[W Turner]

Despite growing up in the south, I have never been a hunter. My grandfather hunted when he was much younger, but had pretty much quit by the time I was old enough to go. Now I have a son of my own and want to get started hunting so that I can teach him, but unfortunately I don't really know or work with anyone that hunts or that is willing to teach me.

I have started reading more on deer hunting because that seems to be the most popular around here and I am pretty lucky in that there are three state owned wildlife management areas that I can hunt in for free. Two are small game only and one also allows deer hunting. Everything I have read suggests hunting small game first to build a good foundation before hunting deer. This makes sense to me, but I just need some guidance.

I am probably best equipped for squirrel hunting over rabbit as I don't have a true hunting shotgun. The only one have is a HD type. I have used my Ruger 10-22 in rapidfire rimfire competition, know my capabilities with it and have already found its ammo preference so it is the best choice for me.

Does it make sense to start with squirrels/rabbits before going after deer?

Any tips for squirrel hunting?

Thanks,
W

[WhiteKnight]

Walk as quietly though the woods as possible and listen for noise and watch for movement. When you see/hear something slowly move into position and make as little noise as possible. Steady yourself and shoot your squirrel.

[fisherman66]

Watch your backdrop. Good luck. It will make great memories. Bring a camera.

[Nematocyst]

i grew up in western TN hunting squirrels.

well, actually, i watched them for several years before i hunted. but once i got guns (Rem 16 ga., then a .22), i used what i'd had learned by watching to kill some for stew. keyword: watch their behavior. even when you're not hunting, watch their behavior. Your son has more time for this than you do, probably.

here's the way i did it. ain't no better nor worse than any other technique, but it just worked for me. (and, given that civilization as we know it seems to be deteriorating into anarchy (http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=114871), will probably use it again.)

my strategy was based in biology of the animal.

1) they eat nuts. look for nut trees where they will be finding food. walnut, pecan & hickory are their favorites in the east (unfortunately, also the favorites of furniture lovers, so there's far fewer of those trees now). they don't like acorns (oaks) as much; acorns are bitter (which would you prefer?), but will eat them if they must. in the west, the story is more complex, but since you're in Alabama, that'll do. oh, yeah, this means you'll need to learn to identify trees, which most suburban (let alone urban) dwellers have lost the ability to do.

2) the way to find a feeding tree: walk around your 'hunting ground'. look for fallen nuts that have been 'opened'. that means, the nut was harvested by said squirrel before it was really mature, but the outer 'green' husk of the nut was gnawed to expose the nut's 'meat' inside. you'll see their teeth marks on the nuts. look for fresh chips under the trees (tiny pieces of the husk) that have been removed from the husks. (of course, this is easier if you can devote time at least every few days to scouting your hunting ground. fresh marks means a given tree is ripe, and ready for hunting). look also for partially eaten nuts, since squirrels can be wasteful critters (like humans), not finishing the extraction of the food inside before going for another fresh nut. (sort of like partially finished plates of food i see all the time in Denny's or Red Lobster. it only happens in 'good times', though)

3) also identify watering holes. like any animal, squirrels need water. the nuts don't have that much. nut trees near streams or pools of water will be favorite trees, and due to competition for them, the biggest animals will be there.

4) best times of day to hunt: A) early morning (aren't YOU hungry when you wake up because some screaming jay won't shut the f' up?); B) late afternoon, after the heat of the day, the light of the day (when the hawks are flying on the updrafts) and before the night (when the owls are flying and can pick you off a limb because you bark).

5) walk very quietly to your nut grove at dawn or by late afternoon. pick a spot from which you can watch activity. sit quietly. watch the tree limbs. the key word is 'watch'. experienced squirrels produce exactly 0 dB of sound when they move, and they often move high in the canopy. (which makes your job with a HD shotgun even more challenging. consider adding a 26" barrel, mod choke if you can. .22 will work, but you'd better be able to shoot very well with those sights, or buy a scope.) As you are sitting and watching in the hopefully quiet woods, far off the highway, notice that you are enjoying life far, far more than if you were sitting in gridlocked traffic on I-X during your daily commute (an aging and stupid concept).

6) when you spot movement in the canopy: A) first make sure it's a squirrel, not a bird. (Hint: squirrels do not fly.) B) if squirrel, and if you're out of range, move ever so slowly and quietly to get as close as you can, but mind the angle. firing a shotgun straight up is not fun (read, it hurts).

