Nobody squirrel hunts anymore I guess
 

Well this fall its on!!! I've bought 2 new squirrel rifles in the last couple month... A CZ 452 American LH that Nate from SHJ highly recommended and that thing shoots just like he promised... The next addition was the Browning T-Bolt... Still waiting on that too arrive... Anyhow squirrels are in trouble come sept

I still do and got out a couple of times this past season. Let us know how you do with the new squirrel guns.

My squirrel hunting usually takes a back seat to fall deer or turkey. I wait for the first or second frost to kill the bots/wolves. By then, turkey is in and deer ML soon follows. Deer ends in early Jan., here, so that leaves time for squirrel until the end of Feb. when the season closes. Wish they were closer to home. In that regard, I will change things up this year. I do enjoy hunting them, watching them and savoring them as part of the menu.

My boy loves to go squirrel hunting in small game season down here with me and I do a lot of late season deer scouting while we are cruising looking for squirrels.

If I hunt for pleasure, I squirrel hunt, lets face it deer hunting is work, turkey hunting is nerve wracking and physically demanding. squirrel hunting is layed back and fun, plus squirrel is the best eating from the woods there is. my current squirrel rifles are a lh savage mark 2 in 17 HM2, or my old faithful ruger 10/22 built my Jim Clark back in the early 90's. I love squirrel hunting, only thing better is eating them.
RR

You sure got that right. :happy0001:

X3 I love squirrel hunting.

It makes me feel 14 years old all over again.
It's the only time I am happy, is Hunting Squirrels
and Fishing.
I will be back out October 12th to February 29.
Eating them is a bonus.

My season starts on the 15th of may, ill hunt em till feb 28.

My favorite animal to hunt

I love to squirrel hunt. In recent years it has taken a back seat to deer though. I basically use venison for our meat all year. So I typically try to get at least three deer. Until I have enough meat for the year most of my free hunting time is spent chasing deer. I always try to get out a few times every year though. Not near as much as I used to however. Hopefully that will change here in a few years as the kids get a little older.
-Jake

I didn't get out last year like I wanted to partly due to deer hunting from mid Nov to the first of the year daily.
I did buy a new squirrel rifle Ruger 77-22 Hornet last year and did some target testing and I think it is going to do great on them tasty squirrels.


:D Al

This past season we spent time trying to get ingredients for a new stew we have been wanting to try. I headed out squirrel hunting and picked up 4 decent sized squirrels and my father headed down the road for rabbit. No rabbit, so cooked up the squirrels on the BBQ. Main issue I have here is I am limited to using a shotgun. While I can kill a good many squirrels with one I have gotten picky as you then have to pick out the pellets, think I may need to run the squirrels through an MRI machine or something first, might be easiest way.

If I never hunted another critter except squirrels for the rest of my life I would be happy. Most of my deer hunts turn into squirrel hunts after an hour or so If I dont see anything.

I was all hemmed up during deer season but like RR said It becomes more like a job and I'm tired of workin lol... So I'll kill my deer during gun season and late oct early November bow but everything else will be squirrel snipin

Love hunting and eating squirrels. The only problem is I hate cleaning them so I don't get out near as often as I'd like too. Now give me a nice fat cottontail to clean and I'm all over it lol

Kelly I dont know how you skin yours but here is a good example I found on YouTube, I'm sure most folks have seen this method before. My step dad showed me how to do this when I was about nine years old, it takes a little practice but once you get it down you can clean one in under a minute.

For years I hadn't hunted Squirrels..... got an older little CZ .22LR from a Friend and also bought a nice new Remington model 870 .20 Gauge Pump Shotgun....been putting down the little Tree Rat's since last year....our Season starts up again the end of May and its back on!

My Buddy has a very old Squirrel Call,sounds Awesome and works great at calling in the Squirrels,I bought a newer Squirrel Call that's not too bad but just doesn't sound as realistic as His.Anyone else use Squirrel Calls and which ones have worked the best for You?

I use distress whistles, never had a bit of luck with the bellows style barking calls but the distress whistle drives'em crazy.

This more than anything discourages me from going squirrel hunting as much as I'd like. While legal, I don't really feel comfortable hunting the with a rifle around here. Flat as a pancake and relatively densely populated.

SoloCamper.....maybe a smaller 410 Caliber Shotgun or even a nice Air Gun for quieter Hunting and it won't shoot as far so Your safe around small tracts of woods that are close to Houses!

One quarter with good sharp edge and a shot gun hull 12 or 20ga. Run the base of the hull around the quarters edge to make the sound. Can also tap two hulls together to make a sound.


I much prefer to go into the woods and find a nice comfy place to sit. Stay still for a bit and the squirrels will go back to normal doings. Shot one with the 22lr and they will stop doing for a short time as long as you stay still. Maybe have to wait a little longer when you use a 22 mag and when I touch off the hornet I know I will be waiting at least 10 minutes for them to go back to doing.


:D Al

Alley, thats pretty much how I do it, sit still let them get out and moving and take a shot. I will let them get back to normal after the shot unless like this past season they are sitting still on the branch and within range. Took four in less then 2 minutes like this as they didn't get spooked but just froze up and where each in different trees around me.

I hunt them every now and then, but normally I'll shoot one with the bow if provoked for long enough. This one deserved it as he sat 10 yards away in a tree at eye level and chirped at me for over a half hour. I told him ahead of time how this was going to end, and decided to have a little fun filming it.

I probably love squirrel hunting more than deer but it's a close call. Aside from a pheasant preserve hunt squirrels are my go to introductory hunt for people that want to try the sport. I didn't get into hunting till I was 22 & learning the patience to sit & wait for hours deer hunting took some commitment, still hunting squirrels was a great way to break the season up and keep the new hunters from getting bored. Love subbing in a squirrel for my hasenpfeffer.

I love hunting squirrels. Our season opens the last Saturday in August, but I like to wait until about October when the leaves and undergrowth aren't as thick, and it's cooler out. My preferred weapon is a Ruger Mark II 22 pistol with a Leupold 4x scope.

Love hunting them when I can find land here in NE Illinois. getting harder and harder.

I'd rather squirrel hunt (w/22 rifle) than deer hunt. I'm the only guy on my hunting lease that squirrel hunts. That's a good thing.

I started out small game hunting at age 14 back in 1965, rabbits then squirrel. I will squirrel hunt when I can no longer deer hunt as long as I can still get out after them.

I'll be out starting next week. I'm not doing much archery hunting this year and plan to spend that time chasing squirrel and rabbit.
-Jake

Squirrel are protected here, started out only Grey squirrel were protected, now the Red squirrel only have a two month season Jan/Feb.

We call Grey Squirrel, suicide squirrels, they get run over by cars and trucks at an alarming rate. Even hedge Hogs have learned to run away from headlights in the last hundred years or so, Deer and Grey Squirrel not so much.

We have Nutria coming out of our ears. They have a six month season. I plan on thinning out the population after the first frost and their fur gets good.

I tend to small game hunt whatever seems to be prolific and has the longest season. I enjoy small game hunting, a lot more action, a lot less sitting and waiting.

Fox is my favorite, seven month season here now, was twelve months for fifteen years. Prime Fox is for five months. I have a buddy who cures the fur (also a Fox hunter) and another who is a hobby furrier, a bed spread sells for around 6 grand.