In the Open: Squirrel Season is a Great Opportunity to Hone Your Woodcraft

In the Open: Squirrel Season is a Great Opportunity to Hone Your Woodcraft by Jim Freeman

Some of my favorite hunting memories stem from pleasant September mornings and afternoons spent cruising the woods in search of squirrels.

For youngsters, squirrels are almost the perfect quarry with plentiful game and warm weather. Woodlots full of squirrels can often be found close to home, with no expensive gear, extra tags or long trips required; pretty much all you need is a hunting license, landowner permission, a gun and some ammo. As an added bonus the season is long and bag limits are generous.

Taking a youngster squirrel hunting is a great way to hone his or her skills in woodcraft before heading on towards larger game. If you can move quietly and slowly enough in the woods to sneak up on squirrels, or have honed your marksmanship skills enough to hit one in the head with a .22 rifle, accompanied by the best rifle scope that can be found after reading reviews from somewhere similar to Opticsaddict.com to increase your shooting accuracy, you are probably ready to try your luck on white-tailed deer. It doesn’t require a lot of skill to ride out into the woods on a four-wheeler and sit in a blind overlooking a corn feeder.

If the sum of your experience with squirrels is watching them in the city park, then you don’t really know squirrels. Squirrels in the wild don’t behave like their metropolitan or suburban cousins. Wild squirrels are much more attune to their environment, but are still relatively easy game for a patient or skilled sportsman.

When I was younger I would usually go after school in the late afternoon early evening hours when the squirrels were active, or on Saturday mornings I would head up into the woods well before sunrise and wait for them to start moving around after daybreak.

The strategy for squirrels is simple: be quiet and pay attention, listening for the tell-tale sound of “cutting” in nut trees, the “barking” sound as they challenge other squirrels, or the swish of foliage as they move about in the canopy. Move slowly and get into position, keep your eyes peeled waiting for the opportunity to take the shot.

Still days are the best, and a little breeze is OK; days that are windy or stormy seem to be less productive – you might as well stay home. Also, clothes that blend in with the surrounding environment are a must. Squirrels don’t use their sense of smell to detect danger so your scent and wind direction are not crucial.

When it comes to squirrel hunting, patience is often rewarded. If you miss a shot, remain still and eventually the woods will return to normal. If you shoot one, mentally record the location where it fell and remain in the same location. There may be more about.

Squirrel hunters have a wide range of options when it comes to hunting tools.

Consider a shotgun in early season when it is hard to see them among the leaves. Pretty much any shotgun that throws a decently tight pattern of 4, 5 or 6 shot will do the job. Selecting the right load is pretty important. I have always been partial to number 5 shot since that seems to offer a good compromise between pellet size and shot density, and use a “high brass” loading that can deliver plenty of shot to the top of the tallest trees.

A perfect choice would be a 12 or 20-gauge shotgun with a full or modified choke loaded with “high brass” shells with number 5 or 6 shot. Younger hunters will do fine with a 20-gauge or .410 shotgun.

Rifles chambered in .22 Long Rifle or similar cartridges also work well, especially later in the season when longer shots are the norm. It is especially important to keep safety in mind when using a .22 since those bullets can travel up to a mile and a half; always make certain you are firing into a solid backstop like the side of a hill or draw or into a log or big stump. With the price of .22 cartridges these days you might want to make every shot count; a decent trigger and a good scope will go a long way towards making precise, humane shots. If you are thinking about investing in a new rifle scope then you can compare different scopes at a site like https://riflescopescenter.com/moa-vs-mil-dot-mrad/ has some useful comparisons to help you chose.

In Ohio and West Virginia licensed hunters can legally use air rifles to take squirrels and other small game (excluding migratory birds) in season. Just keep in mind that modern air rifles are capable of launching a .177-caliber pellet up to 1,200 feet per second; they are definitely not toys and can kill people if mishandled or used irresponsibly.

For even greater challenges consider using your bow or a .22 handgun. Remember, no matter what you use to follow the four basic rules of safe gun handling: keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, treat every gun with the respect due a loaded gun, always be sure or your target and beyond, and keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

Squirrel season starts Sept. 13 in West Virginia and continues through Jan. 31 with a daily bag limit of six. It started in Ohio on Sept. 1 and also continues through Jan. 31 with a six squirrel daily bag limit. It is a great way to introduce a youngster to the great outdoors.

Jim Freeman is the wildlife specialist for the Meigs Soil and Water Conservation District. He can be contacted weekdays at 740-992-4282 or at [email protected]