2011 Hunting Season

A new season, a new gun. Switching from the H001T to the AR-7.

2012-02-26T22:17:00.001-05:00

This was the last weekend to hunt squirrels in CT, and it was so dangerously windy that I had no choice than to sit the morning out. That wasn't easy to do considering that squirrels have been moving for the past month. The problem is that the October blizzard snapped and uprooted so many trees that are just hanging there and ready to fall that walking through the woods with 50mph winds would be just too dangerous. On top of that, squirrels never move in the wind because they can't hear what danger awaits below.

So the season is over. I've seen a lot better, but also worse. I'm just thankful that I did have some fun the last few times I went out, even though squirrels weren't in abundance. Now it's time to start getting ready for the next season; woodchuck.

A new season means a new gun, so I pulled the scope off the Henry H001T and was really pleased to discover that the scope and mount fit perfectly on the AR-7. Woodchuck hunting means constant walking. I also never know if the shot will be 25 feet around the next corner or 75 yards down the path, so a quick shooting light rifle with a zoom scope should be perfect. Next I'll use the LaserLyte green laser to get on paper, then at my first opportunity I'll sight it in at the range. Then we wait for the woodchucks to come out of hibernation.

Not one of my better weeks

2012-02-18T12:55:00.001-05:00

It was beautiful in the woods this morning, with everything bathed in streaming golden sunlight. Frost was on the ground but the air was still which kept the temperature comfortable. For the entire time I hunted, I was surrounded by flocks of birds made up of hundreds of robins.

Once I heard what sounded like falling rain. Looking up I discovered that robins were perched a stone's throw over my head while they relieved themselves all around me. As you would imagine, it didn't take me long to move out of that area. I enjoyed being surrounded by the birds and watching them busily searching for food, but they did tend to mask the presence of any squirrels that might have been in the area. On the other hand, it's also true that they might have masked my presence to the squirrels as well.

The problem was that when I hit the halfway point, I spotted a blaze orange vest in the middle of my favorite squirrel spot. Another squirrel hunter beat me to it, and after talking with him I discovered that I had trailed him all the way from the parking lot. He claimed to have spotted 3 squirrels along the way, which spooked everything by the time I reached those areas.

On the way back I took a different route, or at least that's what I thought. Once again at the very end, there he was, sitting out the spot I was heading to. I guess we were on the same wavelength today or he had been following my blogs. It was good to see and talk to another squirrel hunter, but I wasn't all that happy about the lack of sightings since squirrel hunting ends at the end of this month. I ended up not taking a single shot this morning, nor did I hear the other hunter shoot. I would have liked to have hunted longer, but I had too many important things to take care of today to waste the day seeing nothing.

Wednesday on the way to work I hit black ice and went totally out of control. Just before I hit an icy corner, another car hit the same spot, slid off the road and twisted his car around some trees. Moments later I followed him and totaled out the other side of his car, totaling out my car as well. 17 years of driving these roads daily through ice and snow incident free, and this week I destroy the car due to the tiniest bit of misting rain which froze and glazed the road. Such is life I guess. Hope you had a better week than me. Time to go get my rental car...

Bagged one. Time for bird hunters to get their dogs out of the woods.

2012-02-11T11:45:00.002-05:00

Saw 5, bagged 1. A pheasant hunter showed up at 7:15 with two dogs that had electronic beepers on that went off every 8 seconds. It was like having two emergency vehicles in the woods! Spooked everything. There are no pheasants alive in our woods since they stopped stocking Thanksgiving. Absolutely no courtesy towards us small game hunters who only have a few weeks left. I was flaming pissed! This is the second time this month I've run into this bird hunter. Now I know where the term 'bird-brain' came from. I'm contacting the DEP later today to see if this electronic contraption is legal. I didn't get a shot at anything until this guy took off. The new state law which extends pheasant season until the end of February is BS.

For tomorrow morning's hunt...

2012-02-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

Henry H001T .22LR Octagon Frontier Model

and

North American Arms .22LR / .22Mag. 1860 Sheriff

Had some fun on a February morning that felt like Spring

2012-02-04T14:14:00.002-05:00

This morning I saw 2 or 3 squirrels (maybe the same one appeared twice), but they were both so far away that they busted me before I got close enough to get a shot. I did have fun with them though. I saw the first one at about 75 yards and it was just a momentary flash that I spotted in my peripheral vision. I wasn't sure it was a squirrel, but I've learned to follow up my instincts. I moved in and sat out the spot for 10 minutes where I thought I saw it, when all of a sudden a good size gray came running along the trunk of a fallen tree. It stopped and froze in profile like a target, but the problem was that it was looking right at me and my rifle was by my side. I slowly brought it up, but by the time my Henry was shouldered, the squirrel went running full speed into the dense leaves and branches of the fallen tree. That was the last I saw of it. The second one was spotted at a similar distance in another location, but it was on the move and 75 yards is way too far to hit a running target. It moved around the back of a tree and like magic seemed to simply disappear. I slowly moved in, going from tree to tree and was within a stone's throw when it appeared again and quickly slipped behind another tree. I waited it out but it never re-appeared. I left with an empty game bag, but it was a lot of fun doing some real hunting for a couple of hours on a beautiful morning that felt a bit like a Spring in February.

