Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game 2022 Squirrel Season

Let me ask you this, LFC, and try and keep it on topic.

Just what happens when the leaves fall that makes it such that a shotgun becomes an ineffective weapon for squirrels? Do squirrels only present shots at 50 yards or more when the foliage drops? Do they stop moving so that a shot on a leaping or running squirrel no longer presents itself? Does it suddenly become impossible to sit quietly near a food source and shoot them inside 30 yards? Aren't you able to shoot turkeys inside 30 yards in the fall and winter, or do you require a rifle for 50+ yard shots? Are squirrels harder? Haven't you taken a seat near a hickory tree and shot a squirrel on the ground, gotten up, retrieved it, returned to the same spot you shot it from and waited 10 or 20 minutes and then had squiirels come right back to the same area where you just shot the last one? Haven't you sat quietly in the late fall and winter woods after all the leaves are down and had squirrels rooting around just yards from you? Heck, I've had them root around nearly up to my feet, had them on branches over my tree stand, and had nut-eating wood rats go over my legs. What deer hunter hasn't enjoyed a clueless squirrel rooting around almost within arms reach oblivious to their presence?

And what's wrong with taking precision shots on squirrels up in trees with foliage? Is a hunter only supposed to blast shot into a shaking branch in hopes that something falls out? Are squirrels impossible to see in trees with foilage? Do squirrels never come down to the ground when the foliage is thick? Can you never get a 50 yard shot on a squirrel on the forest floor when the foliage is full in the tree tops?

The whole "shotguns for heavy foliage and rifles for when the trees are bare" is really just Field and Stream philosphy. Many people read and or grow up with it and it becomes gospel. It's a notion that is as traditional as squirrel hunting itself. It might be a good way to introduce little kids with low skill to the sport so they can have an opportunity to take a squirrel or two. But the truth is, both guns still have their respective advantages over the other, as well as their weaknesses, regardless of whether there are leaves on the trees or not. And squirrels don't suddenly become harder to hunt when the leaves drop. I happen think it's actually easier. And the myth that squirrels only present longer shots when the foliage is down is just that, a myth. In some places it might be easier to see far off squirrels when the foliage is down, but it's just as easy to take a seat near a food source, be still, and have them present them selves as close as they do in early season.

Like I said, I've known hunters that didn't even own a .22 and only hunted with shotguns. And they had no more problem limiting with a shotgun in late January than they did in early October.

Hunt as you wish.