First Time squirrel hunting.....any tips?

My oldest son would like to start hunting, so I figured squirrel hunting would be a great starting point. I see more squirrels than I can shake a stick at when deer hunting, so I assume that means I wont see a single tree rat when I am actually wanting to find one.....similar to my relationship with Turkeys.


Any tips for late season squirrel hunting? Should I try more of slow stalk or should I just sit down in an oak flat and wait for them to come to me? i will most likely use my shotgun and the boy will be using a 22. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Down here in these pine forests near the coast every squirrel I see is still up in the trees, but if your somewhere with more hardwoods I'd bet you'll see them on the ground in the mornings. I only see squirrels here when I'm sitting still or have a dog, but back home in the hardwoods it's pretty easy to stalk up to them which is my preference since I'm antsy.

Try to find den trees that the squirrels are using. Setting up within shooting range of them and setting quietly in the mornings should net you a few squirrels. Later morning and afternoon hunts would most likely be more effective still hunting them. If you have a deer feeder still running in the woods about any time of the day could be good. Still (hardly no wind) mornings seem to produce more for me this time of the year.

<>< Fish

Dolfan21 said:

My oldest son would like to start hunting, so I figured squirrel hunting would be a great starting point.

Click to expand...

good call in my opinion,,,,,small game is a great starter and squirrel is my favorite (probably becuase that is how I started)

lots of good info in here,,,you hunting public or private?

it's greys, so where they are depends on what part of state you are hunting

check out natebonebusta's blog and videos - tons of good info for the squirrel hunter in them

Dad always said.... Squirrel hunt like you deer hunt. Whether slipping or still hunting.

Always tends to work. I prefer getting in before daylight on hardwood hillsides or flats jsut like deer hunting.

Once the woods wake up, just watch all of them come out and start hitting the ground and moving from tree to tree...

Once I can see/mark 8-10 of them, I start with the highest and farthest ones first. Usually the ones in the trees have the shortest route back to a den so less time to get them killed.

Once you drop a couple out of the trees, the ones on the ground have usually at least alerted and are heading up a tree near them. Pop them when they stop.

Shooting the long shots first gives you time to come off the gun and see where the closer ones are headed and just track them as they go.

This way really only works with a rimfire you're good with. I trust my 17hmr on a shooting stick out past 100 yards most of the time.

Or if you're hunting private land and don't have lots of turkeys, a 50# sack of corn spread over an acre of hardwoods does the trick!

Take some binoculars. Always gives a little extra enjoyment and help. If you see one go up a tree team up with your son and each take a side of the tree to look. If he goes in a hole you gotta sit him out for 20 minutes or just leave and come back later. Later in the evenings they might just stay in there hole for the rest of the night.

Oh yea. Shoot them in the eye if you can and DONT let that meat go to waste. Squirrel is actually very tasty.

woodmoose said:

good call in my opinion,,,,,small game is a great starter and squirrel is my favorite (probably becuase that is how I started)

lots of good info in here,,,you hunting public or private?

it's greys, so where they are depends on what part of state you are hunting

check out natebonebusta's blog and videos - tons of good info for the squirrel hunter in them

Click to expand...

hard for me to say natebonebusta without chuckling but thanks for the info, I will definitely check that out. it will be greys on public land. I am using the trip to also scout for next deer season and set up a camera or two. Lots of hardwoods, especially oaks.

FishHunt said:

Try to find den trees that the squirrels are using. Setting up within shooting range of them and setting quietly in the mornings should net you a few squirrels. Later morning and afternoon hunts would most likely be more effective still hunting them. If you have a deer feeder still running in the woods about any time of the day could be good. Still (hardly no wind) mornings seem to produce more for me this time of the year.

<>< Fish

Click to expand...

Thanks FH, I wish I had private land with a feeder! public land for me so the corn wok work but we will be going in as early as I can get my son out of bed...lol.

appmtnhntr said:

Dad always said.... Squirrel hunt like you deer hunt. Whether slipping or still hunting.

