SQUIRREL HUNTERS.....THE TREE KIND!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all:

illinois does not have a spring squirrel season. shucks!

squirrel hunters can learn a lot about squirrel hunting by observing their activities year around.

the critters usually start breeding here in late december or early january. i see the first litter out and about around april.

as i have mentioned before, when certain foods become available will depend on the lattitude in which you live.

in this installment, i will cover the basic spring foods that squirrels find in trees around here in the spring. these trees may be found in your area but may be done by the time the spring seasons come in.

the first thing i see squirrels eat is the leaf buds from most of the soft wood trees before they leaf out. mostly, soft wood trees leaf out first.

before the leaves of some trees appear, they may put on some types of seed. one of these is the maple. there are many varieties of maple but most of you are familiar with the winged (helicopter like) seeds they produce.

http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/maple_silver/maple_silver.html



the next is the elm tree. morel mushroom hunters love elm trees! anyways, what a squirrel sees in an elm seed is a mystery to me. they are so small that it seems a waste of energy eating them....but they do.

http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/elm_slippery/elm_slippery.html

i said that i would stick to the trees that i know about personally and so i must leave some of the trees out. anybody who knows of other spring trees that squirrels use are welcomed to post them.

in my yard, in late june, the muberry fruits here. birds and squirrels can be found in them eating all the mulberries they can hold.

http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/mulberry_red/mulberry_red.html

lots of young squirrels can be found in mulberry trees when they are ripe.

later on in summer, i have found squirrels eating apples of all kinds. here in my area there are a great many wild apple trees in the woods. squirrels do use them on occasion.

of course i can't keep the buggers off my bird feeders! that's where most city folk get the mistaken idea that all squirrels act like birdfeeder squirrels. make no mistake about it....they don't.

if you hunt a woods that has no squirrel hunting pressure at all and only hunt it once or twice a year....it will be pretty easy to get a limit of squirrels.

if you hunt where squirrels are hunted pretty hard...they can be amazingly tough to come by.don't count on them being a cinch!

we are going to leave the trees at this point and focus on squirrel hunting tactics and strategies! now that we know what squirrels like to eat and when to expect them to start eating it, we can make a plan before we get to the woods. this means knowing the woods that you hunt pretty good and how to identify the trees that squirrels use.

we have been preparing for just that. we will get into how to use the information we have just discussed.

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

this will be the first time we talk about how to actually find squirrels. my father started teaching me this lesson at the age of 9. it may suprise some folks.

a good squirrel hunter will hunt squirrels with his EARS and then find them with his eyes. when i start actually looking for a squirrel , i already know it is there.

in it's daily existence, a squirrel makes a few differant noises. i have learned to recognize all of them. i made it my business many years ago to study those noises and to be able to tell them from any other noise in the woods.

no matter if the leaves are up or down, if they are cutting nuts or not, you can still find squirrels...IF YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF NOISES THEY MAKE.

your ears will guide you in close enough for your eyes to catch the movement or just plain spot them. no matter what squirrels are doing, it is your hearing that can guide you to them.

when a hunter learns to hunt squirrels by sound he does not need calls or any other kind of miracle devise to find them. i have never used squirrels calls and don't own one. i don't want squirrels to know i am in the same woods with them by making any kind of noise.

squirrels bark for only a couple of reasons. one is a danger signal. why would i want to give my location away with a danger signal? it may work sometimes, it may not.

learning to identify the noises squirrels make is a definite advantage that will work anytime squirrels are doing anything but snoozing.(my ears aint good enough to hear them snore) lol!

when i remarked on whether or not squirrels made noise while eating a particular type of food, i was arming you with the first of the differant noises we are going to talk about.

if your hearing is bad, you will have to resort to looking for squirrels. this will put you at a large disadvantage. a person with good eyes(or eyeglasses) and good hearing has the uppers on a person who doesn't. a person who has both and the knowlege of squirrel noises will be a pure nightmare to the squirrel kingdom!

squirrel noises to follow!!!!!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

HOWDY ALL!