7) if you are lucky enough to hit the squirrel, you may still have to find it. sometimes, they don't fall straight down. they get hung up in limbs. i've had to climb up 20' to get them. alternatively, throwing rocks or sticks up to where they're hung up can bring them down.

8) once you've got some (preferably two), field dress them (remove internal organs, which means carry a sharp preferably fixed blade knife; livers are worth keeping if you like the taste; can add a hearty taste to a stew. don't waste the brains either; they are rich and delicious. cook with eggs & chiles. warning: brains are high in cholesterol). once home, skin immediately and parboil and/or put in fridge.

9) i highly recommend squirrel stew of some kind. squirrels aren't cows, deer or elk. there's not a lot of meat there. there are many recipes for stew. Here's one. (http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zsquir3.html) If you like less hassle, just use garlic, onion, potato, tomato, green beans, corn & some mild greens along with some herbs & spices. I'd use basil, a tiny bit of oregano, salt, pepper.

10) to answer your other question about squirrel before deer, my suggestion is yes. deer are way more wary than squirrel, but contain probably 50X as much meat (not to mention more useful skin for making clothing should civilization as you've know it collapse). if you can't successfully kill squirrel, assuming there are some in the 'hood, it's unlikely you'll bag a deer either.

hope this helps. good luck.

NemA~

[Oldnamvet]

Something my dad taught me so many year ago hunting squirrels is to always take a long length of string with you. He demonstrated once while we were sitting and a squirrel spotted us. Tying the string to a bush, we went to the other side of the tree and sat very still for several minutes. I got ready and he started tugging on the bush. The squirrel suddenly came around to our side of the tree and my .410 brought him down. When you hunt with someone else they can always circle the tree while you sit still (squirrels can't count :D ). Again, the squirrel will keep the tree between it and the hunter.
I still remember the best place to hunt on my Uncle's farm. A 50 yard wide strip of hickory trees between a small river and a corn field. It seems like it always had 5 or 6 there every morning.

[cracked butt]

Find a grove of nut bearing trees. If none are present, look for squirrel nests, which look like a football sized mass of leaves and sticks high up in a tree. Trees at edges of cornfields will produce squirrels as well.

Walk in as quietly as possible- not easy to do with a good layer of leaves on the ground, the quieter you walk the sooner you will see tree rats.


Sit down at the edge of the grove on the ground with your back against a tree- it will help to break up you outline. Sit very very still. What invariably happens is that when a human walks through the woods, he makes alot of noise and the animals take notice. When you sit down, it will probably be very quiet in the woods.

Wait. If you sit really quiet and still for 20 minutes, the woods will come alive again and the squirrels will lose their caution. Look and listen. Look for twitching motions. A squirrel moving on a leaf covered ground will make a lot of noise.

Shoot for the head, more specifically aim for their eye or a little behind it. Have your rifle sighted in for 20-25 yards. If you hit the squirrel and it doesn't come out of the tree, just sit and wait a minute. The death twitches from a head shot are really something to see and will almost always cause them to fall or jump out of the tree involuntarily, no matter how hard they try to cling to or run up a tree. I favor head shots for this reason, squirrels are tough critters and can crawl in holes, crotches of trees, or nests if they are fatally wounded but not hit in the head.


When you shoot one, sit back down, and wait again. Where there's one squirrel, there are bound to be more.

Squirrel hunting isn't really much different than deer hunting. You need to recognize the animal's habitat, move quietly, sit still, and be patient. Squirrel hunting is a lot easier than deer hunting as you don't have to worry about wind direction, hunting pressure, and deer tend to be a lot smarter than squirrels, and less abundant.

[Nematocyst]

Shoot for the head, more specifically aim for their eye or a little behind it. Have your rifle sighted in for 20-25 yards. If you hit the squirrel and it doesn't come out of the tree, just sit and wait a minute. The death twitches from a head shot are really something to see and will almost always cause them to fall or jump out of the tree involuntarily, no matter how hard they try to cling to or run up a tree. I favor head shots for this reason, squirrels are tough critters and can crawl in holes, crotches of trees, or nests if they are fatally wounded but not hit in the head. Hey, CB, you must be a way better shot than me. I was usually doing well to hit the squirrel at all with my scoped .22, let alone a headshot. :D

That was especially true for early fall when there were lots of leaves on the trees. I was doing well to see the squirrel, let alone it's head. It got better of course as winter came on.

Mind you, I'm NOT criticizing your suggestion, which is a good one, just complimenting your shooting. (Of course, the last time I hunted squirrels, I was teen, and may not have done the best job zeroing my scope. Maybe I'd do better these days, 'cept now the problem is eye sight that's not as good as then...<sigh>.

