Al33
Senior Member
It ain’t as easy as some think it is. They may not be as wary as wild country squirrels (at first) but unlike in the country or woods you just can’t fling an arra at one anytime you want to. You gotta keep your eyes peeled not only for the tree rats but you have to watch for neighbors who think the rats or neighborhood pets. Careful inspection of carports on either side and across the street of the yard you have permission to hunt is imperative. You can’t expect to be there at daylight and hunt ‘cause most of the neighbors ain’t left for work yet. Some don’t leave until after 9 a.m. and that can really cut into your hunt time.
Very rarely can you take a shot at one in a tree because a missed arra may end up in someone’s window, hit a car, or worse yet a neighbor out picking up the paper. Even if it lands safely in another yard you still have to discretely retrieve it which means taking off your leafy suit so your street clothes are showing then leaving your bow and quiver full of arras in your own yard. Once you pick up your arra it is best if you keep it pointed down alongside your leg with your hand over the fletchings so it is not easily identified as an arra. Sometimes I will just kind of slap my leg with it as if it were just a stick and I was just out for a walk taking a shortcut through the yard. Always a good idea to pick up any small pieces of trash you may see in the neighbor’s yard while retrieving the arra that way if they do see you they might think you are just doing them a favor.
Of course common sense will tell ya you just can’t use any kind of point and certainly not broadheads. I actually prefer the big rubber blunts but only because if a neighbor catches me picking one up outta their yard and accuses me of recklessness I can show them I am shooting rubber stopper arras and they have nothing to fear. Of course it is not likely they have ever been shot with one so they won’t know the difference.
I can’t tell you how many times I have had to NOT shoot because a tree rat was on the driveway. Trust me, no matter if it is concrete or asphalt there ain’t no point that is gonna stop if it hits on that kind of surface. Seems to me the squirrels seem to know that asphalt and concrete driveways are free bases.
Not only do you need to be concerned about being observed by neighbors you most certainly have to be concerned with both passing vehicles on the road and passerbys out for stroll. It really ticks me off when someone comes by walking their dog which runs a rat up a tree that I have been stalking for 30 minutes. When the passing motorists and strollers come by you have be extremely discrete. Lay your bow and quiver down where they cannot be seen and start pulling weeds or picking up limbs or pine cones.
OK, let’s say you have overcome all these obstacles and made a killing shot on one of these pesky critters. Hopefully it fell DRT and didn’t take off running with your arra like Jeff’s and Tomi’s and BK’s squirrels did which is an entirely different matter altogether. Listen carefully for any vehicles that may be coming down the street and look for any strollers walking by also. I forgot to mention you will need to keep a plastic grocery bag in your pocket when hunting city slicker squirrels. If the coast is clear quickly put the critter in the bag and if you plan on hunting more put a few pinecones in the bag also, enough to hide the squirrel should a neighbor walk up and want to chat for an hour. A few paper towels in the bottom of the bag will help keep blood from dripping out of the bag full of pine cones.
If hunting the city critters is something you would like to do I hope these tips will help keep you outta trouble. If you live in a condo complex I wouldn’t try it at all.
One more thing, don’t forget the game laws and keep your daily limit of tree rats to 12.
Good luck and safe hunting!!!!
Very rarely can you take a shot at one in a tree because a missed arra may end up in someone’s window, hit a car, or worse yet a neighbor out picking up the paper. Even if it lands safely in another yard you still have to discretely retrieve it which means taking off your leafy suit so your street clothes are showing then leaving your bow and quiver full of arras in your own yard. Once you pick up your arra it is best if you keep it pointed down alongside your leg with your hand over the fletchings so it is not easily identified as an arra. Sometimes I will just kind of slap my leg with it as if it were just a stick and I was just out for a walk taking a shortcut through the yard. Always a good idea to pick up any small pieces of trash you may see in the neighbor’s yard while retrieving the arra that way if they do see you they might think you are just doing them a favor.
Of course common sense will tell ya you just can’t use any kind of point and certainly not broadheads. I actually prefer the big rubber blunts but only because if a neighbor catches me picking one up outta their yard and accuses me of recklessness I can show them I am shooting rubber stopper arras and they have nothing to fear. Of course it is not likely they have ever been shot with one so they won’t know the difference.
I can’t tell you how many times I have had to NOT shoot because a tree rat was on the driveway. Trust me, no matter if it is concrete or asphalt there ain’t no point that is gonna stop if it hits on that kind of surface. Seems to me the squirrels seem to know that asphalt and concrete driveways are free bases.
Not only do you need to be concerned about being observed by neighbors you most certainly have to be concerned with both passing vehicles on the road and passerbys out for stroll. It really ticks me off when someone comes by walking their dog which runs a rat up a tree that I have been stalking for 30 minutes. When the passing motorists and strollers come by you have be extremely discrete. Lay your bow and quiver down where they cannot be seen and start pulling weeds or picking up limbs or pine cones.
OK, let’s say you have overcome all these obstacles and made a killing shot on one of these pesky critters. Hopefully it fell DRT and didn’t take off running with your arra like Jeff’s and Tomi’s and BK’s squirrels did which is an entirely different matter altogether. Listen carefully for any vehicles that may be coming down the street and look for any strollers walking by also. I forgot to mention you will need to keep a plastic grocery bag in your pocket when hunting city slicker squirrels. If the coast is clear quickly put the critter in the bag and if you plan on hunting more put a few pinecones in the bag also, enough to hide the squirrel should a neighbor walk up and want to chat for an hour. A few paper towels in the bottom of the bag will help keep blood from dripping out of the bag full of pine cones.
If hunting the city critters is something you would like to do I hope these tips will help keep you outta trouble. If you live in a condo complex I wouldn’t try it at all.
One more thing, don’t forget the game laws and keep your daily limit of tree rats to 12.
Good luck and safe hunting!!!!
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