Steve Felgenhauer
I began walking quickly across the field as it was getting daylight. The woods started coming to life. A .22 rifle lay in the crook of my arm. The leaves of the beech trees were weighed down by the previous night’s rain shower. I stood there straining to hear a sound. After 10 minutes or so the silence was interrupted by a release of rain drops in the tree I was facing. I snapped to attention.
My focus was on the direction of the disturbance in the tree. It seemed to be moving with no less than six squirrels clamoring from one tree to another before settling on the biggest beech tree which I was sitting in front of. I slowly raised my rifle to my shoulder and found the first squirrel in the crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. The bullet found its mark. The tree exploded at the sound and the remaining squirrels went scrambling for safety.
I stood again motionless and waited and made a mental note of where the squirrel had landed. Soon the woods started to settle back down and in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes the hungry squirrels were once again practicing their high-wire antics in the beech tree. By 9:30 I was once again walking across the field, headed home with a limit of squirrels.
Stalking Squirrels versus Sitting Still for Squirrel Hunting
Two of the best methods to hunt squirrels are stalking and sitting still. I use both methods. Factors such as time of season, the amount of foliage on the trees, food source squirrels are feeding on and my knowledge of the area determines how I choose to hunt on a particular day.
When to Stalk Squirrels
I had hunted this stand of beech trees for many years and had been through the area the evening prior stalking my way back towards the house and had found plenty of sign. The squirrels had been hitting the beech pretty hard with cuttings littering the ground. It was only a matter of getting up earlier enough to walk the mile or so and get positioned before the squirrels showed up.
I tend to stalk when the foliage is on the trees and the squirrels are concentrating on beech or hickory depending on where you live. But just like hunters who use a tree stand to gain the advantage of being in a tree, squirrels live in the trees and are especially tuned in to movement and noise. When I stalk, I dress in camo from head to toe and most importantly I wear a face mask and gloves. My head and hands are what move the most.
If you stand perfectly still, a squirrel will probably overlook you, but the slightest movement and he is gone. To up my odds when I stalk, I will utilize calls to help locate squirrels either in the form of a barking type call or a distress call depending on timing.
In my home state of Missouri, squirrel season comes in Memorial Day weekend. In early season the females with litters often begin barking when a distress call is blown which causes a chain reaction with other squirrels in the area. Distress calls can help locate squirrels but don’t think the squirrels will come running to you. More often than not they are trying to put real estate between the noise and danger.
By slowly making my way down old logging roads or game trails, I spend more time stopped and listening and looking for movement than moving. I may only take a step or two before I am once again locked up on high alert.
When to Sit Still for Squirrel Hunting
Once the foliage is down, your prey can see for much longer distances and before you can even get the gun up to your shoulder, they will be gone. If you can find a food source and if you are patient, you could be rewarded with a limit.
It is this period I like to hunt what I call connectors, a line of trees that connect bigger stands of trees with another like a wooded fencerow. I set up just inside the woods so I can clearly see what’s using this connector. Squirrels are traveling and looking for any mast which has been missed and are busy hunting and burying them for the upcoming winter.
No matter if you are a stalking hunter or a sit-in-on the-spot squirrel hunter, there’s no wrong way to squirrel hunt. Just find the food source and get the skillet ready.