Always tends to work. I prefer getting in before daylight on hardwood hillsides or flats jsut like deer hunting.

Once the woods wake up, just watch all of them come out and start hitting the ground and moving from tree to tree...

Once I can see/mark 8-10 of them, I start with the highest and farthest ones first. Usually the ones in the trees have the shortest route back to a den so less time to get them killed.

Once you drop a couple out of the trees, the ones on the ground have usually at least alerted and are heading up a tree near them. Pop them when they stop.

Shooting the long shots first gives you time to come off the gun and see where the closer ones are headed and just track them as they go.

This way really only works with a rimfire you're good with. I trust my 17hmr on a shooting stick out past 100 yards most of the time.

Or if you're hunting private land and don't have lots of turkeys, a 50# sack of corn spread over an acre of hardwoods does the trick!

Click to expand...

Thanks App, good tip on waiting for a few to show before we start shooting. I probably would have just shot the first one I saw and scared the rest.

Smitty010203 said:

Take some binoculars. Always gives a little extra enjoyment and help. If you see one go up a tree team up with your son and each take a side of the tree to look. If he goes in a hole you gotta sit him out for 20 minutes or just leave and come back later. Later in the evenings they might just stay in there hole for the rest of the night.

Oh yea. Shoot them in the eye if you can and DONT let that meat go to waste. Squirrel is actually very tasty.

Click to expand...

I have never tried squirrel so I am definitely trying it. I Hear alot of good things about it and looking forward to giving it a try. I told the wife she is trying it also.....I dont think she is thrilled but she will try and who knows, she may like it!

Dolfan21 said:

I have never tried squirrel so I am definitely trying it. I Hear alot of good things about it and looking forward to giving it a try. I told the wife she is trying it also.....I dont think she is thrilled but she will try and who knows, she may like it!

Click to expand...

I take the hams and steam them in a steamer pot like wings for 15 minutes then put them in the oven covered with buffalo wing sauce for about 30 minutes on 350*

Tastes like a chicken wing. Very good.

Grandma used to make pot pie with them. Pressure cook till they shred. Tasty.
------
And if you have a freezer with some room...
When you're only killing one or 4 at a time, but not enough to make a big meal, I take a plastic half-gallon jug or bottle and toss the 4-8 hams in from that day and cover with a little water.
then next time you kill 2-3, just toss them on top and add a little more water. Before long you've got a mess of meat to make a big meal with.

Dolfan21 said:

hard for me to say natebonebusta without chuckling but thanks for the info, I will definitely check that out. it will be greys on public land. I am using the trip to also scout for next deer season and set up a camera or two. Lots of hardwoods, especially oaks.

Click to expand...

I agree. It derived from a former garden center manager calling me Natebone, during my tenure there, and the fella who sold me my first archery tackle adding the Busta part. I ran with it, and here we are..... You've been given good advice from what I've read. Good luck with the hunt, you'll get more enjoyment out of your son taking a squirrel on the hunt than anything.

Natebonebusta said:

I agree. It derived from a former garden center manager calling me Natebone, during my tenure there, and the fella who sold me my first archery tackle adding the Busta part. I ran with it, and here we are..... You've been given good advice from what I've read. Good luck with the hunt, you'll get more enjoyment out of your son taking a squirrel on the hunt than anything.

Click to expand...

this is funny...I actually didnt know you were a member here. I googled the name after woodmoose said it and saw you have an intragram and youtube page, so I assumed that is what he meant. nice to meet you NBB! Definitely agree with you on the comments regarding my son. I doubt I will take a shot until he bags one.

Big big tip.. have fun!! Invite some one that knows what they're doing and tag along

I would also suggest getting a squirrel bark squirrel... works well especially in Feb.

