rifle.
>>64160541I know it's not necessary, but it would be a nice bit of extra comfort. I enjoyed everything except freezing my balls off. Not about to buy full Sitka or anything like that.
Guess no hunters this year
I want to try hunting but I'm just an urbanfag with rifles
>>64160248I want to take my kids squirrel hunting this year. I've never hunted but own a 22. Hope it works out. I'm getting my license here in the next couple weeks.
>>64160248What do you bros think about starting hunting by going for rabbits initially instead of durr? The license is cheap, all you need is an inexpensive shotgun to hunt them, and they're plentiful.
How retarded would putting a Trijicon Credo on my new .22lr hunting rifle?
>>641625851-6*
>>64160248bumping for your nice pictures
>>64162179Yeah, I can see an argument for it. Cheaper, easier to butcher, easier to transport the kills.
>>64162585Can't hurt anon. Is it something you already have?
I'm considering falconry for next year, but the area I live has basically 0 details about meeting other falconers to get an apprentice's license.
Got another rifle to try this season. 1978 Marlin 1894 in .44 Mag. Not sure if I'll keep the scope, it's kinda shit
>>64163855
>>64164047>so far everybody in /k/ has been having bad luck with scopes latelycant tell if its user error or that scopes are actually shit
>>64164063It's just an ancient 6x scope that's kinda cloudy looking. Don't think its moisture inside and the objective is clean. I'll try it out before deciding on anything
>>64163985No, but after looking through eurooptic once it’s the closest fit. It’s for my new Tikka T1x 16” for mountain west small game.>lpvo>30mm>not too much over $1k>fine mil grading on elevationSeems like most people way over scope, or put 4x fudd-plex tubes on their rim fires.
>>64164317If you're getting an SFP just get a fixed power scope.
>>64160248Just got back from a very short cow elk hunt. Nothing except some bugling from one bull. The area had fires this year and it felt empty, not even the normal density of cattle around. Lots of wolves, though, they love the rodents from fires.I did, however, find some wads of used toilet paper right next to the tank I was hunting. Bury your shit, and the TP, frens. Pigdisgusting thirdie behavior.>>64164047Neat raifu. How's it shoot?
>>64166648>Neat raifu. How's it shoot?No idea, don't have any 44 Mag ammo. Really want to see how it likes the Hornady LeverEvolution stuff
>>64168062Definitely post results when you get to it, please.
Yup, ive got mule, white tails, and moose on my game cams so far. Bow season starts soon so i might be punching a tag in two weeks.>Pic rel, last years solo hunt.
>>641702402/2
>>64164063Half of /k/ buys cheap shit and they wonder why nothing works.
>>64170240
>>64170258Xxmrdg
>>64170265>>64170258
>>64170240Very nice. This is gonna be my year
My LGS has Savage Model 99E with a scope and chambered in .308 Win for $740. Is this a good price for one? Wanna nab it for durr season.
>>64170564Is the scope actually any good? Seems kinda average price, maybe a lil higherhttps://www.gunbroker.com/rifles/search?keywords=savage%2099&pagesize=24&sort=13&view=1&ch-caliber=.308%20Win.
>>64170613If I'm not mistaken it's an old school Redfield scope on it. Was decent looking last time I looked at it.
>>64160248I need some new clothes but that's about it for this season I think. Maybe a trail cam.And range days, been neglecting practice over the summer
>>64160248I want to get into duck hunting this season, I literally don't know anything about hunting. I want to go jump shooting first to get a feel for it, plus decoys feel too much like fishing to me, which I hate. What am in for? Any advice? Also, any good spots in Ohio?
>>64171962Kuiu is doing a labor day sale starting today if you're interested. May buy a few cheaper things
>>64160248>are you guys getting ready for huntingI've already made a couple of trips with a gun, and I've realised how weak my old dog is. I think I'd have to buy a new one, but my parents who used to buy dogs for my dad's hunting habits are not into it anymore, especially since dad's health is failing him. Also I've got a dent in my car door, gotta fix that.All I've found yet is one corn crake, missed it by a hair. Currently I'm researching the area where I've collected a gun license, looking for birds and all. Don't want to invest in all that waterfowl shit like having a boat, a hide or decoys. >>64160821>(this is eastern yuropoor btwYeah, buckshot is perfectly fine, .223 should also work good. But you gotta know how they hunt wolves - the most popular hunt in my country is driven hunt with the red flags.
