I was small for my age at 14, and that single-shot 30-inch-barreled 12 gauge was too much. Shouldering it properly and then hitting a running rabbit or flying grouse with the tight pattern of the fixed Full choke was about impossible.
Dad saw my growing frustration, and before it got out of hand he shortened the stock by an inch, cut the choke and 6 inches of barrel off the other end, and soldered a BB on top of the muzzle for a sighting bead. When he checked and found the open bore threw 1-1/8 ounces of low brass 8 shot in a large yet surprisingly even pattern at 30 yards, he knew his son now stood some chance of hitting a bounding bunny or fast-flying bird.
However, for my first hunt with the modified shotgun, he took me to Sugar Run, his favorite squirrel haunt. Since squirrels are tougher and smaller than rabbits, Dad upped the load to 1-1/4 ounces of high brass 7-1/2. He told me to walk up the left bank of the creek, looking for shaggy barked hickory trees. When I found some, I had to sit tight.
I did as told and was soon staring up into a big old hickory that was maybe 20 yards away. In the predawn gloom I listened to songbirds greeting the day, crows cawing in the distance. I was about ready to move when I heard claws scratching on bark, slipped a shell into the chamber and resumed staring intently into that tree.
The first squirrel barked so close I jumped. Then another barked, and I heard more claws rattling bark. A limb bowed, and two squirrels appeared before me like materializing ghosts. When one ran out on the limb and stopped, offering me an open shot, I raised the shotgun, put the bead on target and fired.
The sound of the shot seemed strangely muffled, but the squirrel dropped. I opened the action as quickly as I could, fumbled in another shell and nailed the second squirrel, which was still frozen by the first shot. When that one hit the ground, another squirrel ran up the tree to my right. I swung and nailed it, too, a purely instinctive shot.
Then I sat there, disbelieving what had just happened.
Thirty minutes later a gray squirrel jumped into the first hickory, and it quickly joined the others in my game pouch. With fog gradually thinning I was trying to decide whether it was finally time to move when another squirrel started barking, this one maybe 50 yards away. I stood and quietly snuck in that direction.
To make a long story a little bit shorter, I bagged my limit that day, a half-dozen plump squirrels for the pot. I was sure my custom-cut down 12 gauge was the best shotgun in the world, and come Monday, all of my friends at school and even the janitor knew that I, Wade Robertson, had shot a limit of squirrels.
Much has changed since then. But if you want a young hunter to taste success, you should still start him out with squirrels and a shotgun. Do not underestimate how important success is to youngsters, and a scattergun increases the odds tremendously. In fact, I’d put a shotgun in anyone’s hands early in the season when leaves are still thick in the trees. A squirrel’s constant movements may only present short windows to aim and fire, and with a shotgun, you can take off-hand shots that would challenge anyone holding a rifle.
Though I disagree with many of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer hunting policies, they have made progress in other areas. I’m thrilled to see they finally have found their senses and opened squirrel season in September, in fact it’s just a week away, the first day this coming Saturday the 12th. Hallelujah!
With only a few days before the opener it’s a bit of a rush to get prepared. Luckily, the days are still long enough to accomplish much before it grows dark.
If you’ll be hunting squirrels with a scattergun, the following may be a bit surprising, but my Dad started me out with what I came to discover was the best combination of choke and shot for bushy tails. An improved cylinder choke and one and a quarter ounces of high brass 7.5 shot makes a very effective combination out to 30 or 35 yards. The small shot kills well, has a large pattern and doesn’t break legs like other sized shots seem too. In fact, many hits only seem to penetrate the hide, but it kills well. It appears the additional strikes, though they don’t penetrate deeply, impart an impressive shock value.
It seems to be generally accepted that 6’s are the standard squirrel load, but when I tried them I broke far too many legs. There are 225 each #6 in an ounce and 350 #7.5’s. That’s 125 more #7.5’s. That fills a lot of holes in your pattern. If you tightened the choke to modified, increasing the density of the #6’s, you break even more legs.
What I’ve discovered for young and old alike is to kill the squirrels you should, don’t worry about those at long range. Using an improved cylinder choke and 1.25 ounces of high brass 7.5’s in a 12 gauge gives you a large pattern that kills well without unnecessarily breaking those tasty legs.