 


squirrel noises made with their mouth: every tree squirrel hunter has probably heard squirrels barking. excited barking is usually used when a squirrel sees or hears something out of the ordinary. he is alert. he usually has the disturbance pointed like a bird dog. a barking squirrel may or may not run away. he may come closer to you if he is new to squirrel hunters! if he saw several of his buddies knocked to the ground in the last couple of days he may not be so inclined.

most squirrel hunters know this. lots of times , if one squirrel starts barking, he can stir up several more into helping out with the racket. barking squirrels may be aproachable if one move very slowly. he may keep it up until it is too late.

the one thing i can tell you about squirrels barking is that if you listen to a fox squirrel and a gray squirrel bark, you will notice that they sound differant. if you get them both barking together, it will be much easier to notice. fox squirrels have a much higher pitched and a cleaner sounding bark. a gray squirrels bark will be lower pitched and much more gutteral. so, you can tell what kind of squirrel you be sneaking up on before you actually put eyes on him. what differance does that make? whether it matters or not to you, it has been my experience that a fox squirrel is a much dimmer critter than the gray. a gray don't stay put forever and usually is going to make a break for it if he don't like a situation. a fox squirrel will more than likely try to hide for a while and may not even bother with that. in my opinion, fox squirrels are a little easier to get all things being equal. that information may be useful to you in determining your approach.

squeals: cat squirrel! louisiana squealer! you may have heard one of these terms. i have never heard a fox squirrel squeal. if any of you have...i would like to hear about it.

i have heard LOTS of grays squeal. i have made up my mind that the squeal serves 2 purposes. the first is extreme and immediate danger! ever see a hawk sail through the timber. squirrel will bark like machine guns! then they break off into those long tapering squeals. they may keep this up for a long period of time. they usually are stuck to the back side of trees peeking around for the danger.

the second use of the squeal is a locator. i have heard them squealing up on the high ridges when they were scarce in numbers. i believe they use it at times to find other squirrels.

growls or cchhhrrrr. when i have heard squirrels make this noise it is always 2 or more tail chasing. around and around a tree they will be going and the sound of those sticky nails on bark is easily heard.

these are all the sounds that i know that tree squirrels make with their mouths. if anybody knows of more....i am listening!!!


more squirrel sounds to follow!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

more squirrel noises!

riding the timber! ever watch a squirrel jump from one tree to another? when he jumps off the first limb there will be a swish of leaves and branches. when he lands on the other limb you get to hear it all over again! if it's early in the morning and there is dew, fog or rain in the leaves, there will be water droplets hitting the ground. all these make a distinctive noise that broadcasts the existance of the squirrel and in which direction to head or look in.

claws on bark.

there are a couple of bird types that run up and down on tree bark that may fool you at first, but after years of listening, you will begin to pick out the rythmn of squirrels nails on bark and be able to tell the differance. it probably has something to do with the squacks having 4 feets and a bird having only 2. my job here is to only make you aware that if you listen for ...oh....40 years or so, you will get pretty good at telling the differance! then again, you may be quicker at it than me and it may only take you 30 years or so...lol!

barking....again!

i mention this because new folks to squirrel hunting are going to find this out. there is a peckerwood or 2 that can sound a lot like a squirrel barking. the trick to tellin the differance is that the squirrel bark is more gutteral while the old woodpeckers is a nice clean sound. it will be embarrising , at first, slipping up on all those woodpeckers, but you will figure it out in ..oh say 30 ....well...you get the idea. keep at it. lol!

cutting!

grit...grit...grit! the sound that is distinctively squirrel! the sound of those evergrowing teeth cutting into the hard shell of a nut. some can be heard for long distances. it is imperitive to know what this sounds like. there be no doubt what is up there when you hear this sound. this is why i related the noises when going through the food trees. this sound can guide you right to a LOT of squirrels that you may not find otherwise.

pitter-patter!

the sound of cuttings falling through the leaves. you may hear a whole nut hit the ground once in a while, but that won't convince me. it has to be a steady rain of small pieces coming to the ground. you can usually track them up the tree by watching for the leaves moving further and further up to get an idea where the varmint might be located. with a dozen up a tree cutting ANYTHING, you will have no doubt that they are squirrels!

on the ground.

