squirrel-setup

[3Feathers]

What is your set-up for hunting squirrels.Do you use flu-flu arrows all the time??What works better judos or blunts???Looking forward to hunt these tree varmits this fall.You don,t here anybody talk squirrel hunting any more.......

[Killdeer]

I may give the RFA Talons a try, but I am through with blunts of any kind. I am taking the gloves off, and that means NO flu-flus, and NO blunts. Broadheads only! I am through with them running off after lethal hits with hex heads. If I could just get good enough to take head shots, I might use a hex head again, they fly so nicely! But I know me. Dammit.

Killdeer~ but I'm not bitter...  

[trad_bowhunter1965]

I use Hammer heads and Game Nabbers.

[waiting4fall]

These homemade heads on regular hunting arrows.
 

Here's some squirrel footage for your viewing pleasure, at our expense.      

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncnZKDsMQoI&feature=related

[varmint101]

Judos get stuck in trees and blunts do pretty bad on bad shots.  I will be using RFA Talons this fall!  The hammer heads look like they would work too, but I know the Talons blunt and cut well.

[JEFF B]

go get em killie and get one fer me while ya at it. little buggers they are but fun to shoot at      

[Thumper Dunker]

This is the best thing I have used so far . Works good on or ground sqeeks out here and they are hard to kill .  But with any thing I have used you still need to get them in the shoulder or head.
 

[String Cutter]

I don't know what Illbeer is a talking about. Hex heads are the best I have ever tried. Might be I am shooting just a few pounds more then she ?? Or maybe I'm just a better shot??? Probably a little of both I think.  

[Islandlongbow]

Dave that is great video. I was cracking up watching....Emma is a real trooper, wont be long before she's doing the commentating  

[Stone Knife]

Nice videos  

[Lee Robinson .]

Nice video and nice points. Great job getting Emma out too!

[bushytail]

I love to chase those tree-rats around.You`ll always get shooting.It depends on where you hit them at.I was shooting at a squirrel in the tree tops one time,and a squirrel was laughing at me behind where i was sitting.I turned around and got him with a judo point right in the chess at about 5 yards away.The tree trunk stoped the judo point from going through the body.I use a veriety of points.I`ll be using game nabbers alot this fall.They work pretty nice.

[Killdeer]

FlingButter does carry a lot more weight than I do.
But penetration has not been the problem with Hex Heads.

Here you can see blood even back of the aluminum footing.

 

And in the cup of the head...

 

It ran into a hole and died.   :(
Killdeer

[Chris Shelton]

Both the squirrels in this video were shot with a 55# greatree take down recurve, Beeman ICS bowhunter shafts made into flu flu's and tipped with judos.  On the second shot you can really see what type of penetration I get.  That was a 25 yard shot!  I shoot into trees alot, and I was chasing arrows that were not flu flu's when I missed, so I only launch flu flu's into trees, and regular arrows when they are on the ground.  I get just a tiny bit more penetration when they are on the ground, but so far out of 6 squirrel connections I have retreived all of them.  I think it all depeneds on what poundage you are using.  I would say below 50#'s are a no zone for judos, but that is just my opinion

[GAstumpshooter]

This works great.

 

[Killdeer]

Chris, I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Thanks!

Killdeer  

[eric-thor]

i like a 90 # at 31" d/r/ longbow with 1165gn double shafted aluminums with 428 gn up front for 23.4% foc so i get enough penitration. with a grizzley two blade single bevel razor sharp.            

[Lee Robinson .]

I have taken a few with Judos and blunts. When too high for me to retrieve a stuck arrow, I will use a blunt...but on the ground I use a judo, but those points above look good enough to me.

Waiting4fall,

Have you ever tried using 2 wingnutts at an offset position to create a 4 prong head instead of putting a second nutt on the screw? I would think it could be lined up in position and secured there either with some loctite, superglue before being put in the arrow.

[Charlie Lamb]

I'll get in on this little debate since I've shot hundreds of squirrels in MANY sizes, colors and species.

First of all, consider which squirrel you are shooting.
The little red squirrels of the west and northern pine forests are easilly killed with regular steel blunts.          

Most of the ground squirrels are about the same size and as easily killed. Matter of fact I prefer
rubber blunts for them.                

Eastern Gray and Fox Squirrels are tough as the dickens and require a blade for the surest and quickest kill.    http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/fallingsquirrel1.jpg  
Probably the best for this is the Magnus Blunt. The downside is the expense of that head.      

[Jerry Gille]

I'm with Charlie all the way on this one.  But instead of the cost of the Magnus head, just slot a 38 casing or a field point and epoxy a sharpened piece of banding steel into it.

I bowhunt squirrels at least 50 days a year, sometimes much more.  I regularly lose or break 200 to 300 arrows each season.  You will lose lots of redfox and gray squirrels with cutting heads like I use, but you will recover many more than you would with anything that is only blunted.  Head and neck shots not considered obviously.  Any feather that I can get to glue on - not flu flu though.  I take any shot I feel like - up, down, upside down - doesn't matter as long as I know my arrow will fall in a safe place.  Gut, low front leg and anything in the rear end or back legs will get you fits for recovery generally.  You'll lose pretty much all of them with blunts and recover many more with something that cuts.  If you can keep the arrow in the squirrel, that's best, but still not guarantee you'll get him.  I saw a redfox squirrel drag 3 arrows into a hole once.  All 3 were in his backside.

Buy wood shafts in bulk and look for deals.  I'm sitting on about 10,000 right now and am always looking for more.  Same goes with feathers.  I once bought 5 pounds of feathers just for squirrel hunting.  That was alot of feathers!  I go as cheap as I can.  I'm producing the finished squirrel arrow right now for about a quarter each because of the deals I've bought in bulk over the years.

If you just want to shoot one everyone now and then from your stand or off your bird feeder, ignore my advice.  If you want to eat 40 or 50  longbow shot squirrels a year however, cut with something and be prepared to run 'em down and get a boot on 'em.  They will not give up the ghost readily normally.

Good luck.  It's about the funnest thing in the whole wide world, and it starts here in Illinois in about 3 weeks!