Poking fun

Yomping around the woods without having to worry about disturbing pheasants makes squirrel control a delight, says Mat Manning

- Mat Manning

Drey poking is one of the highlights of my late winter and early spring shooting calendar. The culling of grey squirrels on most of my permissions is limited to quiet sorties with an air rifle, from when pheasants are released in the summer through to the end of the season. But the gloves are off now and gamekeepers are happy for me to adopt a noisy approach when bringing the rodents to book.

Though sniping squirrels at feeding stations primed with peanuts is by far the best way to make a big bag, drey poking is a much more enjoyable occupation. Rather than sitting still and quiet in a cramped hide, you get to yomp around the woods in the company of friends without the fear of excited chatter spoiling the action.

This year’s first drey-poking trip was particularly exciting as we had a couple of new recruits with us. About a year ago I wrote about an outing with an aspiring young shooter called Darcey (Darcey’s first foray, 3 April 2019). I am pleased to say that Darcey’s interest in field sports and the countryside remains keen and, after cutting her teeth on air rifles, she fancied something a little more raucous. Darcey’s father, Karl, has also developed an active interest in shooting and the pair were eager to sample the delights of drey poking.

Karl gets ready for the grey squirrels to emerge as George dismantles a drey

Icy wind

Our party was completed by my 14-year-old son, George. A typically reluctant teenager, he’s at that phase when a morning in bed is so much more appealing than stumbling into the woods to face an icy wind and squally showers. Unfortunately for George, I needed somebody to work the long pole that we would be using to startle similarly snoozy squirrels from their slumber. All being well, he wouldn’t be the only one getting forced out of bed against his will.