Author Topic: "Barking Squirrels"  (Read 2116 times)

Offline RRio

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"Barking Squirrels"
« on: September 23, 2021, 12:33:43 AM »
Has anyone ever "barked" a squirrel?  Just curious how many know that term. ??? ;)
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Offline River City John

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2021, 12:37:14 AM »
I'm familiar with barking spiders.

Is that the same thing?
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Offline Mogorilla

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2021, 06:44:48 AM »
I do know that term (and the spider one too )-;)    I have and still will bark with squirrels.   I have about 20 of them in the three yards that my yard connects with.    I have gotten them quite riled up at times.    They are my first Crap hit the fan food source.  (-:   I have not cleaned a squirrel since I was 15, so 40 years ago, but probably like riding a bike, which in retrospect did not end well the last time I road one 35 years ago.   

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #3 on: Today at 09:36:46 PM »

Offline Silver Creek Slim

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2021, 07:26:00 AM »
I barked a squirrel with a .25-06. :o

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Offline Capt Quirk

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2021, 07:28:28 AM »
Barking is when the squirrel sees you, they scoot to the back side of the tree. You shoot the side of the tree, scaring the treerat to the front, and now you have a shot at him.

You can do the same with a second person acting as a beater. When the squirrel scoots to the backside, the beater slaps the side of the tree with a jacket or other item. Same results. Just be careful to shoot the squirrel, and not the beater.

Offline Jubal Starbuck

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2021, 09:26:15 AM »
     I have barked many a squirrel, mostly with my .32 muzzle loader using .310 round balls, although I have occasionally used .45 and .50 calibers.


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Offline Major 2

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2021, 09:46:09 AM »
I know what  "Tennessee Barking Spiders are...and it has nothing to do with hunting squirrel...

Oh! unless , it happens around the hunting camp fire and one should rip   ;D
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Offline Coffinmaker

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2021, 04:25:36 PM »

When I was but a lad, some Lustrum ago, Barking a Squirrel was hitting the branch immediately under the Squirrel, knocking it out of the tree and stunning it at the same time.  More to eat that way.

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Offline RRio

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2021, 10:00:53 PM »
When my Uncle first told me about it, I thought he might have been partaking too much if then "shine". He explained to me, the correct way to "bark" a squirrel, was to shoot the bark of the tree direct in front of it. Like I said, I thought my Uncle was out of it, until I tried it once when i was hunting alone. I did exactly as he had taught me, and sure enough, the sucker fell out of the tree. I when over to where it fell, it looked like it was dead, and after much poking with the barrel of my Marlin 60 to make sure, it sure enough was dead as a doornail. When my Aunt and I cleaned it out, there was not a mark on it.
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Offline Jeremiah Jones

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2021, 08:24:47 AM »
Coffin maker and RRio nailed it.  I was never able to successfully bark a squirrel, but I saw others do it.
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Offline Davem

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2021, 08:45:01 AM »
The idea is to hit the tree right next to the squirrel and the impact, etc. actually killed the squirrel- no damaged meat.  I have never done it, always used a 22 rimfire and either shot them in the ribs (no meat) or head.  Some folks used to eat squirrel brains but now it is more of a hillbilly thing.  The big deal on the barking was that you had to be a really good shot- also like creasing a horse.

Offline Mogorilla

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2021, 09:06:19 AM »
Interesting that I have heard of shooting them like that, but not the term.  We always used the term barking when we were calling them in, either with a call or just barking ourselves.   my dad could do a distress call that would bring squirrels in quick and we had 3 or 4 with in 10 minutes of walking into the woods.

Offline Mogorilla

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2021, 01:54:28 PM »
I will have to expand on my hearing of this type of hunting.   Being from a rural community, I had heard of it (just not called barking).   When I got to high school, I went right to Biology.   Our Bio and Zoo teacher had scars on his right forearm that were numerous and long.  I am a science geek, so it did not take long before I was doing extra work, got to know him and spent a lot of time in that room.  I finally got the nerve to ask him what the heck happened to his arm.
Story starts with him hunting squirrels with a friend when they were 16.  He shot right in front of the squirrel, it fell to the ground dead, or so he thought.   He walked over, picked it up and proceeded to place it in the pocket at the back of his hunting vest.   As he neared the pocket, the not dead squirrel used its back feet to shred his arm in an effort to get away.   He began to bleed profusely and called out to his friend.   he had passed out when his friend found him, applied a tournequet and drove him to the hospital.   It took over 200 stitches (which beats my single record of 108 by a long shot) and he was given 3 pints of blood.    He laughed and said he was almost the first person in Illinois to be killed by a squirrel. 
I asked him if he still hunted them, and he said yes, but he shoots them in the head now.

Offline Roosterman

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2021, 07:04:32 AM »
I hunted most of my life  with  a custom  .32 flintlock. I only had one shot so I just shot them in the head
 .I knew all about barking, just didn't  seem efficient to me.
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Offline kwilliams1876

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2021, 01:30:10 PM »
Back in the '70's I was able to bark 2 fox squirrels  in a day from a hickory tree with my .54 cal.  40" flint long rifle in Michigan.  Had better eye sight then! They hit the ice dead in perfect shape.
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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #15 on: November 04, 2021, 09:09:24 PM »
I will have to expand on my hearing of this type of hunting.   Being from a rural community, I had heard of it (just not called barking).   When I got to high school, I went right to Biology.   Our Bio and Zoo teacher had scars on his right forearm that were numerous and long.  I am a science geek, so it did not take long before I was doing extra work, got to know him and spent a lot of time in that room.  I finally got the nerve to ask him what the heck happened to his arm.
Story starts with him hunting squirrels with a friend when they were 16.  He shot right in front of the squirrel, it fell to the ground dead, or so he thought.   He walked over, picked it up and proceeded to place it in the pocket at the back of his hunting vest.   As he neared the pocket, the not dead squirrel used its back feet to shred his arm in an effort to get away.   He began to bleed profusely and called out to his friend.   he had passed out when his friend found him, applied a tournequet and drove him to the hospital.   It took over 200 stitches (which beats my single record of 108 by a long shot) and he was given 3 pints of blood.    He laughed and said he was almost the first person in Illinois to be killed by a squirrel. 
I asked him if he still hunted them, and he said yes, but he shoots them in the head now.
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Offline DeaconKC

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #16 on: November 05, 2021, 10:27:53 AM »
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Offline Davem

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Re: "Barking Squirrels"
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2021, 08:53:23 AM »
Never thought about it but I wonder if it got started because someone had a large bore for deer, etc and wanted the squirrel but a direct hit would tear up the meat.

 

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