>>64175990Well that's nice but doesn't look like those leaf cunts ship here
>>64176084>leaf cuntsI don't think they're Canadian?>ship hereEuro?
>>64176394I don't know, the shipping prices were showing in CAD.And yes, euro
>>64176404Ah bummer. I'm sure you guys have your own brands there. Just wasted $380 on shit. Feels bad but so does freezing
>>64164047I wouldn't sweat it, unless it hugely negatively impacts your shooting. Just recognize it for what it is- a cool, classic, short-range deer/hog gun good for tight stands and brushy areas. It's probably a 4-5 MOA gun at 100 yards anyway. I've got an old .35 Rem that is similar, and half the time I peak under at the iron sights and confirm with the glass. Throwback hunting.
Every time I went hunting I froze my butt off
>>64178187Layers are your friend. A base layer of merino wool is required followed by subsequent layers appropriate for the weather
>>64170244>no respect for animal>putting your dirty boot for gay photo opDo americucks really?
>>64178858Yeah, I thought that was kinda low class, too.
>>64178858How do you do your hunts?
>>64179411If you're asking how I treat animal after a shot, it comes directly from our regional traditions. I'm talking about individual hunt, as the ceremony is different with group hunt.If the shot is good and animal falls immediately or after a short run and starts convulsing and trashing, we say that animal is "writing its testament" and we usually look away and don't approach until it's gone.Then after making sure it's gone completely, you can decide if you want to remove guts immediately or to do the ceremony first. If it's hot summer evening most hunters prefer to remove guts immediately.Then we decorate the shot wound with fresh leaves, often wiping the blood with snow or leaves. Then you, or your fellow hunter takes a branch with leaves, or if you're in the field a bunch of herbs, it's important that those plants are part of this particular species normal diet. You split the branch, you place some in the animals mouth, it's called "last bite", the rest is your prize or award, you place it on your hat. During this process you don't step over the animal and you place it's body so it looks properly without its belly split open or any other wounds visible. Usually you take your photo now.After this, you just do the rest, load it on the car, take it home and skin it. Importance lays with giving the animal the last bit of respect before it becomes meat.
For the past 3 years I've been able to watch fawns (close to a dozen at this point) be born and grow up around our property. The does and yearlings lay down about 30yd from my truck and I get to see them every morning. One of them was a spike, and I caught an 8 pointer running him last year during the rut. I'll try to find that picture and update later. Picrel is the spike in question, now 2 years old, walking with one of the new fawns from this year. I haven't seen the big buck yet so far, but if this one is still around, he will certainly draw the attention of other bucks in the area. Hopefully I can tag one of the big boys this fall.
>>64181263What regional traditions are those?The regional traditions for the Native Americans where I live is to kill a moose and take a chainsaw to cut it in half. Then they leave the front half of the moose out in the woods to rot because the shoulders are too complicated and tedious to butcher. They just take the back half home with them. Native Americans are very in touch with the land. I’m glad Canadian politics panders to them so much.
>>64181263Extremely well done.
>>64181380Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Czechia, Baltics, I think Hungary and Ukraine have it similar too.We're similar also in our treatment of hunting dogs. We love them and hunters from those countries get very attached to them with their families. So to better illustrate next point, you have a litter from your hunting dogs, 6 pups, all expected to be great dogs. But two of them have no passion at all, they're not interested in smell of the game, they panick when hearing gunshots. These two would just be given as pets to some family members, or sold to some little girl that loves german shorthairs, they're great family dogs.But not fucking italians or spaniards. For them dogs are just as expendable as ammo or pair of pants.Just go to the Galgo Español wiki page and scroll to the abuse tab. After each season those fuckers just torture 99% of their dogs to death, common practice involves tying or breaking their legs so they can't run and just stranding them in the field where they just dry up.Italians are the same, each year they take their young dogs hunting, and if they detect a flaw just blow pups head with shotgun.Dog bites the duck too hard and breaks the skin? BLAMDog scared of gunshots? BLAMDog doesn't immediately know how to fetch? BLAMAnd if you try to save some of those dogs they'll lose their fucking head screaming about shit dogs polluting their precious pedigrees.Anyway french are weird too, a litte gay. They have those weird ritual for new members. Like most new hunters, when they kill their first animal, senior hunter who's with them would take some blood and mark their forehead, it's serious tradition, but nobody's to serious about it, there's always a lot of jokes.But fucking french. Eg. you shot your first boar. They'll smear your whole face with blood. After the hunt, they'll strip you naked, sprinkle you with blood, have you wear fresh boar skin and dance around the fire. No wonder Roman's were hunting them all antiquity.
