to bark off squirrels

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

A common way of killing squirrels among those who are expert with the rifle, in the Western States, is to strike with the ball the bark of the tree immediately beneath the squirrel; the concussion produced by which, kills the animal instantly without mutilating it.--Audubon, Ornithology, Vol. I. p. 294.

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