Saturday Morning Squirrel Hunt!!

[La Longue Carabine]

This past saturday was intended to be a morning of squirrel hunting and an oppertunity to dress out in my frontier gear, basically turned into a pleasant walk through the hills and woods of East Tennessee. Of course Mitzi decided to bring her camera, again...   It was a nice day and the temp was in the low 80's, but the humidity was like 2,000%...     It still isn't as hot this time of the year, as it has been in the past.

 Living in Morristown Tenn, we're just a stones throw from Jefferson county where Davy Crockett and his family lived, and ran there little tavern, (which for some reason was moved here to Morristown, about 1/2 mile from my house) . This area is also where Davy spent most of his time in the woods, tracking and hunting. Which is also where he gained his reputation as a skilled hunter and marksman. As we walked and looked around, i couldn't help but wonder, "did i just put my foot down on an exact spot ole Davy once did"...  Hard to say, but we sure had fun thinking we did...

Well we only saw one squirrel the whole day, but had an incredible time anyway. We scouted out a few new deer trails and Mitzi took several pictures of me decked out in my gear. Anyway, i thought i'd share these with ya'll. Please keep the laughter down to a minimum... 



I saw you go up there, now stick your little head out... 



What a beautiful day, and boy do I need to go see Jenny Craig..



Yep, that's my girl, she's got my back...A picture of it anyway.. 



If that dang bird will hold still, i'll shoot that skeeter of its back...



Oh yeah, welcome to East Tennessee...



Ya can't get to the top, unless you move yur feet...



Made it up the hill, now lets throw the ole hawk and see what happens...



Oh Lord, it stuck, how about that. Beginners luck...




Come on sweet heart, its getting late and time to go to the house...I forgot the water & i'am so thirsty...



New picture of my Rifle, my new bag, and the 1st powder horn i ever made...

[Ben I. Voss]

I know how it goes - pesky squirrels everywhere until you pick up the rifle then they disappear! Nice backyard you got there, by the way! Looks like fun.

[northmn]

Looks like some nice forested areas.  Squirrels can get to be pretty hard to get when trees are in full leaf.  Still its great to be out.  I ahve to wait until mid September.

DP

[Roger Fisher]

Nice area and nice of your soul mate 'Mitzi' to trek along with you to keep you company and snap the photos.  Nice ol timey outfit also - gotta ask - You are a right hander shooter?     So am I; but I find it much handier to carry my shootin bag and horn on my right side.  I guess I am just more clumsy with my left hand and find it better to handle said powder horn to pour w/my right hand... Have you tried that?

[Dphariss]

Hunting Fox and Grey Squirrels is the only thing I miss after moving west
It was always a very enjoyable enterprise and they taste good too.

Dan

[La Longue Carabine]

Nice area and nice of your soul mate 'Mitzi' to trek along with you to keep you company and snap the photos.  Nice ol timey outfit also - gotta ask - You are a right hander shooter?     So am I; but I find it much handier to carry my shootin bag and horn on my right side.  I guess I am just more clumsy with my left hand and find it better to handle said powder horn to pour w/my right hand... Have you tried that?

Yeap i'am right handed, but i've had to learn over the years to use my left hand just as well as my right. Before i got old and fat i use to be what they call an Extreme Athlete. From the time i was old enough to carry one, I played football, I spent years in Karate, then Jui-Jitsu, then in 1999 when i was 34 i started Mountain Bike riding & racing. In these sports i have broken the following bones, (all on the right side of my body) "leg, hand, fingers, arm, shoulder, shoulder blade, nose and every rib due to a lung operation....

Needless to say, i've had to use my left arm...A Lot... So i carrying my horn and my possibles bag on the left and my shooting bag on the right. Which seems to work quite well. With the 2nd shoulder fracture, which almost broke my shoulder blade in half, i only have enough range of motion to barley reach the wallet in my back pocket. So its hard for me to get to items i carry on the back of my belt.

Anyway, these are the reasons i purposely bought & built both my left hand carry horns, and why i carry it there....

Thank you for your suggestion and kind comments on our day out.
Danny

[rich pierce]

Looks like a great day and a great rifle.  Your lady must be special too!  You've got it all going on!

[Dancy]

That's what it's all about! Motivates me to get out and do the same this weekend. Thanks for posting.

JD

[John SMOthermon]

Looks like a great time your outfit looks great. And its always nice to have the lady of the house along with you.

[Scott Bumpus]

Where's that big dog? won't he tree a squirell?  He might be handy in case one charges!! 

[eseabee1]

looks like you had fun tree rats don`t come in here for a while and we have to wear the orange but it would be nice to grab the gear and go after  them ..this year taking the trade rifle hopefully get into a few grouse while I am out ....

[La Longue Carabine]

Where's that big dog? won't he tree a squirell?  He might be handy in case one charges!! 

  Nahhh, i left ole Jericho at the house, but he'd been a good'en to stop any charging wild squirrels, or just about anything else out there in them woods...

If i was going to bring one on an outing like that, it would have been my golden retriever..."Samson". If Jericho is the brawn, then sammy is the brains. In all my years of raising and training dogs, this dog is the smartest i've ever come across.


Here's a pic or 2 of him in action...









Sorry to have jumped off topic a bit, but any chance i get to show off my boy's, i'am all over it...

