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Barking Squirrels

boeboeboeboe Member Posts: 3,331
edited August 2003 in General Discussion
Has anyone ever heard this term? If you have, what's it mean?

To err is human, to moo is bovine.
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Comments

  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,792 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Squirrels often bark to each other as a way to warn other nearby squirrels of danger. I am not sure what I'd compare the sound to (other than barking). However, there is some kind of bird that makes a similar sound, but it is slightly higher pitch.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • jwhardingjwharding Member Posts: 2,897 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't have no barking squirrels around here but my wife growl's alot.
    [;)]

    fc6cb6ef.gif
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  • wundudneewundudnee Member Posts: 6,108 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I always thought it to mean shooting between the tree and the squirrel, hitting the bark which temporarily knocks the critter senceless and not damaging the meat. Once hunting with my dad he shot a squirrels nose off and when I made fun of his shot he simply replied that was what he was trying to do, so the squirrel couldn't breathe.[:D]


    ....................
    Old? First you forget names; then you forget faces; then you forget to pull your zipper up; then you forget to pull your zipper down.
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  • tidemantideman Member Posts: 1,099 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You bet they bark. When something pisses 'em off, like a cat stalking 'em or something gettin' in "Their Territory", they'll certainly let it know by "Barking".
    I've often heard them do that when one of my cats gets one cornered in one of my pear trees. They'll bark for half an hour until the cats finally either give up or find something else to pester.
    If you think thats something, you ought to hear one of my pigs bark. Now, that's a bark!!!!

    Tideman [From Texas]

    "Don't shoot to stop 'em, Shoot to Destroy 'em!"
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  • RhondaRhonda Member Posts: 183 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    boeboe, wundudnee is correct. The term arose in the days of muzzleloaders when shooting a squirrel size animal would be devestating if shot with the more commonly carried 50 caliber rifles. the idea is to shot between the squirrel and the limb allowing for less waste. Great sport with a 32/36 caliber flintlock by have keep McDonald's as backup.
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  • only winchestersonly winchesters Member Posts: 1,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a couple of grey squirrels that go through my oak trees. They bark all the time. The fence around the dogs yard is their favorite. They'll sit on that for a long time trying to figure out how to get the acorns off the ground. JJ my old Black Lab, barks at them, and they bark back.
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  • BurningDailyBurningDaily Member Posts: 271 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    havent you ever heard a squirrel bark? its quite distinctive and you can zero in on them very easily.....a useful tool for hunting...

    -How many times have I told you that whenever I hear the words "civil rights attorney", I reach for my glock? How many times have I told you that when I hear the words "civil rights attorney", I make sure my AR-15 is oiled?-

    ~Dr. Savage~
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  • soopsoop Member Posts: 4,633
    edited November -1
    wundudnee and Rhonda are correct.It dates back to muzzle loading days.
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  • Bubba JoelBubba Joel Member Posts: 5,161
    edited November -1
    Yup, heard them bark a many a time.. That is until the .410 shell knocked them out of the tree..

    Yum they are goooood eaten...[B)] Pressure cookem and then fry up in a pan of gravy... Man, just made myself hungry... Nothin better than a young squirrel..

    www.texasminutemen.org
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  • shooter4shooter4 Member Posts: 4,457
    edited November -1
    Once, just after lunch, while assisting with a basic rifle course for Boy Scouts, the natural methane exhaust plumbing did its thing, one of the guys that was near enough said;

    "Think I just heard oe of those Rocky Mountain Barkin Spiders".
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  • 4GodandCountry4GodandCountry Member Posts: 3,968
    edited November -1
    Wundudnee is correct, I have seen it done with a 30-06 but have never done it myself. Personally, sense I don't eat the brains anyway, I prefer a dead shot. Then I know they won't wake up and run off.

    "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet."
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  • outdoortexasoutdoortexas Member Posts: 4,780
    edited November -1
    They acually make squirrel calls, a small bulb type thing that squeaks/barks. All bs aside, you can do the same thing with a zipper on your hunting coat. Two or three zips will get them to stick their head out from behind the trunk or limb if they're trying to hide from you.

    Heard many times of the "barking" shots, but like 4G&C, take the head shots anyway. I mean, ya know, 22's are made for it![;)] Can't be ruining my reputation ya know. [:D]
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  • ndbillyndbilly Member Posts: 1,573 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Years ago, when I was so poor I only owned one .22 rifle, I used to have some sucess with a Barlow pocket knife and a quarter cupped in my palm. Striking the butt of the Barlow against the quarter in just the right way would sometimes get the bushytail to poke his head out long enough for a shot. When I got older and richer, I bought a squirrel call, complete with practice tape recording. I worked and worked and then went to my friends house, prepared to show him this wonderous new device and watch him turn gren with envy as I would now surely bag the greatest number of rodents on our forays. After demostrating my prowess with the call I stopped and said, "Well, what do you think?" Obviously not wishing to offend me he replied, "Well, damn, Bill. Sure sounds like a turkey to me!" Never did take that call to the woods.
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  • boeboeboeboe Member Posts: 3,331
    edited November -1
    Yeh, I knew it was an old term from back in the flintlock days, hit the bark in front of the squirrel and knock it senseless. I just wanted to see if anyone else knew, and thought it might cause some discussion.

    To err is human, to moo is bovine.
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  • FW357FW357 Member Posts: 435 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Order: Rodentia (Rodents)
    Family: Sciuridae (Squirrels)
    Genus: Cynomys (Prairie Dogs, Barking Squirrels)

    I may not always be right, but I am never wrong. Magnum Force
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  • drobsdrobs Member Posts: 22,620 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    boeboe,

    When hunting for bushy tailed rats with a shotgun I was always taught to aim in front of them, that way you would take their head off without damaging the meat.

    A couple years ago I picked up a squirrel call. Looks like this:
    Mvc-122-2a.jpg

    Great for waking up the roommate when he's sleeping on the couch!


    Regards,
    190191.gif
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  • MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member Posts: 10,046 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    SQUIRRELS 'BARK BUT YOU CAN 'BARK A SQIRREL'
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  • redcedarsredcedars Member Posts: 919 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a squirrel call that is a hollow metal disc with a hole in the middle. It is used by placing between the lips an inhaling sharply, which makes a shrill squealing sound, like a baby squirrel in distress. I tie a string to a bush or branch, set up a short distance away, and work the call while shaking the brush. Works pretty good, other squirrels will come to see what is going on. Just messing around I have gotten adults to come pretty close, 10-15 feet.

    Squirrels do "bark", and I learned about "barking" squirrels by shooting the tree right under them from more than one old timer when I was a kid.

    redcedars
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  • jjmitchell60jjmitchell60 Member Posts: 3,887
    edited November -1
    I still bark squirrels with my 45 cal long rifle flinter. One of the earlist terms for "barking squirrels" was in John Filsons book about life on the Ky frontier of the mid to late 1700s. The term originally did mean shooting between the squirrel and the tree to knock the squirrel out. now as to squirrels barking, yes they do make a noise of alarm that would be best decribed as barking. Watch a squirrel when a hawk flies over head and listen to him warn others of the hawk. That is a squirrels bark!
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  • outdoortexasoutdoortexas Member Posts: 4,780
    edited November -1
    Seems like I remember an old joke about a man and his wife who just "ugly'd" 'em to death. He wouldn't let his wife hunt, cause she tore 'em up too bad! [:D]
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