By the time this hits print, ground squirrel season will be in full swing.

    To be properly prepared, let’s go over some cool accessories. These items will also be mandatory if you just want to be an official plinker.  

    To begin, you have to have a Ruger 10/22. They are the hottest .22 on the market and there are a ton of aftermarket parts that you can use to trick them out. Stocks, triggers, barrels, high capacity clips and the list goes on and on.

    The next most popular rifle is the .17 HMR. It is a little bit more powerful and flatter shooting (but I think I like a .22 mag. better). Savage makes an economical rifle, but the clip doesn’t fit properly so it doesn’t load well unless you keep a little pressure on it.

    This year at the SHOT Show I noticed that Savage came out with a rotary clip like the 10/22. Although they wouldn’t come right out and say it, I got the distinct feeling that they had made the clip change to rectify the misfeed problem.

    And then of course most people have an AR in their arsenal. They cost more to shoot, but everyone loves them. They’ll reach out a little further if you’re in an area that allows for longer shots.

    Just last week I was at the Professional Outdoor Media Association Convention in Columbia, SC and came upon another great gun for ground squirrels. I met Susan Johnston with Daisy and shot her breakdown .177 air rifle on Saturday at the Media Day on the Range. It is sweet and will flip out one of her new pellets at 1,200 feet per second. That’s hauling for a pellet.

    I think Daisy has some great guns that would be deadly at up to 50 yards, but I have to actually hunt with one before I can swear to it. It’s quieter than most rifles so it wouldn’t spook them as bad. They are also way more economical to shoot. I think that it would be a great option to start kids on. It wouldn’t have as long of range as a .22, so it would be safer. It would also be a single shot, so that teaches a new hunter to make his shot count.

    I think that airguns will soon be a favorite among Idaho ground squirrel hunters.

    Now for one last hot item. I predict that this, in a short amount of time, will become a favorite among .22 shooters in Idaho. I met Brian Hamm. His company, HHA Sports, makes what they call an Optimizer. When he first described it to me I couldn’t believe him. Then at the range on Saturday, I shot it.

    Wow, he hadn’t been kidding. What an invention. It hooks onto your scope. You sight it in at varying yardages and then it will be dead on. You turn the dial to the desired yardage and bingo. I shot metal ground squirrel targets at 50, 75 and then 100 yards.

    Brian then told me to crank it up to 200. I missed the first one, allowed for windage and didn’t miss again. Oh my gosh, are these things cool. Granted we were shooting Ely ammo, but still, I put the hurt on the 200 yard target with a .22!

    They should be available in three weeks . Find more information at www.hhasports.com.