Fox squirrels

[Wes/Tex]

Good to know even the state animal guys are full of it too! :rotf:

 

[George]

n the areas I hunt, there aren't as many fox squirrels because they don't bury nuts or have nut nests like the grays and a hard winter can greatly reduce their numbers.

Another commonly held but false belief. Those old wives were a busy bunch. :grin:

Spence

 

[jrmflintlock]

Living out west we don't have greys and fox squirrels where you can hunt them. Parks Mostly.

But I love hunting Abert's (Tassel Eared) Squirrels!

WE have the little pine squirrels/Chickarees too but never hunted them.

Its still one of my life goals to hunt tree squirrels in every state that has them with a flintlock. So far, I aint doin to well on my goal yet. Still only hunted squirrels in NM. I live in NV now and there are no trees to house squirrels.

 

[Spikebuck]

n the areas I hunt, there aren't as many fox squirrels because they don't bury nuts or have nut nests like the grays and a hard winter can greatly reduce their numbers.

Another commonly held but false belief. Those old wives were a busy bunch. :grin:

Spence

Not only have I seen them bury nuts, I have seen them digging up nuts. Maybe it was a gray's stash they happened to find, but around my area, they seem to act very much like Grays in regards to hiding and finding food stashes. And even in severe winters, they are big and fat, so they must be getting something to eat.

 

[hanshi]

And in the great white north you have the "fur snake".

 

[Wes/Tex]

Its still one of my life goals to hunt tree squirrels in every state that has them with a flintlock. So far, I aint doin to well on my goal yet. Still only hunted squirrels in NM. I live in NV now and there are no trees to house squirrels.

Go to this part of Nevada! They got a tree or two there! :wink:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikip...nalForest2.JPG/1280px-HbTyNationalForest2.JPG

 

[Vaino]

You and Spence 10 hunt in woods that are inhabited w/ "smart" fox squirrels......the woods I hunt evidently are inhabited by dumb fox squirrels that can't think past their noses.....Fred... :hmm:

 

[Spikebuck]

Just for reference, this is from a group called "Squirrel Refuge.Org"
http://squirrelrefuge.org/fooddiet.html

Even among tree squirrels, the species matters as to the primary food source and storage strategy. Pine squirrels (Tamiasciurus), like Douglas and American red squirrels, are larder hoarders who eat primarily tree seeds (pine cones); as well as other foods that they can find such as mushrooms, buds, catkins, flowers and berries, storing all of their food in a single location or midden (larder).


Eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels, on the other hand, prefer tree mast like acorns, walnuts, pecans; as well as fruit, berries, and seeds. These squirrels are scatter hoarders, burying each nut its own hiding place. These species have adapted quite well to foods available in an urban setting and are highly opportunistic feeders - eating atypical foods when necessity and opportunity are present.

 

[George]

You and Spence 10 hunt in woods that are inhabited w/ "smart" fox squirrels......the woods I hunt evidently are inhabited by dumb fox squirrels that can't think past their noses.....Fred... :hmm:

You should report that to somebody, Fred. It sounds like a reportable case. :haha:

Spence

 

[Skychief]

You and Spence 10 hunt in woods that are inhabited w/ "smart" fox squirrels......the woods I hunt evidently are inhabited by dumb fox squirrels that can't think past their noses.....Fred... :hmm:

You should report that to somebody, Fred. It sounds like a reportable case. :haha:

Spence

Fred, I watched a fox squirrel burying walnuts for an hour while bowhunting from the tree which had shed the nuts a few weeks ago.

It was fascinating. The speed in which it hulled them, the OCD-like care taken to find just the right spot to bury them, and the mother-like care administered in covering them up...right down to painstakingly covering his work with a well placed leaf or two.

I usually see many more grays around here. Perhaps, that is why I found the laid back fox squirrel and its antics so intriguing.

One thing is for sure, I wouldn't have taken a thousand bucks to shoot him. Quite a show he put on for me, even if he didn't know it.

Best regards, Skychief

 

[Vaino]

Have hunted squirrels for nigh on 70 yrs and have never shot a fox squirrel on the ground and have only seen a few traveling groundwise. Nearly all the fox squirrels that I have shot were first seen sunbathing high up in trees and were easy pickings.

W/ grays it's just the opposite...most were first seen on the ground, some were shot on the ground but many went into the trees and then shot. Much more of a challenge than the fox squirrels.

My experiences are evidence that the strain of fox squirrels encountered in the woods that I hunt {the area is quite small} are genetically inferior asre survival instincts, eg...storing food for the winter and using gray squirrel tactics.

You guys are lucky in having "smart" fox squirrels that offer more of a challenge......Fred.... :thumbsup:

 

[don hepler]

I always considered the fox squirrel, the smartest, between grays and foxes. Here grays will run up a tree and get on the back side or get in the crotch of some limbs. However, the fox squirrels will "get out of Dodge". I've seen fox squirrels, run a 100 yards or so, then completely disappear. They climb high and lay out flat, where they can barely be seen.

 

[smo]

Strange , around Tennessee I mostly see fox squirrels along the wood line .

Most that I see are on the ground and when spooked will run sometimes a long way before hitting a tree.

 

[mike garner]

here is the fox squirrels we have in SC they are scares although not endangered. they may be red and silver or black and silver or all black. they are very pretty. they are twice as big as our cat squirrels "grey squirrels"

 

[don hepler]

That is a beautiful squirrel. I've never seen one like it.

I've seen one solid black squirrel. I turned the truck around and went back, to see if it really was a squirrel. Indeed, it was a solid black squirrel. It was in a location, where I've seen several fox squirrels, so must have been some type of fox squirrel.

 

[Zonie]

When you take a point blank shot at a squirrel and it doesn't fall dead, this might be the reason.

:grin:

 

[don hepler]

Hey Zonie, that explains a lot. And all this time, I thought I'd made a bad shot. :surrender:

 

[azmntman]

Googling crptonyite balls now

 

[Ron LaClair]

My squirrel dog and a .32 flintlock

 

[azmntman]

I am somewhat of a dog whisperer and can tell you for sure that expression meant there was plenty of time for a few more! :rotf:

NICE :thumbsup: