Turkey season has been over for a couple months by now. Deer season is still months away. If you are anything like me, you have probably settled the urge to do sporting activities with a little fishing, patiently waiting for the next hunting season to open. For most people, that will be squirrel season.
EARLY TACTICS
The beginning of the season will find the trees still full of leaves. This will make it very difficult to spot the squirrels. Hunting the midday hours is not my preference. The heat is not worth it to me, and the squirrels feel the same way. They tend to stay in their nest during the heat of the day.
The best time to be in the woods is from dawn until a couple of hours later, and again a few hours from dusk until legal shooting hours are over.
I like to get up early, fill my thermos full of coffee, and set up in a location that has several hickory trees close by. I do not move from one location to the next. Squirrels cannot resist hickory nuts and will eventually come for their favorite meal. At times you will be frustrated because all you can hear is barking from the squirrels hidden from view. Try coaxing the squirrels within view by using a barking squirrel call. This might be all you need to get them to show themselves. Also, use the call after you have shot. Squirrels will retreat out of harm’s way upon hearing the gun blast. Hearing the squirrel call will cause other squirrels to believe the coast is clear and they will come out, ready to socialize with the other squirrels.
Because the temperatures can be hot, even shortly after sunrise, there is the question of what care should be taken with your kill to ensure it does not spoil.
There are three options: Simply do nothing until you return home, field-dress the animal, or completely field-dress and skin the animal. It is fine to do nothing until you get home within the next 30 minutes or so. Any longer than that and you should at the very least field-dress the animal. There is a good chance that a squirrel being shot with a shotgun has been gut shot and vile fluids are tainting the meat, causing it to go rancid, much like that of a gut shot whitetail. For that reason, I like to field-dress the critter. I also carry a couple 1-liter pop bottles, filled with water, that way I am able to wash out the body cavities. Since you will not be moving around early in the season, the added bulk is not that big of a deal. The only reason to skin the squirrel after the shot is that a freshly killed squirrel is much easier to skin compared to one that has been dead for any period of time. How you tend to the animal after it has been shot is something each hunter must decide for himself or herself.
LATE SEASON TACTICS
The early season tactics are still productive during the morning and evening hours as the season progresses. But this is also the time that can be good at any hour of the day.
Squirrels will be busy gathering food and storing it for winter. In just a short period of time, the ground will be covered with snow and the critters will want to have their fair share of food stockpiled in different locations throughout the woods in preparation for the upcoming winter.
Slowly walking through the woods, stopping frequently to listen and watch will often give the location of squirrels away. The sound of a squirrel breaking a hickory nut is hard to miss.
Even when snow covers the ground, squirrels will still have to get out of their nest. There will always be the need for food and water. Do not put your gun up just because the temperatures have dipped and snow blankets the ground. This type of hunting might be just what you need to break the cabin fever.
The squirrel is one animal that I hunt that I can honestly say not one part of the animal goes to waste.
Of course the first reason I hunt the squirrel is for the wonderful food they provide and for the enjoyment. That is first and foremost. Besides being a hunter I am also a trapper. Canines love an easy meal. I use the carcass and intestines as bait at my canine sets. I do not use the tails as bait though. Instead, I sell the tails to Mepps fishing lures where they use the hair from the squirrel’s tails for their bucktail fishing lures. If I have enough squirrels stockpiled for trapping I then begin skinning out the squirrels like I would a raccoon. After skinning, fleshing, stretching, and drying, a good squirrel hide will fetch a couple of dollars.
Photo: Howard Communications
