The last two times I went squirrel hunting, I got my limit of 6 in about two hours each time. Piece of cake. I went out yesterday and pretty much got skunked. Got one squirrel. I guess I missed prime squirrely activity time!

First thing in the morning (not much after first light), I made my first attempt at rabbit hunting with my shotgun. Just walked some fencerows on public land, and paused every so often to try to make 'em nervous, but I never saw a thing. After a bit, I decided to do what I came to do, so I went back to the car and exchanged the shotgun for my trusty 22LR.

Got into the woods and wasn't seeing or hearing a thing. It was dead in there. Sat for about 15 minutes and just listened. It was a little windy, but not so much that you couldn't hear the crashing of little paws on the leaves or their scritch-scratching on bark. Finally I heard my first squirrel of the morning in the leaves. As I got up to locate and stalk, I heard lots of noise in the leaves, and it sounded like turkeys. I spotted a small flock through the wiry saplings, and sillily decided to attempt to stalk them to get close enough for a head shot (turkey is still in, and yes you can use rifles to hunt them in VA). In doing so I passed on three squirrels I could have taken with the 22 so as not to alert the turkeys with a gunshot.

Once the turkeys made me (there was not enough to cover to hide from their sharp eyes), I turned back to head for squirrel racket. Got one right away. After that, it was dead again. Spend the next three hours looking and listening. No calling going on. No squirrels going about their business. I caught glimpses of both ground and tree squirrels (about five total), but all of them were in a hurry to get somewhere and they all vanished as quickly as I saw them.

I've never seen squirrels act like this. I certainly have never heard the woods completely devoid of squirrel calling for so long. And that is what I get for thinking I'd clean up in just a couple of hours!

If I had not attempted to stalk the turkeys, I probably would have gotten 3-4. I have not hunted squirrel with a shotgun before (and don't really plan to), but they way they ones I did see were acting, that would have been my only chance. I literally would to have taken each shot almost instantly.

It was colder than it normally is around here. Does that tend to curtail squirrel activity?

based on my experience, extremely cold, falling snow, and wind will slow down squirrel activity considerable. i could be wrong, but thats just what i have observed.

Sounds like lots of squirrels there! Nice.
When its real cold i,ve seen them out later in the morning. Sleeping in i guess.
Your last hunt they seem to be responding to a predator. Yes you,but if you watch them when hawk(s) around they will sound a warning and lay low. When they move its fast,and open areas sprinted across. A brace of squirrels is a good hunt for me. Have had plenty of hunts with none.
They will get busy when weather is more to their liking.