after listening to squirrels rooting around on the ground and traveling on the leaves, you will be able to eventually determine that they are squirrels before you see them. again, it's the rythmn of the movement that gives them away. you may have to listen to many hundreds of them to get it perfect, so i suggest you go hunting more often to get in more practice. just tell the wife, i said it's ok......

thump!

that is the sound of squirrels hitting the ground! i hope you get to hear it often.

i will say this again because if you learn anything from this whole mess it's that if you take time to learn these sounds and how to filter them from all the other noises in the timber, you will have gone far and away from the average squirrel hunter. you will have the skills to find squirrels at any time of the year and in any type of timber. this will help greatly when hunting in new locations.

when you have it down pat, you will be able to locate squirrels with your eyes closed! lol!


we aint done yet! i still have a trick or two up my sleeve!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

a squirrel is a pretty tough critter. he can take some pretty hard hits and still have the gumption to get to a hole!

if you shoot a squirrel and it hangs on up in the tree, do not hesitate to shoot it again. lots of times, i have seen them hanging on by one claw, looking like it was all over, only to have them jump to the limb and make a dash for a hole.

sometimes, even if they do go on and fall out, they hit the ground with enough life to make it to a groundhog hole or brushpile.

when you do encounter a live, crippled squirrel on the ground(and you will), it should be dispatched immediately. it's better that it never know you are there. if you have a rimfire rifle, shoot it again if possible. if you try to get up on it, it may run and you may not find it.

under no circumstances should you use your firearm as a club! do not try to butt stroke it either! you will eventually shoot yourself or at the least, crack the stock on your gun. if you want to use a club, the woods are full of them! your gun should be considered a non club item!

for many years, i have delivered the ole coup d grace with the heel of my shoe. any squirrel that is still breathing at all , i will crush its skull with the heel. just stomp down hard, heel first. this can be done to every one if you can't tell and want to make sure they are dead. you don't want the thing coming back around in the back of your jacket or tied to your belt! that could get purely exciting!

lots of folks have told me that they field dress squirrels when they first kill them. this is something that i have never done. i usually only hunt 3-4 hours of a morning or evening. even in hot weather, i have never seen squirrels spoil in that time. since i have never field dressed squirrels , i can't tell you how it might be to skin them afterwards. a slit belly may not be beneficial to the way i skin them either.

we will get to the skinning soon. i will put up a video. it will help if any of you who do not have the latest update of windows media player to download it . you may not be able to view the video if you do not.

squirrel skinning video coming soon!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy again!

a few years ago, my hunting partner (knottybumpo) and i made a little video on how to skin squirrels. he had a new camera and just had to film something! i was awful camera shy but after a few "takes" and a lot of laughs he got one. it took him quite a while to figure out how to go from the camera' format to what you are going to watch here.

first i will thank knottybumpo for his efforts. then i will thank a fella who goes by the alias "num 1 dad". he hosts this video and has since i became unable to do so. this was first shown on marlintalk.

http://members.localnet.com/~nickdd/

you will need a newer version of wmv to see this. if you still have a phone modem, it will take a little bit to download as it is about 1meg.

where most people run into trouble with this method is that they think the tail has something to do with the skinning. it does not. the idea is to get that flap of skin. the flap of skin is what you stand on when doing the actual skinning. wedge your foot in there close to the meat and put your weight on the flap....NOT THE TAIL. the tail will not stand the pressure and will break.

grays will skin much easier than fox squirrels but both can be done easier than any other method i have ever run across.

it makes little differance how long the squirrel has been dead. i never skin squirrels until i am done hunting and that is usually 3-4 hours. that much time will make no differance in the difficulty of the skinning job.

this method will take some practice. it is worth learning. if you fail on one, don't give up. i have skinned some thousands of squirrels in my life and i still occasionally break a tail off. if you think it is not worth the effort to learn this you may want to watch that little timer at the bottom of the screen. you can skin a bunch of squacks in no time atall once you get this down pat!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

i kinda jumped the gun with the skinning video. we have not even slipped up on a squirrel yet! i can't figure how i let that happen...

since we got the squacks skinned already, we might as well get them ready for storage or eating.

