Arkansas Sportsman

Cool weather inspires squirrel hunting thoughts

Now that cool weather has arrived, I'm ready for some squirrel hunting.

Although squirrel season opened on May 15, I've never thought of squirrel hunting as a spring or fall activity. So many squirrels inhabit the oak and hickory woods on my property that I did help myself to half a dozen in the early summer, but those weren't really hunts in a pure sense. They were more like quick raids.

Hunting in mid summer does not appeal to me in the least. You have to take special care to prevent the meat from spoiling in the heat, and then you have to deal with ticks and chiggers. Encountering venomous snakes is a minor possibility, but it's still a possibility that requires close attention.

Ticks, chiggers, poison ivy, snakes and other nuisances are still part of the equation in September, but the arrival of cool weather makes it easier to ignore them. The faint whiff of autumn in the air and the appearance of acorns on the ground puts me in a hunting state of mind.

If you've never tried squirrel hunting, you should. It's an excellent way to enjoy and interact with the woods, and it's an excellent way to spend time with a child. You can move around, and you don't have to be exceptionally quiet. Stalking squirrels allows a child to discover a nearby and easily accessible part of his universe, and it allows child and adult to learn about the trees and animals that inhabit the forests near home. You'll see all kinds of birds and mammals, including whitetailed deer.

Squirrels leave their nests shortly after dawn and spend the morning eating acorns and nuts in the tops of oak and hickory trees. Gray squirrels make a raspy sounding call that can give away their positions, but the best way to find them is to stand against a tree and watch.

Squirrels make a lot of commotion in the trees, shaking limbs and jumping between branches. Take your time, and you can creep close enough for a shot.

Thick foliage conceals squirrels and can make them hard to see. Branches shake, but you'll often see only brief glimpses of the actual squirrel. That's why I prefer hunting them with a shotgun in early fall. Multiple pellets can plow through the tree canopy and take down a squirrel better than a single-projectile firearm.

To prevent damaging meat, I only shoot at the head, even with a shotgun. That often requires waiting until have a clear look.

When spooked, a gray squirrel often flattens itself against a branch. You can find it by looking for a horizontal lump that's inconsistent with the branch's profile. A squirrel is a nervous creature, and it cannot resist twitching its tail.

You can take squirrels decisively with any shotgun equipped with a full choke barrel or tube and at least 7/8 ounces of No. 6 lead. A 12-gauge is the most versatile selection to cover almost every shot, but you can do just as well with a 20-gauge.

George Cochran of North Little Rock, the two-time Bassmaster Classic champion and Forrest Wood Cup champion, only uses a .22-caliber rifle, regardless of the season. He uses a Ruger 77/22 bolt-action rifle equipped with a suppressor, which reduces the sharp crack of a .22 to a sound closer to the sound of an air rifle.

When you fire a shotgun or an unsuppressed .22, the report frightens squirrels and sends them scurrying to cover. You generally have to wait a while between shots until squirrels venture forth again. With a suppressed .22, you can clear an entire tree. The key, Cochran said, is knowing which squirrels to shoot first. You have to shoot the squirrels lowest in the tree and work upwards.

"If you shoot one high in the tree and it falls past other squirrels below it, the jig is up," Cochran said. "They know something's wrong."

Squirrels won't notice a squirrel fall out of a tree below, Cochran said. The sound of a suppressed .22 will make them stop and look around, but they won't spook.

Sometimes you can find a contour in the woods that squirrels like to travel, and they'll be thick in the trees along that contour. When you find such a spot, you can sit against one tree and bag a limit in short order without much regard to the sound of gunfire. They just keep on coming.

The cost of this adventure is very reasonable. An adult needs only a $10.50 Resident Conservation Hunting License. A child younger than age 16 plays for free.

Sports on 09/16/2018

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