squirrelops

Great Tips Guys...I Hunt Hard Woods An Field Lines Myself....

snoozle

Anyone hunt in the state game lands in southwest PA?

I'm going out next weekend on my first ever hunt, and I'm afraid it will yield the same results as my scouting trip this week: didn't see a single squirrel! It was fairly chilly (about 50) and windy, and I am a new hunter so I was probably too loud. I found a few good spots with nice big oaks, sat for a while... and nothing showed! I did see a couple pheasant and a grouse (not in season at the time), but no squirrels. It was very frustrating.

This thread has a lot of great tips. Hopefully it will be a productive venture...

squirrelops

Had Same Issue On Sat When I Took My Son Out For Youth Day
Went To A Woods Full Of Oaks An Acorns Everywhere An Not A Bushy Tail In Sight.
Not A Good Way To Introduce a Young Hunter Into Squirrel Hunting LOL

kay_vang01

One of the best way to get a squirrel come running towards you is to use a lemongrass call. I think this is a very cheap way to hunt squirrel, but extremely effective. With this type of calls, you can easily deplete a small woodlot of squirrel very easy because most of the squirrels that comes running towards you are females. It's a call that mimics a baby squirrel who had fallen out of a tree and calling for help. It's also a very hard call to master and very tiring when calling. Here is a link to the call on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJ1pLvbWZg

squirrelops

I Have A Call That Has A Squirrel Call With Small Hole On The Tube That Makes A Very Similar Sound.

Erno86

For fox squirrels...hunt the forested bottoms, slopes and ridges along stream/river tributaries. The foxes migrate along the water tributaries.

If you can afford it...use turkey magnum loads for fox squirrels. My hunting partner swears by #4 shot...I like #5 shot for squirrels, but I may switch to #4's in the future. I like extra full turkey chokes for squirrels, while shooting my 12 gauge Winchester --- National Wild Turkey Federation engraved --- Model 1300 pump gun.

I like 22 hollowpoint subsonics when I prefer to shoot my Kimber Classic bolt gun. The sound report spooks the squirrels less, and is a savoir when not using hearing protection.

Look for any camouflaged hunter/bowhunters in the woods --- including treestand hunters. Some squirrel hunters will not be wearing any blaze orange clothing, even though it's against the law. When having a combination fall turkey/squirrel hunt...wear blaze orange clothing when walking through the woods.

Shot pattern your shotgun for squirrels as well as turkeys. Wear eye protection if possible, including amplified ear protection...which can increase the sound's of the woods by about 125%. I feel that my new camouflaged Howard Leight muffs work great for hunting with guns...though the omni-directional ones are a little better in telling which direction your quarry is coming from.

For a squirrel on the opposite side of the tree: Tie an extra hat on a bush/sapling attached on a string --- go around the opposite side of the tree with your string --- and shake the bush/sapling by pulling back an forth on the string; or just throw your hat around the opposite side of the tree.

Shoot a shotgun round on the opposite side of the tree that the squirrel is hiding on...an he might run around to your side of the tree.
If a squirrel is hiding up high in a crotch of a tree --- and you only see his bushytail exposed ---- shoot at the tail, and you'll probably spook him enough that he'll scamper up higher in the tree; which might give you a chance for another shot.

I've heard that the Mountain Cur...is the best squirrel hunting dog.

This past month my hunting partner and I went squirrel hunting twice on public hunting land, here in Central Maryland. The first Saturday...we both had our limits of six squirrels each, by 12 o'clock noon. The second Saturday in the same location...I had my limit by 9am, with my partner bagging 5.

I like using game scissors or pruning shears for cutting off the heads, tails, aitch bone and feet of squirrels. I brown pan fry them lightly...then throw them in a pressure cooker for at least 30 minutes. Makes for some fork tender eating, that leading chef's from around the world, consider squirrel meat as a delicacy.

kay_vang01

Everyone has the same problem where they'll see lots of squirrel while bow hunting. The answer to that is, hunt squirrel similar to bow hunting for deer. Squirrel will come out after everything is quiet, just like when you are sitting in your stand for hours.

I found that hunting squirrels take a lot of patience. The more patience you have, the more squirrels you will see and shoot. But to not waste a lot of time in the woods, I use what I call the "3-20". Walk to a spot where you think squirrel may be present. Sit and wait for 20 minutes with little movements as possible. If after 20 minutes you don't see anything, move to a different spot at least 40-50 yards away. Do the same thing for 3 times. If you don't see anything in 3 moves, it's time to move to a different tract of wood or forest. If there are some squirrels there, this method will definitely allow you to see them. This is providing that the conditions are favorable for them to come out. If wind speed is 15 mph or more, raining hard, or other noisy activities nearby then no matter what method you use, chance are you will not see them.

squirrelops

Nice Tip Kay Vang ....
I Also Sit An Spot .
I also Hunt Oaks, Hickory, Pines An Field Edges.

ChasinTail

Read this somewhere earlier. While I probably wouldn't try it because I'm covered up with them anyway it could be helpful.

Take some peanut oil and pour it on a stump, then throw some peanuts around it and they'll come running from downwind as soon as they smell it.

squirrelops

Never Heard That Theory