Squirrels: Food chain bottom-feeders offer challenge for hunters

ALBANY — Although it does not get the same fanfare as the opening day of deer, turkey or duck season, many Georgia hunters have been counting down the days until Aug. 15, when squirrel season opens in Georgia. With only 20 days to go, you might want to start getting ready as well.

The gray squirrel is the most common game animal in Georgia, found in large numbers in both rural and urban areas. As a result, like Rodney Dangerfield, the season doesn’t always get a lot of respect.

However, this hasn’t always been the case. Due to its popularity as a food item on the table of American frontier families, the iconic “Kentucky squirrel rifle” evolved. Developed on the American frontier of the early 1700s, the rifle was light in weight, elegant in appearance and frugal in the consumption of lead and powder. More importantly, though, it was extremely accurate. An important factor for the marksman attempting to hit a target that is slightly smaller than a golf ball.

Although gray squirrels are plentiful, they can be very evasive in their natural habitat. Seldom does the hunter actually see the characteristic pose of a squirrel sitting in the shade of his own tail. This iconic pose gave the species its scientific name — Sciurus is derived from the Greek words Skia, meaning shade, and Oura, meaning tail, combining as “shade-tailed” or “he who sits in the shadow of his own tail.”

Gray squirrels frequent mature upland and bottomland hardwood forests. These areas generally comprise a diverse mixture of oaks, hickories and other hardwoods. Squirrels also can be found in mixed stands of hardwoods and pines when pure hardwood stands are not available. They will eat everything from hardwood mast to flowers, dogwood fruit, berries, grasses, fungi and forbs.

The remains of their foraging efforts are some of the primary evidence hunters can use to determine if there are squirrels in an area. The hulls of nuts, partially devoured mushrooms and pine cone scales littering the ground are evidence of squirrels feeding in an area. Hardwood bottoms with creeks or streams running through them are also a good location to hunt, as squirrels like easy access to water when possible. Squirrels may periodically pilfer the eggs of nesting birds, insects and small invertebrates. However, they are primarily vegetarians existing near the bottom of the food chain. Avian predators, including hawks and owls, target them from the air. Bobcats, foxes and coyotes stalk them on the ground. With these numerous enemies, the gray squirrel must rely on keen eyesight, vigilance and agility to survive. They also have mastered the art of “freezing” or remaining motionless, clinging tightly against the trunk or limbs of a tree becoming almost invisible to the untrained eye.

Like most game animals, squirrels are most active in the early morning and late evening while feeding. They may be observed venturing to water sources later in the morning. During the middle of the day, their movements are limited, as they are on rainy and extremely windy days. While squirrels are not as active during the mid-day hours, they can be found near nesting areas.

There are three basic methods for successfully hunting squirrels. The first is classified as “still hunting.” This nomenclature is slightly confusing, as the hunter is actually moving as slowly and silently as possible through the squirrel’s habitat. At the same time, the hunter is continually scanning both the forest floor and the overhead limbs in an effort to see the motion of squirrels moving about as they feed. To be successful in this type of hunting, progress must be extremely slow, with frequent stops beside large trees in an effort to conceal motion through the woods.

The second method requires the hunter to select a spot in a promising feeding area, sit at the base of a tree while waiting motionlessly for feeding squirrels to come into range. This becomes a waiting game, no different than sitting a stand while deer hunting. Although the hunter may be tempted to move to other locations, this generally proves to be counterproductive. Following a successful shot, it is better for the hunter to remain motionless, marking the location of the fallen squirrel instead of moving to immediately retrieve it.

With experience, the hunter learns to discern the sounds of feeding and scampering squirrels, both on the ground and in the trees. When using either of these methods, hunters also may choose to periodically use a squirrel call to encourage an inquisitive squirrel to look for a rival in their feeding area. It also may be used to try and get a squirrel that is partially hidden to move, offering the hunter a better shot.

The third method, while similar to the first, requires hunters to be assisted by one or more dogs, which for the most part use their natural instincts to “tree” squirrels ahead of the hunter. Small dogs, which are generally of the terrier breed, aid the hunting party by use of their sense of smell to locate squirrels that would otherwise go unnoticed, as well as attracting the squirrel’s attention so the hunter might get a better shot.

When it comes to selecting a firearm for squirrel hunting, rifles are generally .22lr or .17hmr. Today, most hunters choose to use some form of optics to improve their chances of making the previously mentioned head shot, which spoils no meat. If the shotgun is the chosen gauge, it doesn’t matter the size, although a 20 gauge is sufficient with No. 6 shot the proffered load. The argument between which firearm is best has yet to be answered definitively. A motionless squirrel may offer a challenging rifle shot, while a squirrel running rapidly through tree branches may prove to be a challenge for the shotgunner.

Squirrels, as well as other small game species and fur-bearers, may be hunted on most Wildlife Management Area land subject to statewide seasons and bag limits except as otherwise noted for a specific area. Small game and fur-bearer hunting is generally not permitted while quota hunts are taking place in a specific area. Daylight fluorescent orange is required to hunt small game (except dove and waterfowl), concurrent with firearms deer and bear hunts.

Georgia hunters may harvest 12 squirrels daily. When hunting on a WMA and other state-managed properties, only one of these may be a fox squirrel.

Although squirrels might not get the respect of larger game animals in the state, they are the second-most-popular species behind dove. In a survey of the 2002-03 hunting season, 65,000 hunters reported harvesting 803,000 squirrels.