Who squirrel hunts?

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We have a retiree here that would rather eat squirrel than beefsteak. Many times he has claimed he would have quit working here when Grandpa retired but where else would he find a job where the fringe benefits was hunting four of the best squirrel and deer woods in the state. Even though we provide him a half beef and two hogs a year, every morning in season he is walking towards one of the woodlots with either his ancient .22 rifle or the Benjamin pellet gun my brother and I bought him one year for Christmas. Every night I look over to his house to make sure his lights are on because I fully expect when that old man dies it will be in a woodlot with his sightless eyes in the trees and his rifle next to him where it dropped from his lifeless hands. Somehow I think the squirrels will mourn his passing as much as we will.
That's absolutely amazing!! I coon hunted a few times with my great uncle that was in his 70's and i tell ya what that man lived for that stuff. I was always amazed at him. We lost him a few years ago in which he sold his 4 prize walker hounds and all his gear cause he knew his time was limited.
 
I am 72 years old and killed my first squirrel when I was around 8. Been hunting them ever since. I've hunted many different species of wild critter and squirrels are still my favorite. I have permission to hunt in thousands of acres of privately owned woods and always look for more. What a great way to experience the outdoors. Deer season slowed me down a bit, but ends today so it's back to the squirrel woods tomorrow. Good eating too. The biggest problem I have with it presently is deciding which of my 5 squirrel rifles to take on any given day. Currently considering another rifle; this one is an Anschutz 1712.
 
Went squirrel hunting for the first time when I was about 5 years old with my dad. I can still see him putting some red 12 gauge shotgun shells in his pocket and telling me we were going squirrel hunting. He told my mom we would be back in a couple of hours and would be bringing some squirrels home for her to cook. I can still taste that first meal of fried squirrel and gravy.

My next birthday is a couple of months away and I will be 71 years old. I hope to get a few squirrel hunts in before the season closes on March the 15th. I can fry squirrel and make gravy, but it just ain't as good as my mom could make.

Those who don't hunt squirrels are missing out on one of life's great pleasures.
 
Heh, I am an enthusiastic enough squirrel hunter to actively pursue the Colorado squirrel trifecta (bag at least one of every squirrel game species in a season).

My best story on the subject is when my youngest daughter was in 1st or 2nd grade. My wife (who does not eat anything with fur/hair) was at a teacher parent conference in our very suburban area when the teacher asked in a slightly horrified voice, "Does your family eat squirrel?" My mortified wife explained that her husband is a hunter and yes, some of the family eats squirrel. Apparently my daughter had listed her favorite food as squirrel pot pie.
 
I have until the end of February to squirrel hunt and this season plan to revisit some areas in a big tract of wildlife management area. There are spots where I sit at the base of a large tree while deer hunting and wind up watching squirrels; some of which come quite close as long as I remain motionless. One nice thing about deer hunting is that you get to check out new squirrel hunting spots.
 
What's your guys game plan for winter time squirrel hunting? I thought about getting a chair, shooting sticks and sit on the hillside and pick them off.

What's your favorite ammo for them? I run CCI standard now.


The thing I like about squirrels, they're about the only animal in thick woods that one can still spot and stalk. You won't see the deer, have to wait 'em out. No box blinds for squirrel, just sit in the woods where you've seen 'em before and wait until you hear the tell tale noises of a moving squirrel or one of 'em barking or squalling. Then, you either wait until you can spot 'em where you sit or you get up and move slowly to the noise until you can pick out where they are. There's not as much meat on 'em as a mule deer in the mountains, but the spot and stalk technique is similar. :D It's great training for a kid IMHO.

As for ammo, whatever feeds and is accurate. Accuracy is the primary consideration. My favorite .22 is my 10/22 Ruger and the best loads in it shoot one hole at 25 yards. This is CCI standard velocity. No hollow points or hyper velocity are needed. Hitting a squirrel with that standard velocity load is similar to deer hunting with a 105 howitzer. :rofl:

Load testing with my 10/22, the upper left target is CCI Standard Velocity. The rest are various other loads.

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I get similar groups from Eley 10x, but it's quite pricey and really not any more accurate than the CCI. This stuff is Eley in the cheap. :D Heck, I can even plink with CCI. :D
 
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I haven't actually walked around squirrel hunting in about 10yrs and kinds of miss it. Anyone still squirrel hunt? I have a large state forest near me i used to go to but never really shot anything. Anyone have woodlots there aren't squirrel? I always thought it odd id never see any. Thinking about making a trip with some buddies next weekend but being this cold and snowy im wondering if its worth the trip?

I do it most every weekend. I just take the old 16 ga. And shoot whatever I can eat. Squirrel, rabbit or bird. Squirrels around here seem kind of odd and sometimes you won't see a single one. They are a little spooky too so sometimes you can't get close enough. When it's snowy I find rabbit hunting is the best as they're easier to see and for some reason they are less uppity. More meat too.
 
