Being stingy with ammo will make you a better shot.
I've hunted squirrels for over 50 years and during that time, by hit or miss, I've gathered a lot of information on the subject.
At first you must select a good woods to hunt. Look for large mature trees. Look for pecan or hickory trees. Learn the woods you hunt like the back of your hand.
You will find one, two or three areas that contain most of the squirrels. Forget the rest of the woods and go to these hot spots. You can then go to another woods and repeat the same process, building up your knowledge of good hunting spots.
Unless your eyes are a lot better than mine, forget about looking for a squirrel in a tree nearby. If you move around, the squirrel will see you and it becomes a game of hide and seek. Most of the time you will be the loser with a sore neck.
The best method, if you are moving slowly through the woods, is to scan the trees about 100 yards ahead. If a squirrel moves or jumps on a limb you will see it.
Actually, your ears are better for finding a squirrel. When it barks, jumps on a limb or cuts a hickory nut, you can pick up the noise from far away.
If you have a squirrel high in a tree that you can't see, just sit down and wait. Many times you can take another squirrel coming to the same tree and get them both.
If you are hunting under a nut tree where a squirrel is cutting and can't locate the bushy tail, slip under the tree and follow the hulls to the source. Once you locate the squirrel, you can step back and take your shot.
Never make any quick moves and when walking over leaves go as slow as possible. Put your feet down gently, avoiding sticks.
If you are in an opening and see a squirrel in the distance, try to circle until you get a large tree between you and the quarry.
I use a shotgun for squirrels and I never shoot one facing away from me. It will put all the shot in the hind legs and back.
Much of my hunting was done along the river where vegetation was thick. Many squirrels coming toward me would be too close by the time I could see them. Frustrated, I finally came up with the idea of aiming in front of their nose a few inches (depending on the distance) and putting most of the shot in the head. It makes for a clean kill with none or little shot in the meat.
Little hunting is done before the nuts are ripe. Squirrels are more spread out and difficult to find. If you have a park with hickory trees close by, check under them periodically to see if the squirrels have begun cutting.
If you approach a nut tree that has several squirrels on it, don't move when you kill the first one. Mark where it falls and the others will resume cutting.
I use a light or medium load and find them adequate for squirrels. Maximum load puts too many shot in the squirrel. If a squirrel is out a little far, have patience; it may come your way or you might slip a little closer. Remember, two steps is two yards closer.
Before any beginner starts to hunt, they need to see how their shotgun or rifle shoots. For a shotgunner, it is important to gauge distances. A gray squirrel is out of range at 40 yards. If a squirrel is in gun range, don't get in a hurry to shoot. It may present itself for a better shot in a minute or two.
Many hunters don't seem to care how many times they shoot. I grew up in the '30s and '40s and we tried to conserve ammunition. Not only will this save your money, it will make you a better shot.
Many people do not like to eat squirrel but I've found they are delicious barbecued or fixed with teriyaki sauce.
I once invited a friend to go hunting with me along the river. I knew the woods well and he didn't. When we left the car at dawn, we walked in a narrow field with woods on both sides. I stopped and pointed to the woods to our left and gave him directions to the best tree in the woods. I left him there, thinking I would go in the woods on the right, where there were some hickories at a considerable distance. I only walked about 200 feet and even before I stepped in the woods, I spied nine squirrels on an oak tree. I quickly emptied my gun twice and had six squirrels.
To this day, I get a guilty feeling when I meet my friend. I'm not sure he believes what I say!
Late Season Squirrels
The wind blew coldly through the silver gray trees stretching their skeleton fingers towards the sky as a cold dawn progressed towards full light. It was a gray world of muted blacks and whites; hoarfrost covered the stems of the vegetation along the creek below my stand. Wind, blowing through my stand, vainly tugged at the few remaining beech leaves clinging to the trees. I
shivered as it permeated the layers of clothing meant to keep me warm. It seemed a mystic time of ghosts and gargoyles, and I strained to differentiate sounds of the wind and a full running creek from animals ghosting through the woods.