>>64181263>>64182387Ah. I see. Yeah i dont have those handed down traditions. My kids had no concept of how big the buck was until i sent them the picture of my foot by it's neck.
>>64185196Now is your chance to pass down some traditions.
>>64182387Damn. Germanics should have won one of those wars and spread their values worldwide
>tfw Texas >had some unexpected expenses so didnt book any good private land>public land is extremely pressured fuck.
>>64182387ngl, those are some weird fucking traditions. here we just share a drink and silently thank the forest for its gifts. I hunt moose and usually we skin the animal where it fell, part the carcass and bring it home, and leave the skin to the forest, as a kind of offering. carrion eaters will pick the pelt clean, birds will make nests with the fur, and whatever's left returns to the soil as nourishment for the plants.
>tfw squirrel season opens tomorrow i am ready and so is my 410, or maybe my 10/22
>>64179411In Europe, we always have the highest respect for the dead. Say a prayer to the Great Spirit and throw salt over the left shoulder while burning a beeswax candle to help guide the deer spirit into the afterlife. This gives a blessing to the next generation of hunters and prey. Then we file for the permits for the next hunt, 3 years in advance, and take the required 47 hours of sensitivity training, 2 weeks of gun safety, finger prints to buy the annual 6 cartridge ammo limit, and do the Hokey Pokey.
>>64187122>no penis inspection Count yourself lucky.
>>64164047noyce
You guys have any experience with hunting in cornfields after the harvest? I'm surrounded by them for 25 miles, but if deer cross them constantly, I think I can at least get close enough to one for a .308 or a 350L. My only issue is that there aren't a lot of natural funnels or treelines to hide in.
>>64189144You can always set up a blind, which can be as simple or complex as you like. On the cheap/simple end: put four posts in the ground and string up camo netting around it, or use poles like a teepee. If you have corn stalks around after the harvest you can use a pile of those to camouflage your blind.
>>64189144You need 50 or 100 native beaters to threash the fields and drive the game to you.
>>64181263This is correct.This tradition is known as Waidgerechtigkeit which is essentially ethics of a fair hunt. Schützenbruch is the act of dipping the sprig in the animals blood and adorning your hat is to show that you have honored the tradition of letzter Bissen (it's last bite).If you are American and have teutonic ancestry please look into our shared cultural heritage.Waidmannsheil germanon.
>>64188693saw this picture on /k/ like 15 years ago
I wish that rifles were legal for wild turkey where I live
>>64160248>smith fucked up what should've been an easy barrel job (found out when parts that should not move did in fact move)>"oh it'll be done within the week">pretty sure it's been about a week>still waitingNow watch him call first thing tomorrow when I wake up with the barrel fixed up all nice and I make an ass out of myself for complaining. I really don't want to go back to my old barrel again but I may have to. Shame because I thought I'd sneak in that work right before small game/furbearer.>>64160457Buy one of those incomprehensible Chinese brand name heated jackets on Amazon in a camo pattern. Fucking lifesaver as someone who hunts through winter. Ditto heated gloves. I've froze my ass off enough (3+ hours a day hunting in the winter is my idea of fun) to the point I just grabbed some heated clothes. With the heated jacket and some snowboarder pants I'm pretty comfy if a little loud when I walk due to the pants but it wasn't any extra expense since I already had them for their intended use.
