Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Where do the squirrels go?

Sitting on a piece of public deer hunting right now. I squirrel hunted this spot three times this early fall. In those three hunts I shot one squirrel and saw two others.


I can see four grey squirrels and two reds.

Somehow they know I have a deer rifle instead of the .22

I have seen the same thing hunting public land here in Connecticut. And I have seen deer when squirrel hunting to.

I noticed the same thing last week. When deer hunting slows down in the coming weeks, I am going squirrel hunting. I could have killed more from my box stand recently than I could have in October when I was chasing them on purpose.

You won't see any when you're after them lol

You may very well be right! May do more sitting and waiting on them versus hiking around.

The first time I ever went deer hunting was in 1964. A neighbor had told my father that some deer had been seen in a woods that joined our farm, so I went there, Didn't see a deer, but saw more squirrels in that place than I'd ever seen before. They were every where I looked, I'm guessing I saw at least a hundred. I went back the next afternoon with my shotgun, deciding that squirrel hunting would be more fruitful than deer hunting, and never saw a squirrel. I happened to mention it to an older fellow in the community and he said that what I'd seen was a squirrel migration. I didn't really believe him at the time, but I have seen it again, so it does happen.

I bow hunted a place one fall that had a bunch of squirrels, and I packed a slingshot with me and would shoot at them with it. Never hit one, but did manage to scare a few.

Boca, your not at Grand River are you? I had the same problem with!!!

Only way to kill em.

Sit down in an area and give it an hour or so.

Funny how they come out when you're deer hunting. It's almost like they know. I never tried this yet but I once heard someone suggest that when squirrel hunting I should just sit at the base of a tree in blaze orange. I ought to try it someday.

Agreed. I sit where there are hickorys, oaks and beech trees and within an hour they're on the ground moving about. Shoot one and within 30 minutes or so they're back. They don't have long memories.

Apparently all the squirrels are in my backyard. This is #73, 74, 75, and 76 for the year.

Around here they been spotty, bunch in 1 some places not very many in others this year. They good time passers when deer hunting, gives you something to watch.

I like to watch them too. We have several here in the yard on clean up under the bird feeder and they look pretty meaty this time of year. They do liven up the winter though bouncing around in the trees and chasing one another. The red squirrels around the cottage all get a .22 hollow-point if I see them because they chase out the gray ones and eat the bird eggs in the spring. I used to de-squirrel my hunting areas, but now I use them to see how well my camo is working and my early warning system for anything headed my way. You have to figure that being a squirrel is a pretty mundane existence, so seeing a deer is probably the highlight of their day. Mine too given the devoid of deer places that I hunt in the NF.

Easily explained. When deer hunting, you are much more likely to sit really still, the best way to successfully hunt squirrels too.

I have a whole passel of dependent squirrels in my yard. They’re fat and sassy, several are nearly tame. Pretty sure one or two recognize the word “peanut”. Only trouble they’ve caused is when they ate all the buds off a camellia one year. Now we take action against that. When they hear me take the lid off the metal trash can I keep the bird food in, they come running. I leave the ones in the woods alone too anymore. Rather watch them than skin them.

People want to wander through the woods. Can't kill many squirrels.up stomping around in their living rooms.

Don't forget, from 40' up in a tree they see you long before you get to them and they either hole up or go the other way.

Sit in a spot, shoot one or 2, do not retrieve them and give it an hour. If nothing happens go to a spot where you had seen some that were out of range of your previous spot.

I can have one 25 yards away while I am deer hunting, raise an arm or something and he may get the hell out of Dodge. They are far from dumb.

All the good squirrel hunters I know move slowly through the woods.

Squirrels will be wherever the food is

That's how it works when you want to fill the skillet.

I walked 6 miles collectively last Wed-Thu & bagged two fat Fox Squirrels in the state park. I come out of the woods into the campsites & there must have been 20 in a 30 yard radius.

They know where their bread is buttered. Seriously, in the woods, it was tough work for two.

You can see plenty, assuming they’re in the area, by still-hunting just as you would deer. The problem is keeping that same level of focus and stealth for such a small potential reward. Early in the season, a lot of them will be aloft and the trees still in leaf, which makes it tougher obviously.