Bagged one today and gutted it in the field

2012-01-28T13:10:00.001-05:00

Clarification: It didn't take 15 minutes to sneak up to the tree. I sat the tree out for 15 minutes, and right before I was about to quit, I went around the back side and spotted that squirrel flattened out on an upper branch.

First Squirrel Kill with a North American Arms Mini-Revolver

2012-01-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

I bagged my first squirrel with a mini-revolver. Check my NAA Page to see the story and video.

Not Good

2012-01-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

This is not a good sign for squirrel hunters. I haven't seen a trace of coyote in my hunting area since last winter when I heard a bunch of them howling across the meadow early one morning. Today I stopped this coyote scat on top of a fallen tree dead in the middle of my favorite squirrel hunting spot, and it wasn't there two days ago. This could be one of the reasons why the squirrel population has dwindled away to almost nothing.

Squirrel Hunting Tips

2012-01-07T22:34:00.001-05:00

One thing I should mention that didn't come to mind in the field was to keep an eye out for food supplies. If there are acorns and nuts on the ground (especially pieces of shell), there are likely squirrels in the trees. I think it was a year ago that squirrels chose a favorite nut tree in my hunting spot. They would come from surrounding trees to eat and hang out at the very top of this one. It was September and the tree was fully leafed out making visibility to the top almost impossible. I couldn't see through dense leaves to the top branches, though I was able to see and hear tiny pieces of shell falling to the ground. All I had to do was to wait for one to come out into the open so I could take my shot. The reverse is also true. If there's no food supply in the area, there will likely be no squirrels.

When changing ammo, don't forget to check your sights!

2011-12-23T15:14:00.001-05:00

AR-7 shooting hollow points

2011-12-10T19:22:00.006-05:00

Join the BRShooting Journal facebook group. It's an extension of this blog which encourages you to interact with others in the group, post your thoughts, your own photos, stories and videos. Looking forward to welcoming you into the group and hearing from you!

Henry sling for the H001T

2011-12-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

I'm currently having a Henry sling installed on my H001T Frontier Model Octagon rifle. I'm having my gunsmith do it so that I don't end up hacking it up. I'll post photos as soon as I get the rifle back. The objective is to free up my hands when hunting through the snow this year. As you can see from the photo, the sling is beautiful with an embossed logo and soft padding under the leather. This is top quality by DeSantis, who also made the beautiful holster for my Ruger .380. Here's a link to the product for more details and to order one. CLICK HERE

There's also a link on the Henry page to the swivel kit that's required. The lower sections screws into the stock and the upper mounts to the loading tube. It seems like a lot of weight put on that tube, but it must work or Henry wouldn't be selling it. Check back soon to see what it looks like and to read my product review.

UPDATE

The sling came in and it is AMAZINGLY comfortable. My only question is why the heck I didn't buy one of these years ago? When it's cold and I'm shooting a .22, I wear a full glove on my left hand and a leather one with cut-off fingers on the right. That way I can easily cock the hammer and reload without removing the glove. The only problem is that the right hand does get cold when I'm carrying the rifle, so it was nice today to be able to keep the right hand in a pocket to stay warm. To sum this sling up, it's beautiful, well padded, comfortable and it nicely distributes the weight of the rifle making it almost seem to disappear. If you shoot a Henry octagon which can get heavy after an hour or so into a hunt, I recommend not putting off getting and installing a DeSantis sling made for your Henry. Here's some photos I took today.

Will hollow points feed through the AR-7 without jamming?

2011-11-28T12:02:00.003-05:00

I've been asked by quite a few readers if hollow points will jam in the AR-7. I guess that has been a problem with previous models of this rifle. This morning I shot 40 rounds of CCI Mini Mag Hollow Points through the Henry model without a single jam.

I don't know if it has to do with the 66F humid weather that we had today or what, but after 3 hours hunting this morning I pulled off 6 ticks. Hate those things.

Here's a really good CCI comparison chart. You can check off the cartridges you like and it will generate comparison charts. CLICK HERE

Henry AR-7 scope recommendation from Henry Repeating Arms

2011-11-27T16:46:00.001-05:00

Light, less expensive scope options to consider for the H002B Survival would be BSA or Tasco mounted with Millet rings. Best Regards,

Thomas Kotz
Customer Service Supervisor
Export Manager, Henry Repeating Arms Company

'Male Pheasant' Tease

2011-11-26T18:20:00.001-05:00

Ya, I know there's another term that could have been used, but this is a family blog. That stink'n Murphy struck again today. It was absolutely perfect out. The temp was 61F which was a record high for Connecticut. The sky was blue, only one other pair of hunters in the woods and the smell of fallen leaves was in the air.

Since I bagged the hen the last time I was out, I decided to take the Henry AR-7 .22LR and hunt squirrels. About 15 minutes into the hunt I see the bushes start to move a stone's throw in front of me. I was in a wide open area so there was nothing to block my shot. All of a sudden a big, beautiful ring neck pheasant flushes right in front of me. It took off so slowly that I could have gotten at least two rounds into it with the bolt action, but since I had the .22, all I could do was to watch it fly away.