when you cut up a squirrel, you will find some fatty kernal under the front armpits. you want to pull these off while you are gutting them. they can make the meat taste strong.

when you have them cut into usable pieces, put them in a large container and cover them with fresh water. i salt the water heavily and add a little white vinegar. soak overnight in the fridge. this will draw the blood from the parts and leave your meat nice and pretty.

if you have more than you are going to use for some time, you will want to freeze them. before the season comes in, save up a bunch of milk cartons. you can use those plastic jugs. cut a hole in the top big enough to put the pieces in. leave enough room to cover the pieces with water. write the date and all the other info you need on the carton, so you know what it is a year later.(you won't remember). use a laundry pen or indelible marker. now, stick them in the freezer. ANY GAME frozen in water, will not dry out or freezer burn. fish either. i have eaten them 2 years later and they were fine. if you freeze them without water, you had best eat them right away. of course you can freeze them in anything that will hold water.


luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

when i was a young squirt back in the 50's, the squirrel season came in here in illinois on august 1st and ended oct 15. because of the lack of hunting pressure the dnr has over the years extended the season to where last year it ended jan. 15. lots of states have long squirrel seasons.

compared to years ago, a very small percentage of hunters persue squirrels. at last years shawnee squirrel hunt, i can't remember seeing anybody else hunting them except the folks who came to the hunt. years ago there would have been a good number of local folks hunting squirrels. we had about 300,000 acres to hunt and few folks hunting besides us. try to find that while deer hunting!

what i started out to talk about was the early part of season. lots of folks have told me over the years that they don't hunt squirrels until the leaves go down. they usually claim that they can't see them with all those leaves in the trees.

remember, i said that the season used to go out here in illinois on october 15. during that time, there were no days during the season that the leaves had fallen. i learned to hunt squirrels with the leaves up.

there are advantages to hunting squirrels with the leaves up. you may not be able to spot squirrels from long distances, but then they won't see you either. that means the shots will be closer. you can get up on them closer without them being able to spot you. it works both ways.

how do you find them when the leaves are up??? you all should be replying in unison now......by finding them with your ears and moving in close to find them with your eyes! that's how you find squirrels with the leaves up.

there is another good thing about early seasons. there is usually nothing else in so you are NOT torn between going for something else. you will also get in some practice at shooting and woods skills for your other hunting interests.

let me just say right now that anybody who can regularly shoot squirrels in the head at 30-50 yards should have no excuse at missing whole deer during the deer season!

hickory season occurs in the leaves up time period. no squirrel hunter worth his salt would stay out of the woods during that time.

you can practice finding squirrels anytime of the year. during the off season , while loafing around, try to spot them. you will be suprised that you can find squirrels plenty good if you put in the effort.

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

everybody has a way they like to hunt squirrels best.

i prefer still hunting or "slipping". i never stalked a squirrel in my whole life, but i have slipped on pile of them.

in a dry spell, it becomes more difficult to slip. a person can still slip around in some places. streambanks are usually wet and are good places to be. a dirt or logging road may also be usable. some places have hiking trails that may have bare dirt as well and all these places will make it easier to move silently through the woods.

some woods will not have any of these features. in dry spells, it will pay you to know what squirrels are feeding on and where to find some of the trees that produce the mast. a hunter can get into the timber before light and sit in good range of such trees before the old bushytail wakes up. most diehard squirrel hunters will always be in the timber before light anyways.

if it is so dry that you cannot make a move, then don't. i will normally sit in one spot if squirrels are coming to it. knowing those food sources and where to find them will put you in the right place before daylight. when you shoot a squirrel and are certain it is dead, leave it lay. do not give up your position just to go pick up one dead squirrel. you may get several by waiting a while and then you can pick them all up on your way out.

one can usually navigate even dry timber if you move really slowly. i wear tennis shoes most of the season as they are more quiet to hunt in.

it can take a good bit of time for squirrels to resume activities, if you make a bunch of noise getting in to where they are. patience will be required to wait them out.

patience(sorely lacking in people today) is one of the most useful qualities a hunter can have.

my dad was a good still hunter. i doubt that most any morning he ever covered much more than a hundred square yards of timber. he usually got his limit of squirrels in that hundred yards too. he did it with patience, listenening for squirrels, and knowing what they would be feeding on, which put him right in amongst them.

