Weather is fantastic around home. The wife has work all day today. I decided last night that today would be a great day to pop up early, grab the 870 pump, and do a little early season squirrel hunting while checking for deer signs around some of my prospective hunting locations for this fall. Last night I got everything laid out on the table for a day in the field and even put a little sweet tea in the canteen so I'd have a cool drink as a slipped thru the woods. Everything was ready to go.
Well this morning I got dressed and slipped into the kitchen and found I left my shooting glove out on the table too. As I went to go put it up on the bow rack, I couldn't help myself but to grab my bow and quiver instead. So, off to the woods I go with my bow in hand and a good feeling about some alone time.
As I got settled in and the light started to creep over the treeline and freckle the forest floor, I could hear that some, but not much, of the animals were stirring. It's going to be a slow morning I thought to myself. As I watched, there were 4 mature squirrels around me to stalk so I settled on the one that was farthest from the others hoping they wouldn't bust me out as I creeped in closer. As soon as he saw me he BOLTED and vanished like Houdini but I noticed about another 30yds out down in the valley was a nice, plump, all black squirrel! Mind you, I have always wanted to take an all black squirrel by longbow so this squirrel became my goal for the day.
I then proceeded to stalk this black squirrel through some very hilly washboard terrain for over 2 hours playing cat and mouse through the forest. Every time I would get within bow range he would pop out somewhere unexpected, bust me and run off just outside of my range. He NEVER once worked his way back towards me. He didn't respond to calls or clicking of quarters. He was clearly enjoying his morning scooping up acorns but also wanted to be left alone. I passed up several opportunities at other grey squirrels throughout the stalk because I really wanted this black one just because I've never been able to harvest a black squirrel by any means and have always thought they were cool.
My shot opportunity finally came. He had snuck around into a brush pile down in a creek bed and I used a large, gnarly pine for cover as I closed in to about 15-17 yards from the brush pile and waited oh so quietly. Eventually the little black foe had hopped up on top of a fallen tree on the close side of the brush pile to me and was looking away into the brush. I thought, "This is my time." I drew back and just felt GREAT about the shot. I relaxed my fingers. I watched the arrow arch oh so perfectly towards him. I knew in my gut it was spot on. He turned at the noise of my arrow and jumped into the air straight up! I thought "OH NO, I'm going to miss, I hope he falls as the arrow drops...ITS A PERFECT SHOT!". A split second later the little black foe belly flopped right back on top of my arrow shaft and hauled butt out of there. To add insult to injury, what I thought was a moldy stump behind him turned out to be a mossy rock (I need new glasses and those are coming later this month, thank goodness). My arrow got embedded into the rock, which I was able to retrieve but I have now damaged my second footed carbon shaft in the past 3 years. My brass insert that was epoxied in blew halfway out, I lost my nock, and some of the wood-grain finish mid shaft busted off the carbon despite not having struck anything there so I'm pretty sure there is likely a cracked carbon shaft about where the finish popped off.
It was time for breakfast so I headed back home empty handed. All in all it was a wonderful hunt. I'll be back in the area looking for that little black foe again soon. While I can't claim to be anywhere near as efficient with my longbow as I am with a firearm, I sure enjoy the hunt a lot more.
Topic: The lure of trad thwarts me again! (Read 582 times)