I looped around the area looking for squirrels which took about an hour and saw nothing. It was getting late and I had a couple of chores that needed to be done today, so I took the main path back because it's faster. As I approached the area where I had seen the cock glide in for a landing, either another ring neck or the same one breaks out of the bushes to my left and runs across right in front of me across the path! It's like it new that I couldn't shoot it and it was playing games with me. The brush wasn't dense in the area where it went so for the heck of it I decided to see if I could flush it again. About 75 yards away I saw a couple of hunters standing around under a tree. It was a father and son, and I waved to them to come over. I told them about the pheasant and they said that they had just seen a squirrel which they were waiting out. We both laughed and decided to switch places. I took a seat under the tree while the two guys went after the bird. After about 15 minutes I left because once a squirrel gets into a tree around this area, they don't come out due to the hollow trees. I didn't hear a shot on the way out of the woods, so I'm sorry to say that the pheasant managed to get away. I wonder how anything so colorful is able to hide?

Just before coming out of the woods I saw a big fat squirrel about 25 yards away. It didn't see me, so it circled the trunk and stopped dead center. A picture perfect target. I leaned against a tree, took careful aim and squeezed a round off. The damn thing started running! It ran as fast as it could to the top of the tree, jumped to the next and ran full speed to the bottom. It amazes me how they can run head first down a tree at full speed and not fall off. I lost sight of it for a few seconds but there was nowhere for it to go. It could have only gone into a hole in the tree, so I took a seat and waited it out 20 minutes. It never came out so I headed out.

Not long before shooting at that squirrel, and considering that the woods were almost empty, I had set up a plastic water bottle against a big tree and fired eight rounds into it to check the sights. The group was about 2". There's no way I missed that squirrel, and considering the way that squirrel ran, I must have hit it. It didn't see me and a .22 usually isn't loud enough to scare a squirrel that badly. I have a feeling the round nose bullet I'm using passed right through it without hitting a vital organ. Not being hollow point, there's no expansion so it just leaves a tiny hole. Squirrels don't die unless you hit a vital organ like the spine, lungs or head. If you look at the squirrel photo a few hunts ago you'll see that I broke the squirrel's arm with my first shot. It dropped from the tree but managed to run away at full speed, appearing on another tree so quickly that I thought it was a different squirrel. Squirrels are not effected by pain and shock as we are. You have to literally stop them from functioning or they keep moving like a machine. I need to give the box of CCI hollow points I have on the shelf a try next time I go out.

Decisions decisions. Do I take the shotgun and go after that cock or the .22 and have fun with the squirrels. If I can put a sling on the shotgun, I might try to take both. That's not illegal, is it?

An amazing morning in the woods

2011-11-25T22:49:00.001-05:00

GO GET!

2011-11-24T11:51:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Today is the last day that the state stocks WMA's with pheasant, so I decided to go out with my shotgun to try my luck. The stocking truck obviously had shown up because there were truck tracks that went through the gate and down the main path. I was actually surprised that I didn't see more cars or hear more shooting today. I hunted nonstop from 7:00 am through 10:00. About 15 minutes into the hunt I passed three guys that I'd run into last time I was out. One guy said that it's almost impossible to hunt the area without a dog. He said his dog was literally standing on birds and they refused to run or flush, which makes it impossible to know that they are there. The three of them bagged their limit and were done for the day, but he thought that the birds might start moving since it was getting later. These guys were out early because it was only 7:15 and they already had six birds. Hunting with a good dog is obviously the way to go.

I saw a nice fat squirrel a few minutes into the hunt, but I decided to leave it for another day and devote all my attention to bagging a bird. I kicked through brush for two and a half hours. I could hear birds around me, but I couldn't see them or get anything to flush. Finally I walked past a hen and it took off behind me. I turned and hit it with my old Mossberg bolt action 20 gauge. The problem was that it was a good distance away when I hit it so the shot didn't have enough punch to immediately take it down. Instead, it made it into the swamp were I could see it splashing around under a tree. There was no way to get to it, so I decided to give a yell to a hunter that had just come down the path with two beautiful pointers (Brittany's?). I told him that I put the hen down, but since I couldn't reach it, he could keep the pheasant if his dogs wanted to retrieve the bird.

He followed me with his dogs and I pointed to the tree where I had last seen the bird, about 40 yards into the swamp. The hunter yelled "GO GET!" and the matching dogs ran right into the water and headed towards the tree. They seemed to be on the scent in seconds and it took them less than a minute to reach the bird. When I saw the pheasant in its mouth it was obvious that the pheasant was already dead. I couldn't help but smile while I watched those two beautiful dogs work. They were obviously having a blast! The dog dropped the bird at our feet and I handed it to the hunter, but he said I knocked it down so it was my bird. He then asked me if I wanted to buy one of the dogs. I would have loved to, but my wife would kill me if I brought another dog home. I thanked him and went on my way. A few minutes later I heard three more shots from the area where the dogs were, so the guy obviously came out with his own bird anyway. At that point I decided to call it a day because I had to shower, pick up my mother-in-law and bring her to my house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope you had a great day today. If you did get out hunting, feel free to leave a comment telling us how you made out. Tomorrow I'll be out with the Henry Survival Rifle hunting squirrels.

Ugh. The joys of hunting on public land. It should be better than this.