All Good advise so far but if it is your sons first trip imho he ought to use the shotgun to better his chances of success . No matter how good of a shot he is some skirls just aint gonna sit still when you come upon them. Let him bag a few then let him use the 22.

Mack in N.C. said:

All Good advise so far but if it is your sons first trip imho he ought to use the shotgun to better his chances of success . No matter how good of a shot he is some skirls just aint gonna sit still when you come upon them. Let him bag a few then let him use the 22.

Click to expand...

You nailed it Mack, that is pretty much exactly what happened. he isnt big enough for the 12 gauge yet, so I wasn't ready for him to use it. That said, I realized that although I taught him gun safetly at home, when he was excited in the woods he had a few slip ups on the walk in in terms of keeping the barrel in a safe direction( the gun was unloaded intentionally but he didn't know that).

Seeing this, I basically devoted the rest of day to teaching him proper safety and woodmanship instead of focusing on actually getting a squirrel. I will do the same next weekend until I feel like he has it 100% down. We saw a handful of squirrels but like you said, they were way to quick for him to get a shot off anyway, they were on the move. .....I may have to pick up 20 gauge sometime soon. He will need it for Turkey season anyway.

My son (15) and I were where you are in terms of squirrel hunting just a year ago. Saw a few last Jan. and Feb. but they were moving. However we learned a lot and now hunt pretty well together. Early season was great by my public land standards, but January was humbling. All late evening runners and couldn't get one. Finally broke the drought Saturday. Strange how one squirrel makes us more philosophical about the empty trips. I just wish the weather and my days to hunt would get together, but I'm hopeful about Feb.. I use a o/u .410 and the boy likes his 12 gauge.

If you sleep in the hunt is not over, especially if it has rained and the woods floor is damp. A little sneaking around, move 10 to 15 steps and stop, look and listen. Repeat... as often as needed. This can be done on the outskirts of woods and field or thru the woods.

If a squirrel goes up a tree... 1 watch from one side of the tree. The other moves to the other side of the tree making noise as he goes. The squirrel will usually move and switch sides of the tree for the standing guy to shoot. If you are by yourself, take a couple of broken dead fall sticks, stand in a position to see the top of the tree, then toss the stick into some brush on the other side of the tree.. try a couple of times to see if a squirrel is up the tree.

When my son is hunting with me we move about. The first person will walk the 10 to 15 steps forward and the other guy watches the trees to see if anything takes off moving. Wait a few moments and then walks up to the 1st guy, repeat. Works great working along small creeks and oak ridges. This is a deadly technique on squirrels. Just have to keep safety in mind when 2 are moving in close proximity and squirrels are running crazy thru the trees.

Corn piles will definitely put some squirrels in the bag. If you hunt in the afternoon get there a few hours before dark. Sit back for the first 20 or 30 minutes for the woods to came down from where you entered. Then it should be a steady stream of squirrels to shoot at.

Tree rats are some fun to chase thru the woods. GOOD LUCK

Squirrel hunting is a lot of fun, I use a Ruger 10/22 with a scope and use my deer ladder stands, basically getting back at the squirrels that drove me nuts during deer season. The land I hunt has a lot of oak, they are most active early morning and late afternoon to dark. Since my work schedule works best to let me out in mid-afternoon, I usually sit the last couple of hours before sunset.

When I was younger and lived in an area that only allowed shotgun, there was a trick I used when seeing a squirrel on the ground just out of range. I would run noisily towards it and usually the squirrel would jump up the nearest tree trunk run up a ways and then go to the other side out of sight. Once in range, I would wait quietly with my muzzle aimed a few feet above the place I last saw them. Usually after a few minutes, I would see his head peering around the side of the tree and I would take my shot. all the pellets in the head, none in the meat. Good luck to you both

When it is cold, say below 40 or so, I have had great success waiting until it warms a little, like 10:00 or so. A couple weeks ago, it was 25 at sunrise, warmed to 45 that afternoon around 4, and squirrels were everywhere 4:30 - 5:00.