Grandpa & Grandsons

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sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
A few days ago a friend called & said one of his new hay fields was being over run with ground squirrels & wanted me to check into it for him. When I hear this kind of news I always think of badgers. Even though I love shooting ground squirrels badgers are my summer time "bear hunts" & I love tangling with them.

I called my oldest son at work & ask if the youngest 2 grandsons would like to do a ground squirrel safari with grandpa. He said they were fishing (Brook Trout) at their secret fishing hole but he would call them & have them ready.

When I got there they were ready, the second grader had a model 62A Winchester pump 22 & the fourth grader had a model 63 Winchester 22 auto. They told me they had hammered the Brookies & were ready to whack some squirrels. Even though these boys aren't very old they are very good squirrel busters with hundreds of kills under their belts.

I told them we might bump into a badger so be ready & it would have to be a head shot with the 22's or the badger would escape & die in his den hole. They are very hard to kill. Neither one of these boys has killed a badger yet so they were hoping we would get in a fight with one.

After 15-20 minutes both of them had whacked several squirrels & I happened to look in my rear view mirror & there was a badger sneaking across the road. He had been hiding in the fence row when we drove by & was heading for the sagebrush on the other side. I bailed out & started running back down the road.

In my hands was my S&W 45 Colt Mountain Gun, its been cut for moon clips & was loaded with 45 ACP's & a 205 gr. HP & more than enough 231 to discourage any transgender from trying to use our bathroom.... He had made it into the brush & I slowly sneaked around trying to spot any movement, its kind of spooky beening in close with a mad badger in heavy cover, they can be a hand full.

After a few minutes I gave up & went back to the truck. That heavy brush was no place for 2 young boys trying to flush out a badger. They kept pounding the squirrels & ended up with over 30 in less than an hour. I got 7 with 8 shots using my little 32 maggie & 3 grs of WST & the 100 SWC thats powder coated. I've killed hundreds & hundreds of squirrels with that load.
Here's the boys with their trusty 22 rifles.


This is some prime squirrel country, they were everywhere but the rain cut us short, still we got about 40 in maybe an hour or so. Most of the females are in the den hole having babies right now. In another week or so there will be squirrels everywhere, lots of little targets for the boys to shoot. I'm holding my 32 maggie in my left hand & my 8 shot 327 Blackhawk in my right hand, its loaded with 113 gr. HP's & 13 grs. of H110, this load makes one squirrel into 3-4 squirrels after impact.



Dick
 

Chief 101

Hunter
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
2,613
Location
Idaho
the older boy is carrying a Winchester mod 63, nice one at that. Nice adventure...
 

Cholo

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
8,209
Location
Georgia
I really enjoy reading about these good times! I've always believed that kids who grow up hunting and fishing have a much better chance of staying out of trouble, and away from drugs.

If I can ever retire, I look forward the most to just bumming the woods and fields shooting groundhogs like I did in the 70's and early 80's. Until then, my soon to be 13 year old granddaughter just told me that she'd love to go shooting with me tomorrow. She's never said no.

Love those grandkids, and love your stories about the time you spend with yours :)
 

Jim Puke

Hunter
Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Messages
3,088
Location
South Georgia
Cholo said:
I really enjoy reading about these good times! I've always believed that kids who grow up hunting and fishing have a much better chance of staying out of trouble, and away from drugs.

If I can ever retire, I look forward the most to just bumming the woods and fields shooting groundhogs like I did in the 70's and early 80's. Until then, my soon to be 13 year old granddaughter just told me that she'd love to go shooting with me tomorrow. She's never said no.

Love those grandkids, and love your stories about the time you spend with yours :)

X 2
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,145
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
sixshot often calls his home area; "A big playground." Well, having been there a few times,, I can attest to that as well. Most of us live in envy of that kind of place to play.
But,, as Miss Penny would say; "It's got a short growing season!"

Seeing those boys growing up like that,,, well, heck, it makes me realize how fast time has slipped by.

I wish we could have made it out there again this year to help y'all whack them squirrels,,, and hopefully NOT miss the badger again.
Looking good with them boys!
 

mb111263

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
452
Location
USA
Great story Dick! I'm ready to hear about round two with that badger!
 

callshot

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
963
Location
Pocatello, Idaho
Yes, I did finally got out with Dick. It was fun! I even made a few shots that hit some squirrels that had a death wish. I hope to get out more soon.
 

Chief 101

Hunter
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
2,613
Location
Idaho
I'm inspired...guess I will just have to go out Badger hunting today...30 cal Blackhawk and if I can't get close varmint rifle...
 
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