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First freeze tonite. Time for squirrel hunt.
Back in school, I'd be out opening day. Nowadays, between the skeeters, ticks, and warbles, I just wait till we get a couple good frosts or a freeze.
Need to sight in the .22 first. Someone posted about a sale on Leupold .22 scopes awhile back, and I picked up a VX-1 2-7. Liked the Nikon, but they have a pretty fat crosshair on them. Curious to see what I can get @ 50 yards now. No target ammo, plain old 36gr Mini-Mags...
Need to sight in the .22 first. Someone posted about a sale on Leupold .22 scopes awhile back, and I picked up a VX-1 2-7. Liked the Nikon, but they have a pretty fat crosshair on them. Curious to see what I can get @ 50 yards now. No target ammo, plain old 36gr Mini-Mags...
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson
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No freeze here but still supposed to get cold. We've been in a typical weather pattern here lately. Rained like a cow pissin on a flat rock all day yesterday and was warm. Turned off cold behind the rain.
Don't much squirrel hunt any more. Used to, sitting on a deer stand, I'd have my .45LC on my right hip for back up and a .22 revolver on my left in a crossdraw to take a squirrel or two if the opportunity presented itself.
But Fall is here. And after a very hot, dry, Summer, I welcome it.
We had no winter at all last year....maybe a couple of very light frosts, but no more. Way too early to think about squirrel hunting down here. About all small game is still full of wolves and will be 'till we have a couple of cold snaps.
Nowadays I don't get close to that small game until a good, hard freeze based upon what I read back then.
Just curious....what actually happens to those critters when that hard freeze occurs?
Those ugly little monsters are actually bot fly larvae and as most flying insects, they go dorment in the winter.
What about when they're already embedded in the flesh of said critter? Even after temps fall below freezing and stay there - would the host critter's body temp allow them to continue living, and feasting, on the host indefinitely? Not sure that I really want to know. :silly: But, the thought occurred to me, so I just gotta ask.
Here's a condensed version of their life cycle; Host critter walks along and picks up eggs from the ground which attact to the host's hair or fur or critter eats another critter that already has eggs or larvae in it. Eggs hatch an enter host through a break in skin or are ingested when host grooms itself. Larvae takes about 30 days to mature and then larvae climbs out of host and falls to the ground to pupate. The larvae pupates to a fly which mates and lays eggs in it's 10 to 14 days of life and the cycle starts over again. The pupation stage is dependant on temp and can last from 28 days to 11 months. During this period, the pupae are on the ground waiting for it to warm up outside so that it can develope into a fly. Bottom line is that they're only going to be on the host for about a month and cold weather will keep the pupae on the ground until it warms up again. Although there is a species that favors horses and can stay in the host for up to 11 months.
They are larvae for only a couple weeks, then they become a botfly. If they fly survives the cold, it will find a place to hide from the cold until spring.
Jerry
I'm guessing they do, you just ain't seen the evidence yet. Thinking I'm xx north of you. And all that. But, just beware.
Squirrel is the only thing I will still hunt on public ground (not during deer gun season though)....
I was up in central Ohio, Mansfield , last week and it was getting cool then. By the way when I crossed the Ohio River, I saw a lot of squirrels swimming South, guess they herd you was going to the woods...