>>64162179That's how I started, albeit with a 10/22 and squirrels instead of a shotgun and rabbits. Still don't have the space and time for a whole deer so I'm not that far but I'm getting there. I went from squirrel to rabbit to groundhog (finding just how tough those damn things are) to raccoon and fox. Raccoon was a nice surprise. Doing some cleaning up around the house I realized just how many pelts I have and how much it's going to cost to mount them myself (foam forms are $$$ and I didn't get into molding until recently so I don't have molds made from the ones I got); with the season coming up I have to hurry and do something soon. Last season I also finally got ONE fox which has been a goal for quite a few years. This season I want to ask some farmers if I can hunt their land (public is really wearing on my patience, I'll put it that way) and get a coyote.For my state, small game (non-furbearers) are on the same license as deer so there's no real savings. Actually there's some added costs if you want to hunt raccoons (furbearer) and fox (furbearer). Groundhogs I think can be hunted on either; I'd have to check. But the real upside is lots of game, a long season to learn, and a season that generally has a lot of time where public land is pretty much dead. Also >>64163877 (checked) is a good point; I liked learning on small game if just for the fact that it's easy to take game back to your car, bring it home, butcher, etc. Less weight, game goes right in a cooler if need be, easier to keep the meat from spoiling while out (less volume of meat = less heat in meat = less ice needed), and super easy to learn on. Squirrels skin easy, though the arms and paws can be a bit of a challenge if you want to mount the pelt but a breeze for just the meat. Rabbits, it's like the skin isn't even attached. Groundhog, a little tough and stinky. Groundhog size and up, I might recommend a skinning gambrel setup. That's a cheap project for small/medium game btw.
>>64164063NTA but I have so fucking much bad luck with vintage scopes it's unreal. I think the scopes that come with rifles are usually fine but I have a real bad habit of (once or twice a year) buying cheap old scopes from gun shows, flea markets, and other gun-related sellers. 7/10 times the fucking thing won't adjust enough to zero on a gun that is damn near perfectly drilled and tapped (ie. take that thing off, buy a Leupold, put it on, and it only needs a few clicks out of the box where the old scope won't even adjust to that point). I just bought a "Realist" scope for fun and decided to throw it on a 10/22 for shits and giggles and wouldn't you know it, I'm out of adjustment and shooting way high right at 50. Shame too because my "Realist" scope IIRC predates the Camputer/ART scope line (plus mount) used on the M14. The reticle on mine is strange. Regular crosshair, two horizontal lines above. Might have had a mount originally as that seems to have been for measurement to estimate range (zoom until deer chest fills between lines, zoom ring should have cam to auto-adjust mount for drop compensation IIRC). Maybe the lack of mount is why it won't zero, and oh shit, why it shoots to the right. Maybe I didn't get fucked after all.My luck with new production Leupold so far is very good so I tend to keep throwing money at them because their shit just works and holds zero very well for a reasonable price. Their site also tells you torque values for their fasteners, which is nice (and reassuring that they're probably not retarded).>>64164069Can't say I've ever seen a "Mauser" brand scope (in the US). Neat, might want to look that up.
>>64190377PA just in the past couple of years banned 22LR for turkey hunting. As someone who loves my rifles and really doesn't use shotguns, fuck me I guess as 22LR is what I carry most often. 22LR is banned but $80 a box of 5rds 3 and a half inch magnum magnum depleted uranium fuck your shoulder and your neck break your shit rounds aren't banned for hunting turkeys. For safety or something I guess, how dare you use 22LR? Funny how that works.
>>64190789it is extremely dumb, since as you say, turkey loads are effectively trying to do their best to turn your shotgun into a rifle without legally being slugs
>>64190814I can only hope that retardation gets reversed before I get into turkey hunting. I'm quite proficient with my 22 because squirrels are small targets and it's more or less hearing safe when silenced (or subs plus 18.5" or longer barrel, especially locked bolt/bolt action). Given the awful overgrown brush I know my hunting spots for as well, it's really a no-brainer when you can get a 16" rifle and even a folding stock to navigate it easier, especially when retrieving downed game. Yes I do have some shotgun options but the ammo cost is just fucking retarded (as is, often, the recoil). You can go for 3" mag lead shot but even then I'm sure even that's hovering more around the $1-3/rd range at least. Regs say:>Fine shot no larger than No. 4 lead, No. 2 steel or No. 4 of any other U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service-approved nontoxic shot.So no 4 lead/nontox would be .13 cal (3.3mm) and no 2 steel .15 cal (3.8mm). And you have something like 100 of those pellets (or more) in a shell compared to one .22 cal projectile.