when still hunting, i usually move only a few yards at a time. i try to "listen" way out away for me. i move a few yards and stand and listen for 5 or 10 minues. i may scan the timber to identify what types of trees are there, but all the time i am listening for noises made by squirrels. i usually pick my way along the most quiet way i can find. it makes for some pretty indirect ways of getting to a point i want to get to. anything that sounds to me like squirrels will re-direct me towards them. i may never get to where i started for. there is an old indian saying that goes,"walk little...look heap". to that i would add listen heap!

when i hear squirrels i head in their direction. from a distance , try to figure which trees they may be in. move as quietly and slowly as possible when you get in close. if squirrels start barking at you before you get into range...you are not moving slowly or noiselessly enough!

i get the most satisfaction when i put a good sneak on a squirrel that ends successfully and he never knew i was there.

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

when the leaves go down, it gets tougher to slip up on squirrels. it is even lots tougher if they have been hunted a bunch.

when the leaves are gone, squirrels will be able to spot you from out of even rimfire rifle range! still hunting when the leaves are down calls for moving really slowly through the timber. the squirrels' normal tactic for avoiding you at this time of year is to run (or jump!)to the ground, and run off. i have seen them dive 75 feet from a treetop to the ground with their legs just churning! they hit the ground running! those are squirrels that are TOUGH to get! why the fall don't kill them amazes me.

at times, it will be best to move into an area and just sit for a spell. i like to sit at the bottom of a hill and watch the side of it. when the leaves and nuts are on the ground, so are the squirrels. they spend most of their time packing and burying nuts. you will be able to see more ground, clearly, from the bottom of a hill. you will also be able to shoot safely into the side of it. some days , you can hear squirrels everywhere rustling around in the leaves. a .22 can be very effective with the leaves down. a .22 mag. will give you a little more range.

i used the .17hmr the last couple of seasons. it has great squirrel getting capabilities....but.....i messed up a few of them. i was doing my best to make head shots but they did not come off every time. in the timber and in my opinion, a .22 mag with solids is just as and maybe more handy than the .17hmr. you can body shoot a squirrel with the mag. solids if need be.

anyways, whatever you choose to hunt with, you will find squirrels making the same noises as before.

some windy days, you can still find squirrels in the deep draws and behind the steep ridges where it is more quiet. squirrels don't like wind much. i would guess that they fear predation by hawks. all that movement in the trees makes it more difficult to sort out movement quick enough to keep from being dinner!

as always, it will be to your benefit to sit in a place that shows fresh sign. squirrels feeding or moving around in an area for very long are going to leave plenty sign of their presence.

lots of folks prefer sitting and waiting for squirrels no matter what time of year it is. there is good reason for it too. it works!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy to you all!

i told you all that i love to still hunt for squirrels. when i slip up on one and make a good shot, i will stand right where i fired the shot for 5 or 10 minutes with out moving. many times , after the shot, you will get squirrels to start barking. if there are a few close by, they may all start barking. they can be looking at you or the squirrel on the ground.

if this should happen to you, it will be tough to stay cool and squeeze off good shots. you can only get them one at a time though....so concentrate on one good shot at a time. only shift your body and gun enough to line up the next shot and you may get most or all the ones that have given their position away. the more shots you fire to put a squirrel down, the less likely you are to get many of them.

if they shut up, stand tight and watch closely. after a few minutes they may show themselves.

if you go to downed squirrels right after you shoot them, you will miss seeing a lot of squirrels you never knew were there. you will also educate the survivors making it tougher on you later!

if you make a bad shot and know a squirrel is crippled, then you must go after him right away. this will ruin the forementioned strategy. it pays to shoot only when you are pretty certain that you will make a killing shot!

if i run up on a couple of squirrels tail chasing and growling, i like to have them both in sight when i fire the first shot. the survivor will usually stay where he is, looking at his buddy, and will offer you up a quick shot at him. again, it is important not to get excited and mess up the first shot or the second squirrel is going to be putting something between you and it...like a tree trunk! it is easiest for a squirrel to escape you by going straight to the ground and running straight away with the trunk between you and it.

so practice shooting walnut size targets as much as possible before season. one shot kills will go a long way in helping to fill your limit!

