Last week, I was invited to join a group of outdoor industry professionals for a gathering in western Kentucky. The gathering was based on the opening of Kentucky's squirrel season, and in short, it was a celebration of the start of hunting season.
While all the folks were diehard hunters, most of them would be classified as big-game hunters. There were a few lifelong squirrel hunters, me included, but it really didn't matter. We were hunters celebrating another year of anticipation of the upcoming seasons and their adventures.
The hunters were equipped with the latest rimfire rifles, and the quarry was early-season squirrels. With the trees still displaying a full canopy of leaves, the hunt was not easy, to say the least, and definitely a challenge of marksmanship and patience.
Early-season squirrel hunting is all about finding their food source. In fact, whether you hunt squirrels in the early season, the fall or late season (winter), it is all about the food source or sources. But in the early season, finding the mast trees that are producing an early crop is key. And when the hickories hit, that is mostly all you need to know in the early season. Find a hickory tree, look up in the branches for nuts, and if there are any, look on the ground for cuttings, shavings or pieces of the outer husks where the squirrels have been busy "cutting" hickory nuts.
In our case, the hickory trees were pignut and shagbark, with the shagbark being what appeared to us the winner and the squirrel's go-to.
The name of the game was at first light until the sun began to bake, and the last hour or so before dark. The drill was the same: find a hickory tree with nuts, sit still, wait and watch. Between the squirrels cutting the shells, which sounds a little like rain falling through the leaves, or a thud can be heard if a big enough piece hits the ground, or watching for the leaves to shake as the squirrels dig through the branches to grab a nut, early-season squirrel hunting can be a lively affair.
If you happen to be in a neck of the woods that has hickory trees as well as a few oaks with acorns that have hit as well, there is possibly no better find for a squirrel hunter than that.
If you have never hunted early-season squirrels with a scoped rimfire rifle, it may be hard to understand the fascination. But after a couple of times of doing so, it is not hard to see the appeal, whether you are a small-game or big-game hunter. The technique is the same as far as the mechanics of marksmanship are concerned, and it is an excellent way to improve your shooting skills.
If you plan on using a rifle to hunt elk, mule deer or whitetails here at home, or any adventure you have planned and looking forward to, a day or two in the squirrel woods is a great way to hone your skills. Plus, they make excellent table fare.
Squirrel season opens in West Virginia on Sept. 13.
Chris Ellis is a veteran of the outdoors industry. His book “Hunting, Fishing and Family from The Hills of West Virginia” is available at . Contact him at chris@elliscom.net.