2011-11-19T14:09:00.275-05:00

THE AR-7
I'll start this post on a positive note by saying that even though the AR-7's springs went flying last weekend, I did put it back together correctly because the rifle shot flawlessly once again. In fact, it has yet to have a single jam or misfire. Last Saturday I was shooting a bit low, so I put the LaserLyte green laser in the AR's barrel and pointed the gun at my basement wall. I raised the rear sight about 1/16" and today the rifle was right on.

I set up a single shot whiskey bottle I had found on the ground and took a crack at it from about 30 yards. One shot and the bottle exploded. I then set up a glass 1/5th bottle and aimed at the neck. The top of the bottle disappeared. Excellent! No jamming and right on target. What more could I ask from a rifle?

THE HUNT
Now that I've told you about the good part of the morning, I'll get into the bad. No squirrels for the second weekend in a row. I quietly moved through the woods from 7am to 10:30 and only saw one from a distance. Maybe it has something to do with the number of pheasant hunters that were out this morning. Since they end bird stocking on Thanksgiving (this coming Thursday), the state must have dumped a lot of birds last night to make up for not stocking during the October snow storm. Last week there were very few gunshots so they couldn't have stocked. Today shots come from everywhere for the first couple of hours. Then it went silent.

THE CLASH OF HUNTERS
One of my buddies is an experienced bird hunter who has an awesome yellow lab which knows his job better than most human hunters in the woods. He goes right to work with little of no supervision. That sure isn't true for many dogs that I see hunting state land. These dog owners act more like cattle rustlers than hunters. From the moment they get out of their truck they are either yelling at their dogs or blowing a whistle. Yelling instead of talking, they sound more like fans at a football game that had a few too many. A few weeks ago a guy like this walked up to me, and yelling at the top of his lungs he asked me if I had the time... while I was sitting out a spot under a tree waiting for a squirrel to reappear, effectively ending my hunt. At the same time his dog came running up and jumped all over me. It was obvious that this guy didn't have a clue that anyone in the woods could be doing anything other than pheasant hunting, even though I was carrying a .22, sitting and looking up into a tree. I guess he figured I was waiting for my pheasant to fall out of the tree.

Today I came across more of the same, which made it impossible to squirrel hunt the area. Thankfully after Thanksgiving most will be gone for the year. What really brought home the futility of trying to hunt on state land was today's encounter with a deer hunter. When things finally began to quiet down, I slowly and silently made a pass through one of my favorite squirrel hunting spots. "Siii! Siii!" I look around and discover that I'm standing about 30 yards directly in front of a deer hunter who's in a tree stand. It was too late to avoid him, so I waved and quietly kept moving. We were literally tripping over each other. Thankfully I didn't see a squirrel in line with this guy or I could have easily shot him!

A SOLUTION
There are far too many hunters hunting too few areas in CT. To promote the hunting sports I'd like to see an effort made by the state to create more locally accessible hunting areas and an easier way to locate them via the Internet. If the state can spend 7 million dollars per mile to build an unwanted bus line from New Britain to Hartford, they can invest in our hunting land to better promote the sport. While our economy is dying, the shooting sports are growing. Gun manufacturers cannot keep up with the demand for product, and the same is true for ammo and reloading manufacturers. Look through any hunting magazine and you'll see that new hunting and shooting related manufactures are springing up every day. We now even have a huge Cabela's in East Hartford. The state needs to make an investment to keep this booming part of the economy growing. While the number of gun enthusiasts is on the increase, hunting continues to decline. Then how can the hunting areas overpopulated? It must be a reflection of the increased populations in surrounding towns. With gas prices so high many hunters (including myself) are unwilling to drive across the state to hunt birds and small game. New hunting areas need to be developed near hi-density areas and these WMA's must be managed. How many times have I mentioned on this site that I haven't seen a conservation officer in the woods checking licenses in about three years? Why did the state do away with pheasant tags this year? Is it because there's no one to check them? How may birds are hunters with dogs taking out of the woods this season, and what is left for the guy who hunts alone? I personally haven't seen a single hunter without a dog come out of the woods with one bird this year. What is that telling you? I for one am done with pheasant hunting after this year. I wonder how many hunters are out there without stamps?

Some of you may ask why we should invest in the hunting sports. The following are some little known facts and figures that may change your attitude:

Hunting is an important and traditional recreational activity in which 20,000,000 Americans 16 participate.
Hunters have been and continue to be among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife management and conservation practices in the United States.
Hunters and organizations related to hunting provide direct assistance to wildlife managers and enforcement officers at all levels of government.
Hunting is an essential component of effective wildlife management, in that it tends to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife and provides incentives for the conservation of wildlife habitats and ecosystems on which wildlife depends.
Through legislative programs designed to channel funds back into the conservation process, hunters have restored populations of deer, elk, antelope, turkeys and ducks to record numbers.
Hunting contributes over $30 billion to the economy each year, supporting over 1,000,000 jobs. (National Shooting Sports Foundation)
Hunting provides food for people. For nearly a decade, hunters have provided thousands of pounds of game meat through donation programs such as Hunters Sharing the Harvest and Hunters for the Hungry.
Hunting helps manage animal populations resulting in less human/animal traffic accidents.

The Pittman-Robertson Act
The vehicle that actually transforms money into habitat, ecological study into proven conservation tactics, and the idea of harmony between nature and society into reality is the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. Who fuels this vehicle? Sportsmen.