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

the subject is skinning knives!

over the years, i have seen lots of folks tying to skin game with something akin to a bowie knife! i suppose a big knife may be useful in the tree removal business or some such but in skinning any kind of game i ever encountered, it is just not a handy tool.

folding blade, lockback and sheath type knives are all fine for skinning and gutting. a folding blade pocket knife is fine if you are careful that it does not fold up on your fingers.

the blade i prefer will be a thin clip point and not more than 3 inches long. it will also be made of a high carbon steel and not stainless.

such a blade is easy to work with and sharpen. if you are skinning lots of game being able to sharpen a knife quickly and easily is a must.

having been a trapper for 15 years, i learned the importance of such a blade. it will skin ANYTHING from from muskrats to caribou. the carbon steel will only take a couple of licks to a whetstone to be back to a good edge again.

if you are hunting big game you may want to add something like a sierra saw to your fanny pack. besides clearing brush with it, i have sawed through skullcaps, pelvis bone and ribcages with it. it is light to carry and will take the heavy work off your fine cutting edge.

if you like pocket knives, the muskrat or trapper pattern styles best fit the description of a skinning knife. again, carbon steel will suit the job best. a good one will have a handle that fits your hand well and brass bolsters. get a good one!

keep the thing sharp! it's lots easier to work with a sharp knife. putting lots of pressure on a dull knife is what gets most people cut.

i have always figured that most folk who carry those huge knives are not carrying them for skinning or have never skinned much game. in my opinion, they just aint a handy tool to use.

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all!

the squirrel season comes in here in illinois the first day of aug. and runs until mid january.

during the early months, it is not uncommon to find squirrels with wolves in them. these go by several names. bots or warbles seem to be other names for them.

the wolve is an insect larvae(botfly) that will be found between the skin and the meat. in the months of aug and sept they are readily noticable as large lumps. this lump will have a hole cut through the skin for the parasite to breathe.

squirrels, seem to be able to put up with these parasites. i have killed squirrels with 2 of them a couple of times. these squirrels were doing normal healthy things and didn't seem impeded by the parasite at all.

sometime in late september, the bug leaves the squirrel. there may be signs of its former presence as a scab or as hairless patches where the squirrel has been itching the wound. i suppose some die from infection but most probably make it.

i have never bothered to skin squirrels with wolves in them. i doubt that it could be harmful to eat them, but i still won't.

i am sure some of you have encountered squirrels with wolves. it may be interesting to find what kind of range they might be found in.

i have seen them in both illinois and wisconsin.

luck!

[SQUACKS]

howdy all:

some folks prefer to find fox squirrels.

over the years , i have hunted timber that had only fox squirrels and i have hunted timber that was completely devoid of them. i am not talking about a hunt or two either. i mean for years of hunting and never seeing any differance.

in woods where squirrels are mixed about half and half, one gets an idea where to specifically look to find fox squirrrels. finding them in the same places year after year gives one an idea of where to look.

if i wanted to find a fox squirrel, i would probably hunt a grazed pasture with large trees that are going to be a fair distance from one another. that is only because there will be little or no understory there. fox squirrels will inhabit such habitat.

the outer boundry of any woods is another place to find them. it is even better if the woodline borders a cornfield.

river or creekbottom floodplains are another place you may find them. these places are usually wet most of the year and fewer types of trees can survive there. it may be weedy under such a woods but usually is not brushy.

it seems to me that fox squirrels prefer a more open type of habitat than grays and that is the type of timber i have been trying to describe.

in the hills of shawnee, it is extremely rare to find a fox squirrel. if you go down into the bottoms along the rivers and swamps, you will find a few. in years when i have found a few fox squirrels in those hills, the grays were pert near non-existant!

a few years ago, in late fall, i was in shawnee. there was a huge amount of fresh mast on the ground that had not been touched by squirrels. there were no signs of squirrels either. they were not present.

the next year, they were as thick as i ever saw them. they had moved in from someplace else. 12 months is a long time for them to get there but the amount of squirrels there that time is unexplainable. they had to have traveled in from someplace else.