And, another good reason for a head shot, especially with a rifle, is that it destroys less meat (which there isn't much of on those little guys anyway). Of course, my aunts would have objected, because they liked the brains so much (fried up with eggs).

N~

[Oldnamvet]

I seem to remember reading something a few years back about some kind of disease you could get from eating squirrel brains. Anyone else remember that? Was it a hoax or a genuine problem?

[Nematocyst]

Thanks for the heads up on that, Oldnamvet.

I just googled it. There are a couple of newspaper reports on speculations of a small number of cases dated 1997, but I'm not finding much since then.

Below is the most technical doc I can find about it, , available here (www.uga.edu/scwds/topic_index/1997/RECENT~1.pdf). The last sentence is the most relevant here.

It's likely that if this was more serious, there'd be more hits on it on Google, but caution could be advisable.
_____________

Recent Speculation on Link Between Squirrels and Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease
SCWDS Briefs, October 1997,

A British medical journal (The Lancet, 350:642) recently published a letter from a Kentucky neurologist stating that he had observed a possible association between consumption of squirrel brains and a human neurological condition known as Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD). CJD is one of the spongiform encephalopathies of humans and is in the same category of diseases as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease of elk and deer. The publication and subsequent news wire stories resulted in numerous telephone calls to the wildlife resource agencies of Kentucky and other states regarding risk to squirrel hunters.
Spongiform encephalopathy never has been described in squirrels nor in any wild animals that commonly consume squirrels. At present, there has been no causal relationship demonstrated between squirrel brain consumption and CJD. The Kentucky researcher hastened to admit his own skepticism at the observed association and acknowledged that much more information must be gathered before such an association could be confirmed. Arrangements are being made to obtain additional information from prospective studies of CJD patients and by testing squirrel brains for the prion agent linked to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. In the meantime, one physician participating in the
investigation has advised that consumption of squirrel meat should involve no risk but that people should reconsider eating squirrel brains until additional information is available.

[cracked butt]

N-870- I got a lot of practice shooting rimfires as a kid. My dad used to drop me off at the range with a bolt action .22 and 2 bricks of ammo (3 bricks if a friend came along) on saturday mornings and pick me up 3 or 4 hours later. I also used to shoot in a metallic silhouette league as a kid in the summer and a paper silhouette league indoors in the winter.

I couldn't find a picture of the exact target, but this one is pretty close. The animals are were roughly a little bigger than a quarter, and you had 2 minutes to shoot all 20 targets standing at 50 feet. I used a remington 581 with a leupold 2-7x vari-xII scope, the same rig I used for squirrels.
http://www.straightshooters.com/target/t4154bksilhouette.html

I never really thought of a head shot on a squirrel to be all that difficult. ;)

[cracked butt]

I never really even considered eating squirrel brain or the brains of anything, must be a southern thing. :)

[Nematocyst]

I never really thought of a head shot on a squirrel to be all that difficult. ;) LOL. Looking at those sil targets, i can understand why.

I never really even considered eating squirrel brain or the brains of anything, must be a southern thing. :) <Even bigger laugh>

Yeah, i suspect you're right about that.

We used to eat chitlins, too. Fried chitlins (made 'em crispy).

Still, we also did fried catfish, fried chicken, salt cured ham with red-eye gravy & biscuits, and - in Me'omphis - the best pork BBQ on the planet. So ya gotta cut us a little slack. ;)

[birddog]

I second the headshot, and most of the techniques mentioned above. Squirrel hunting lends itself well to both waiting and still hunting. On a calm morning, moving slowly through a hardwood stand, you can often hear squirrels rattling the leaves above you, giving you the opportunity to approach slowly. Also, the 15-20 minute wait is about perfect for woodland activity to resume. I prefer a combination of both, walking from stand to stand, pausing here and there. I have probably shot more squirrels while walking than sitting though, since that's the method I prefer.

Also, stick with the .22. I've killed many squirrels with .410 and .20 gauge shotguns, and recommend them to beginning hunters, especially kids (where high success rate is important), but the .22 (or .22 mag which I use) is perfectly suited to knocking squirrels out of the treetops and/or on the ground. The rimfires make a more definitive kill, especially when the shot is in the head or the front quarter of the squirrel. I've rarely had a .22 shot squirrel hit the ground alive, while shotguns don't seem to take the wind out of them as quickly. Probably the IDEAL gun is the Savage "camp gun" which is a .22 over 20 gauge shotgun. You miss the first "sitting" shot, and you have the shotgun to follow up on the running squirrel.

