Mike Marsh shot this red squirrel or "boomer" near Mount Mitchell. It wasn't the greatest day for hunting, overcast and raining with lots of wind. That high up in the mountains, we were actually hunting in the rain clouds, which obscured the spectacular scenery and fall colors.

While I saw many red squirrels when I hunted deer and turkeys in the Appalachians when I was much younger, I had never taken a red squirrel.

My trusty Savage side-by-side with 3-inch magnum shells loaded with No. 6 shot did the trick with this nice male.

Although small, boomers are quite tasty. I missed a fox squirrel at a coastal game land earlier in the week and took a gray squirrel the same day. Had I not missed the fox squirrel, I would have completed the Carolina squirrel slam. I will keep trying for the fox squirrel.