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Sept. 2, 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, or the Pittman-Robertson Act, created a 10% excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. Revenue is deposited in a special trust fund under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be used for state wildlife restoration projects. In the 1970s the excise tax was extended to archery equipment and handguns. One-half of the tax revenue collected on handguns and archery equipment may be used by state fish and wildlife agencies for hunter safety training and range development.

The approximately 200 million dollars generated by Pittman-Robertson each year are matched with sportsmens' dollars at the state level to pay for projects that will restore wildlife populations, expand habitat and train hunters. To date, more than $4.2 billion in federal excise revenue has been generated. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the NRA-ILA Hunting Fact Card)

Learning to assemble the AR-7 trigger assembly... the hard way

2011-11-13T01:06:00.001-05:00

I screwed up bigtime tonight. What started out as a quick gun cleaning before hitting the sack almost turned into a minor disaster. After doing the usual cleaning and oiling of the barrel, I decided that I might as well remove the bolt to give that a quick going over as well. The Henry manual says that removing and cleaning the bolt is a normal cleaning procedure, and since it looked easy I decided to give it a shot.

Removing and cleaning the bolt is easy, IF you don't screw up like I did tonight. I hope this post stops you from making the same mistake. The bolt slides right out after removing the charging handle, and connected to the bolt are two long 'action springs' which feed into the back of the bolt. The other end is held together with a plastic part called the 'action spring guide', which I'm holding in the second photo.

If you look closely into the receiver, you'll see the action spring guide jammed in the back.

Here's the action spring guide removed. The two action springs that come out the back of the bolt slip over the two posts on this part, giving the springs rigidity.

Now there are two things to remember when reinstalling the bolt. First, hope you charged the action before taking out the bolt or it won't go back in unless you use a screwdriver or something to push down and cock the hammer. Second, when reinstalling the bolt, tilt the forward side that the barrel screws into DOWN. If you don't (which I didn't), the 'action spring guide' will slip off the springs, rotate in the back of the receiver and become almost impossible to remove. My only option was to remove the sideplate. It's only held in by one screw, but I'm warning you, BE CAREFUL! The action is under spring tension and the pin that the' hammer/trigger spring' is supported by is held in place by a hole in the sideplate. Once you remove the sideplate, the pin is only held in place on one side. Breath on it and the trigger group explodes, throwing parts in all directions! If you look at the picture below, you'll see the hammer/trigger spring with the hammer pivot pin to its right which it wraps around. The black part is the hammer which the spring is twisted around. Now, the trick is to wrap the spring correctly around the hammer, slide the hammer pivot pin in the center, and get it back into position. Not easy when you are trying to compress the spring, slide it into position and push the pins into place all at the same time. It took me about an hour to get it back together, all the time wondering what the gunsmith was going to charge me to put this mess back together.

How do I get this spring back into position?!

Thank you Lord.

The way I did it was to put the spring, hammer and hammer pin all together. I then slipped the two ends of the spring over the pins sticking out of the trigger as you can see in the photo. Holding that assembly in position in one hand, I rotated the hammer assembly and managed to get the pivot pin into the hole that's in the receiver. Lastly, I put the cover back on and positioned the upper part of the hammer pivot pin into the hole that's in the sideplate. I couldn't believe that it was actually back together and everything appears to be working correctly. I hope I never have to do that again.

Shooting the Henry AR-7 Survival Rifle

2011-11-12T13:17:00.005-05:00

I'm pleased to report that the Henry AR-7 rifle has shot flawlessly so far without a single jam. I'm giving this featherweight rifle an 'A' rating, and I'm really looking forward to getting a small scope and a hi-cap mag for it.

The Mossy Oak camo is so good that I was afraid to put the rifle down and possibly lose it!

First Impressions - The Henry H002B AR-7 Survival Rifle

2011-11-02T18:21:00.015-04:00

Just received the Henry AR-7 and it's even nicer than I had expected. The camo is beautiful. It assembles in a minute with no tools. It's nicely balanced and appears to be very easy to shoot. I just put together a quick video on my first impressions. Field testing will begin Saturday. This will be fun!

I took an extra 1/2 hour for lunch today and made it into the local WMA. I fired off two magazines of CCI's and the Henry AR-7 shot as smooth as butter. The factory set sights were right on target. No jamming of any kind. I couldn't be happier with its performance and the feel of this rifle. This is going to be a long week at work, just waiting to get in the woods with it Saturday.

Anthony Imperato sent me the following email today in response to this post:

"We made significant changes, improvements etc. and the issue with the reliability that dates back to the guns beginning in 1959 no longer applies. This is the best variation of the AR-7 ever made. Its reliable."

"Use any good brand of ammo, USA made or foreign, all will be okay. The gun seems to function best with high to hyper velocity."

~Anthony Imperato, President, Henry Repeating Arms

The Prodigal Squirrel

2011-11-01T18:23:00.005-04:00

Once again there's no power at work so I'm out hunting again. Trees are down all over the path throughout the meadows, so it's obvious that the pheasant stocking truck hasn't been able to bring birds in for at least two days. I only spotted one bird hunter this morning and his bag was empty.

