Diary of a morning squirrel hunt

I arrived at the starting point of my morning squirrel hunt just a little later than I would have preferred. It’s long been my habit to get into the woods a bit before sunrise and sit down somewhere and wait for the squirrels to wake up and get active around me. But my tardiness today would force me to use my forest-ninja skills.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the previous day’s rain, and the heavy morning fog, had left the ground cover nice and wet. Moving quietly would not be an issue at all.

As I entered the woods I was thinking of my last squirrel hunt a few weeks ago wherein all the squirrels had taken the midnight flight to Cleveland. Areas of the forest normally alive with tree rats (during deer season) had been completely devoid of squirrels, and I was hoping desperately that today’s hunt wouldn’t play out the same way. Within about two minutes I was assured that today would be entirely different matter. The trees were well stocked with my favorite furry-tailed, acorn eating rodent!

The first shot from my Henry pump .22 dropped a squirrel a short distance away and I carefully marked his fall before scanning the vicinity for my next customer. Seeing nothing immediately I moved forward to recover my kill. Unfortunately, he had fallen into a thicket and it required me to make quite a bit of noise to get to him. The squirrels closest to me were alerted to my presence so I eased further into the swamp for the next round.

Sixty or seventy yards further along I noted a lot of noise coming from an area off to my right. Standing quietly for a few minutes and observing I spotted what appeared to be about half a dozen tree rats in full eat and play mode. So I turned toward them and began a five minute ease to get into position.

My Henry rifle has a nice Burris 2.5 X 7 X 28mm scope that is extremely bright, and of course the rifle itself is well zeroed with its favorite subsonic ammo. So the next several shots – which were ridiculous misses – I can only chalk up to my own excitement at being in a target-rich environment. I’ve been squirrel hunting for over forty years, and I get just as excited today as I did the first time I ever shouldered a rifle and shot my first squirrel. I love it that much!

“Ok Guns, just settle down and get it right” I told myself.

Following my own advice I dropped the next three squirrels in the space of about ten seconds.

Again, one of the three fell into a palmetto cluster that would make enough noise to wake the dead when I waded into it to retrieve my squirrel. A long time ago I learned that if you shoot more than about three squirrels in a row without recovering them, you risk forgetting their location in all the excitement. I truly hate not recovering a kill, so as bad I wanted to keep shooting, I resolved to not shoot more than three without going to pick them up.

After I had gathered up the carcasses I moved forward another sixty or seventy yards and got still and quiet again.

Scanning the trees all the time, looking for movement, I spotted the silhouette of a squirrel on a tree limb out to my front at a range of nearly seventy yards; a very long shot for a squirrel! So I braced my rifle against a tree and took a bead on him. I used the second horizontal crosshair and placed it right at the top of his head and gently squeezed the trigger. I was rewarded with a clean kill that fell straight into … another clump of palmettos!

Recovering my longest shot / kill of the morning from the biggest clump of palmettos yet, now I faced a swamp bottom out in front of me that was deeper than I had expected. For the next few minutes I was more absorbed in crossing the swamp (without bogging up to my ass) than I was in spotting more squirrel. But once across I resumed scanning for movement.

In just a few minutes I spotted a couple of squirrels in a tree just a short distance out in front of me. A few easy steps forward, while they were playing with one another, and I was in shooting position.

I dropped the first while the second was out of sight behind the tree. He stuck his head out to see what was going on – and I missed the second shot. Damn!

Spotting me the squirrel ran down the backside of the tree and stopped at the base of it. I eased forward at the ready, fully expecting him to dart off along the ground, or maybe to run back up the tree. But for some reason he did neither. Thinking himself hidden he stayed right at the base of the tree. With the help of the sodden and silent leaves I closed to within about ten feet before I spotted just the tip of his tail sticking out on the left side of the truck. So I began tracking to the right very slowly, keeping my rifle at the ready. When just the top of his head came into view – I blew it off from about eight feet away!

Now I realized what it was I had forgotten to bring with me this morning: my game bag. I was toting all these dead squirrels by the tail, and doggone if they weren’t beginning to get heavy! I had no wish loose one while walking so I stashed em on the trail with the intent to come back with my four-wheeler and pick them up.

On the walk back to the four-wheeler I killed another one that I spotted while he sat stock still high on a limb.

Squirrel hunting with a 22 rifle is both fun and educating. It’s great training in stalking, target acquisition, and marksmanship. And when it’s all over – you get to eat them!

Keep an eye out for this bumper sticker!

A Police Misconduct Victim's Guide

The guy that runs Injustice Everywhere performs an invaluable service keeping track of all the incidents around the country where police officers are simply out of control.

If you suffer from the delusion that most cops are honest, and it's only a handful of bad apples out there, then you haven't been to this excellent website!

