I am sure that I am no different than most hunters in the fact that I learned the basics of still-hunting, stalking, and early hunting instincts while hunting squirrels. My uncle “Swede” was my teacher soon after he and my dad bought me a single-barrel 410 when I was 6 or 7 years old. They taught me safety first, then how to hold and shoot that trusted shotgun. I remember like yesterday the day I shot my first gray squirrel with that first gun—which I still have.
I learned quickly that it was a gun for gray squirrels and not fox squirrels, which were bigger and would climb the tallest pine trees if they spotted you first. Eventually, fox squirrels became my favorite game to hunt by my early teens using a new 16-gauge shotgun I was given for Christmas.
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