Suddenly, behind my back came the sound of something shuffling the leaves. Slowly I turned my head as far as I could and strained by eyes to pick up the movement. Nothing. Again, the sound. An animal moved through the leaves downhill from where I sat. I double checked the priming in my .54 caliber flintlock rifle and strained my eyes and ears trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance.
Still nothing materialized. Was I hearing things; making up sounds where nothing existed? Again, the sound; an animal moved off to the edge of my vision. I focused on the spot and kept straining for that first glimpse of a towering rack or large brownish gray body moving parallel on the bench below my stand.
The tension left and I drew a long breath as I spotted a small gray form near the base of a fallen log. It was not the expected deer, but a gray squirrel. As dawn lightened the woods and warmed with the sun, three others joined the lone individual. For the next hour the squirrels treated me to a calliope of noise, acrobatics, and antics as they chased each other in and
out of the fallen log and downed tops from last year's logging and feasted on acorns scattered on the ground. One even climbed the beech tree in front of my stand and scolded me as an interloper. I flicked my hand at him; he did a back flip, ran out on the limb, and jumped to another tree with the deftness of a bushy-tailed aerialist. There another squirrel joined him and their branch bending daredeviltry grabbed my attention.
As I sat in the stand and waited for the second muzzle-loading season to come to an end I thought how good a mess of squirrels would taste. I'd hunted squirrels earlier in the fall as they targeted an abundant mast crop. I found myself thinking "late season squirrel hunting would be
productive and there would be little competition from other hunters."
Hunters who ignore late-season squirrels are missing a great hunting opportunity. Squirrel populations are flourishing at all time record levels and late-season hunting is easier than early season. Fighting rolling sweat, ticks, chiggers, snakes, no-see-ums, and battling leaves to pinpoint squirrels takes a lot of fun from the hunting experience. During the late-season insects are dead, leaves are down, snakes are gone, and the weather has cooled to a reasonable level.
Squirrels live everywhere and trace their history back some 50,000 years. As a member of the rodent family they are related to rats and mice.not a very pleasant thought. In the South two species predominate-the fox squirrel and the eastern gray. The gray is the most sought after by Tennessee hunters. This is a huge, largely untapped hunting resource.
Reflect for a moment about your first hunting experiences. Did your father, grandfather, uncle, or other relative take you squirrel hunting? I shot my first squirrel at age 10 with my greatuncle. He and my dad had an Irish Setter who not only was a good bird dog, but would tree squirrels, kill groundhogs, and point rabbits One morning we went out hunting and Sam, the dog, treed a squirrel in the wood lot behind the corn crib. I shot the squirrel with a .410 shotgun and felt pretty good about defending the corn and providing something for supper. We took several more squirrels that morning, but what I remember most was just sitting and talking to my greatuncle about the many things a ten-year-old can come up with. He had lived a remarkable life as a farmer, World War I veteran, and one of the best makers of moonshine whiskey in that part of the county.
Squirrels are an animal of the hardwood forest, preferring stands with mature nut trees that produce mast-acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and other nuts. Although they will eat other foods, mast becomes critical to late season survival. Oak mast is "winter storable food", in other words, food that can be stored either above or below ground and retrieved as much as six months later.
In addition to nut production potential look for forest stands containing cavity trees; old mature or dead trees with cavities in the limbs and trunks. Squirrels prefer living and nesting in cavities and use cavity trees as focal points of their home range. Cavities provide shelter at night and during harsh weather, and protection from predators.
Female squirrels usually come into estrus twice a year, from lane November to February and again from April through August. Young are born from February through May and again from August through October. Because of the two estrus and pregnancy cycles, young and adult squirrels are at their most abundant in the late fall and early winter.