>>64190789Hello fellow PA hunter
>>64190836>And you have something like 100 of those pellets (or more) in a shell compared to one .22 cal projectile.The difference is the .22 is lethal (to a human) at hundreds of yards distance while the round shot, which has absymal ballistics, is a nothingburger past 50 yards. I'm not defending the law, but that is the difference.Personally I don't understand the use of those super mega shoulderfucker turkey loads, a turkey's head is a very soft target, a much more modest load works fine.>>but but but I need a 4 oz 2800 fps loadPatience Bubba, let them get a little closer.
>>64190377They are legal for fall turkey where I want to move. I went down the Northern European rifle grouse hunting rabbit hole on youtube, now I really want to take a gobbler with my M1 Carbine and MP5.
>>64191492I get that, but we're not exactly Ohio and apart from farm fields and certain grass fields on public, finding any flat land over a couple hundred yards at best is not common. The most I get is usually 200 across, maybe, and along the length of a field, maybe 500 if I really pushed it. A good 95% of the time I'd say there's a hill and a treeline behind any given field. Most fields are still on or at the base of a hill and often I don't see much past 100-150 in most angles. In the woods? My god, it's all hills. If you were stupid enough to shoot turkey on the top of a hill (no not the gas station of a similar name) then yeah that bullet would travel further. However, we're still allowed to shoot squirrel, groundhog, raccoon, opossum, fox, coyote, etc. with 22LR, 22 mag, and .17HMR and there seems to be no issues with that. Maybe it's some silly-ass fair chase argument. Can't say I've been up close to a Turkey but a Turkey head/brain can't be that big of a target; maybe harder than a squirrel.>22 is lethal at hundreds of yards while the round shot is a nothingburger past 50yds>[Project Farm voice]: We're gonna test that! (maybe)Damn it now I kinda want to grab some shotgun rounds to test when I get my 22 mag but I doubt my range would be happy with the idea of shooting shotguns on the rifle range lol. I've been shopping for a 22 mag and I want to test how the rounds perform out of my barrel with blocks of gelatin (or that rubbery fish lure plastic which is reusable and roughly equal in performance everyone uses now) once I do get it. The tests most people do are fine but often are at maybe 20yds with no 50/100yd hits to see if (especially rimfire) would perform different at those ranges. Pretty much shopping between a couple options of CCI for my ammo. Thought about testing a couple other things like various 22LR options I have as well. Should chronograph my findings as well.
>>64192429>>[Project Farm voice]: We're gonna test that! (maybe)People already did, more than a century ago. Read old books on shotgunning, it's quite interesting. People figured out it takes about 5 ft-lb to down a goose. That's about the same energy as a low-end pellet pistol. Birdshot is designed to deliver about that much energy on target at typical hunting distances.You can also do math. A single #4 lead pellet weighs 2.6 grains. At 1500 fps--a very hot hunting load right at the muzzle--it has 13 ft-lb. About the same as a Eurocuck legal pellet gun. At 50 yards it has 5 ft-lb. At 100 yards it has only 3 ft-lb, that's like a kiddy tier BB gun, and it will have dropped 14 inches. At 150 yards it has less than 2 ft-lb energy, and has dropped 44 inches, probably having struck the ground already if we're talking about a level shot at a turkey. It would sting to get hit by it but it it's not very lethal.Anyway: old books have lots of interesting shit they tested regarding shotguns. One of the more interesting things was the shape of the pattern in the lengthwise axis, which they studied by shooting moving targets pulled behind cars.The Gun and its Development by W. W. GreenerThe Modern Shotgun by G. Burrard (3 volumes)The Modern Sportsman's Gun and Rifle (2 volumes) by J. H. WalshThe first and last books I mentioned are out of copyright, you can read them free online.
post some animal gore
>>64192658No. Take your meds.
