Your Squirrel Hunting Techniques

[cloudbaseracer]

So I did a search and could not find any good information so I thought I would start a thread with some questions.  If we can keep this informative and on topic then maybe it can be a reference for others looking for answers.  

If you don't hunt squirrels with traditional gear then no need to tell us that. This is for those that want to know techniques...

Do you guys walk through the woods and spot/stalk?

Do you setup in a chair?

Do you use a call? Distress or Social?

How do you find there eyesight regarding camo and other game like deer?

Thanks,
James

[Krex1010]

Haven't hunted squirrels with my bow yet but I have done a ton with my .22, basically I treat it like deer hunting, get near food, be still, be quiet and wait them out. In the fall they seem to be most active at the same times deer are. I try and get to my spots before sunrise and catch them as they start moving. I've seen people go into squirrel hunting thinking is easy Pickens, and it can be, but you have to treat them like a game animal, moving spots too much, and not paying attention to the food will really hurt your game bag.

[Jakeemt]

Well that's just my cup of tea. I am a bit of a tree rat nut! I have used all of the above methods but prefer the spot and stalk. Camo is not necessary for squirrels really though I'm sure it cannot hurt. Their little brains are tuned more toward movement and sound than anything else. For a chair set up you need to pre scout an area. I find the mr squirrel distress call use full in the early season especially with fox squirrels. This is the one time were decent camo is kinda a must. In the early portion of the season (sept) the hickories will fall first and they will gorge themselves at the top of hickory trees. I have seen 5-6 squirrels both gray and fox on a single tree. They eat hickories so much sometimes it rubs the fur away from the sides of their face. Next is acorns as they become ripe and the leaves start to fall they will  more and more be found on the ground as the season changes. I also hunt them in the summer and this can be a real tough one since they move less and their food sources vary. The eat  fresh buds on trees , berries (esp mulberries), even mushrooms. They are more active near creeks and sloughs in the dog days of summer. Usually early am and late evening are best the exception is when it is really cold then they will come out and stay out later. Grey's prefer dense hardwood forests but, their bolder cousins the fox squirrel likes more open timber where there is a mix of hard and soft woods. They really like transition areas between fields and forests and are a real sucker for corn. I have often had a blast slowly walking a trail I know that runs between the woods and a corn field at midday and cold January days. You can jump fox squirrels there and it makes for a great sport to try and hit them on the fly.

[Jakeemt]

There are a number of effective signs to find a squirrel hot spot. The most effective is chewed up nuts of whatever is in season. also small holes dug into the ground, nests, and even other hunters. If you find a spot with a few shotgun shells preferable a bit rusty and all the same brand you can bet there is decent hunting there. if however there are multiple brands of shells many fresh you can bet that they have been well thinned and the remaining pop will be excessively wary.

[Krex1010]

I didn't really answer your questions...
I do not really spot and stalk except for the very early season when the leaves are still on the trees, once the leaves drop the squirrels will bust you and hunker down if you move too much.

I never really used calls, so I can't answer as to their effectiveness

I don't use a chair, sometime I'll climb one of the treestands on the property I hunt.
 Their eyesight is pretty good, not quite as spooky as deer but you will see far more if you treat them like deer. Camo isn't that important in my experience, be still and and you're good.
Squirrels tend to den in the same trees every year,I typically don't hunt the same den areas repeatedly each season, I just take a couple from a spot then move on, always leave a few to repopulate the area.

[Krex1010]

And you forgot to bring up the best part of squirrel hunting and that is.........squirrel eating!

[TC in Spfld]

Ditto on the squirrel eating.  To that end I use a scoped .22 Kimber.

[joe skipp]

Hunt squirrels same way I hunt deer...sit patiently few hours of morning and evening. I also love to still hunt around and combine the hunt with stump shooting.

When I'm dead serious about filling the freezer, take the .22 with hollow pt shorts. I do love to bow hunt them as they offer a variety of shots.

[Gordon Jabben]

James, I like to use a dog for squirrel hunting. A squirrel dog can get you many more shots and add a lot to the fun.  We also try to hunt thickets more than mature timber.  Here is a picture of my squirrel dog which I have posted before but is one of my favorites.
 

[Krex1010]

That's an awesome pic! I'd have that blown up and framed.

[Jayrod]

Originally posted by Krex1010:
That's an awesome pic! I'd have that blown up and framed.

Absolutely!! I love it  

[Gordon Jabben]

Thanks guys.  That dog has brought a lot of joy to our family.

[fnshtr]

While I sometimes sit for a while, I really still hunt. I love being in the woods early in the fall and here in WV that means chasing squirrels.

I average about 12 shots for each squirrel taken... not great, but great fun!

[cloudbaseracer]

Gordon,

What breed of dog is that?  

Am I to assume that you shoot squirrels out of the tree since you are using the dog and that would cause them to stay high?

FNSHTR,

What about you?  DO you wait till they come down to eye level or lower or do you just fling an arrow upwards and hope you can recover it if you don't hit the squirrel?

The reason I mentioned traditional only is that it is a totally different game with a gun.  I had two on my wife and I this weekend but they were really high in the tree and about 40 yards away.  We were sitting up against two different trees about 20 yards apart but could not get the them to come down. I would have had ample shot chances with a gun.  I could have flung an arrow at one a few times except that there was a rather large cliff behind that would have made it a $15 shot. It is just not the same when you don't have to worry about loosing an arrow and can just fire away for 5 cents a pop.  That is why my interest is in how you guys do it with stick and string?

[TxAg]

^^^ looks like a Boykin Spaniel

[frank bullitt]

My favorite animal to hunt with a bow!
Wading a creek, is my first choice of huntn them!

Here in the Midwest, this time of the year, the squirrel "rut" can be exciting and fun! Mild temps  make for some great hunting.

My best tip, get out there and experience it. Squirrel hunting can teach alot, woodsmanship!

My goal every fall, is to take a squirrel before I'm ready to take a deer. And when I' m hunting deer, I'm still huntn squirrels!      

I would love to hunt once like Gordon, with his " best" friend!

Good shootin, too Gordon, and to all!

[frank bullitt]

Oh, and Chester Stevenson is my squirrel bowhuntn hero!  

[Jerry Jeffer]

I see squirrels, I shoot at them. I'm not too good at hitting them.    

[fnshtr]

Originally posted by cloudbaseracer:
Gordon,

What breed of dog is that?  

Am I to assume that you shoot squirrels out of the tree since you are using the dog and that would cause them to stay high?

FNSHTR,

What about you?  DO you wait till they come down to eye level or lower or do you just fling an arrow upwards and hope you can recover it if you don't hit the squirrel?

The reason I mentioned traditional only is that it is a totally different game with a gun.  I had two on my wife and I this weekend but they were really high in the tree and about 40 yards away.  We were sitting up against two different trees about 20 yards apart but could not get the them to come down. I would have had ample shot chances with a gun.  I could have flung an arrow at one a few times except that there was a rather large cliff behind that would have made it a $15 shot. It is just not the same when you don't have to worry about loosing an arrow and can just fire away for 5 cents a pop.  That is why my interest is in how you guys do it with stick and string?

I carry both regular fletched arrows with judos AND a couple of flu flu with blunts or judos. I also carry a couple of broadhead tipped arrows for close shots into soft ground/stumps/limbs on the ground.

[Pine]

I discovered by chance while blood trailing a deer years ago that if you still hunt thrue the woods , the squirrels don't pay much attention to you . I move just slightly faster than if I were hunting deer . I have shot them as close as 5 feet on the ground . I have been hunting them that way every sense with amazing success . Don't even matter what you are wearing .