[45crittergitter]

Best advice I can add at the moment is that in this area of the country, if your season opens ~ October like ours, find a hickory tree (whose leaves begin to turn yellow before the oaks). That's where the early season squirrels will likely be.

[Tylden]

Okay....you want a very easy way that will guarantee you see more squirrels than you can shake a stick at ? It works for me everytime without fail.....very simple....go DEER hunting ! Those dag gone squirrels will surround you and make more racket than you can imagine.....of course, there you sit with a nothing but a deer rifle, no deer for miles, and the woods full of squirrels fussing and laughing at you :cuss:

[45crittergitter]

I had a buddy who squirrel hunted with a scoped rifle while wearing blaze orange for that very reason, Tylden. :D

[cracked butt]

t works for me everytime without fail.....very simple....go DEER hunting !

There's a reason why I carry an arrow with a judo point while bowhunting :D

[Vern Humphrey]

the .22 (or .22 mag which I use) is perfectly suited to knocking squirrels out of the treetops and/or on the ground.

I use a .22 Mag (Ruger M77/22 in the "all weather" version, with a Burris 3X9 mini-scope) late in the season when the leaves are off. I would advise solid bullets -- .22 Mag hollowpoints do a lot of damage to the carcass.

[Horsesense]

Pretty good advice all around. I would add that squirrels also cut in pine trees, early in the season and, the best I can remember, your state has lots of pine trees.

My dad died a few years ago and I cant tell you haw many times I have relived the times we spent in the woods or target shooting off the porch; its always bitter sweet remembering the time spent together because there were relatively so few.

I suggest that you tell your boy that you don’t know much about hunting but that the two of you will learn together, and that someday he can teach his son. He will learn more than the art of squirrel hunting, he will learn how to be a man.

PS: I'm not insinuating that you have not told your son that you don’t know much about hunting, I'm just pointing out that this is a good opportunity to demonstrate how a real man faces new challenges and also how much a son appreciate the time with his dad in the years to come.

[WayneConrad]

In the Northwest, where conifers are the norm, the little critters love to eat the seeds out of pine cones. It's amazing to see them spin a cone around in their paws like an ear of corn, with pine cone parts falling like rain. One looks for pine cone bracts around the base of pine trees.

[killzone]

that's how I started too with small game. you just gotta have it in you, I don't anymore - I just did not enjoy killing em'. If you dont like the idea , then there is a 'stop' there. If the squirrel does not water your mouth than elk for sure will, I think thats how it goes...

[gm]

get up before dawn anbd be at your best spot just as the sun comes up,listen for the nut shells hitting the ground or the leaves shaking high up in a tree.

I always took a small squeeky toy with me and it worked better than a squirrel call, a few gentle taps is all it takes to get their attention and get them to start "scolding" at you..you can rub 2 quarters together and if youre doing it right, it sounds like a scolding"chir" that squirrels bark out at other males in their terratory during the season.The smaller red squirrels will chase a large fox squirrel and attack them.the less red squirrels are, the better.


the larger fox squirrels generally feed up high in the tree tops till about 11 am then go back to their nest till late in the evenings.greys follow the same pattern.red squirrels are out usually all day.


you can sometimes tell if an area is being used by the tree bark-there will be small pieces of bark missing up in the tree where they are using it and their nails are scratching the bark up.

heres an ol trick, get some cheap peanut butter and spread it on the side of the tree.they will come down and just hang there eating it for hours.


I just might get my squirrel gun out and go myself, its been way too long.

[robert garner]

GM,So Y'all got a variety o' squirrels!? All we git is greys,the small ones not like those out west that are three times bigger. Some Fox Squirrels but so few have passed on both chances I was presented with ; hoping for more later?
You give good advice;this thread makes me glad season is approachin and will as I am urging W Turner to do, take that boy out and hunt! Dragons live forever,not so little boys. And head shots are the norm here.

[kserg]

And dont forget to use a line line "be vavvy vavvy quite, i hunting wabbits".... aaaaahaaaaahaaaahaaaghaghaghagha

[gm]

rob..we have several varieties and species of squirrels here.greys,fox,red and now black.the black squirrels are more prevelant up north but have come down to these parts.they are about the same size as a grey and look like little skunks running about.