i have read of great squirrel migrations in the 19th century. the old timers where i came from used to claim that they migrated from missouri by swimming the mississippi river. if true, that is a sight i would love to slap eyes on!

luck

[ratgunner]

Hi squacks, have you ever thought of having that annual hunt in a different state each year?Sounds like a blast.We got lottsa tree rats here in Penn state and not many people bother to hunt them,they're too busy looking for deer that don't exist anymore.That leaves more for me and very few others.lol.I mostly use a ruger .22 single six as I don't like biting into shot pellets.BTW good topic :-D  :-D  choice.

[SQUACKS]

ratgunner:

 the original idea behind the shawnee hunt was to hold it in a differant state every year. after 3 years, i have yet to meet anybody that said they wanted to have it someplace else after going to shawnee.

 it has been voted on by the people who have showed up and it was a unanimous decision to keep the hunt in shawnee.

 good to hear from you. if there are folks interested in the hunt, i can post the details and info.

                                                       luck!

[Vern Humphrey]

ratgunner:

 the original idea behind the shawnee hunt was to hold it in a differant state every year. after 3 years, i have yet to meet anybody that said they wanted to have it someplace else after going to shawnee.

 it has been voted on by the people who have showed up and it was a unanimous decision to keep the hunt in shawnee.

 good to hear from you. if there are folks interested in the hunt, i can post the details and info.

                                                       luck!

That's cause yall haven't hunted the Ozarks yet.

Try the Ozark National Forest around Mountain View -- great squirrel hunting.

[SQUACKS]

vern:

 i have been in ark. a couple times and i agree that there is a heap of timber there.  

 there were 2 people from ark. that came to the shawnee hunt last year. they will more than likely come back this year as well.

 the hunt is an invitational and we never really know how many folks might show up. last year there were 28 of us. not knowing how many folks will show requires that the place picked have enough public ground so that hunters can spread out for safties sake. it is actually a rimfire rifle
 hunt but folks bring whatever they choose to hunt with. the forest is somewhere around 300,000 acres with lots of access. there are private holding intermixed so it covers about the whole bottom 1/4 of the state.

 the shawnee site is pretty centrally located as well. one other thing that folks like is that for the past few years an out of state 5-day license and required habitat stamp will cost you about $35. it is a camp out hunt and the feds get $5 a day for camping.

 the shawnee squirrel hunt is for fun. it is not a contest and i don't want it to be one. i never guarantee anybody 1 single squirrel.

 i always tell folks to come for the fun of it. you can hunt all you want and.....you might get squirrels!  lol!

                                                           luck!

[Vern Humphrey]

The Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest is about twice that -- and adjoins the Leatherwood Wilderness, which in turn adjoins the Lower Buffalo Wilderness.

Mountain View bills itself as "The Folk Music Capitol of the World" and is worth visiting all by itself.  The Ozark Folk Center and Blanchard Springs Caverns are also nice to visit.

There's plenty of camping -- there are several campgrounds in the forest, plus camp grounds locally in town and nearby.

I'll have to check and see what a non-resident stamp costs for small game.

[SQUACKS]

VERN:

 it's great to know that there is a place that can serve as an alternative spot for the future. i don't think that places big enough to have an invitational hunt are as numerous as i once believed.

 when we organised the 1st hunt, people had the chance to mention spots that could be acceptable. shawnee was one of them and probably the cheapest of the candidates of those suggested. it is also a great piece of timber.

 i will be interested in any particulars you come up with. the 2005 shawnee hunt has the dates set already and will be held there.

 one never knows what the future holds. illinois is in the grip of some scheming poloticians from the chicago area. thank god for downstate democrats who know that their voters are mostly gun owners and hunters and will not vote for the crazy bills that the upstate dems. keep trying to sneak through.

 any info you can dig up may prove useful for future invitational squirrel hunts. thanks.

                                             luck!

[Vern Humphrey]

What information do you need?

I could pick up a Chamber of Commerce package and send that to you if you send me a snail mail address.

If we want to have a hunt here, I'm sure I could get the CofC on board, the National Forest folks, and the local newspaper.  It would be perfect for this area.