But I only now have noticed his victim's guide. What do you do when you've had a run in with Po Po, and they've streamrollered your rights? Go take a look at this compilation of excellent advice:

A Police Misconduct Victim's Guide

By the way... this guy's been out of work for quite some time and is facing eviction. If you can... lend a hand will ya?

Reasons why Islam is so misunderstood by the typical Westerner

I frequently encounter people who are absolutely convinced that the biggest threat to America is Islam. These folks are typically very supportive of the Patriot Act and an aggressive approach to fighting the War on Terror.

Just as frequently, I come across folks who poo poo Islam as no threat at all, and the biggest threat to our lifestyle is some form of Liberalism, Socialism, Democrats, Entitlement Crowd, or the US Gubmint in general (choose your preferred internal threat).

My view is a mix of these two positions. I see both Osama (and his fellow goat-boinkers) and Obama (and HIS leftist fellow travelers) as threats to all that I hold dear. And while I will readily admit that I view Obama as the more immediate threat, I fully understand that in the age of WMDs, it is decidedly foolish to dismiss muslims as mere camel jockeys and sand monkeys. For all they lack in know-how, they make up for in motivation! Furthermore, they have a world-class public relations department, and with the assistance of the aforementioned Internal Threat, the towel heads are making real inroads into our culture.

So BOTH threats are real, and both are aiding to erode our lifestyle, our liberties, and our nation.
I came across this excellent list of reasons why the garden-variety Westerner has trouble understanding why Islam poses such a challenge.

Read it, understand it, share it.

Hat tip to Old Jarhead for bringing this to my attention!

The Egypt thing - in a nutshell

Lady Liberty does taxes now!

Is it me, or is there something obscene about the tax preparer road-side sign wavers who dress up as the Statue of Liberty?

How did we get to the point in America where institutionalized theft (taxes) is actually equated with freedom? (That’s a rhetorical question – I know the answer already)

Advertising tax prep services using the image of the Statue of Liberty is like hookers and strippers who call themselves Chastity or Purity!

On dealings with Cops

I was reading Diogenes’ blog where he tells of a little incident he had with Po Po recently. It got me to thinking of run in’s I’ve had with them.

Once I made my own little entrance ramp onto the freeway by driving up an embankment. There was no traffic coming so it wasn’t like I endangered anyone. Then I put the pedal down and hauled ass.

A little ways down the road I was pulled over by a local cop. He started out as truly one of the more professional officers I’ve ever met. He pointed out that he could have written me up for driving me the embankment, doing over 85 in a 65 mph zone, and not wearing a seatbelt. I was polite and respectful and it resulted in only a speeding ticket for 74 in a 65.

When Officer Nicely handed me my license back I opened my wallet in front of him to put it back, and that’s when he noticed my CWP.

His whole demeanor changed instantly.

I swear to you dear reader that I am not exaggerating here. He took a step back, placed one hand on his pistol and sternly demanded to know if I was armed. His face had lost the friendly smile it had only moments before. This being some years ago, and before I developed the habit of carrying 24/7, I told him “No sir… it’s in the truck”.

He asked to see my CWP and I produced it for him. He scrutinized it closely as I stood there quietly thinking how ridiculous this all was. Then he handed it back to me and proceeded to lecture me on the necessity to always and immediately identify myself as a CWP holder upon any contact with LEO.

Now I’ve made myself thoroughly knowledgeable of Florida statutes, and there is no such requirement. Neither is a CWP even required for a firearm to be in an automobile. But I didn’t argue. Instead I was flabbergasted at how quickly the cop’s whole attitude had done a 180 the moment he discovered I was an armed man.

When the GOOBERment fears the citizen, it’s Liberty.

Stabbing our friends in the back!

Undermining Allies

By Thomas Sowell (Archive) · Tuesday, February 8, 2011

While everyone's attention seems to be focused on the crisis in Egypt, a bombshell revelation about the administration's foreign policy in Europe has largely gone unnoticed.

The British newspaper The Telegraph has reported that part of the price which President Obama paid to get Russia to sign the START treaty, limiting nuclear arms, was revealing to the Russians the hitherto secret size of the British nuclear arsenal. This information came from the latest WikiLeaks documents.

To betray vital military secrets of this country's oldest, most steadfast and most powerful ally, behind the back of the British government, is something that should set off alarm bells. Following in the wake of earlier betrayals of prior American commitments to put a nuclear shield in Eastern Europe, and the undermining of Israel and calculated insults to its prime minister, this pattern raises serious, and perhaps almost unthinkable, questions about the Obama administration's foreign policy.

Read the rest if this disturbing article here.

Is someone trying to tell us something?

'UFO' Hovers Over Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock Shrine

A glowing orb filmed hovering over the skyline of Jerusalem has left UFO experts dumbfounded.

