You’re walking through the woods on a beautiful summer day. The birds are treating you to a chorus of cheeps and chirps, the breeze is lightly tussling your hair, and everything seems right in the world.
But suddenly you hear it: The blood-curdling titter of North America’s most fearsome predator. Your eyes dart crazedly across the forest floor until you spot it. The squirrel. If only you had some sort of way of fighting back, but you foolishly left your 22 LR rifle back at home. You close your eyes and try to find some solace in the moments leading up to your inevitable demise.
Don’t let this happen to you. Heck, be proactive and actually go hunting for the rodential terror lurking in the woods. To kill a squirrel is the ultimate hunting achievement, with tiger coming in at a distant second. Here are nine squirrel hunting tips to consider before you set out in search of of those rascally rodents.
Top Nine Squirrel Hunting Tips
1.) Go to Squirrel Food Sources
2.) Hunt During Peak Squirrel Hours
3.) Bring a Pal and Diversify
4.) Bring Binoculars
5.) Be Discreet
6.) Sit A Spell
7.) Attack By Water (Boat)
8.) Bring a Dog
9.) Wait After The Initial Kill
Go to Squirrel Food Sources
Let’s drop the silliness that surrounds squirrel hunting. At best, squirrels are only a threat to your bird feeder, which is where you are very likely to find them. But if you’re making a proper excursion of your squirrel hunt, you’ll want to find the spots they most enjoy hanging out in.
Ravenous squirrels love nuts and the trees that supply them. Look for white oaks bearing acorns, black walnut trees, and especially hickories which provide the most calorie-dense plant food in the wild. If you can’t find such trees then neither can squirrels, so they’ll seek out buds, seeds, berries – anything edible they can get their greedy little mitts on, really.
If you can only follow one of these squirrel hunting tips, this is the one you want to get right.
Hunt During Peak Squirrel Hours
Squirrels are diurnal and active throughout the day. They’re at their busiest at dawn and dusk, though, so you’re most likely to spot them then. Squirrels prefer to lay low when it’s especially hot out, so a broiling summer day in the South may not present many of the little rascals for you to shoot at. Likewise, a New England cold snap is likely to send squirrels to the comfort of their dens.
Bring a Pal and Diversify
Unlike city squirrels which care so little about your presence that you might accidentally step on one, country squirrels are highly suspicious of people. And rightly so. If a country squirrel spots you it’s probably going to shoot up a tree, keeping the trunk safely between you and itself.
Two hunters make this tactic unavailable to the wily squirrel. What’s more, the two of you can improve your effectiveness by carrying two different firearms. A 22 LR or 22 WMR rifle is indispensable for a squirrel hunt, but the other hunter can carry a shotgun loaded with birdshot to bust through the dense foliage a squirrel might take cover behind.
Bring Your ‘Nocs
You need a keen eye for hunting such small and flighty game. A good set of binoculars will let you scan an area before you alert any squirrels there to your presence. You’re not the only thing in the woods trying to kill the squirrel, and the squirrel owes its life to its appreciation for this fact. Even a relaxed squirrel likes to keep a low profile, and your ‘nocs will help you spot it.
Be Discreet
One time my mom told our neighbor, a real dyed in the wool outdoorsman, that she never saw deer while she was walking through the woods. Know what he said to her? “That’s ‘cuz you make too much **** noise, woman!”
Like deer, squirrels use every one of their senses to their fullest advantage. If they hear something even slightly out of place – a snapped twig, a rustle of leaves – they’re going to book it to safety. Try to move through the woods like a ghost, or a ninja if you will, to give the squirrel no warning to your presence. If you get close enough to one, a squirrel might freeze for a split second before it concludes you’re no good for it. Take this time to demonstrate the origin of the phrase “snap shot.”
You can also make noise work to your advantage. Know how duck decoys can trick real ducks into landing nearby? Well, if you use your hand to sporadically stir the leaves or vegetation beneath one of their preferred food sources, a squirrel might interpret that noise as one of their own having a successful forage. When it pokes its head out to investigate, treat it to a lead pill.
Sit a While
If you’ve found a spot that looks like it should be teeming with squirrels but isn’t, you may have frightened them off during your approach. Sit down and think zen thoughts for a half hour. Once the squirrels have accustomed themselves to your presence and feel comfortable in your line of sight, show them why that was a very bad strategy on their part. Patience is a virtue, my friend.
Take a Boat Ride
Squirrels don’t expect a predator to come floating down a body of water. Take your canoe or kayak through squirrel country and see if you can get a drop on the little guys. Do take extra care while handling a firearm in a boat.
Bring Man’s Best Friend
If your dog is cool and knows not to scare squirrels away, he can make a great hunting companion. A dog can chase a squirrel around a tree trunk, giving you a clean shot when it circles in your direction. A dog can also catch a wounded squirrel before it escapes to go die a slow and agonizing death somewhere. I have watched my German Shepherd Max catch many an injured squirrel plummeting from a tree branch, giving it a hearty throttle to finish the bullet’s job.
Stick Around After a Kill
Squirrels aren’t the sharpest bulbs in the toolshed. If you’ve found a spot with multiple squirrels and shoot one, don’t assume the other squirrels have all booked flights out of town. Instead of retrieving your kill right away, sit down and wait for the remaining squirrels to (wrongly) conclude the coast is clear. This way you can take multiple squirrels without moving an inch!
While we can’t guarantee you’ll bring home dinner if you follow these squirrel hunting tips, we do think they’ll improve your success. Good luck out there and let us know if you have any other tips to share in the comments. Everybody is looking to get the most out of their next hunt!
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