I wanted this to be a relaxing hunt, so I didn't get into the woods until 8:00. One guy was out ahead of me; the same guy I ran into yesterday who had a shotgun. Yesterday I told him how much I enjoyed squirrel hunting, and guess what I was hearing in the background this morning? The sound of a .22LR rifle! The squirrel hunting evangelist strikes again.

And speaking of evangelist, my sermon today is titled, 'The Prodigal Squirrel'. Having not gone more than five minutes into the woods, I spotted a nice fat gray on the side of a big oak tree. It didn't appear to have seen me and it moved up, down and around the trunk. I quietly closed in, staying behind large trees and walking in almost silently due to the wet reeds, the result of melted snow. The last time I saw this squirrel it had moved around to the back of the trunk and never reappeared. After a fifteen minute wait, I walked past the tree and took a seat beneath another.

It wasn't long before a different squirrel appeared on the branch of a tree to my right. Steadying myself, I aimed at the head and took a shot. The squirrel rolled over and hit the ground behind a berm. It had to be a kill, so as in my last hunt, I sat tight in hopes that a second squirrel would show itself. It seemed to be a good call because within minutes another did came out of hiding, onto a branch of a nearby tree. Taking careful aim, I squeezed off a head shot and it went down. This time I immediately ran toward the squirrel and retrieved it. Finding the first squirrel would be simple, or at least I though. I searched every inch of that area for over a half an hour and it wasn't there! I hate to shoot something and then lose it by dropping it into the swamp, wounding it and letting it crawl away or simply not being able to find it. How could this have happened? I looked everywhere numerous times. It just wasn't there. Since I was quickly losing the morning, I made a decision to hunt for another couple more hours, then return and search some more.

Upon my return, I was exasperated when after another half hour I still came up empty. I then decided to take the squirrel I had in my game bag and photograph it alone with my Henry rifle. Looking closer at the squirrel, I discovered that it had two entry wounds and not just one. It dawned on me that instead of hitting it in the head, I shot low due to the close range which broke its arm and knocked it off the tree. I'm guessing it managed to get back into a tree and attempted to run across the branches. That's when I landed the head shot. And now the Biblical context: The Lost Squirrel had been Found! No, it wasn't "made alive again", but it was close enough to make a catchy title for this post. The squirrel I had been looking for had been in the palm of my hand all along. I think the Bible says something similar to that as well, almost. The squirrel had been shot twice with my Henry H001T Octagon .22LR lever rifle.

This is a good reminder that if you are sighted in at 50 yards, your shot will be low at a closer range.

This brings my squirrel count to 11 on 11/1/11!!

After the Record October Snowstorm

2011-10-31T17:14:00.005-04:00

The record October snowstorm left Connecticut with between 8 and 18" of snow. That much wet snow clinging to green leaves simply took down the trees. A lot of them, and with the trees, the surrounding power and phone lines. I personally lost power for over 24 hours, and the lack of power has also shut down the pumps which carry the gas to our gas stations. Trees are down, and branches, wires and poles are blocking the roads everywhere. Even the cell towers went off line, and with the phones and power out, businesses shut down. And that is why I'm in the woods on a Monday when I should be in work. Last night my power went on for a short time, causing power surges which set poles on fire. Power had to be turned off, then back on numerous times. We now have power back, but it appears that the company where I work doesn't. That part of the state was supposed to get the worst of the storm, and as far as I can tell their phone lines are down and likely their power as well. I could risk a long drive to work just to find the building in the dark, or I could hunt. I chose the later.

It was a cool, foggy morning in the lower 40's. I arrived in the woods at about 8am, and there was only one person ahead of me. That was a surprise considering that yesterday's warm sun apparently melted all but a few inches. As I had expected, the main path was blocked in numerous locations by fallen trees and branches. The hunt started slow and nothing was moving. It was a picturesque morning with green trees and snow against a deep fog. The lone hunter and I soon crossed paths, and he informed me of the squirrels he had seen in a nearby area. Once a bird hunter disrupts an area by kicking through brush, the squirrels that he saw were likely history, so I decided to bypass that area for now and move on to another location.

Most of this is in the video, so to make a long story short, I dropped two squirrels and managed to get both kills on video. Last week I received a comment from a reader that said he enjoyed my videos but would like me to get my kills recorded. The problem is that I don't own fancy video equipment. I shoot with a $100 camera in one hand and it's not easy to shoot a rifle accurately at a small moving object while playing with a camera in the other. Today I decided to do just that for the reader and managed to get both kills recorded. They are at a distance, so I suggest clicking the video to watch it directly on YouTube and making it full screen. That's the best I can do until I come up with a better solution that works on a shoestring budget.

Henry H001T .22LR

If you were hit by this storm I hope you made it through and are back to normal. My wife is on the phone at this moment with nearby friends who are still in the dark. If you know people in that same situation, extend a hand by inviting them to join you for a warm meal and to use your shower. Serving them squirrel is your decision.

Squirrel total for the season: 10.

Two down before the snow storm

2011-10-29T21:14:00.007-04:00

What an amazing day today has proved to be. This morning was like any other day, but that all changed at 11:00am. An unprecedented October snow storm began moving into the area which was about to drop 12-18" of snow on Connecticut. The previous record for this date was only 1.7"! But I still had a few good hours to hunt this Saturday morning before the storm hit. Having sold my Jeep earlier this year and now getting around in an old car, I didn't want to get stuck in the parking area. Selling the Jeep is going to prove to be a big mistake, even considering the way that thing guzzled gas.

