Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Does your state offer a spring squirrel season?

None here in Bama. It’d be too dang hot in May/June.

I moved to Montana in 1975. Some of my best hunting, ever, was in the late '70s and early '80s here in Montana. Back then Pronghorn antelope tags were almost a 100% draw in most units, Deer and Elk tags for residents were otc for just about all units, Grizzly tags were $25 and otc, and chances of drawing a Bighorn Sheep, Bull Moose, or a Mountain Goat tag were fairly reasonable. The odds of drawing a Goat tag in the unit where I drew my first tag was 1 in 4. When I moved down to the Bozeman area in 1978, all of the bighorn sheep units in Montana that were just north of Yellowstone NP were unlimited with the seasons running from the 1st of September to the last Sunday in November. And some years, some of those units would not reach their quota.

I had horses then so I didn't have any problems getting into the backcountry, and just about every year I wouldn't have any problems getting my bull elk, buck mule or whitetail deer, and buck antelope. All of those unlimited sheep units and the units where I shot my Shiras bull mose and Mountain Goat were all within 100 miles of my home. I was not good in seeing what the future would bring to Montana.

In all of the years that I bought unlimited sheep tags, I only hunted one weekend each year, and if I shot a ram good. If I didn't, well there's always next year. I would buy a Grizzly tag every year and just hoped that there would be a bear on the gut pile of my elk when I came back to pack the meat out. That worked for mon of my co-workers, but not for me. I only actually hunted one day sp[ecifically looking for a Grizzly. Now I doubt that we will ever again see a grizzly tag in the lower 48.

Back then I also subscribed to Outdoor Life magazine, so one of those years I had filled my deer, elk, and antelope tags, and also a bull moose or bighorn ram tag, when my copy of that months Outdoor Life mgazine arrived. The cover story for that month was some guy who had "opening day jitters" for squirrel season. The Outdooor Life stories just didn't do anything for me anymore and I didn't renew my subscription.

10Glocks: In my state (Montana) Squirrels are considered "Varmints" and there is NO closed season on them.
So, indeed a Hunter may Hunt Squirrels in the spring here.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

BuffyBR,

I remember those days--and even before. When I first started hunting big game in the 1960s, anybody who had a resident hunting license could shoot a grizzly, and AFTERWARD pay a $25 fee. Knew several who did--especially during the years immediately after Yellowstone Park closed down the "viewing dumps," where they actually had lights and bleachers so tourists could watch grizzlies coming in at night to eat garbage.

In fact, one of my schoolmates in Bozeman (a year behind me in high school) shot a BIG boar on the ranch his grandfather owned outside of town. The bear was no doubt one the the hungry bears that left Yellowstone after the dumps got closed. He killed it with one shot between the eyes with a .25-35 Winchester.

I always assumed that someday I'd run into a grizzly somewhere during my hunts in various parts of western Montana, so would get one. But the season eventually was reduced to two weeks in fall, and of course the only mature grizzly I ran into was during the spring black bear season. Eventually went to Alaska, twice, before getting an interior grizzly--which is what I wanted rather than a brown bear, after all those years in Montana.

Are there any tree squirrels in Montana or is it ground squirrels only out there?

When was the last year grizzly were hunted in Montana?

I'm surprised he was able to get into a good shooting position packing his balls around in that wheelbarrow.

I'm a big fan of the old 25-35, but holy cow 😲

Getting closer fellers, opens the 28th.

Going to try to be out there that first weekend, swatting skeeters and killing a few bushytails.

Of course my Thermacell and a good soaking of Permethrin will be in order.

In NY State squirrel runs from Sept 1st until the end of February, for regular gray squirrels. Red squirrels are classified as unprotected and can be hunted anytime with no limit. I've never seen red squirrels around my area until this past year when some began showing up in the woods next to me.

No spring season here in Indiana.
Fall season opens August 15th and I believe runs to January 31st.
I never hunt them in January. I’m usually rabbit hunting or trapping.
I think they lengthened the season to January 31st for the squirrel dog guys so they can run their dogs without running into deer hunters.
Anymore, I just trail along with my two youngest boys and attempt to take one with my Buckmark or my Smith 18 when they let me.
I average 5 to 8 squirrels a year.

It opens here on June 4. I agree about the thermacell. I'll be hunting squirrels where I hunt turkeys and the mosquitos right now will carry you off.

I had reason to drive some country blacktops yesterday and was surprised to see the numbers of squirrels I did along the roads. Top a hill, squirrels, round a curve, more squirrels... two or three squirrels here and there all the way.

Both. The tree squirrels are fox squirrels. As far as I know, the fox squirrels are mainly along the lower elevation parts of the bigger rivers, like the Yellowstone and Bighorn. I have seen fox squirrels along the Yellowstone River as far west as Columbus, which is about in the middle of the lower part of the state. I know they are in the town of Missoula, so it would be natural for them to spread out along the cottonwoods on the Bitterroot and Clarks Fork rivers. I mostly hunt them at the fishing access sites if they allow hunting. I use a 22 Hornet with a flat nose bullet (either cast, or the Speer 46 gr FN) loaded to about 1200 fps.

I moved here from Ohio where squirrel hunting was my #1 passion (along with ducks). I thought my squirrel hunting days were over, unless I wanted to hunt red (pine) squirrels in the mountains. When I saw my first fox squirrel, I went to Scheels and tried to buy a small game license. The girl had no idea what I was talking about. Fox squirrels have no closed season, no limit, and no license (same with cottontail rabbits). After 25 years of hunting them here, I finally last year ran into some guy with his 3 grandsons hunting squirrels. They're the first squirrel hunters I've seen here. Most people can't believe it if I tell them I hunt tree squirrels to eat.

They don't know what good eating they are missing out on.

Grey squirrel season here in Florida is Oct. 8 – March 5, Daily bag limit: 12

I like spring squirrel season but the damn ticks are so bad around here these days that it can be an ordeal.

I've got hopes it won't be a bad tick year, here. I went through spring turkey season without picking up a single tick.

Picked up 1 in turkey season. Picked up 9 over the weekend getting my 2 blinds.

Was pretreated with permethrin and topped that off with Off on my neck, ears and hat once I got outta the truck.

I will give my hunting clothes 2 soaking of permethrin this week and make damn sure I have my Thermacell with me. May even have 2 of em going.

I went for a while yesterday, took a bath in OFF skeeters weren't too bad SNAKES are what are on my mind this time of year.

Arkansas is May 15th thru February 28th. 12 per day