[Critter]

Just thought I would stop in and say hello from Michigan.  

I've been hunting squirrels since I was old enough to carry a rifle through the woods legally.  I used to walk through the neighbors woods everyday on my way to my grandfathers farm to feed calves and young cattle.  I would generally carry my Winchester pump 22 lr and have at least one if not two for the pot by the time I got to the farm.  I would hang them on the clothesline and by the time I got done doing chores my Grandmother would have them skinned and ready to go back home in an onion sack or cooking on the stove.  Every once in a while I would get lucky and catch one or two on the way home as well.  We ate a lot of squirrel, rabbit , pheasant and venison in those days.

We have reds,fox, gray and black squirrels in MI.  However where I hunt there are no grays in any phase in the woods, only in town.  So I have only hunted Fox squirrels.  Reds are too small and taste terrible if you do cook them.

One of our tricks for hunting Fox squirrels is to stand under a group of mast trees containing nuts, usually acorns and wait for the trash to start falling out of the tree.  They literally get sick of you standing there and start throwing things at you.  Then you watch where it's coming from until you have a good shot and bang, one squirrel down.  

I hunt them with a .22 and a shotgun.  Rabbit and squirrel season overlap so I hunt rabbits from Jan to March and take squirrels as the opportunity allows with my 28 gauge.

[JPSaxMan]

Hi squacks, have you ever thought of having that annual hunt in a different state each year?Sounds like a blast.We got lottsa tree rats here in Penn state and not many people bother to hunt them,they're too busy looking for deer that don't exist anymore.That leaves more for me and very few others.lol.I mostly use a ruger .22 single six as I don't like biting into shot pellets.BTW good topic :-D  :-D  choice.

Wut part of the state are you in? Here in my lil neck of the woods I'm lucky if I see one (this is when I have the gun, of course   ). Speaking of which that's what I'm about to do. Fresh snow (a foot+ of it) and the thermometer is hovering around 30. Perfect  :grin: .  

[ShottieMan]

Very Happy Hi squacks, have you ever thought of having that annual hunt in a different state each year?Sounds like a blast.We got lottsa tree rats here in Penn state and not many people bother to hunt them,they're too busy looking for deer that don't exist anymore.That leaves more for me and very few others.lol.I mostly use a ruger .22 single six as I don't like biting into shot pellets.BTW good topic Very Happy Very Happy choice.


Wut part of the state are you in? Here in my lil neck of the woods I'm lucky if I see one (this is when I have the gun, of course Smile ). Speaking of which that's what I'm about to do. Fresh snow (a foot+ of it) and the thermometer is hovering around 30. Perfect Very Happy . Very Happy

I would like to know too    Got a couple this year but that was that. Mabye i'll go and take a look tomorrow for a little while. Easy to spot with 1 foot of snow (and them wascly wabbits too)

[SQUACKS]

vern:

 cost is usually important to folks. information like , the cost of camping in the area, required licenses and stamps, and any usage permits. most of the folks who would come would be non-residents. a campground big enough for everybody who might come is desirable.

 the amount of folks who have come to shawnee has risen every year for 3 years with more and more people showing interest.

 i should say this again. the people who have been coming to shawnee are content to keep coming back.  it always pays to have alternatives though in case of the unforeseen.

 any information you can provide for planning a future hunt in the state of arkansas will be appreciated and if needed will be considered.  

 thank you for your interest.

                                                              luck!

[Vern Humphrey]

Generally, camping fees are quite low.  We have both commercial and Forestry Service campgrounds available, as well as other accomodations.

Try these:

http://www.ozarkgetaways.com/

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/

I can send a Chamber of Commerce packet to a snail mail address.  It we want to set something up, I can do the footwork on this end.

[ratgunner]

FISHMAN I'm from Schuylkill county, come here if you like to hunt tree rats. :-D

[JPSaxMan]

I might just do that.... :wink: .  

[ratgunner]

If you want I can tell or show you some good spots.Where is Harford in relation to me? :-)

[JPSaxMan]

Schukill County...hmm...actually no clue where it is   . Gimme the name of a fairly large town (one well known) then I can probably tell ya.