Pine Squirrels Ruin Your hunt.

[Still Hunter]

In 10 years of elk hunting I have literally had Pine Squirrels mess up, and I mean just about to draw on an elk at less than 40 yards, no less than four shot opportunities. No telling how many other encounters have been ruined by getting picked off and berated by one of the lil Nut Cats.

On one occasion I moved from one side of a nice wallow area to another because the wind changed. I quickly made a new ground blind and got all settled in when a bull bugled and started coming into the wallow. There were actually three wallows in a group all spread across about 30 yards. Well when the bull came in , he of course went to the one of the three that I did not have a good shot angle at. So as I quietly got up to slowly step over the small brush wall I had erected with pine boughs this #&^! pine squirrel would decide to bark/chirp at me. Every time I would start to lift my leg to step over the brush the squirrel made is little annoyed bark. The bull would lift his head an look in my direction. Now this was probably one of the top five bulls I have ever seen. I was so pumped and so excited, Five easy steps would have given me a shooting lane at about 32 yards. The fourth time that little squirrel barked that bull lifted his head looked my way one more time and decided something wasn't right and away he went.

I looked one year to look at the season on those little boogers so I could do some serious pay back & some sweet revenge but I am pretty sure the season started in October not in September.

How many of you have truly had a Pine Squirrel ruin your hunt as well?

 

[Gerbdog]

Haha those dang squirrels... but... they'll also bark at bulls passing through too... so pay attention where you hear those squirrels barking....

Then again they just bark at everything, including other squirrels... maybe dont pay attention at all.

Unsure if ive had an encounter blown by a squirrel...but that doesnt mean they havent blown encounters i didnt even know were happening because i didnt know the elk was around and a squirrel alerted them to me.... those dang squirrels.

true story i know someone who got their first bull because a pine squirrel ahead of them sounded off, so they stepped off the game trail, and a bull walked into range

 

[11boo]

I knocked one of those things off his limb, by throwing a limb. It was oddly satisfying after 20 minutes of nonstop chatter

 

[BRTreedogs]

They drop the pine cones alot where I'm at.
It sounds like a bull rattling.
Idk how many times I've been knocked up ready to see a bull commit to coming in. Ready to draw.
Standing there.
Continuing to call.
F those things.

 

[Coues123]

Back when I used aluminum arrows, I always carried a rubber blunt.
More than once I got tired of one just going off while sitting on a wallow. You can figure the rest out.

 

[Coveyleader]

Get to 20 yds and they’re a non factor

 

[Pony Soldier]

They remind me a great deal of my exwife's mother. Not much value yet damn annoying.

 

[butcherboy]

I had one drop a green pine cone on my head from 40 feet up in a tree! Pine cone tore my hat and put a nice gash on my head. It dropped me to my knees. My brother was with me and laughed so hard I thought I was going to have to resuscitate him when he quit breathing.

 

[IDplumber]

I was sitting my a secluded water hole this year on opener of elk B season in ID and planned to sit for the day. A red squirrel kept alarming in the quiet little bottom I was in. Very small secluded spot, maybe 80yds in diameter. I carry a suppressed 22 pistol on my pack belt, and I finally had enough after 10 min of continuous chatter which had been intermittent. I was imagining an elk coming down from the bench above me and just not coming all the way because of that little SOB. I shot, narrowly missing it, but it went away. About 20 min later I shot a spike at 8yds. Not sure if getting rid of the squirrel helped, or if my shot delayed the elk/scared off a larger elk, or anything else, but I do feel like sometimes those squirrels are a problem. Growing up in MN they would sometimes make me feel like I burned a deer stand.

 

[444Marlin]

A running joke in my circle is "...it was either a herd of bulls, or a squirrel."

We're more likely to put a stalk on a squirrel dropping cones. They sound just like elk breaking branches walking through the timber.

Most of my messed up opportunities are caused by me - not by squirrels.

 

[trophyhill]

They bark and chatter at elk too

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Hunting in Southern Colorado for Archery elk we didnt have a problem with squirrels but I swear there is this one type of bird that sounds exactly like a cow elk. After 4 days of not hearing any bugling it starts to really get to your head sometimes.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Hunting in Southern Colorado for Archery elk we didnt have a problem with squirrels but I swear there is this one type of bird that sounds exactly like a cow elk. After 4 days of not hearing any bugling it starts to really get to your head sometimes.

Did it look like this?

Steller’s Jays are excellent mimics, and elk calls are some of their favorites.

 

[Gerbdog]

ah ha! im not much of a birder, that would be my brother, but i always wondered if there was some sort of mimic/mocking birds around... and if they had learned to make elk calls... it makes sense cause i agree... those birds sound REALLY close to a mew

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Did it look like this?

Steller’s Jays are excellent mimics, and elk calls are some of their favorites.

I am pretty sure that is the one as we saw quite a few. The cows were probably the worst though. We would be hunkered in waiting at a beaver pond only to have a curious cow come up and moo at us for 30 min. That is what it crazy about southern Colorado. You will be up at 12,000 ft only to run into a herd of cattle.

 

[GotDraw?]

I heard 250 inches of snow in UT mtns so far.

If that is true, then maybe a lot of them won't live through the extended melt...

 

[doc holiday13]

Bring a 22lr or pellet rifle with you for the intent of hunting them and killing an elk if you happen to see one.. Remember, animals know if you're out to till them and can telepathically sense it. So if you're purposely hunting a squirrel, you won't see any but you'll see a lot of elk

 

[EastHumboldt]

No squirrels where I hunt but there’s these grouse that blow out from under your feet and draw attention to you. Also scare the shit out of you and damn near make you drop your rifle. I’ve had them blow a stalk. All just part of the deal. Sometimes you’re the windshield sometimes you’re the bug.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

A squirrel ruined one of my hunts once and it still haunts me to this day. It was after a fresh snow of more than a foot and the tracking conditions were perfect. After not seeing anything in the first hour of daylight I picked up a set of elk tracks and followed them for about 1/2 mile. I got to a point on the mountain where I thought I should be getting close to where this elk would bed so I slowed way down. It was about about 9am and the wind was still in my favor so I took my time and then a pine squirrel started furiously chattering at me. I tried to wait him out for 15 minutes or so but he was 12 ft away and just would not stop. I decided to press on. After taking maybe ten steps I could see over this little knoll and there is the bull 40 yards away standing up looking directly at me. He bolted before I could attempt a shot. When I walked over to where he was standing I confirmed he had been bedded in the snow right there. He couldn't have been there for more than an hour so I'm convinced the squirrel warning made him uneasy enough to stand back up and look that direction.

 

[Raghornkiller]

Stalked in on a few dropping cones on logs,never had them mess up an opportunity.