Spring cleaning for squirrels!

They’re back…and they are ignoring my dogs!

Spring is the time for resident suburban squirrels to begin mating behaviors and become even more territorial than usual. Besides seeking suitable mates, they are scouting suitable nesting sites – like the attic of my freshly repainted house! That means it’s time to re-zero the Sheridan air rifle and take a few of the critters down.

I have to re-zero the rifle because I added a 3-9x Daisy airgun scope. I know, a real rifle needs a real scope. But, since this particular scope seems to be pretty well put together, with pretty small amount of parallax, it seemed a natural to mount to the gun. I would prefer a long eye relief scope, such as a handgun sight or a red dot sight. Those sights can be mounted forward on the barrel and leaving the pellet breech open for my fumbling fingers. Also, having a little more weight forward will improve the gun’s balance for shooting in a standing position.

I really try to avoid shooting unsupported in the standing position. I always look for some kind of rest to support and steady the rifle. It could be a tree trunk or branch, or maybe a rock or the side of a shed. I also try to shoot from concealment if at all possible. Anything that can make me harder to notice, or makes me look less human-like. That could be shooting from a prone position, or from behind a tree, rock, whatever. Even sitting with your back to a tree of other object will make you appear less like the two-footed terror called Man. That may let the animal come a few feet closer or make the quarry feel less threatened.

Sighting in begins with checking the mount of the scope. The mounts and rings must be mounted securely to the gun. A drop of locktite or clear nail polish (very little) will keep those tiny screws from shooting loose. Once the mount and rings are nice and snug, adjust the scope’s position in the rings to the proper eye relief, or distance from your eye. After making sure that your gun is EMPTY and safe, hold the gun as you would if shooting and slide the scope back and forth to get the clearest view. The best setup has the least amount of dark around the edges and does not black out as quickly if you move your head from side to side. Lightly tighten the scope screws, but leave them just loose enough to barely move the scope. Now support the gun in a steady position. The vertical crosshair must be straight up and down in line with the barrel of the gun and the horizontal crosshair must be parallel with the ground. Once you have it all lined up, tighten each screw a small amount, check that the crosshairs are still aligned where you need them, then tighten the screws again, snug but not too tight.

Now we can go shooting! In a safe area with a good backstop, set up a small target at 10 yards. I use 10 meters, but I am weird like that. I like to use several 1 inch circles colored with a marker on a sheet of paper. Shoot three shots at one target. This is just to get the point of impact in the ball park. Look at the pellet hole and estimate the center of your grouping. If the pellets are all over the paper, something is wrong! Maybe the scope is still loose or broken internally. Or, maybe you just can’t shoot…naaaah, that can’t be it!

Adjust your scope to move the center of your grouping to the center of the target. The adjustment screws are usually marked with arrows to show which way to turn the adjuster to move the group center. Turning the adjuster towards “Down” will move your point of impact down on the target.

Once you made your adjustment, shoot one pellet at another target. Adjust again, then repeat. When you have the scope right where you think you want it, carefully shoot a 3 shot group. Take your time between shots! Adjust if needed, but you should be good to go.

Next time we will discuss what range to dial in for and maybe pellet selection for furry grey vandals (excellent in a crock pot with gravy over biscuits).

Keep shooting!

Catfishing!

I love my wife!!

No, that is NOT an April Fools day joke. My beautiful wife has done two things that have truly warmed my heart. One, she wants to take up trapshooting. The other that I want to write about is how she wants to go after a trophy catfish this year.

Up to now, she was content to catch small, eating-sized fish such as crappie, perch and small cats like white cats and small channel cats. When she fishes in salt water, she prefers larger species like sea trout and rockfish (striped bass to you northerners). She does not like trolling at all, as she finds it boring. She prefers bottom fishing, and drifting at times.

When she found out that she could use her saltwater gear to bottom fish or drift for trophy catfish, she made up her mind to go after a big one this year. Now, she may have her sights set a little low for some folks. The James River near Richmond, Virginia is probably the single best fishery in the country for trophy blue cats. The catfish guides there think if you don’t catch a catfish over 40 pounds, your day was awful. My wife wants something at least 20 pounds to start. So, lets see what we are going to need…

We need rods and reels capable of handling a fish between 40 and 60 pounds. The James River has given up several fish over 80 pounds in just the last few years, and 40 pounders are barely noteworthy there, so let’s use that is the baseline. If you are targeting a trophy blue cat, you must be prepared for something really big; that is why we decided on a 40 to 60 pound range.

The James is a muddy river, so line color is not critical. Most experts use a superline such as Spiderwire or another braid to stand up to abrasion and reduce stretch. These big fish like holes, rocky areas and sunken boats and barges to ambush their prey. Our line and terminal tackle needs to withstand or avoid being dragged across sharp debris and rocks. We will keep our rigs simple, after talking with a few local folks that do well in catfish tournaments. A basic fishfinder rig, with a sliding sinker tied above a strong swivel and a short leader is all we need. A three-way rig is another option, especially for drifting a bait along a rough, snaggy bottom. By using a very light dropper line from the swivel to the weight, a snagged sinker will not cost us the entire rig.

You may notice that this sounds a lot like basic saltwater rigging, and you are right! Fish are fish, and a lot of what works in fresh water will work in salt, and vice versa.
Now that we have the tackle ready, next post we will look at baits and location, location, location!