Honestly folks, I have spent a LOT of my life outdoors. I am fortunate, I know, to have hunted as much, with the people, and in the places I have. With everything I have done and everywhere I have been, I believe I can honestly say I’d rather hunt squirrels than anything else. 

A bunch of y’all are picking up the phone, opening email programs, and generally probably about to send notes to my editor about how dadgum crazy the new guy is. 

“Why?,” you shout! 

Well, it’s simple. That’s the answer. Squirrel hunting is as hard or as easy as you want to make it. It can involve your best friends, your kids, or a solo trip. You can have dogs, walk, or sit quietly. Squirrels can be hunted in the swamps, the river bottoms, the flat lands, the rolling hills of my home or the mountains. Really, what more do you want from a game animal? Food? Oh well! Why didn’t you say so? Anyone who doesn’t like squirrel probably doesn’t love their mamma, sec football, or trucks. Squirrel hot wings, squirrel and dumplings, squirrel and gravy over rice, squirrel tacos! Honestly, I’m about to turn into Bubba from Forrest Gump.

Let’s break this down into a few groups for discussion. Gear, time of year and recipe ideas. 

Gear

• Guns: I prefer to hunt with either a .22lr bolt action rifle or a 20-gauge shotgun early in the season. The rifle allows for much more precise a shot and a longer range than the scattergun. However, early season when the leaves are full on the shotgun is nice. If you are hunting over dogs, it’s always a good idea to have at least a shotgun toting friend along for when they run or timber. My .22 has a good clear scope on it but nothing extravagant.
• Binoculars: A small pair of 6 or 8 power binos is a huge help. You don’t need Swarovskis or Leicas just a cheap pair from the sporting goods store is fine. These will help pick out small ears, tail twitches and eyeballs. Huge help later in the season.
• A vest: Used to be you could find a good quality small game vest. Nowadays there’s so few of us small game hunters you must make do. I use a Cabela’s strap vest from the bird hunting world. Very comfortable vest that is lightweight. You need to be able to tote squirrels, ammo, water and etc with you all day. 
• Seat: Have you seen those turkey hunting seats? Yep. Those are awesome. I’m well into my mid-40s and let me tell you, that comfort is important to my old back. Get you something that will let you stay out all afternoon or all day during the cold weather. 
• Shooting sticks: Yes, I am serious here. No, I don’t care how well you can shoot off hand. Very few individuals can off hand hit a target at 40 yards that is smaller than a golf ball. I use a single adjustable walking stick style monopod. A guy I read and follow-on Instagram uses the Primos Trigger stix and loves them. 
• Calls: There are several squirrel whistles and barkers on the market. Be careful with these. Whistles really signal distress and while they may make a squirrel look or run from hiding they will also send squirrels you don’t see running to a hole. Use these sparingly but pick one up. I personally use a HS Calls barker. 
• Ammo: .22 ammo is almost whatever you can shoot accurately. I use Aquila and Eley subsonic ammo. Shoots lights out and hits hard without really tearing up meat. Shotgun ammo is kind of flexible. In my 20, I run anything from 4s to 7s. Just depends on where and how I am hunting. I like the smaller shot over dogs because it throws a bigger pattern when they run.
• Game Shears: These make cleaning squirrels much easier. 
• Small game knife: A small, fixed blade that is EXTREMELY sharp is a great tool for skinning.

 

Time of year

• Early season: Squirrels are going to be on the very first trees to produce mast. So put on the walking boots and get after it. If you deer hunt as well, I promise you if you find squirrels YOU WILL find deer. Squirrels will knock down the very first acorns of the year for the deer. Walk through the woods not only looking for limbs bouncing but studying the trees for acorns.
• Mid-season: This is because of the popularity of deer hunting becoming harder and harder to find somewhere to hunt in October and November. However, this is awesome hunting. Squirrels are hard after acorns and getting fat for the winter. They will cover a good bit of ground and really move during this period. 
• Late-season: When winter hits it gets tough and unfortunately this is when we often get to hunt because deer season ends. If we are experiencing really cold weather (single digits or lows in the teens) you need to wait for the sun to warm up the areas. Look for sunny hillsides, treetops, etc and you will find squirrels warming themselves on branches. However, the colder it gets the less they move. They will also be digging up buried nuts so pay attention to the ground cover and look for areas disturbed. 

 

Recipe ideas

• Squirrel doesn’t taste like chicken. In fact, chicken doesn’t even taste like chicken anymore so there you go. 
• One of my favorite ways to cook it is to simply skin and quarter the squirrel and fry it. Squirrel, biscuits and gravy!
• Squirrel and dumplings. Just like chicken and dumplings but with squirrel instead. 
• Squirrel hot wings! This is unique and awesome. Qtr the squirrels and soak them in buttermilk for at least 3 hours (overnight is best). Dry them off, season with salt and pepper and deep fry them just like chicken wings. When done drain them, toss them in buffalo sauce and serve with ranch!
• Squirrel pot pie: my wife learned to make this from my best friend Virgil’s wife. On a visit once up in the mountains of Virginia he sent me to kill a mess of squirrels one morning and that night we had squirrel pot pie with biscuits and damson preserves. Awesome!

When I was a kid, squirrel hunting was a big deal. Now that I am an adult, it still is. I love it because in the end, it’s hunting in it’s purest form.