Squirrel hunting lessons from the master..........Yeah, Right!!!
I'm in no way a "Master" at squirrel hunting. I do decent, but a lot of it has to do with having a good place to hunt. The easiest, and most efficient way I've found to squirrel hunt is to walk a little and stand a lot. If you're hunting in the fall, look for mast trees (i.e. oak, hickory, walnut, etc). Here in KY, they generally cut Shagbark hickory if there are any in the area, followed by Pignut hickory. Go into an area where you've got mast trees and spend more time looking and listening than walking. Most of the squirrels I get are from hearing them than seeing them. Listen for things dropping out of the trees and hitting the leaves. I know what you're thinking, "There's tons of stuff that falls out of the trees." Listen for stuff dropping in the same area or out of the same tree. If the squirrel has a tough, thick shelled nut, you'll hear them 'cutting' on the nut. This sounds a lot like rubbing the edge of an empty shotgun hull over the ridges on the edge of a quarter (which by the way, some people use as a call). Other things to listen for are squirrels barking at something, or just general chatter, and the rustling of leaves when they're on the ground.
Listen more than you walk. I'll usually take about 10-15 steps, lean against or sit down at a tree, and stay there for 5-15 minutes. If you've found a hot tree that the squirrels are really cutting on, camp out in a good spot where you can see quite a bit of the tree (don't "camp out" literally). You have to consider, the squirrels live in that patch of woods 24/7, whereas you may only spend a few hours there once a week. They know more about the area than we do.
Anyway, listen for squirrels. Don't expect to see them all of the time. Once you've "heard" one, then get a little closer and try to spot it. After you shoot the squirrel, STAY PUT! Where there's 1 squirrel, there's sometimes another. Just make the spot where the squirrel fell, and after a few minutes, if you haven't seen/heard any others, then go pick up your squirrel and move a little. A typical hunt has me covering about 300 yds in about 3 hours.
The main thing to remember is to take your time, enjoy yourself and nature, and never take it too seriously. When you start taking squirrel hunting too seriously, then it's no fun any more. Also, if you can, take a kid out with you. Squirrel hunting is a great way to introduce kids to hunting. Make sure they wear ear and eye protection though!
Big58cal
Comments