So I never heard of these little guys so I thought I'd read up.... basically a ground squirrel ...here is a link in case someone else wants to read about them.


http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/spervari.htm

Turkey killers!!! Death to them all! (Thanks for posting.)

Yeap, I was surprised too when I read this particular part of the text interesting.....did not think squirrels did that


"They feed on a variety of plant materials depending on availability. Known items include acorns, pine nuts, walnuts, seeds of mesquite, cactus, saltbush, agave, wild gourd, cherries, sumac, spurge, serviceberry, berries of currant and juniper, and all sorts of cultivated fruits and vegetables. Insects also contribute importantly to their diet, especially grasshoppers, crickets, and caterpillars. They are fond of flesh and are known to catch and eat small wild turkeys and other birds."

That's okay. We aren't allowed to kill the turkeys on our place so I guess someone, or something, should get to.

Thats exactly what they looked like and on top or around granite rocks generally.

I was in my backyard this am watching one munching out on something and the strangest thing happened
It fell over dead, dropped like a rock out of the tree, I guess it had a heart attack

we have several in our back yard in Georgetown - behind house is a rock cliff and they hang there a lot - come into the back yard occasionally but have never bothered anything - I think they are kind of cool to watch myself

Gee, I wished you hadn't posted the part in red. Be afraid, be very afraid. Put the veinte dos by the back door.

ha if they do then 20 gauge comes out

The old biologist here used to say " Never look a bull rock squirrel in the eye, ounce for ounce they are the most dangerous animal in N America". He really loved shooting them

I am enjoined in another Battle Royal. Had to take an off-hand shot at 50+ yards with the open-sight 10/22 and I'll be derned if he didn't act hit. But, couldn't find any blood. I'm seriously considering getting a novelty mount done, if I can down a big buck. Might go all Caddy shack Bill Murray this evening and in the morning.

caught another one this morning. 13 of the trashy things in the last 3 months.

Will "eat small wild turkeys"????? Ears perking up and paying attention to this. TTT may be in my future if I can train them to not eat quail

the enemy of my enemy is my friend

Just got a tree shot. Again acted hit. Even heard the "flop" on the ground in the tall tobacco weeds. I entered "the tall grass" in search of my trophy. Again no body. He mocks me.

I got a Jack Russel Terrorist that will blood trail it if needed.

Thank you sir. The wife had the lab and the blue lacey with her, otherwise, they'd a found it for me. The lab likes to catch squirrels in her mouth as they fall. Live and learn.

if its raking leaves i would leave it alone lol.send it to my house

I hate raking leaves. Possibly more than I hate rock squirrels.

Greetings from a newbie. I live in Llano TX.

I am interested in rock squirrel hunting and have seen them on residential rock walls but very few up in the hills.

I have access to land right near Lake Buchannan and have spent a lot of time with my spotting scope, watching the cliff faces and rock croppings as the sun rises and warms the rocks. I have not seen anything. It looks to be prime squirrel habitat as the cliffs offer plenty of cover (cedar, laurel brush, etc) and of course , plenty of rocks and snags.

From the research I've done, they're supposed to live in colonies run by a dominant male. The hills and cliffs I watch seem to be prime squirrel country, but obviously is not.

Just joined up to see if the critters are abundant enough to offer some quality shooting and would appreciate any info, suggestions.

Thanks all...

Good stuff

I’ve always wanted to shoot a rock squirrel and have it mounted

Growing up in the Hill Country we found them to just be in 'pockets', not widely spread at all. In fact... the largest group I had ever encountered was actually in town.

Austin, Texas circa early 1970's we lived in NorthWest Hills. That area was still growing at the time. Next to a small strip mall was an undeveloped piece of land that had a high bluff with a lot of fallen rock and boulders. Lots of folks rode their dirt bikes out there at that time. It was doing just that, that I noticed a group of about 10-12 Rock Squirrels. We had seen a few on our property up in Goldthwaite....so I knew what they were.

I had an old Benjamin Pellet Rifle (.177 cal) with a scope on it....from my pre-teen years and thought I might be able to take a few of the squirrels with that.

Well....let me tell you, they are one WARY animal. You could not approach close enough on foot to ever get a shot. But I noticed they seemed more accepting of a vehicle as long as no one exited it. So....I drove to the base of the rocks in my mustang and sat there, rifle pointed out the window. After about 10 minutes a few of the squirrels came back out and perched upon the rocks.

I was able to kill 3-4 before they caught on. I waited a couple of days and went back. Of course, this time they were more cautious and would only expose their heads when peeking over the rocks. Still....I managed to get a few more. The challenge of it was appealing to me....so I dedicated myself to the task. Over a period of a couple of weeks (as I had time) I would try moving the mustang a bit to get better angles. I could only shoot about 40 yds. max (accurately) so a lot of patience was needed and lot of failed attempts occurred.

Eventually, it got to where there seemed to be only one large squirrel left. And that one would run and hide as soon as it saw my vehicle turn into the property. Sometimes it would come out after about an hour and quickly peek over a rock, but then whirl and hide.

So one day I got the idea to park my vehicle a distance away, walk about 1/4 mile around the rocks and get up on the bluff behind the squirrel and looking down into the rocks. I bet I lay there on those limestone rocks for 2 hours before that last squirrel finally emerged. It had no idea I was there and was keyed in on my vehicle. Parking it farther away was just enough to keep the squirrel watching it instead of running. I was able to get a pellet right between its shoulder blades and that ended that odyssey of a hunt.

That was nearly 50 years ago now, where has the time gone? I'm sure if you can find a group of Rock Squirrels they will be just as challenging.