I arrived in the woods at 7:30 and this was my first chilly hunt of the 2011 season. The temperature was in the 40's and it felt good to hit the woods dressed in a sweatshirt, camo jacket, gloves and the rest. This is my kind of weather. I'd take Alaska over Florida any day.

Henry H001T Octagon Frontier Model .22LR

The DEP stocked about two dozen pheasant in this WMA very early in the morning, so the parking lot was filled with pickups and cars very early as the bird hunters attempted to get a jump on one another. Last weekend I made the decision to leave the shotgun in the car and head out with the Henry H001T Octagon .22 lever rifle. Squirrel hunting hasn't been good this year, but for some reason they were out last Saturday. The problem was that I was spotting them well out of shotgun range, and by the time I was able to get close enough to take a shot, either I was busted or a hunter with dog would enter the area and blow it. This time I decided to do some serious squirrel hunting with my scoped Henry rifle.

Last weekend was absolutely perfect weather for squirrels. They came out in numbers to gather nuts in the morning sun. The same wasn't true for today. It was dark and cold, but at least the air was calm. It was obvious that a storm was on its way, and as you would expect, the animals were hunked down and ready for it to hit. Birds were flying low and moving from tree to tree, making it difficult to differentiate between a bird and a squirrel in the branches. Crows were flying low and landing in the treetops, which was very unusual since they always fly high above the hunting area and land far from it where it's safe.

It took a good hour before I spotted the first squirrel moving at the very top of a large tree. The fact that it's still early in the season and most of the leaves are still on the trees made it difficult to get a good visual. I had to quietly move closer, which isn't easy in this reed-covered area. Putting tree trunks between myself and the squirrel to mask my movement resulted in losing sight of the squirrel.

At my first visual clearing I stood behind a tree and searched for movement. Combing the top of the tree with my scope, I finally spotted the squirrel lying flat on a high branch, remaining motionless with only its head exposed.

Getting it in view again I increased the scopes power to 7x and moved in a bit to give me a body shot. Bracing myself against the tree, I put the cross hairs on it and squeezed off a shot. It barely moved and didn't seem to be hit. I squeezed off another and this time it moved a few feet and stopped. Could I be missing it?! Did I knock my scope off? I fired a third round and this time it dropped. There's nothing like watching a squirrel drop from a high branch and hit the ground early in the morning. It's the sound of victory!

Usually I would run towards the squirrel to be sure it was dead and avoid having one crawl away wounded, but something told me to sit tight this time. Did I catch something moving in the corner of my eye in the same tree? Listening to my instincts paid off. There it was; a second squirrel, and this was a big one. For some reason it appeared dark in color, and I had a hard time seeing it against the dark tree bark. The squirrel began to run and when it stopped on the trunk, I fired off two quick rounds and it dropped. When was the last time I dropped two squirrels on the same tree? I bet it was a couple years back on the day I bagged the limit of eight.

Looking at the first squirrel, it was obvious that it had been hit numerous times. My scope wasn't off, but this was a tough one. I guess I didn't hit a vital organ with the first two shots. The second squirrel proved to be a standard gray as well. I wonder why it looked so dark in the tree?

Pheasant hunters with dogs soon began moving into the area so I was forced to move on. Snow was beginning to fall and that was the end of today's hunt. This brings my squirrel count for the season up to 8. Until next weekend's hunt.

Video correction: The H001T is the 'Frontier Model', not 'Pioneer'.

Shotgun or Rimfire?

2011-10-22T17:18:00.004-04:00

I just returned from my morning hunt, and it was both good and bad. I didn't put up a pheasant this morning (which makes two weekends in a row), nor did I see anyone walk out of the woods with a bird. I'm sure some were bagged, but I've yet to see one, even in someone else's bag. There were remarkably few shots taken today, considering it's Saturday, and that's not very encouraging.

I was amazed to have seen 4 squirrels considering how lousy squirrel hunting has been for the past two years and the noise that was in the field today. I only took one shot and bagged one squirrel, but I'd bet that if I had my Henry .22 I would have nailed all four. And here's my dilemma. I bought a pheasant stamp, so I'm almost obligated to carry a shotgun, but I'm seeing squirrels and not pheasants. Today I had four clean shots, but all of them were spotted out of shotgun range. I managed to sneak up on the first squirrel, sit it out for about 10 minutes, then knock it down when it reappeared. The other three would have been easy shots with a .22, but closing in and waiting them out proved to be a problem.

An example... Just before I was about to leave I decided to check out a spot well outside of the normal pheasant hunting area that runs along the highway. I was amazed to spot two grays there, but once again they were out of shotgun range. I carefully closed in and took a seat. I waited twenty minutes, which is around the usual time it takes before squirrels forget what scared them and stick their heads out again. I was sitting on a fallen tree in dense brush way off the beaten path when a pheasant hunter with his two dogs ignored the obvious fact that I was squirrel hunting and silently sitting out a spot. I said 'obvious' because I don't know of anyone who hunts pheasants that are hanging out in the treetops. I was sitting and looking up. No brainer... for most, but not for all I guess. This guy allowed his dogs to sweep my area, then he yelled, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!!!" I had never seen such a lack of sporting courtesy. When I'm squirrel hunting and spot a deer hunter in a stand, I always stop, turn around and take a long loop around the area so as not to interfere with his hunt. Lack of caring or judgement like this is beyond my comprehension. Come-on guys! A little courtesy please.

