Doc Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Yesterday it warmed up a bit, so I figured I would grab the gun and head up the hill and get a squirrel dinner. Things were pretty bleak! I didn't see a single squirrel. There were quite a few old melted out tracks but none of them fresh (like within a few days). All through deer season the little buggers were everywhere. I thought with the temperatures heading for 50, and the snow depths down to about 4-6 inches of pretty firm snow that there would be a lot of activity. Thinking back over the years, I remember seeing squirrels out on the snow in early winter and occasionally in pretty good numbers. I also remember a lot of times in the later parts of winter that there didn't seem to be any around at all. Am I too late? Pretty soon it won't matter because the season closes soon. So, all you squirrel hunting experts, where the heck did they all go????? What kind of weather makes for a good late winter squirrel hunt, or is there such a thing? Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I'd search out 2 things--nests and food sources. If their nut crop is covered by snow, maybe check around corn fields. Squirrels don't hibernate, but they do go on extended sleeps. I didn't see any squirrels over the last 3 deer hunts, which was pretty unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 It can also depend on the weather too, I've noticed that with the squirrels here on campus; if the weather isn't so good you don't find them, but if it is a beautiful sunny day you can't help but run into every squirrel on campus on the way to your vehicle! :D:D Dakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunt or be Hunted Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 what was the temp. before it got up there in the 50's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 what was the temp. before it got up there in the 50's? I think it was very cold that morning (teens or twenties), but it was afternoon when I got out. I thought they would be all over, but there wasn't even that many tracks (old or new). Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I'll say this, if a member here can tell me how to predict squirrels i'd be grateful. You can go on some beautiful mornings only to find them laid up in the nest and not moving. I know on some very cold mornings they'll lay up a bit longer till the sun comes up, but i swear some mornings they just seem to disappear. Nothing funner than getting into a good mess of squirrels on a cold sunny morning, but sometimes they have other intentions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 If you can catch them during the rut (yeah, squirrels rut too) you can really get some good action. Usually you can kill several boars trying to get to one sow in a tree. Other than that, i could stand to learn a few things on the art of squirrel hunting. Anyone here use those calls? I'll bark at them sometimes and get them to bark back to locate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhine16 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 If you can catch them during the rut (yeah, squirrels rut too) you can really get some good action. Usually you can kill several boars trying to get to one sow in a tree. I killed 4 out of the same tree the other day and still had 2 running around that I couldn't shoot because I'd filled my limit(8). Definitely fun when you run into that. I'm not much of a squirrell hunter, but have gone out some since deer ended this year. Seems like the above freezing sunny mornings are no doubt the best. Wind seems to be a killer on squirrell movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Yeah, I'll second the wind screwing things up. One christmas morning about ten years ago my wife gave me a winchester 20ga pump and a box or two of ammo. Of course as soon as the presents were all opened I had to go out and shoot, being the big kid I am. There was an old hickory tree behind the pond dam with a lot of vines on it. You can believe it or not, but i killed 5 squirrels out of that tree on the way in, and two on the way out. 6 were males, all trying to get to that one old sow. I didnt see many other squirrels that morning, i figure every one in that bottom was over at her place fighting it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curdog Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 The wind does mess squirrels up. I have Sq dogs and hunt ALOT. Saturday morning we started off in a hardwood SMZ but the squirrels were not their. We then started working the Piney ridges and found the squirrels. The squirrels seem to have started eating pine cones. We ended up killing 25 and missed plenty more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 The wind does mess squirrels up. I have Sq dogs and hunt ALOT. Saturday morning we started off in a hardwood SMZ but the squirrels were not their. We then started working the Piney ridges and found the squirrels. The squirrels seem to have started eating pine cones. We ended up killing 25 and missed plenty more. Do squirrels that are feeding primarily on pine cone have their flavor altered by that pine taste? .........Just wondering. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curdog Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 No, they taste just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 It was the squirrel rut here couple weekends ago,lol. I might head out today with the 30 degrees and sun over to where I saw the group of 6 or 7 squirrels, by a corn field. I don't hunt as much in the winter because I never see them as much, but they are around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 I was supposed to go with the kids on a rabbit hunt this morning, got delayed from yesterday cuz of a funeral. But my buddy with the dogs had to pull an all-nighter at work, so that got cancelled. So i got my 20ga pump and went to the woods. About 35 degrees, calm. Of course when i get there about ten minutes away, the wind has kicked up to about 20mph gusts. Didnt see one squirrell. Just a doe and yearling easing through a bottom. Oh well, ya never know till ya go. Next saturday i got another hunt planned with some friends beagles. Hopefully that one will pan out on the last day of the season. Last few years i've had as much or more fun running rabbits as i have deer hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 A trip out yesterday showed me that the squirrels really haven't gone any where but they sure have gotten extra spooky. I think with the leaves gone and a bit of snow on the ground and everything looking so open, they are understanding just how vulnerable they are from predators. I saw lots of tracks in the snow yesterday, and a lot of them were smokin' fresh. Yet I only saw 1 squirrel, and he was running like a pack of coyotes were after him. It certainly didn't help any that the ground was frozen and lifted about 5". Every step, that stuff would support me until I got full weight on it and then it would collapse with a whole bunch of noise. It was kind of comical that I was actually trying to sneak up on anything with all that racket going on. It all turned out to be a completely lost cause, but gave me plenty of exercise. Well, the season will be over in a couple of days, so I guess it will all have to wait until next fall. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.