[Scott Bumpus]

Thats a good lookin dog.  I have always kept black labs, i got a big soft spot for labs and goldens. 

[northmn]

I have a Golden and the pictures you show are a Yellow Lab which is a color variation and not a seperate breed like my Golden.   Not taking anything away from his abilities.  One of the best dogs I had ever hunted pheasants over was a Daddy may I keep it.  A mutt that ended up in our garage as a pup.  Seems momma dog would take the pups out and they would get lost.  The pup heard my dogs and came to the garage.  Either that or a drop off as I have gotten those also.  Some thought she was an English setter.  Probably had some of that in her too.  She would point at times.  I bought the Golden becasue that breed has that type of personality.  Trouble with a mutt is that you cannot replace them by buying another. Heck of a great way to spend a day by going out with a good dog and a shotgun.  I have a rat terrier (very long story) that I think might be a squirrel dog.

DP

[La Longue Carabine]

I have a Golden and the pictures you show are a Yellow Lab which is a color variation and not a seperate breed like my Golden.   Not taking anything away from his abilities.  One of the best dogs I had ever hunted pheasants over was a Daddy may I keep it.  A mutt that ended up in our garage as a pup.  Seems momma dog would take the pups out and they would get lost.  The pup heard my dogs and came to the garage.  Either that or a drop off as I have gotten those also.  Some thought she was an English setter.  Probably had some of that in her too.  She would point at times.  I bought the Golden becasue that breed has that type of personality.  Trouble with a mutt is that you cannot replace them by buying another. Heck of a great way to spend a day by going out with a good dog and a shotgun.  I have a rat terrier (very long story) that I think might be a squirrel dog.

DP

I know what your saying, Sam is a bit confusing. He has the outward look of a Yellow lab,. but his facial and body structure is that of a Golden. He's one of four rescue dog's we have. He was found wondering on the side of the interstate in Virginia, when he was 2 months old. He was given to my wife, who then gave him to me as a present. When he was a puppy, he looked like he was a full blooded lab, but none of that matters, he is still with out doubt the most naturally intelligent dog i've ever seen. Its like he knows and understands what you want him to do and he does it. In fact, where going to do a little dove hunting this weekend...

[hanshi]

I have an old girl I bought as a puppy (her, not me).  Ready for this?  Basset/Golden Retriever mix (looks like a golden Basset).  Looks like a cartoon character with basset devotion and 2" turned out legs.  She was always my running companion until she (both of us, actually) got too old and arthritic.  But she can - could - chase a rabbit!  And catch them, too!  Got that Basset instinct, I guess.

[TNrifleman]

Danny,

I love to hunt squirrels. I guess it is a Tennessee thing. I've been after them since the season opened on August 22.

Your photos are very nice, my complements to the photographer. The only thing better than a day in the squirrel woods is one spent there with a good partner.

A bit over 30 years ago, my wife and I were up in that area and visited a small log cabin on the Limestone river said to be on the site where David Crockett was born.  Beautiful country!

[La Longue Carabine]

Danny,

I love to hunt squirrels. I guess it is a Tennessee thing. I've been after them since the season opened on August 22.

Your photos are very nice, my complements to the photographer. The only thing better than a day in the squirrel woods is one spent there with a good partner.

A bit over 30 years ago, my wife and I were up in that area and visited a small log cabin on the Limestone river said to be on the site where David Crockett was born.  Beautiful country!

Thank you TNRifleman, and if you find yourself back in this neck of the woods, bring your possibles and give me a hollar and we'll see if we can't burn some powder or do a little hunting...

Danny...

[Daryl]

I miss squirrel hunting, along with "having" to use a shotgun on grouse. Here, the (Pine) squirrels are protected due to being a fur bearing animal - restricted to trapping, (can't eat them anyway) and the grouse can be head shot with rifles.  Back East, I never saw a grouse within 35/40 yards and they were all heading away as fast as their wings would carry them.
Now that I have a .32, I surely wish we had some black and grey squirrels to shoot - the odd fox squirrel was also taken - oh, so many years ago.  I do however, expect to use the .32 Ten. flinter on grophers next spring - should be a blast.

[VtBlackdog]

cool post!

[J.D.]

That is beautiful country. Nice rifle and outfit too.

I wouldn't worry about the appearance of extra pounds in the photo, everyone knows that the camera adds 10 pounds. I would post a photo of myself and gear, but it would look like a half dozen cameras were trained on me. 

God bless

[La Longue Carabine]

That is beautiful country. Nice rifle and outfit too.

I wouldn't worry about the appearance of extra pounds in the photo, everyone knows that the camera adds 10 pounds. I would post a photo of myself and gear, but it would look like a half dozen cameras were trained on me. 

God bless

Oh trust me, its not the camera's... Its that extensive long stay at the dinner table, that leads to that waist belt losing ground to the buckle...

Thank you for the comment on my rifle and gear. The rifle i got first and the rest, i've been slowly gathering. And yes this is pretty country up here in the Smokies, and this is one of the mildest summers we've had in a long time, but that high humidity...still sucks... If you noticed, she didn't take any pictures once we come down off that mountain and got back to the truck... ... I didn't have a dry thread on me from sweat, but it was still super fun...