The circular object was seen descending slowly over the holy city's iconic Dome of the Rock before flickering and shooting skyward like a rocket. Similar clips have been seen before and debunked as hoaxes. But this latest sighting has proved more difficult to dismiss -- as it was recorded from four different perspectives.

Some UFO enthusiasts believe the videos -- which have taken the Internet by storm -- are final proof that aliens exist, while others say the unidentified object was the Hebrew god Elohim.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that flying over the Dome of the Rock landmark -- an ancient Islamic shrine -- is forbidden.

Two witnesses at the Armon Hanatziv panoramic lookout near Mount Zion filmed the object at 1am on Saturday. A little after one minute into the clip, the object descends slowly, almost to ground level.

The craft hovers there for a short while and then flickers before shooting upwards at an incredible speed.

Former Ministry of Defense UFO investigator Nick Pope said: "If these are real, they are some of the most incredible videos ever shot.

"If they are not, then this is a very well-planned and coordinated hoax designed to eliminate elements of doubt.

"The way it shoots up into the sky suggests it is unmanned, because no living thing could survive those kinds of G-forces.

"We know the Israeli army has some very high-tech drones at its disposal. If this is one, it is one of the most advanced pieces of technology created by man."

Another set of observers also uploaded their mobile phone footage to YouTube on Saturday.

They wrote: "Have fun debunking this one." In their video, the American tourists can be heard saying: "We've seen them in Mississippi like this."


be sure you watch the end of the clip showing the object from a different angle.

Two other clips filmed from different viewpoints were posted online. Skeptics have noted the views come from perspectives that could make nearby objects seem farther away and faster-moving. Others say the whole thing was faked and have prepared several alternative versions of the videos which they say prove they are not real.

These include stabilized versions in which the brightness and contrast have been increased, which they claim highlights a major flaw of perspective.

Another is motion-tracked, and apparently shows the UFO "bouncing around like crazy" -- which, say the skeptics, shows the makers had trouble inserting it into the scene.

"... and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."
Luke 21:11

Getting back to nature - college ecologist style

Over twenty years ago I attended the University of North Florida. As a student, I spent lots of time on the nature trails that are there. The property that the university is built on was once an active tree farm that encircled a large hardwood swamp known as sawmill slough.

There are five or six miles of trails that wind their way among several different kinds of terrain, and it's really something to see: very beautiful.

Now this old redneck Southern boy thoroughly enjoyed those trails during the sometimes lengthy breaks between classes, and I knew that trail system like the back of my hand.

This weekend I went back to the university to walk those trails again, and I was dismayed and disgusted at what I found. Everywhere I looked there was some kind of sign; signs telling me what kind of tree I was looking at, signs telling me to stay on the path, signs telling me to not litter (as if!), and signs complete with miniature maps of the trail system so I wouldn’t get lost.

In addition to the myriad of signs, the place was full of park benches, picnic tables, exercise stations, distance markers, call boxes (for security from the squirrels I guess), garbage cans, etc. There were lots of raised wooden walkways so my feet wouldn’t ever need to get the least bit muddy in low-lying spots along the trail. Nevermind that those walkways were wet and slick as greased lightning, making me yearn for the muddy trail that I never previously worried about falling down on!

I found it very ironic that the nature loving leftists that surely were responsible for this massive human footprint, if asked, would sincerely reply that they were “helping nature protect itself from the depredations of man”.

I'm gonna hurt your feelings football fans!

Okay, this is just my opinion, but after all – what’s a blog for if not to spout your opinion right?

Last night a friend and I were trying to plan a trip to our favorite rifle range, and the idea occurred to us that we should go on Superbowl Sunday. We figured that the great majority of men would be at home, firmly ensconced in the recliner, watching millionaires toss a ball around a field. Our intent of course was to have the range mostly to ourselves.

Just one problem… neither one of us knew conclusively when the Superbowl is being played!

America would not be in the mess it’s in now if her citizenry spent as much time watching the games being played in Washington, as they to do watching professional sports. Nothing done on a basketball court, football field, golf course or bowling alley is going to have a realistic effect on your life. But EVERYTHING done in Washington has immense effect on every aspect of our lives!

I’m not saying it’s wrong to watch sports or play sports. But I AM saying that if you know player stats, but you don’t know what bills are being debated on the floor of the House, then you are part of the problem.

From time immemorial, the ruling class has used bread and circuses to deflect the attention of the masses from their political shenanigans. For some folks it’s “bread”, and for others it’s “circuses”. It can be either /or, just so long as the citizenry are compelled to look elsewhere.

I refuse to be part of that.

My preferred sport is long range marksmanship. And someday – it may well come about that MY sport will have an effect on Washington and its little games. I intend to be the best that I can be on that account.

Enjoy the game y’all!