Airgun Hunter: The Grey Tide

In the UK, we are lucky enough to hunt on land we have permission on. Pigeon, rabbit, magpies and crows are popular targets and possibly the most disliked species among land owners is the grey squirrel. They destroy woodland, stripping bark as they travel from tree to tree, also eating new buds. It’s an opportunistic feeder, so will also rob song bird’s nests, eating eggs and chicks. Financially, they cannot be tolerated on pheasant shoots. They chew through feeders and eat a great amount of corn meant for the game birds, costing far too much money to be ignored.

Problems and solutions

‘John’, the game keeper had this exact problem. I had only ever visited the grounds at night but he reckoned the squirrels were rife and he needed help. I had the call on a Tuesday and arranged to meet early the next morning to see what I could do to reduce the local population of squizzers. Upon arrival, I was shown where to park for future visits. I think it’s important to follow instructions to the letter when out on pest control jobs.

There can be a hundred reasons why they might want this or that done or not. Both the land owner and gamekeeper need to know that they can rely on you and it seems fairly certain that if small instructions can’t be followed, then there is not much chance you will be trusted in the future. Hopping in the pickup, I started the tour on what would turn out to be a huge expanse of land.

Pulling up on the first patch of woodland, there were two squirrels feeding away. At that point I knew we were in for a fairly productive day. John asked for my rifle for a shot, as he was in a better position than me. As he lined up on a squirrel, I noticed a small branch coming out from a tree just 8 or so yards in front of the barrel. Before I could say anything to John, the shot was gone and the little branch was left bouncing up and down from the impact of the .22 Air Arms Field pellet. It could be easily thought that a pellet would just smash straight through a twig and hit the intended target but this is rarely the case. Sometimes it can strike lucky…

literally. If it hits absolutely square-on there is a slim chance of a clean pass through, not worth the risk though. I find it’s helpful to look down the side of the scope for any small obstructions before taking a shot; even long strands of grass in the summer can be deal breakers. So with one squirrel missed and the others running for cover, we headed to the next patch of woodland for some better luck.

Glorious

Rolling along, I was just happy to enjoy the stunning view on this glorious spring morning. Upon arrival to another wood, I was the side facing the feeders, so I had the gun. Crawling steadily along in the pickup, the feeders came into clear view and we could see a bushy tail. John turned the engine off and I glued the cross hairs where I thought the squirrel would be when it eventually turned broadside. It was at a ‘lasered’ 25 yards; bang on my zero! As soon as it turned and lifted its head, I squeezed the trigger. I had to shoot through chicken wire, which is not what I like to do, given the chance of ricochets and the potential to miss or even worse, wound. I could see a gap and at this range the trajectory is pretty flat, so on this occasion the .22 pellet slipped straight through and impacted the squirrel in the side of the head for an instant kill. John was very happy and suggested dropping me in the wood, leaving me to just walk back in my own time, stopping as I walked at potential squirrel spots.

This sounded like a good idea to me! I hopped out of the truck, grabbed my rucksack and John left me to it. I went to retrieve my shot quarry. There was a small pool of blood from the impact as expected and there wasn’t a twitch. Something I have made a habit of doing, is even if the squirrel is stone dead I always get a twig and just brush it over the eye ball, this way if there is any life at all left it will twitch. They can give awfully nasty bites, I’ve seen the scars and don’t fancy one, so it’s always better safe than sorry! I would also be reluctant to send the dog after a squirrel for the same reason. This one was dead, so I tied it to the draw string on my pack and moved on. For a more productive day, I would have been best to set up on the feeder but I was just too eager to explore this new ground.

Sheltered shooting

The wood was also extremely sheltered. No wind meant I was blessed with that lovely spring-warmth in the sun. It must have been a toasty 18° and the nicest day of the year so far. Spring is my favourite time of year; the shooting is good, the leaves are not quite fully out, so seeing quarry is not usually much trouble. As I was in the sunshine and just enjoying myself, I settled down on a fallen tree and waited. After 5 minutes, movement caught my eye in a lone fir tree 30 yards from my current position. I moved in slowly and a squirrel darted to the other side of the gnarly old trunk. I had heard once that if you take your jacket off and prop it on a stick you can walk right round the tree and the squirrel will stay put. How true this I didn’t know but I thought it was worth a try.

Propping my jacket on a stick, I headed over to the other side and to my surprise the squirrel just sat there. Whether it would have stayed anyway I don’t know, but it was interesting to think about. I shouldered the rifle for a standing shot. Not 100% sure where to aim due to the incline and not being that familiar with .22 I went for the back of its neck just above the shoulder blades. This way, if the pellet flew high it would be a head shot, and if low, heart and lung. I fired and the squirrel dropped 5 yards from my feet, I don’t think it was dead though, could have been nerves but I wasn’t risking that. I cycled the bolt on the Air Arms S410 and put one in the back of its head to be sure. Two in the bag!

Follow the path

I walked on through the wood, coming across more stunning features as I went, a small sand stone cliff about 8 meters high was nice surprise and I thought what a lovely HFT or FT course this would make! Making my way down from the rock I followed the cut path, stopping every 70-odd yards to look around and listen to anything that was moving. A squirrel I had not seen darted out from behind a branch on the outskirts of the wood to my left, it was mega quick but stopped just as fast as it bolted. I just couldn’t get a clear shot though.

Moving to the side, I tried to get a better angle but the head was obstructed by a branch. Before I could advance, it sensed its danger and left. With a shotgun he’d be gone, but then so would everything else in the wood. I just knew there was more action to be had, so I carried on my way cautiously. With nothing else seen, I walked down the open field to the wood we had visited first in the pickup. By this time, the morning was getting on and I was conscious of the time and needing to get home for the dentist. The oil-seed rape was just starting to flower and smelled gorgeous.

Final phase

Entering the final wood, there was a squirrel just sat there on the feeder we had seen from the truck and I wasted no time dropping down to a kneeling position. It sat bolt upright. The movement from getting into position obviously caught its attention. That made for an easy shot for me though, at 40 yards I aimed for the top of the head, the pellet dropped and so did the squirrel. Three in the bag. John and the farmer would be happy.

With my time up, I headed back to the car with the distinct feeling that the best part of the day was done. I now had a short drive, where a drill and filling awaited.