>love hunting >hate dressing game and get grossed out by blood and guts Why am I a bitch bros?
>>64192738To be totally fair, it's not something most people are used to. I don't know if you are into cooking but most people get weirded out the first few times they have to clean a fish, break down a chicken, etc.
>In south>At foothills of the Appalachians>notice one day that all the small game, and big game have disappeared>Squirrels, Rabbits, Deer, etc.>All goneWhere did they go? I haven't seen any sign or anything of them in about 3 weeks?
>>64182387>, I think Hungary and Ukraine have it similar too.Hungary does have this tradition, I'[ve seen Cap And Ball guy doing it on YT. Ukraine - well, judging by the rest of ex-USSR this sort of tradition is mostly lost, as far as I see it, if it was there to begin with rather than be just an imported custom.In Russia we don't approach the shot animal immediately, but I think it's mostly because of safety concerns rather than anything. I've read about people giving the last bite custom to shot animals in recent years, so the tradition may still be alive.I wish I could have a younger dog. My current one has grown too old, and taking care of a hunting dog in a big city is troubles and troubles.>>64190377I wish our climate would fit the wild turkey. But considering coming global warming, it's going to become like this in a couple of decades.
>>64192767Do you have an Amish community nearby? Those fuckers shoot anything that moves.
>>64192854No, no amish anywhere around here
>>64160248I’ve always wanted to hunt but know no one who does. How do I get into it?
>>64160248
>>64193175Where do you live?I started by getting my licensing and then joining a local range/fish and game club. I watched cou tless hours of youtube videos, followed by talking to people at the range.From there i went scount and trying for the first few seasons with small game (grouse) followed by deers and bears.
>>64192619Holy shit that little? I always figured it had more power and speed but with how fast shot tends to spread and leave the shot cup on most loads (excluding Flite Control, etc) it does make sense. I'll have to look into the math and figure what no 4 buck is like; for a lot of game that's your biggest shot size allowed here. I've thought about using it (in 12 or 20) but at the same time I could just get a 22 mag and hunt other ways, not to mention save my ears and not need muffs, meaning I walk quieter knowing just how loud I am, hear game better, and spook less game.>>64192738Funny thing is that doesn't really bother me; maybe it's because I'm so focused on keeping the pelt good for taxidermy. Parasites, disease, flies, and things that have ripened in the sun, however, gross me out bad. And groundhogs in general. That is one smell you will never forget, like cutting open a cow. Small game tends to (IMO) be a lot less gross smelling. Good reason to start out on squirrels. Cutting through tendons and connective tissue like in the joints used to (and sometimes still does) gross me out though. Tends to be a thing you get used to, though never totally over.>>64192767We have just about zero rabbits around here. In the past 5 or so years I would say I've seen an entire two rabbits on public land. Three if you include one I saw being chased by hunting dogs. I'm probably out somewhere close to 50-75 days for small game a year (which is usually just a walk FWIW). Ironically, go to any development and there's hundreds of them. We have lots of fox, though, and apparently a decent amount of coyote (which I never ever see).
>>64193175I knew people who did hunt but really never got any benefit from it as they got out of hunting by the time I even got anywhere near thinking about getting into it. When you're sure you're going to hunt this season, immediately you'll need to complete Hunter's Ed at the very least. In person or online. Your state fish and game should have a site you can buy licenses on. Create an account there and you should be able to complete Hunter's Ed. I think it's something like $15-30. I assume this is required in all states but I don't know for sure. Then you'll need to buy licenses; I personally recommend starting out in small game. Way less people out, way longer season, way more game.As for shooting skills/prep, get a 22 or a shotgun and become very good at hitting small targets. at least somewhere around 1.5" at 50yds. If your range allows it, braced against a "tree" (roof 4"x4" post) and sitting (offhand braced off knee) are also good more realistic practice for shooting in the field. It's a lot harder than you think and your groups will open up significantly at first (not sure how skilled you are when it comes to shooting so just putting this in here to cover everything). I do recommend a scope for small game if just to make literal heads-or-tails of which way that gray blob in the tree is facing and what weird position it's in. Makes my life a lot easier. I also recommend a small monocular you can quickly bring up to search for game (or check out that suspiciously squirrel shaped object only to realize it's some junk hung up in the branches). Not necessary but nice to have. Not to mention having that means you can ID something completely positively before pointing a gun at it, which is pretty wise. I recommend monocular over binocular for weight and size and ease of use. Watch people on YouTube to get an idea of where vitals are and where they are depending on angle (esp. w/ real scopecam). Vitals are not 2D and are easy to read wrong.