Ill never forget my first squirrel hunt,was about 12 years old and had a high power pellet rifle..what I had mistaken for squirrels was in fact chipmonks,in my youth and not knowing any better,I filled up my limit and thought geesh..theres barely enough meat here to feed a starving person..why only 4?it was later on that I saw a bigger squirrel and after some badgering from my neighbor and endless laughter from cousins..I learned the difference.

I hadnt been out hunting squirrels in probably 15 years or so and this thread has gotten the best of my curiousity so out Im going.Ive got an old marlin 39 that always hit the mark and its been collecting dust,my wife doesnt care for eating squirrel meat and scolded me for wanting to go out and shoot the boogers for dinner.maybe Ill have to make it look like fried chicken.

[Nematocyst]

LOL.

Oh, great story about the chipmonks, GM. Thanks for sharing.

As for making the squirrels look like fried chicken, you can probably do that, but the taste will give them away. One reason that I liked to eat squirrels so much as a kid (which i haven't done in literally decades) is precisely that they didn't "taste like chicken". Such a distinctive flavor, those nut-fed little guys.

[W Turner]

I appreciate all the advice here. Most of what I'm reading sounds like good advice. The area(s) I will be hunting in have hardwoods that border on creeks and on corn fields that will be cut very soon in preperation for dove season. Sounds like I should be in good shape.

Head shots with my .22 are what I am striving for. I routinely practice shooting at 12ga. hulls at 25 yards offhand. Pretty consistent at hitting those with good ammo. For some reason my rifle (ruger 10/22 with a Tasco 3-9x42 scope) likes the Remington 22T target ammo from Wal-Mart.

My son is only 14 mos. old, but I want to be a seasoned hunter when he starts so that I can pass what I have accumulated down to him. Don't want him growing up thinking the ONLY way to pass a cool saturday morning is watching cartoons. The afternoons are of course set aside for Alabama football......such as it is right now....LOL.

Questions....

When I kill a squirrel, what is the most efficient way to field dress one?

Best way to clean/prepare for cooking?

Thanks again,

W

[Vern Humphrey]

When I kill a squirrel, what is the most efficient way to field dress one?

Best way to clean/prepare for cooking?


I carry a claymore bandolier (like a woman's shoulder bag, but more masculine) with a tobacco pouch of ammo, a small pair of side cutter pliers, some latex gloves, some handiwipes, and some kraft paper sandwich bags. Also have a sharp knife. (I make my own squirrel knives, but relatives and friends get them off me so when squirrel season comes, I'm usually carrying a stockman's 3-bladed pocket knife.)

To field dress a squirrel, use your latex gloves. Pinch up the skin at the small of the back and made a cut at right angles to the spine. Insert your fingers in the cut and pull the skin away from the hind legs. You're taking the squirrel's pants off.

When you expose the root of the tail, cut through it with your knife. Then stand on the tail, hook your fingers around the thighs and pull up. Use the side cutters to cut through the ankles.

Now continue pulling up, taking off the sweater. When you have the neck and front ankles exposed, use knife and side cutters to remove head and feet.

Cut the belly from pelvis to throat, and empty out the innards. Split the pelvis to get the rectum. Put the squirrel in a kraft bag and continue hunting. Loose hair will adhere to the meat. Don't worry about it at this time.

Once home, soak the carcasses in a little salt water and scrape with a table knife to get all the loose hair off. If the receipe calls for cutting up the carcass, cut off front and rear legs and divide the body in two by cutting the spine. If you want to bone the meat, parboil it first.

[Nematocyst]

Very nice description, Vern. Clear as a bell. I haven't field dressed a squirrel in decades, but your directions are crystal clear. You should write manuals. :)

N~

[Vern Humphrey]

You should write manuals.

I made enough money to build a nice house and to retire doing exactly that (albeit on military and similar subjects.) :)

[W Turner]

Thanks Vern. Clear, concise common-sense directions on the first response?


Only on The High Road.



W

[svtruth]

When shooting at a squirrel in a tree w a .22, isn't there a chance of missing and sending a round off into teh unknown?

[lwsimon]

Well, yes. Beware your backstop! I generally make a point to try to shoot when there is a tree behidn the squirrel. If you're aiming for headshots, surely you can hit the stinkin' tree! :)

[dogngun]

What a great thread ! Squirrels are my favorites to hunt, and the time is coming soon. I would anly add that the dreaded Walmart has life size squirrel targets that I find useful for a pre season practice session. (They have an orange dot in the center of the body, wheras most squirrels do not.)