I haven’t hunted them in several years because I can’t cook them and I don’t know anybody around here who eats them to give them to. I haven’t had a decent squirrel since my Grandma died in 92.

^^^^ I made that statement in my office one day and people made fun of me for weeks. Apparent I worked with snobs.
 
I have found that squirrel like the fringe areas better than big tracts of woods. I deer hunt on private farm land where you will have small 4 and 5 acre patches of woods that were never cleared, and then big tracts of crop fields, and those little patches of woods are always full of squirrels. When I go out to the national or state forest properties, you see more squirrels around parking or camping areas than out in the middle of the woods. they're out there, they just aren't all piled up together.
I enjoy taking a .22 rifle and just walking quietly in the state forest. You can walk for miles and you might only see one or two squirrel, and it may just be a glimpse of them running away, but it makes for a nice day and occasionally I get one.
Here at home if I want to go out, I find a tree to sit against or a brush pile to get behind and just pick them off on the edge of the woods. Its higher success but not as fun.
 
I do it most every weekend. I just take the old 16 ga. And shoot whatever I can eat. Squirrel, rabbit or bird. Squirrels around here seem kind of odd and sometimes you won't see a single one. They are a little spooky too so sometimes you can't get close enough. When it's snowy I find rabbit hunting is the best as they're easier to see and for some reason they are less uppity. More meat too.
Id rather rabbit hunt but we have hawks, eagles, coyotes, coon and now bobcats really bad. Id bet there are at least 20 coyotes per square mile around me. Rabbit tracks in the snow are almost non existent.
 
2nd post on this delightful subject. In the winter, like now, I use my 17Mach2 or 17HMR for longer shots. I set up where I have a good view out to about 100 yards; sometimes on the edge of a harvested soy bean or corn field. I've killed 3 at one spot where 5 were grazing in a soybean field; all at 90-100 yds with my 17Mach2. My longest shot was 125 yds, but by far the majority of my shots are 50 yds + or - 10 yds. If soybean fields are not where I'm hunting I look for strips and smaller tracts with good nut trees (acorns, black walnuts, pecans and hickory nuts. Hedge rows with hedge balls can be good spots too, especially in the dead of winter when the ground is hard-frozen. Being old and shaky, I carry my folding chair out to my spot and use a shooting stick whenever possible. I rarely free-hand squirrels...too many misses or worse, a poorly placed shot that injures but doesn't kill.
 
Id rather rabbit hunt but we have hawks, eagles, coyotes, coon and now bobcats really bad. Id bet there are at least 20 coyotes per square mile around me. Rabbit tracks in the snow are almost non existent.

We used to have problems with coyotes until Dad made a peace treaty with them. The high point was if they stay out of rifle range nobody will shoot them. Our rabbit population is slowly growing but nowhere near what it should be. With our "wildlife management" programs we try to keep a balance between predator and prey that keeps every species within acceptable limits.
 
Phew sounds like some yote hunting is in order?!

We used to have problems with coyotes until Dad made a peace treaty with them. The high point was if they stay out of rifle range nobody will shoot them. Our rabbit population is slowly growing but nowhere near what it should be. With our "wildlife management" programs we try to keep a balance between predator and prey that keeps every species within acceptable limits.

We've tried for years to kill them and no luck. This past summer we were woodchuck hunting and had a small family of 4 come into the field and we shot 2 of them. I hear them nightly, find carcasses ripped apart, see tracks in the snow but can never get one to come to a caller.
 
Not often enough. Been walking the woods since I was 10 with a bb gun, then break open pellet rifles, then 22s. Rarely did I get anything, it was more about walking the woods and practicing my woodcraft skills. Most of it was on my neighbors property when I was a kid, without any formal permission. I didn't destroy anything and left it as I found it. Most times one or two of my labradors were with me. Man, those were the days!

Then I moved on to state lands after a few years hiatus (ya know, girls become attractive and all that). I now have 80 acres of hedge and cedar trees with a decent number of varmints. There's not much better than getting out into nature. A woods walk hunting squirrel is a great way to do it.

It was during one of these state land hunts that I happened upon a rare bird for this part of KS, a pileated woodpecker. Not hunting, but fishing one time I saw a pack of ten river otters. The curious things came within about 30 ft of us, just across the river on the opposite bank. They were chattering up a storm, no doubt trying to figure out what those two lights were across the river.

My go-to woods walking gun is the Steven's 22-410. A break over o/u in 22lr and .410. It hits what I aim at every time, and has a .410 shell for any birds or quick bunnies. Iron sights is the only way (some say I have pilot's eyes).

The marlin papoose is another favorite, due to its 3.25lb weight. I've also taken quite a few bushytails with my marlin 17vs topped with a small leupold scope.

PSA: in states where rabbits are legal quarry year round, beware of Rabbit Fever. I tend to only take bunnies after the first good frost or two, to weed out any sickly ones.
 
Sunday it’s going to be 40 degrees and dropping to cold and snow in the evening so here is hoping they are active. I just mounted my 3-12-40 Ao scope on the new rifle so hoping
 
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