>>64193407I’m in Oklahoma
>>64192767Is it windy? Even a small breeze seems to make everything hide. Any other weather?>>64193175Keep in mind what is beyond your target and what you're using as a backstop. Squirrels often means a tree as backstop once you can get in the right spot, or the trunk they're climbing. Other times you have to line up a tree behind them with your shot, meaning rotating around them as a pivot point (think of the squirrel in the center of a circle, you moving around the outside). Most other game means a small hill as a backstop. Choose ammo wisely. If your gun doesn't like it, find something else. I use hollowpoint but I think a lot use round nose on squirrel. Just preference. Figure out your drop; 22LR drops pretty significantly. My 50yd zero drops ~5 MOA at 100yds and ~15-20 MOA at 200yds. Realistically you'll hunt at 50 max your first season. Gives you a lot more time to make followups or visually confirm game is down with a proper shot. Maybe stretch out a little further as the years go on and you get more skilled. Most small game doesn't appear (or isn't noticeable) at anything much over 50 though. You should also learn to walk quietly which is a skill you'll constantly improve. Play around with how you walk and actively pay attention to it. Here's an improved vitals chart. Not perfect but more than good enough for 22LR. This was actually made for pellet rifles IIRC.
I don't really recommend headshots as they move their heads so much (& they're smaller targets) but this is one more piece of info. Between rear corner of the eye and base of the of the ear I'd aim more towards the base of the ear but not quite on the base of the ear. Closer to base of ear is much better than closer to rear corner of eye, though. The front of the brain isn't as important as the rear. Things go bad up front, still works. Things go bad further back, a lot more connections and important things go on there. Shoot a squirrel in the brains with a 22LR and yes it will go down. However now you don't have some blood on the game, instead you have a mess of brain on the game. It's a lot softer than you'd think and not easy to clean off. Saves the front leg and rib meat but damn does it suck. If you hit spine on a chest shot, that also tends to make your bullet mushroom, fragment, and destroy a lot of meat if not also create a considerable exit wound unfortunately. Great for stopping game (say, on a shot flat on to the squirrel's back while climbing up/down a tree), but also a mess. I've come to prefer chest shots for how forgiving it is. Also tends to be around the arm and spine so even if a squirrel can run for x more seconds before expiring, they're often not going anywhere too easily, meaning they tend to fall out of a tree or stumble rather than make it in a hole right just in time (to make you lose game you know is dead somewhere in a tree trunk). Headshots can be instant too, but mistakes happen and the brain is a much much smaller (and messier) target. Headshots with 22LR also often wreck the skull and pelt if that means anything. It also destroys the brain which can be used in tanning its pelt if you choose to tan the pelt, though egg yolks are my preference as you can always get more and it isn't so gross having your hands covered in yolk (it actually moisturizes IIRC). Gory details, I know, but I figure you should know.
>>64192770in regards to ukrane I've heard about something pretty close from a guy who's family came here from the carpathians and handed it down, but then again that's very close to the polish and hungarian borders so I'd be surprised if they *didn't* have similar traditions
>>64194501The thing with squirrels is that they love to sit back in the exact same position every time as they are eating. The squirrel in your pic will sit just like that while it eats that nut. When it's done it will lean forward to grab the next nut and then return back to the exact same pose. If you know this behavior you can hold on its head, wait for it to grab a fresh nut, and then you know it will be still for a little bit while it eats it.Squirrel Hunter Channel on Youtube shows this well, it's a bunch of Brits hunting squirrels with air rifles.
>>64195439Yep, that's the best way to get headshots on squirrels. If it isn't eating, though, it does complicate things a little. Most I come across aren't eating (maybe a third are) so I tend to go for chest just in case. Bigger target, too.
