2023 Fall Squirrel Season...........

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I gotta confess fellas. I can’t wait for squirrel season but it’s gotta cool down some for me. If it’s 80 and humid, I’ll wait. Couple seasons ago I had some low 30’s mornings in September. That was nice.
The nice thing about squirrel hunting for me is if is not calm and cool just wait til it is. No pressure!!
When I used to avidly bow hunt deer I just felt I had to be out there whenever I could. Sitting in tree stands in 20 mph wind cause it was the rut. I am a fair weather squirrel hunter. No rain and no wind. I love it!!
 
Jim K said:
I gotta confess fellas. I can’t wait for squirrel season but it’s gotta cool down some for me. If it’s 80 and humid, I’ll wait. Couple seasons ago I had some low 30’s mornings in September. That was nice.
The nice thing about squirrel hunting for me is if is not calm and cool just wait til it is. No pressure!!
When I used to avidly bow hunt deer I just felt I had to be out there whenever I could. Sitting in tree stands in 20 mph wind cause it was the rut. I am a fair weather squirrel hunter. No rain and no wind. I love it!!
Click to expand...
I too have always waited until it cooled down to squirrel hunt. But this year I'm thinking about going ahead about mid September. Here it can still be pretty hot then, but I might as well give it a shot. Wanting some dumplin's pretty bad.
 
Hermit Tim said:
I too have always waited until it cooled down to squirrel hunt. But this year I'm thinking about going ahead about mid September. Here it can still be pretty hot then, but I might as well give it a shot. Wanting some dumplin's pretty bad.
Click to expand...
Coming October 14th, doubt it'll be cool, here in Florida maybe November, December. If Humidity goes down it will help. I'll go early morning and late afternoon, early evening. Sometimes cool breeze in an Oak Hammock will help. I'll go anyway.
I've seen several post about Squirrel and Dumplin's, I'll have to try some this year. I always had em fried with gravy, taters or biscuits.
Really looking forward to opening season this year...

To all take care stay safe.
 
Gum Slough Muzzleloader said:
Coming October 14th, doubt it'll be cool, here in Florida maybe November, December. If Humidity goes down it will help. I'll go early morning and late afternoon, early evening. Sometimes cool breeze in an Oak Hammock will help. I'll go anyway.
I've seen several post about Squirrel and Dumplin's, I'll have to try some this year. I always had em fried with gravy, taters or biscuits.
Really looking forward to opening season this year...

To all take care stay safe.
Click to expand...
Need any help with a dumplin recipe just holler. Good luck with your hunting.
 
I'm with you men can't wait till Aug 26 when it opens here. Been putting alot of miles in on the plott and treeing cur to have them tuned up and in shape by opener. Last Thursday after the rain has been our best day in awhile treed 12 squirrel and 2 coon in 3 hrs 15 minutes. If only I could've had my 45 flinter with me we'd be eating chili. Even if never get a shot it's good to be in the woods with a couple hounds. Happy hunting everyone
 
Jim K said:
I gotta confess fellas. I can’t wait for squirrel season but it’s gotta cool down some for me. If it’s 80 and humid, I’ll wait. Couple seasons ago I had some low 30’s mornings in September. That was nice.
The nice thing about squirrel hunting for me is if is not calm and cool just wait til it is. No pressure!!
When I used to avidly bow hunt deer I just felt I had to be out there whenever I could. Sitting in tree stands in 20 mph wind cause it was the rut. I am a fair weather squirrel hunter. No rain and no wind. I love it!!
Click to expand...
Understandable, Jim. I won't go squirrel hunting if the wind is blowing or if its raining. But after being a hardcore bow hunter for so many years, I've learned how to deal with the heat and humidity. Just part of it for this ole boy. Really like having the woods to myself. And I absolutely love being in camo and blending in with my surroundings during the first couple months of the season.

I plan on squirrel hunting quite a bit but when bow season opens Sept 2nd, that's priority. I'll have two weeks of squirrel hunting before bow season kicks in.

Only problem is, I bow hunt the same basic areas as I squirrel hunt.
 
So two days ago I took a drive over to my happy hunting grounds area. Saw several squirrels on the road, as well as at my friends property. I did not go up into the woods.