Squirrels have a predictable daily activity cycle, depending on the season. In spring and fall, squirrels are most active early in the day from about 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and again late in the day from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. In winter they forage from about 8:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m.; activity decreases rapidly after 11:00 a.m. to almost nothing by 2:00 p.m. The best late season hunting is from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Squirrel hunting is a laid back activity, and they are one of the easiest sport animals to hunt. It requires inexpensive equipment with a high success rate for beginners and experienced hunters. All it takes is a suitable hunting site, a rifle or shotgun, the minimum of camouflage, and the willingness to spend time in the woods.
Though I shot my first squirrel with a .410 shotgun, my first squirrel rifle was a single-shot, open- sighted, bolt action .22. A .22 is inexpensive and uncomplicated to own, maintain, and shoot. .22 rifles are made in every action, style, and price range imaginable-bolt-action, lever-action, slide-action, break-action, rolling block, and semi-automatic. When loaded with Long Rifle Hollow Points it is the perfect cartridge rifle for squirrel hunting. Though open sights are adequate for the short range shots typical to squirrel hunting many rifles mount scopes. Traditional, low powered small bore optics are giving way to compact variables with high magnification to improve accuracy and sighting under low light conditions.
Although I prefer a rifle, more squirrels are harvested by hunters using shotguns than any other firearm. The reason is obvious; the shot pattern increases the likelihood of hitting a moving or sitting squirrel. All shotgun gauges work, but if you hunt squirrels with a shotgun, select a 12, 16, or 20 gauge.
All shotgun gauges shoot the same distance (provided comparable powder loading) and have the same penetration potential. The only difference between the gauges is the number of shot delivered to the target. Shotgun shells from 12 gauge through 16 gauge hold enough shot to make clean squirrel kills. Because of the reduced number of shot in each shell, the smaller gauges (.410 & 28 gauge) have the potential to wound more game. The larger gauges (10 gauge) throw enough shot, but it is too heavy and punishing to use. Also it is not necessary to use "magnum loads" or high velocity loads, regular "field loads" will get the job done. Squirrels have a tough hide and thick fur. Use #4, #5, or #6 shot for quick kills and reduced wounding.
Many of my hunting friends use a muzzle-loading rifle in .32, .36, or .45 caliber. My preference is a Tennessee style, .45 caliber, flintlock with open sights made by John Anderson of Tullahoma, Tennessee. The rifle shoots a .445 patched round ball backed by 40 grains of FFFg. It is light, has little recoil, and shoots better than I can hold. I miss as many as I take, but the smell of blackpowder and the challenge of knowing I've got only one shot is enjoyable.
During late season set up near productive hardwood forests with obvious cavity trees. Hunt early, from about 7:00 a.m. until about 11:00 a.m. and again late in the afternoon. Sit in a comfortable position and wait for the telltale movement of a squirrel on the ground or in a tree. If you pick
the right spot, you can harvest a limit without relocating. If squirrels fail to show relocate using your eyes and ears to find active squirrels. Squirrels are noisy animals and can be easily located.
The squirrels I'd watched from my stand were still there when I came back the following week. As I slipped into position one scampered along a limb in the beech tree next to the stand. I primed the flintlock and eased the hammer back to the full cock firing position .and carefully "set" the
rear trigger". Bracing the barrel against a tree I waited for a lull in the action. The squirrel on the limb stopped and looked at another on the ground.
I made a last sight alignment and applied gentle pressure to the front trigger. The gun fired and a cloud of smoke momentarily obscured my sight. It cleared to show an empty limb with the squirrel lying at the base of the tree. A good head shot and clean kill. I reloaded, moved to another position, took a seat and waited out the silence. Two more squirrels reappeared about 30 minutes later. At the end of the hunt I had missed two and taken three-enough for a meal.
A squirrel hunting pilgrimage brings many of us full circle. Here is where we started our hunting life. Give this late-season untapped resource a try. Whether you use a .22 rifle, shotgun, or muzzleloader late season bushytails provide a challenging target and enjoyable day afield for hunters in the know.
