Do you recommend moving or stationary hunting when hunting squirrel?
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Do you recommend moving or stationary hunting when hunting squirrel?
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Both!
Depends on the situation.
I've sat in one spot and killed a limit. I didn't even pick them up until I had a limit down.
I've also limited out slipping along quietly, stopping occasionally to watch specific spots/areas.
A barking cat (grey) squirrel will sit tight. A fox (red) squirrel, not so much.
Spook a red squirrel and he'll hole up the rest of the day.
Give a spooked grey a few minutes and he'll go back to cutting acorns.
I enjoyed finding a grey squirrel sow in season. The little boars were unstoppable! I've killed six or seven boars befire becoming bored, shooting the sow and moving along.
I preferred the smaller grey squirrel. No matter how you cooked them, they are tender. Unless you have a pressure cooker or time to "smother" a red squirrel, they're tough!
Fit your hunting style to the game/terrain/conditions. Sit some. Move some.
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NOTE:
If you have an area that you can hunt long term (personal property etc.) go to your local feed store and get "rabbit spools".
These are small salt spools wirh a hole in the center.
Nail them to trees in your hunting area with a 8d nail.
Squirrels love salt. It improves their health and holds them in the area.
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I hunt them both ways. There's no better way to practice your still hunting and off hand shooting skills to get ready for deer season than to still hunt a good sized, oak wood lot with a .22.
I tend to bag more squirrels by sitting though. I'll sit 20-30 minutes, get a couple of shots or not and then move 100 yards and try again. Pick a good spot like the intersection of an oak woods and a corn field and you can bag your limit from one seat.
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I like to do both as well. I tend to move quite a bit until I either get to an area that looks promising or I catch movement. I hunt with binoculars too to scan open hillsides and drainages for squirrels running across logs. If I find a good tree that the squirrels seem to like I'll sit and set up and take my shots when I have them. My best day out this year I've only taken 5, the limit is 12. But thats just my terrible off hand shooting.
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It all depends, if you stumble into a place that is loaded with mast and squirrels id sit down and pick them off. If it is rainy out and I can slip around really quiet I do like to stalk them with the ole pump gun though. I've found the older I get the harder it is for me to bust an ole bushy tail. All those hours in the treestand watching them and getting to know them makes me a softy when it comes time to pull the trigger on the little guys!lol
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It depends on the time of year. Early in the season when there's a lot of leaves on the trees, you'll need to move slowly and carefully through the woods looking and listening for squirrel signs. You can see squirrels up in the trees by noticing movement that isn't the wind... squirrels climbing out on a thin limb to get an acorn, or jumping from tree to tree. Or you can hear squirrel 'cuttings' (pieces of acorns, etc.) hitting the ground when they're up in a tree eating.
In the late part of the season when the leaves are gone, you're better off sitting for a bit, looking for the squirrels to move, and then shooting them. Spend 15 to 20 minutes at a good spot, then sneak 50-100 yards to the next good spot.
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In late season especially with snow on the ground you can sit, but you can look for prints in the snow and if it goes to a tree and theres a nest in it you should find a place to sit and watch that tree. In the early season i like to walk with a shotgun and shoot them out of trees or on the ground running. Good luck!
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