The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-03
SQUIRREL HUNTING MADE EASY
IN TINS SPORT A FAT MAN mas
FRE BEST or ar.

From the Lean Man strategy FOR che
Wan whO In without a Gun-TImcs
when squirrels Are Hard to shoot.
. BUFFALO. Nov. 2.-There is doubtless no
way OF proving that one cannot catch
s0uirre,s by climbing a tree n making a
noise like a nut. But the difficulties in
volved. both mimetic and athletic. are ~
great that the market for shOtguns will
never DO ~unfavOrably affected by the gem
eral adoption Of the newer method.
Black and gray squirrels have been
lawful prey for the hunter since September
is. but they have not suffered much from
amateur hunters up TO date. The man
who understands squirrels can get them.
whether the leaves are on or on the trees.
: but such men are 30 much In the minority
1 that there are still squirrels enough to
make 1t worth the occasional hunters
while to spend n day in the woods. now that
the frosts are cutting of the leaves. And
II he will remember the following words Of
wisdom he may start out with reasonable
assurance tina II there are any squirrels
he will get his share.
Be il remembered therefore that a fat.
tired man who knows nothing about spur
reIs' habits is likely to get more Of them
than the lean. energetic Individual who
also knows nothing of squirrels habits.
For the fat man will Occ~asIonally sit down
for a rcst, and II he INDUCES himself long
enough he will assuming that he IL IN IA
good SQUIRREL wOod-hear by and bye "A
threshing about in the top OF a tree a long
distance away
The fat man, unskiIled though he may be.
will realize that something beside the wine
ia madnR the branches whi) - sharply
against each other. This feeling turns 10
certainty as the noise comes neacer.
He is Perfectly sure that IL can't be a
squirrel; apparently nothing smaller h
a HUSKY tom cat could MAKE such a disturb
ance In the tree.tops; but he sits still TO see
what il in. he can soc the bxanches moving
now, and as he watches, "A 1.-the black or
gray animal travels out 20 the end Of sway
ing limb, gathers itset for a ~ ring in the
fraction OF a second, and sails through the
air, landing 18th a crashon a limb CT the next
tree. The limb dips far down, but the SPUR
rel travels swiftly up the hill before him.
II the fat man cannot shoot we'll enough
to get the iiJLlc animal on the run, as the ex-
Terts do. he need but watch his chance.
Suddenly the squirrel stops.
Abe Fat man can count pm three or TOUR
seconds, mayJe more. in which 70 aim and
fire. lhat ought TO lie enough, and II u 49,
down DROPS the quarry.
The lean, energetic man. meanwhile, has
boen LrRInL ing over acres Of woods. Go he
ever 80 lightly, the leaves rustic u nder his
feet or the dry Cwigs break or the fallen trees
on which he ste-s are rotten and give way
with a crash.
He watches the trees far ahead, but sees
no squirrels. And why? Because the squir-
rels have seen him first.
II he Ia near by when they catch sight OF
him, there are always holes or gnRrled,
crooked crotches in the tree where they can
lie quietly untiPhe has passed by. III ne IS
still afar, there is nothing TO prevent them
from running away through the ops OF the
trees, which they do.
And the fat man, still sitting on his log,
shoots them as they come along.
There, then. you have the main secret OF
SUCCESSFUL squirrel shooting. Go into the
woods, pick out an easy seat and wait.
II you are there very early in the morning
you will shoot most Of your game on the
ground. II is the same in the Late evening.
occasionally a big fellow will GOMEZ thun.
derinR through the tree tops, but most OF
them will quietly slide down the trunks OF
trees near by and begin s~campering over
the ground. II the hunter is by nature ten
der hearted IL will be a mighty hard job
for him to kill those squirrels and he viii
sympathize with the man h does his
hunting with a camera.
A woman would say that they were cuts
and cunning little dears, and it's really
hard to describe them in any other way:
They will play like so many kittens, and II
the man who came to slay will sit perfectly
still they will gambol about his feet and
run over the log he sits on.
Lacking the ability to make noise like
a nut one must, Of course, have n gun.
Naughty hunters use a rifle.
Once upon a time Vet Schof1eld told Dan
Virgins that Hank Wilcox knew a fellow
who always used a mu1zle loading rife
carrying TAO balls to the pound, always shot
his squirrels in the head and missed only
three in two years. One OF those misses
was due to the fact that a piece Of dirt on
the foresight fooled him. 90.
But for ordinary hunters q t~welve-gauge
shotgun, double-barrelled or repeating. is
the proper equipment. There are some oh
~jections to a repeater for use in shooting
birds, but they don't apply when squirrels
are the game. .
a few are satisfied with No. 7 or ~. A
smaller number pin their faith to No. 4.
Results apparently Furnish them with a
strong argument in favor OF the heavier
and more deadly pellet.
For his weight and inches the black
or gray Squirrel has a most surprising
vitality. The tenacity with which though
badly wounded he ciings to life never
ce8sesto be a surprise
Every hunter knows what IL H. to send
a charge Of shot into a squirrel sixty feet
from the ground, see the little animal fall
clear to the frozen earth and quick as
ever race back TO the tree from which he
fell. either to vanish in a hole near the roots
or to get up the other side OF the trunk and
I out Of sight. Probably death follows,
but that squirrel has generally cheated
!, the hunter.
Not always. however. II tbs latter
has plenty Of time and seats himself near by
, he may be rewarded a few minutes later
by seeing the sorely wounded animal come
down through the branches. unable longer
TO keep a foothold on a limb. and strike
the ground with a thud. Even then il is
. wiser not to pick him up at once; squirrels
teeth are sharp and there may still be sons
life in that marvellous little frame. II a
man we're to receive a charge Of say seven
pounds of lead in his body and then to fall
900 feet to the earth il would be reasonable
TO take IL for granted that he was dead.
The squirrel is so much more admirable
} q creation that a proportional experience
; Of the same kind warrants no hasty con-
illusions.
+, You'n find no squirrels in pine and hem
lock woods. that Is. no blacks or grays.
Occasionally. OF course. one may be travel
ling through 20 a happier hunting ground
, or the other side. but so rarely hat such
a wood is no place for the hunter. II there
be any squirrels anywhere they will he
found in maple and beech woods or where
hickory. walnut, butterhut or chestnut
I trees abound.
II you find no blacks or grays and II you
are a tolerably hard hearted person shoot
the little red squirrels. IL takes n good
many Of them to make a mess. but parboiled
! and fried daintily in butter they leave
/ nothing to be desired.
/ And here's Just one trick which Won
may not have known and might find useful.
B You NAV haDDen To leave YOUR country