Summer can be a difficult time for airgun shooters tasked with grey squirrel control, but it’s important not to let things slide as numbers will soon creep back up if left unchecked. With a glut of natural food making the usual methods less effective, fieldcraft is the key to cracking down on these destructive rodents.
It is perfectly normal for grey squirrels to back away from bait stations when natural pickings are abundant, but this summer has been worse than ever. Hazelnuts and beech mast ripened early, offering greedy rodents an easy source of nourishment and now the acorn crop seems to be coming about four weeks earlier than usual. These early crops of seeds and nuts are a result of the hot weather and drought conditions, and have been wreaking havoc with my efforts to bring significant numbers of greys to book.
Most years, a feeder loaded with nutrient-rich peanuts will entice grey squirrels away from virtually any other food source. This summer has been different for me though, and squirrels have even been ignoring peanuts laced with aniseed essence – a potent attractor which never usually fails to lure them down from the treetops. The simple fact is that there is so much wild food up in the boughs that grey squirrels don’t need to risk venturing down to places that leave them exposed to predators – and shooters – in order to get a decent meal.
Below: Grey squirrels often ignore feeders when natural food is abundant
When the squirrels won’t come to you, you need to go to them – and that’s what I’ve been doing during a lot of my woodland hunting trips this summer. Rather than sitting and waiting by unproductive bait stations, I’ve been stalking around areas where the bark-stripping pests are most active. Wandering amongst stands of beech and oak trees during the peak feeding times of dawn and dusk usually pays off and, although my tallies aren’t usually huge, it’s enabling me to keep chipping away at populations that could very easily spiral out of hand.
I like to travel fairly light for this sort of roving shoot, and my setup for my latest foray included a .22 calibre Daystate Blackwolf rifle mounted with an MTC King Cobra scope. Running on Rangemaster Sovereign pellets, this is an accurate combo that packs more than enough of a punch to cleanly dispatch squirrels out to 30 metres and beyond. Fitted with a 0dB Pro System Silencer it is also very quiet. Other than that, everything else I need is stowed in my backpack. I didn’t even take my shooting sticks on my last outing because I didn’t want the extra burden on what turned out to be a very muggy morning.
Below top: Mat loads his Daystate Black Wolf with Rangemaster Sovereign pellets in readiness for a mobile squirrel hunt
Below bottom: A roving airgun hunt can bring results when squirrels are feeding on mast and acorns
My first port of call was my feeding station which, as expected, had received no attention whatsoever over the past week. Even the fistful of peanuts that I’d left on the tray as an initial enticer remained ignored – confirming that birds and other wild creatures were equally distracted by the natural banquet up in the trees.
Making my way onwards, I headed for a stand of towering beech trees that were heavy with ripe mast. It wasn’t an easy approach because the woodland floor had been baked dry by the summer heatwave, leaving a brittle and noisy carpet of leaves and twigs. Thankfully, I was wearing relatively lightweight boots, but I still had to tread very carefully to avoid making a very noisy approach.
I obviously wasn’t treading carefully enough as my first half-chance quickly ended in failure. Doing my best to scan the mast-heavy branches for signs of feeding squirrels, I neglected the fact that the rodents could also be foraging for seed that had fallen to the ground. That’s exactly what one was doing about 30 metres ahead of me – but I failed to notice it until the silvery flash of its tail heralded its rapid departure. It was a rookie mistake on my part and a stern reminder to check the woodland floor as thoroughly as the treetops.
Below top: Even the birds were ignoring Mat's peanut offerings
Below bottom: Lightweight boots are order of the day when dry twigs and leaves make for tricky stalking
A few steps further on, I paused again for a careful scan all around me, including on the deck. There was nothing on the ground but a bouncing branch suggested that a squirrel was working at the springy end of a bough about 40 metres ahead. A quick look through the scope failed to reveal the culprit, who was shielded by a screen of leaves, but the occasional falling beech husk confirmed that something was enjoying a nutty feast.
Moving as quietly as I could over very crunchy ground, I got to within about 25 metres and stopped for another careful look. From this angle I could see the squirrel as it stretched out to reach the last morsels of mast at the very tip of the branch. Distracted by its nutty supper, the greedy rodent failed to notice me lurking in the shadows.
Using a partially fallen tree for support, I flicked off the safety catch on the Black Wolf and drew the crosshairs on to the unsuspecting squirrel. Shooting from such a stable position, I was soon locked on aim, and just had to wait for the branch to stop bouncing so I was presented with a static target. All became still as the squirrel hunched over to strip the hard shell from another husk. Applying just a touch of hold-under, I squeezed through the trigger and the muted report from the 0dB silencer was followed by a solid “crack” as the .22 pellet hit home. The squirrel dropped like a stone before crashing down into the leaflitter with a crunch.
Below top: A partly fallen tree provides handy gun support as Mat takes aim with the Daystate Black Wolf
Below bottom: The squirrel hunt gets going as Mat makes the morning's first addition to the bag
There was no sign of any other bushy-tailed diners up in the surrounding trees so I slipped the shot squirrel into my backpack and continued with my trek through the beeches. As previously mentioned, it is important to pause frequently to checking above, behind and on the ground for signs of feeding squirrels. My next couple of steps failed to yield anything, but I eventually spotted another squirrel feeding on fallen beech mast.
I had just moved off of a main ride and onto a narrow trail that winds through some towering trees when I noticed a flicker on the ground ahead of me. This squirrel was scratching around for fallen mast about 50 metres from where I was stood. The thick trunk of a conveniently positioned beech tree served as a very welcome screen to shield me from the squirrel’s line of sight but, as ever, I had to be very careful with my footfalls as I crept in for the shot.
I eventually made it to the large beech tree, which put me withing 25 metres of the squirrel, which was still completely unaware of my presence. At relatively close range it shouldn’t have been a difficult shot, but the squirrel refused to keep still as it foraged among the carpet of fallen leaves and beechmast.
Clicking your tongue against the roof of your mouth can be a very effective way to make squirrels sit up and freeze. The only problem is that there is also a risk of them being spooked by the noise and bolting off into the undergrowth or up the nearest tree. I decided to take a chance and, thankfully, the subtle noise had the desired effect. The squirrel froze and cocked its head as it tried to locate the source of the sound. Unfortunately for the tree-rat, it was rolled over by a Rangemaster Sovereign to the skull before it had a chance to find out.
Below top: Mat's 0dB silencer keeps the shot quiet as he picks off a squirrel that was foraging on the ground
Below bottom: A second successful shot results in another squirrel eradicated from the woods
That was to be my last squirrel of the morning. Two squirrels is far from a big tally, but a modest bag from a roving session is better than an empty bag from an unproductive bait station and contributes towards the ongoing pest control drive. I would also concede that stalking grey squirrels is more gratifying that simply waiting for them to turn up at a feeder. That said, I am very much looking forward to later in the year when they start queuing up for my peanut offerings again.
GUN: Daystate Blackwolf
SCOPE: MTC King Cobra
AMMO: Rangemaster Sovereign
SCOPE MOUNTS: Sportsmatch
BACKPACK: Jack Pyke 25L Rucksack
GLOVES: MacWet Long Cuff
BOOTS: Aigle Sonricker GTX
Article first published 14th August 2025