Also, a word on scopes. When I could hunt with a .22 rifle, I used a Tasco 4x deer scope. It's less complicated than an adjustable power scope ( I found they were always set on the wrong setting anyway) and provides a large field of view and lots of light for little money or weight.

I'm learning this season to hunt squirrels with a handgun (K-22) so it will become a real challenge all over again.

Good luck and enjoy your time in the woods. Each day hunting is a valuable treasure.

Mark

[Bill2k1]

My squirrel hunting goes like this, get out in the woods at noon. Walk to hardwood area, sit down against tree, fall asleep, wake up and shoot squirrels, walk around a while, go home.

[sturmruger]

I was just out this weekend. I like to find a deer trail and just creep along as quiet as possible. I can usually get close enough to take a head shot creeping along. I have also had good luck just sitting under a tree and waiting. I like to find land that has lots of good squirrel food and then hang around that area. I always thought squirrels liked acorns I am sure they like walnuts better but they eat a lot of acorns in our area.

I do eat Squirrel from time to time, but usually bring them home for a treat for my dog, or the neighbors dog. My wife won't eat them and I hate to make a big stew that only I will eat, plus my dog likes Squirrels more then steak.

[countertop]

If you pick up the latest issue of Virginia Hunting and Fishing there is a good article on tree rat hunting and basic techniques to get started. Also explores the pluses and negatives of .22s vs shotguns.

I presume the general content is the same in each state - and only the local info is changed. THe publisher is out of Alabama and I know they also put out a Georgia Hunting and Fishing mag, so check it out.

[WayneConrad]

Vern, Just last week I ordered books on dressing and butchering small game. Now that I've read your squirrel technique, I think I wasted my money.

Can I assume that the same technique will work for cottontail?

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Y'all are shootin Squirls with rimfire's? Out west we shoot the little munks and other varmints with our magnum hand guns! Oh, hey Toby, they eat these things. We oughta back off on the fire power I guess.

FYI, one little varmint we both squared off on, Toby with 9mm, me with 44mag, the little rodent was on the side of the tree... We both squeazed the triggers sim-ul-tain-ious-ly...

We found a foot.

-Steve

So, to start with the original post to this thread, Yes, start with small game then move on to Deer. If you can't stomach killing, (which isn't for everyone), then no need to test yourself on a deer. You and your son will respect yourselves more in the long run. All the little hints provided for Squirel hunting are the basics for deer hunting too. Safety, Quietness, Equipment, Knowledge of game, Knowledge of habbitat. Educate yourselft and you'll become another safe, successful hunter in the woods. -We need more of them. All too often I see those that aren't quite ready to be there. This year will be the first season I take my son deer hunting too. As a father passing down what I learned from my dad I feel the completion of the cycle with hopes of many successes to come. Those successes and learnings are just the beginning of he passing on the same to his offspring. And the cycle continues.

-Steve

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern, Just last week I ordered books on dressing and butchering small game. Now that I've read your squirrel technique, I think I wasted my money.

Can I assume that the same technique will work for cottontail?

Except they don't have a tail to stand on. I just use muscle to pull the hide off a cottontail.

[axmurderer]

Be careful. If you're like me, you'll find squirrel hunting more enjoyable than deer hunting. I prefer it for several reasons:
1) I'm damned good at it. I started squirrel hunting with my dad when I was just old enough to handle a shotgun safely. I've been hundreds of times since. I know all their habits and food sources well. I never come back empty-handed even in strange woods, and usually get near the limit.
2) They are way easier to clean. I can clean my limit of squirrels in under an hour and be waiting for the wife to start cooking.
3) There are few squirrel hunters anymore. I like that I can squirrel hunt before deer season opens and you don't have the woods full of 4-wheelers and tree stands. I rarely see anyone else in the woods during opening season.
4) They are better "eatin" than deer. I would rather have squirrel for dinner than deer anyday. The meat just tastes better to me. And that is why I hunt them... to eat... not to mount on a wall.
5) You don't need a 4-wheeler to haul 'em out, or squirrel-pee to fool 'em. Any cheapo shotgun or .22 will do to kill them.
6) It is great fun and not as easy as you may think. I've taken folks squirrel hunting who thought that it was gonna be "easy". Boy were they surprised. Squirrels are small, alert, and fast. They are not an easy target by any means. (unless you are hunting in a public park where they are used to humans)

Good luck.

[Vern Humphrey]

Squirrel hunting offers more hunting -- seasons are long, bag limits are high, and you hunt them. I've stalked a dozen squirrels in one day's hunting -- and that's more deer than I'd actually stalk in a dozen years.