Yesterday morning the wind was calm. It was fairly warm and very humid. I loaded up my 4-wheeler and cane and headed that way. Didn't see a single squirrel on the roads, on my friends property, nor in the woods. Couldn't hobble very far due to bad knee and being on a cane, but I did stand next to a tree in an area where I know squirrels are. Many den trees. Didn't see or hear a thing. I was somewhat perplexed but this is not the first time I've seen this happen. For whatever reason, some days squirrels just are not out and about even when it's nice weather.

About an hour later while talking with a friend over there I started hearing lots of rumbling. So I loaded up and headed home. By the time I arrived and unloaded, the thunder was getting close. Then came strong winds and a downpour that lasted for 30-45 minutes, followed by steady rain for an hour or more.

I can only assume that's why I didn't see or hear a squirrel. Is it possible that squirrels know hours ahead of time that bad weather is approaching? I'm inclined to think so as I have seen this same thing happen before.

One thing is for sure, the deer and turkeys were certainly out and about. Saw several of them.

Hope to go back at least one day this coming week and hobble around for as much as I can endure and try to find a hickory that the squirrels are cutting on.
 
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So as usual, I'm always looking and observing the critters I hunt and how they act. There's this squirrel that lives in a den tree about 60 yards down the hill from out back of my house. I've been watching him for months now. This one is a bit different. He is always in slow motion. So much so that I have named him "Molasses".

Well this morning while working out I was looking out the large window/door and sure enough, there was Molasses again. He's been cutting in a small hickory for the last couple of weeks. But when first saw him this morning he was in a large maple, of all things. He came down with a fairly large branch with fresh leaves in his teeth. Then he went over to either another tree or on the other side of that same maple. He went up towards the top, fiddled around for a minute or two, then came back and repeated the same thing. So I figure little Molasses has already began building a nest to store nuts in. I've never payed much attention to this before but it sure seems to me like its a bit on the early side for such.

A few minutes I looked and there was Molasses again but back up in his hickory getting some breakfast. Then I heard thunder and the rain began. No wind and I did not see any lightning. Now I know for fact that squirrels like to come out in light rain, but this time it was a hard downpour. It lasted for about 10 minutes or so. When the rain let up I thought sure that Molasses had moved to a den tree to get out of the downpour. But nope, after a few minutes I saw the leaves slowly moving again in that small hickory. Molasses just sat tight during that downpour, much to my amazement, and went right back to having breakfast.

Just when I think I have some critters figured out, they sometimes prove me wrong. Squirrels sure are interesting little critters.

More rain and/or stormy weather in the forecast for tomorrow but hopefully Wednesday morning I will be able to go back to the woods and just observe. Need to find a hickory or walnut tree that the squirrels are cutting in.

Only 4 more days until season opens here in KY.
 
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ETipp said:
Squirrels sure are interesting little critters.
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I put out corn for the squirrels and sunflower seeds for the birds in my back yard.
I can watch them from the kitchen window, and will have up to a dozen squirrels and as many birds eating in the back yard. And the birds love the sprinklers spraying into the trees.
My back yard abuts a green belt with a bike path, but no other houses are visible, and it gives a nice feeling of solitude. Especially if I ignore the leaf blowers and mowers from neighbors.

One particular squirrel has a grey right eye, and I can get within 2' of him on that side. He doesn't run off unless I get too close. I call him Squint. Used to have another squirrel that I called Notch, because he had a notch that was bit into the tip of his right ear. Found him dead in the yard after a bad storm, and now he's buried with some other mini-pets (hamsters, gerbils).

I love watching the animals in my back yard.
Nothing against hunting, but these are more like friends... :thumb:
 
No doubt.

There's two here that I like a lot. The one out back, "Molasses" and one out front "Westly". They come from different areas. I can see where "Molasses" lives but I have yet to find where "Westly" lives. Pretty sure its across the road in a different patch of woods.
 

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Anybody here hunting squirrels in the Northeast/New England? I grew up spending time on my family farm in S. Carolina and squirrel hunting was a childhood staple. It seems that many of my New England countrymen have forgotten what a fine meal a couple of juicy greys can be.
 

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