Just wondering if anyone else has been out chas'n squirrels? I know that Timo & John Nail are both squirrel hunt'n fools I've seen them both post pics in the past.I just can't believe I'd be the only one out there in the heat,bug infested woods a chase'n bushy tails? Prove me wrong ,lets see some pictures on here. I'll start, you all follow:
(http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/13635/2162867570045195823S600x600Q85.jpg) (http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2162867570045195823wIYrSH)
I will be when the season starts in october
Went out twice this weekend with my 9 year old. Got into a mess of them on Friday. Sounded like rain with all of the nuts falling through the leaves! LOL None close enough for a clear bow shot though.
Any tricks for getting up close and personal on these little jokesters?
I like to wait at the base of a tree near where they come on the ground and feed, thats how I hunt them with a shotgun, gonna try that with a bow this year
Was out yesterday. Even with bug juice the skeeters drove me out. I'll be back out when cooler weather comes. It's supposed to be 87 today and 90 tomorrow, too hot.
Been out for a few days now, lost a few flu flu's too but great fun. Got a few and missed a few but they are in large numbers this years, makes for great hunts.
Glad to see I'm not the only "nut" in the woods with a bow chase'n tree rats!
As far as any tips for hunting them,best thing I've found is to make them curious. Shake a small sapling and give your best imatation of a squirrel curiously barking at something or even squeak on the back of your hand like you would if you were trying to call in a coyote. This will bring them down from the top of the tree and give you a good shot.Oh and of course take plenty of arrows! Fire a couple of warning shots first and then let them have it!
Thanks for the tips.
I think I've got the "warning shots" down pat! :banghead:
was out today, saw many but no good shots as they were all in the tree tops. great day in the mountains with the longbow though!!
I went out Saturday. They were as scarce as the oak trees with acorns on them. Didn't find a one!
I'm finding them in the hickory trees around here right now.The last couple of mornings have finaly been cool enough to enjoy the hunt'n without the bugs being so bad.
It's amazing around here how much the grey squirrel population has taken over our woods. 10yrs ago you would never see a grey unless you traveled to the southern end of the state. Use to be nothing but fox squirrels here they are a bigger slower target, I need all the bigger slower targets I can find, squirrels or other animals. :)
Same with the grays here Richard,they are takin over!
We been hangin treestands,so I don't think you're a bit nuts for huntin!!
Had a great hunting day, seen 4 squirrels and after a little of patience figuring out my shooting lanes, got all four of them. A great day indeed :)
DQ
:bigsmyl: Congrats Daniel. That is a Great Day indeed. :D
Coming back , went yesterday ! i saw just one .
But many bugs got me ! and good to be back in the wood .
Nut for squirrel hunting ? Good time and practice !
Eric .
Congrats Daniel!
4 in one trip is doing great,,I'm happy with 1 each time out,too much cleaning for me :bigsmyl:
Tough to chase em here this year. Been hotter than hades and dry as a bone for the last two months.
My son and I went out Saturday and again today. We saw none Saturday and three today. I had no shots, but my son nailed one with the .22.
Several stumps did fall to my archery prowess though, so all is well.
Where I hunt is river bottoms and we had a lot of rain and north of us had even more. The river just got back into it's bank, so where I hunt is standing water now. It is going to be a new research area for skeeters, they are just starting to become clouds now.
Took my 12 ga smokepole out yesterday to a State Forest nearby. They were cutting shagbark and pignut hard. Shot one out of a poplar too. I think the poplar buds are pretty moist and they use them as much for water as food. Been a hot , dry Summer here. There is mast though. Took a shot at a gray in a tall pignut. Best count I got was 10 squirrels ran out of it. This tree was so tall that it was really out of choked muzzleloader range. You'd never got a shot off with a bow on this one. Plus the leaves being on, grays being so small, etc etc. I should have taken the .22
I learned one thing (well I think I already knew it but plum forgot), stay off the ridge tops and stay IN the hollers and small drainages. There's where the squirrels are this year.
I've been shooting a few. It's about 2-3 weeks from pecans starting to open and fall. I have 28 pecan trees around the house. This time of year I have to shoot squirrels by day and coons by night. Full time Wackathalon! I keep a bow and arrows by the back door and when the dogs bark I go hunting :bigsmyl: .
We got until Oct. here...But Im ready.. :)
The Eastern Gray Squirrel is doing quite well here in Western Washington, a place where the Western Gray Squirrel has had to be protected.
