Scanning the outer edges of the impenetrable walls of thorns and briars for anything fool enough to answer our calls, I felt frustration pulling at my spine, slowly making its way to the base of my neck.
"Got one," my hunting buddy Joel O'Shoney quietly whispered, slowly edging his shotgun to face a distant yucca plant partially engulfed in twisted mesquite branches.
I scanned the area still not seeing anything.
Joel took aim and fired.
Only after the raccoon fell did I finally see it.
Most of the morning had gone the same way; Joel would see game long before I did while I spent a good portion of time playing catch up. When I finally confronted him about the "hows" and "whys" of his luck he only smirked, "Practice." My further hounding produced just as curt of a reply, "Yard rats." It wasn't until later that I got the full story.
Living on the outskirts of Taylor, Texas Joel's property is inundated with squirrels. The small tree rats dig up his yard to bury pecans, nest in his trees, and run off the songbirds that his wife spends countless hours and money trying to attract. After checking state and local laws Joel decided to take matters into his own hands. Little did Joel know that his vengeance would turn into such good practice for bigger game.
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"When I first started shooting them it was just to get them out of my yard. But it turns out they're a lot harder to hunt than I thought. It's good practice, keeps me sharp."
Despite their fondness for free birdseed, squirrels just like any other wild animal, are naturally weary of humans. When frightened or startled they seek the densest cover they can find. In Joel's yard that means pecan trees.
"Once they hit the leaves they're hard to find. I sit out there scanning the thick stuff with binoculars looking for them. Sometimes they just seem to disappear."
Although squirrels may "disappear" when threatened, rest assured they are always around. Just like other members of the Rodentia family, squirrels are extremely prolific, especially with cozy surroundings and plenty of free food.
Most squirrels mature sexually in their first year and begin breeding almost immediately after. With two breeding peaks per year and a rather short gestation period, each female has the potential to birth two litters of up to 10 pups at a time. That's twenty squirrels a year. Start doing the math and it's easy to see why Joel never runs out of live game.
Hunting the relatively restrictive confines of his backyard and not wanting to further frighten his wife's already disturbed songbirds, Joel hunts with a Benjamin Air Rifle topped with a 3 x 9 scope and Predator Polymer Tip Pellets. Despite the negative stigma of being an air rifle, a.177 caliber, and lack of gunpowder this combination quietly delivers clean kills each time.
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"I don't think I would have ever considered using an air rifle on game until I saw these Predator Polymer Tip Pellets," Joel glows. "They look and perform just like tiny ballistic tipped bullets."
Searching for hidden game, sitting quietly, and controlled shooting aren't the only hunting practice Joel gets from his backyard hobby. He occasionally gets field dressing practice and game preparation as well.
"Don't knock it ‘till you've tried it," Joel says of his new fondness for squirrels and dumplings. "It's good stuff."
I would have never thought of turning to yard rats for practice but having seen the results out in West Texas, I'm now giving my yard a second look.
For more information and products, check out Cabelas squirrel hunting supplies to get them in the trees!
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