Pennsylvania Game News - June 2010 - 6

stopped. I froze. When the rustle started again, I took another step, and another and another until I could see the flat below the edge of the bench. A squirrel was busy poking in the leaves for acorns or beechnuts, and then it sat in an upright position to feed on a nut. The Ranger pressed against my shoulder, hammer at full cock and the front bead covering the squirrel’s head. Just as I started the squeeze, the squirrel dove into the leaves again, and that was when I saw it — a grouse standing motionless three or four feet away from the squirrel. Instantly the shotgun swung onto the new target and the trigger was pressed. The gun had not even settled from recoil when a second bird erupted from the forest floor a few feet from the first grouse only to light on the lower limb of a hemlock not 30 feet away. I never took my eye off that bird while I broke open the breech of the Ranger and fed another shell into the chamber. Again, the butt stock pressed against my shoulder, and the second grouse tumbled from the hemlock.

I had done it. I had taken two grouse in one day. And not more than 30 seconds apart. I never did see where the squirrel went, nor did I care. One grouse was worth a dozen squirrels, and if you don’t believe it, ask someone who was schooled in a 2-room country school back in the early 1930s. When lunch time came and hunting season was on, the kind of game you took from the lunch bucket was your status symbol. Pheasant or grouse gave you bragging rights, with rabbit following close behind. Squirrel was at the bottom of the totem pole no matter how good it tasted. By 1941, the little 2-room country school had been closed for five years, and bragging rights long forgotten. But on that day I felt good. Two grouse in one day. You cannot buy memories; you have to earn them. Although that incident happened nearly 70 years ago, the memory of it is as sharp as last night’s movie, and I will cling to it tighter than the last golden coin of the realm. Wow! Two in one day!

Trapper’s Tips…
By Dan Lynch
Southeast Region Wildlife Education Supervisor

Choosing baits and lures for raccoons
Raccoons are opportunistic omnivores. This means they will eat almost anything they may encounter on their nightly forays. Selecting a bait or lure to entice them to check out your set is usually pretty simple. If there is a slim chance that a wandering dog or cat will be in your trapping area, then canned sardines, fish oil or fish are great bait choices. If you want to be more selective, try a fruit or sweet smelling bait, like jams or jellies. Marshmallows dipped in a fruit paste or even chocolate syrup has been known to put a few raccoons in the fur shed as well. Commercially made lures and baits are available and will work wonders on your trapline. Make sure your baits are not visible from the air, and set them up so that the raccoon has to hang around your set awhile to try and figure out how to get to them. The longer they stay at the set, the better your chances are at catching them.
6 GAME NEWS

Pennsylvania Game News - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - June 2010