Main Discussion Area > Shooting and Hunting
Arrows for grey squirrels
H Rhodes:
I have killed lots of fox squirrels through the years, but have trouble hitting greys with an arrow. The bigger slower fox squirrel seams to be unable to get out of the way like his smaller cousin. I have shot at lots of greys but have yet to connect. I have killed all kinds of critters with a bow and it is frustrating to admit the trouble I have with hitting these little devils. I had a conversation with a friend of mine who hunts squirrels with a sling shot. He told me that his favorite slingshot ammo was a 3/8" ball bearing, but that he had to go down to a 1/4" ball bearing for grey squirrels because they had no trouble ducking the larger projectile. He suggested that I go to a lighter faster arrow. That started a big conversation among the selfbow shooters present. The squirrels I have missed have been shot at with mostly 500 grain arrows from 45 -55lb bows. I am wondering if I need to try and make some arrows specifically for squirrels that are lighter and faster. If anyone has any suggestions on this topic, I am all ears. I watched some videos of selfbow shooters on youtube and it looks like I am not the only one who has faced this situation. :) I am thinking that if I get the lightest fastest cane arrow that I can safely shoot that maybe my odds of connecting will go up. I don't want to kill a squirrel once out of twenty shots - I want a combination that will work consistently. The little suckers are fast. I had one guy tell me that he tries to catch a grey squirrel gnawing on an acorn, sitting two feet from a tree before he shoots. He told me that he aims at the tree and looses an arrow - squirrel spits the acorn and bolts for the tree and runs into the arrows path.... That is a ridiculous way to do business in my opinion! There has to be a better way. One of you real squirrel killers chime in and help me.
H Rhodes:
Well I see from the lack of response that nobody else is stacking up squirrel meat with their selfbows. ;D I am going to make up some light fast arrows and experiment with this a little bit. If anyone has a combination of arrow weight, length, draw weight, etc. that really works well on bushytails please post it. I know that they have no problem getting out of the way of my heavier deer hunting arrows. My first move is going to be to drop down to about a 375 grain arrow out of a 45lb osage bow. Getting deep penetration is not the issue for squirrels, but speed and accuracy is. I am looking for the lightest arrow that I can still shoot accurately and safely out of this bow. It takes more than one squirrel to make a meal for this man, so I am on a quest to take a limit of these little buggers with a selfbow. More to follow....
DC:
We don't have grey squirrels here so I'm not sure what you're up against. Have you eliminated noise? String silencers? Maybe light flexible fletching that wouldn't sound like a hawk? You could apply some flight arrow methods to increase the speed of the arrow. You've probably tried all these.
H Rhodes:
I think we are on the same track, but I haven't begun to change my set up for squirrels yet. To tell the truth, I have shot at a few while deer hunting and have just begun to see what a real challenge they present. I am thinking that lighter arrows and tiny fletching, like flight shooting arrows may be the ticket.
mullet:
From what I've seen it look's like the noise from the fletching makes them react first. Maybe inbred or learned from hawks and owls diving on them?
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