Just last week, my yellow lab Madi caused such a commotion at the front door I had to check it out. This little guy must have been out exploring on his own for the first time.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d108/lwscott/BabySquirrel.jpg)
Dang things are cutting so much I can't get 'em low enough to shoot. Hickories and acorns are just plain going nuts in Western Indiana where I hunt.
Glad someone is having success. SE Indiana is too blame hot. Not any sign of them cutting on hickory's in my woods. Have seen a couple cutting walnuts, but no shots. Supposed to be in the mid 90's again all the rest of the week. Think I'm goin' dove hunting instead!
Woody
Reds are cutting poplar right now and will soon be swarming my chestnut trees.
Great picture Blackhawk!
John,,, have you tried talking them down with some soft barks and squeals? Sometimes it takes a little while but sooner or later a curious one seems to come down. Not everytime of course but often enough to give it a try, shake a small sapling and talk to them a bit and see what happens. But then again maybe I've had good luck this way because it takes a squirrel to talk squirrel :jumper: .
For you tree rat chasers :bigsmyl:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/theferret111/2007_04160011.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/theferret111/2006_10130020.jpg)
Mickey, how much did you pay those greys to sit still long enough for a photo?
Dang greys. Jumping and running around all the time and not sitting still like a respectible fox squirrel giving one a shot opportunity. Cowards, every one of them. :saywhat:
Well we can't do no squirrelin, until it's squirrelin season partner. That be the middle of October.
Joe and I went out sat and never saw a squirrel. We ended up just shooting stumps, had a good time anyhow.
Mickey,,,that pic of the grey is the exact position I shot the one in my pic. A steel blunt to the base of the beast's left ear sent him spinning like a rag doll! The menacing beast will no longer ruin a whitetail ambush with it's ferocius barks.
i have been out twice and have yet to see one. gonna try my backyard tonight. hopefully i'll break in my new longbow.
My first game with a longbow when I was like 8 or 9 was a rabbit. My first game with a recurve as an adult was a squirrel. Shot a bunch since. What great animals to hunt (both rabbits and squirrels). Alas these days I let them all be with the bow, and they let me sneak up pretty close and "shoot" them with the camera instead. Fair trade I suppose. For some reason squirrels are easier to photograph than rabbits. Got lots of pics of squirrels.
Richard, I've been out several times. I managed to kill one and my bud Kenny got one. It's so dry here and NOISY trying to sneak aound the woods. They are up high in Hickory and Oak, and they just sleep and stay up there. A couple days of rain would make a world of difference, but I'm lovin' it anyway.
Flinttim: How are those red wads working for you?
John, I hunted over at Jackson/Washington State Forest Monday. Foundthe best way to go was to find a dried up creek bed or drainage and hunt from it. The squirrels are all in the hollers, I guess because it's closer to any moisture. The nuts seem more abundant there too. I hunted the high ground a bit but not much going on there.
At least from the creek beds you don't have to get to far into the noisy woods to get a shot. If a man can handle the skeeters I would think river bottomes to be a good bet. I have over the years killed many in fox grapes and crab apples in the bottoms. Not too high either.
I was using my full choke 12 ga Monday, can't get the wads past the choke. But I do believe they will work fine in my long barreled fowler.
I'd sure like to take my pup out with Kenny's dog once the leaves fall.
Yea, we tried it all. I spent about 30 minutes teaching Lainey, my 6 year old how to bark and chatter. She spent the next two days practicing :) . Drove her brother crazy! They just stayed up there and ate.
Tim,
My kids and I are camping/hunting at Jackson/Washington this Saturday. This is James' first year hunting. It'll be fun. We're staying at Knob Lake. Come down if you get a chance.
John
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/October027.jpg)
John, I leave for a weeks worth of muzzleloading down at Friendship come Friday about noon. Otherwise I'd join ya'.
Be sure to check out the rules and boundaries down there. The immediate area around the campground and lake is off limits of course. I hunted in from the horse trail area (East of the campground about a mile) and came upon marker signs designating the area a No Hunting and Shooting zone. From where I started it was a long hike to the signs but from the campground, not all that far.
Like I said above, forget the hilltops and ridges, find a drainage or creek bed that opens into a small holler. There be the squirrels. Pignuts and poplar are the trees.
If you make it to the big saddle back to the East of the camp (this is where the "Pinnacle" is located ) drop right over it into the bottom below. Squirrel heaven !