Squirrel Hunting tips

[cptleo1]

Strike out there about 3 in the afternoon

Take a hawk call and a 3 foot piece of broom handle.

Get into the area you are scouting, find some cover and settle in.

Spend about 15 minutes looking for the rascals - at this time in the afternoon they are up but not moving much.

Give a single blood curdling blast on the Hawk call and then whack the ground one time with the broom handle -hard as you can

Grab your rifle - it shouldn't take long.

If nothing happens wait 10 minutes and try it again

if nothing happens move 100 yds and try again

The squirrels hate hawks and when they think one is hunting in their neighborhood they will charge out of their nest and give the hawk a good scolding.

This will usually work only once or twice in a given area - Have to wait 3-4 days to try it again

It is great for scouting cuz it works any time of day and if you can get one squirrel to come out and bark they all will.

The tough part about scouting for them is they are active for only a short time every day and it is hard to cover a lot of ground - this hawk call gives you a couple extra hours a day.

I have used this system for longer than I care to admit and it works pretty well

The best time to use it is on a really hot sunny afternoon.

 

[shootemup]

There are lots of ways to hunt squirrel, I personally think it's some of the most enjoyable time you can spend in the woods.

If the squirrels are cutting, and since you're finding cuttings beneath those pecan trees it sounds like they are, you can rub a couple of bolts thread-to-thread and simulate cutting noises. Nothing is more calming to a squirrel than cutting sounds (cut-cut-cut, wait about one second, cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut-cut - not an exact science, but make the strokes fairly quickly). Cutting sounds also act as something of an "all clear" signal to other squirrels, and the notion that another squirrel might be getting all the food is very effective at bringing them back out. This is a tactic that I have found works best in early fall, but if they're cutting I would think it should work.

When a squirrel sees you and runs to the other side of the tree, it is sometimes helpful to toss a rock or something to the other side, sometimes that will bring him back around to your side. Some guys carry a white tube sock with an apple or a softball or something in it, the weight makes it fly and the bright color is easy for the squirrel to see. Or if you are hunting with a partner, one guy moves around the tree so the other guy gets the shot. Great for helping your kid get a shot.

During cold weather I like to watch den trees. The nests that have been described are definitely used, but squirrels also use den trees that they can simply run into. It is warm and dry in there, too. Look for old, dead-looking trees, and set up nearby.

On a very cold day I like to look for a high tree limb, preferably with a southern exposure. These places make good sunning spots, and squirrels will lay there because it's warm. If you wait a little while, another squirrel will replace the one you just shot. Over the years I have identified several of these places, and I can literally rotate back and forth between three spots and often find squirrels. I can then move to the next place and find another one, hit the third, and then go back to the first.

Of course the distress whistle works well, if you can make squirrels think another squirrel is getting got they'll come out and fuss, but I guess my technique for this isn't as good as others. I am actually sort of excited about cptleo's technique and intend to give that a try.

If you stop seeing squirrels altogether, remember their food sources change throughout the year just like any other wild game. Hard mast is the preferred main food source if it's available, but remember they will also eat the seeds from pine cones, they love cedar, and will devour agricultural crops like corn. If you're scouting a corn field, look for kernels with just the germ end missing - that's a squirrel.

Great question, I hope lots of squirrel hunters will chime in here. Good luck with it and be sure to let us know how you do.

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[Ted W. Coombs]

I find another good food for bushytails are hedge apples or osage orange. They will only eat the seeds,so they leave a mess on the ground. Dont know if every one has osage tress where they hunt,but is another food they like. Good hunten. :thumbsup: Teton Ted

 

[slowpokebr549]

Hey, as long as that dog hunts....I have found that two quarters rubbed together edge wise make a good cutting call.There is also the time honored method of throwing a rock to the other side of a tree to get a squirrel to circle around to your side. I have lots of big reds around here feeding on hedge balls. The drawback to that is, they taste like hedge balls. :barf:

 

[bingo1952]

What is a hedge ball? Never heard of that before.

 

[slowpokebr549]

In late summer hedge trees, or osage orange, drop big old green balls, the size of softballs or bigger, on the ground.They are green colored and have a bitter, white juice in them. In the center they have little brown seeds .They are a major PIA around here. I live right next to a hedge row and I have hundreds of them in my yard every year. The boys and I shoot em, mow em and blow them up with firecrackers. Nasty damn things.

 

[slowpokebr549]

 

[bingo1952]

I kinda thought that was what you were referring to but I had just never heard them called that. Thanks