How Do You Hunt Squirrels?

[Len Backus]

I am watching the weather, planning to go out later this week. Meanwhile...how about a discussion?

1. What time of the day works best for you?
   
2. Do you sit or do you walk?
   
3. What shooting position is most common for you?
   
4. Do you ever use a call?
   
5. How much difference does weather make?
   
6. If you see 5 squirrels on an outing, how many come home with you?
   
7. Does your squirrel gun look as cool as mine? gun)

 

[rtv900]

I have only been Squirrel hunting 5 times. It is something I should do more often but have not for one reason or another. I walked every time. I have used a .22 rifle four times and once used a .22 pistol. I have never called. Might be fun though. Everytime I went it was cool. Not cold but cool. If I see five squirrels I would say five would come home. I have not found them hard to shoot but at times hard to find. Now you have me thinking that I should get off my rear and go hunting.

My squirrel gun sadly does not look as cool as yours.

 

[Buffalobob]

I have to drive a long ways to squirrel hunt so I leave early and hunt from dawn until I get tired. I usually will hunt resident geese the same morning so I may start out with a 22 and go back to the truck and get the 12 guage if the geese are in the river. I do not normally hunt them until late winter.

I will usually walk a long and watch for them on the ground. If I get to a den tree that I know is active I will sit and wait for about 20-30 minutes and then move on.

I nearly always shoot using a tree as a side rest.

The main thing about the weather is that the squirrels will hole up on the very cold days for two to three days before coming back out.

If I see five squirrels I might get three, although I have seen five often enough and gotten none of them. Seldom will I get all of them. Mostly, if they get in a hole I will just move and not try to wait them out. Squirrels only get away because they outrun me on the ground or they get to a hole.


I use a stock 10-22 with only a few mods such as a magazine release and some smoothing on the sears, wierd bedding of the action and grinding off the front sight. It has a Burris 3X9 scope and a stock pad to get a better cheekweld. I have heard lots of people brag about how their bone stock 10-22 shoots great one hole groups but that is not my gun.

[/IMG]

 

[subway5752]

You have all missed the easiest way to hunt squirrels. I learned this when I was a kid. Climb up a tree and act like a nut.

 

[devildoc]

For the most part I walk, but I do it slowly and stop often to look around. I do call at times whether it be just squeeking with no call or using a chuckar call for pine squirrels. If I see one and he jumps in a hole or something I sit down and wait for a good 10 minutes. At least half the time he'll get curious and see if you're still around in that amount of time. While I'm walkin' I look around for active tree's (one with a lot of fresh pieces of pine cones or nuts under it) and fresh stashes, and sit those for a while if I find em.

 

[BountyHunter]

Normally early morning, with 22 LR rifle or pistol and 17 Mach 2.

Use a squirrel call and squirrrel whistle.

Normally start out move 50-75 yds and sit for 15 minutes. Small low barks but in open woods (pecan orchards are favorite will use the whistle)

If you get one up a tree and not denned up, and have a second person one guy can shake a tree on the other side and make him run around the other side to the shooter.

BH

 

[wildgameassassin]

With Jazzy, my Kemmer Cur, and as many 2 3/4 number 6's I and my buddies can tote.

 

[Len Backus]

How much of a factor is scent and wind direction in your experience?

 

[wildgameassassin]

none, wind speed can be a factor

 

[joekidd]

I like to find a good stand of oaks and sit first thing in the morning until about 10 am, then slowly walking to catch squirrels cutting the acorns down and catch them by suprise. I never take anything but a head shot so I don't ruin any of the meat. I shoot a marlin 880sq rifle w/ rifle basiic trigger and a 4-12x 40 leupold scope and the very important 4" sunshade. I very seldom come back with less than my limit. I prefer to take offhand shots for biggame practice, but using a tree for support is usually the norm. It is one of my favorite kinds of hunting. taking a squirrel at 70 yards with a 22rf is like taking a 400 yard shot at a deer!

 

[Niles Coyote]

I am watching the weather, planning to go out later this week. Meanwhile...how about a discussion?

1. What time of the day works best for you?
2. Do you sit or do you walk?
3. What shooting position is most common for you?
4. Do you ever use a call?
5. How much difference does weather make?
6. If you see 5 squirrels on an outing, how many come home with you?
7. Does your squirrel gun look as cool as mine? gun)

1. I gennerally see the most durring the first 3 hours of day light and the last 3 hours of the evening.
2. I sit in a known area. If that doesnt pan out I will move through the woods slowly until I see some activity.
3. Hmmm, braced standing (using a tree as support) or a improvised sitting. Ive taken a few using prone with bipod on long range shots in open fields, but those are rare.
4. At times, Ive found that it will gennerally stop a running squirrel in its tracks, but doesnt bring them out on a day when Im not seeing any.
5. I hunt and see them in all weather conditions with the exception of days when the wind is high enough to move the trees. They seem to stay in the nest on those days.
6. I have I high hit probablity so if Im shooting and they are under 60 yards I'll have 5 squirrels with severe head trauma. 60-80 yards 3 to 4 with head trauma (depending on the wind conditions and how well I judged it). To date 85 yards is my current longest one shot, one head hit.
7. Dont see any pics of your set up. I'll snap one of mine asap. But Im using a ruger 77/22 target grey with a bushnell 5-15 mildot w/ external target turrets and Federal 711B match ammo. On that 85 kill (above) it was just after a heavy snow fall and very bright out using the 711b ammo I actually saw the bullet ark out and watched the impact, very cool! I dont think it would have been seen with out the bright white background.

 

[Slopeshunter]

How do I hunt squirrels?

I don't, I can't. In Alberta squirrels are considered to be fur bearers, and require a trappers license. I know of a guy who years ago went on a bow hunting trip, they weren't having any luck so one day he brought a squirrel back to camp and hung it up on the meat pole as a joke. CO came through camp, not sure if he wrote him a ticket or just gave him a warning, but I don't suspect he did it again.

This was back in the 80's, not sure if the rules have changed since, but that's what they were then.

 

[stxhunter]

i shoot them with a pellet gun in the back yard

 

[gremcat]

usually just sit on the porch in upstate new york and shoot them of the hard woods but if I get out in the woods where I hunt You tend to see 5-15 in one area of open hardwoods so you can just kind of walk til you see one and sone they are everywhere.I tend to use a marlin .22 mag but took one with a .22 lr at 65 yds and might use a .223 this year for some prone practice all head and upper body shots that way if you miss it goes under or over them and if you hit they just drop.Too many around to bother taking bad shots just kinda wait until it feels right and if not let them run away and in about 2 mins another one runs by