I'll end this on a positive note by saying "Hi" to the bow hunter who recognized me while hunting yesterday evening, said hello and told me that he enjoyed my website. Thank you. It's rare that I get feedback like that and it does mean a lot. Hope you got your deer last night.

PS: If the squirrel looks a bit wet, it's because it fell from the tree into the swamp. I was able to fish it out and for the most part the tail stayed above water and remained dry. I'm starting to save tails again and if I get enough I'll sell them, so the fir must be in good shape. This is squirrel 6 for the season. I think I'll bring my Henry next weekend.

Opening Day 2011

2011-10-15T20:46:00.003-04:00

Today was opening day of the 2011 hunting season. It had been raining for the last couple of days, so I didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be a beautiful day, in the 60's with a gusty wind. I ended up getting to the meadows about 5 minutes before 7am. 7 is the legal time to enter the woods on opening day. When I pulled into the parking area, it was obvious that once again there were no CO's to enforce the hunting laws and the guys who arrived early were already in the woods. Very often having that jump on the other hunters makes all the difference, since pheasants can sometimes be found in a state of confusion simply walking around on the path, not knowing where to go and making easy targets. The numerous hunting dogs flush out the rest in the surrounding areas. This usually accounts for all the shooting that takes place within the first hour of hunting. After that, the time between shots stretches out, and within a few hours you're lucky to hear a shot every 15 minutes.

I did not see a single bird this morning, nor did I see a pheasant in anyone's game bag. There must have been plenty, but for the first time that I can remember, a hunter didn't cross my path that was carrying a bird. I was able to bag a couple more squirrels during the 3 and a half hours that I pushed through brush this morning, and that was not at all expected. It's rare to see a squirrel hanging around when there's pheasant hunters and dogs everywhere in the fields.

Early in the hunt a huge buck with a large rack ran full out by me about 20 yards away. What an amazing sight! I felt sorry for it, since it was obviously panicked by the appearance of the hoard of hunters and their dogs. I've come very close to deer in these woods in recent years while squirrel hunting, but this was the first buck I've ever come across here. This one experience alone made the whole morning worth while.

The first squirrel was spotted up high in a tree. Since I had a 20 gauge and not a .22, I had to first close the distance. I crept closer and took a seat. After about five minutes the squirrel appeared on a branch and I got my shot. It dropped like it was dead, but after hitting the ground, it was still thrashing around. That's when you have to move quickly to put it away or it will crawl away, disappear and lie somewhere inside a tree. Trying to keep my eyes on the squirrel, I moved toward it while pulling back the bolt to eject the case. The next round jammed. Continuing to move forward, I attempted to clear the jam, which caused me to look down for a few seconds. When I looked up, the squirrel was gone. I walked through the entire area and couldn't find it... until I heard a splash in the water behind me. The gray had made it up the tree, but then fell into the swamp. This thing wouldn't die and was still kicking around. I tried to reach it but couldn't, so to keep it from suffering I took a second shot and put it away. I was finally able to bring it to shore with a stick and found that the 20 gauge had put a hole in it the size of a quarter. Nothing was left worth bring home, so I left it for the hawks to feast on. I hate to waste game, and that's why I rarely hunt squirrels with a shotgun.

The next squirrel was spotted on the ground at about 50 yards running from one tree to another. I sat that one out for a longer time, and it finally showed itself to my left in another tree. I took a shot which brought it down. This one only had a half dozen BBs in it, but they were in vital areas. It went in the game bag, and that was it for me.

I've been hitting the gym every night after work for the past 3 months now, which took off almost 35 lbs. I spend an hour on the treadmill which is sent at the maximum angle of 15 degrees and walk 4 miles in an hour or so. Even with the lighter weight and stronger legs, I was dead tired and my back was sore after kicking through brush for over three hours. Squirrel hunting is fun and relaxing. Pheasant hunting is a lot of work if you don't have a dog.

My Mac finally died so I replaced it with a Dell. It has new video editing software that I haven't had an opportunity to try before today. The movie of today's hunt was my first attempt at putting something together with the new software so bear with me. It will get better.

If you had fun on opening day, feel free to share your experiences with us in the 'Comments' section below. See ya next week.

2011 Hunting Season Opens Saturday!

2011-10-11T13:13:00.002-04:00

The Connecticut 2011 hunting season opens this coming Saturday. Check back Sunday to see how it went. Don't forget to buy a pheasant stamp! Sunrise is at Saturday is at 6:03, but hunting doesn't begin on opening day until 7am. Don't forget your 400 sq. inches of blaze orange.

IMPORTANT!

PHEASANT TAG UPDATE: New regulations to eliminate pheasant tags have been approved. Pheasant hunters will still need to purchase a pheasant stamp authorization however, the physical tags are no longer required and the pheasant season has been extended until the end of February.

ORDER YOUR LICENSE OR PHEASANT STAMP HERE

PS: I went on line early this morning and purchased my pheasant stamp. It literally took only a minute or two and the new hunting license with pheasant stamp was in my wallet. The government is actually doing something right!