Gray Squirrels - A Great Way to Introduce Youngsters to Hunting

My brother-in-law, Henry, and I went pheasant hunting earlier this week. In our travels around the woods and fields, we saw a gray squirrel run up a tree. It reminded me of the time my brother Bill, took me squirrel hunting in Cabot’s Woods, in Newton, Massachusetts, when I was a kid. It was a day that locked me into a lifetime of hunting. As I grew older, my passion for hunting gray squirrels increased. I learned that the challenge of hunting them also provided good tablefare when cooked to perfection. In later years, their fur and tails proved to be a valuable source of fly-tying material.

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Gray squirrels (a.k.a. bushy tails) are rodents with a mixture of brown, black and white fur that when viewed from a distance blend together to look gray. Hunting them can be easy, but can also be difficult. They are small targets and, because they are natural prey animals, they are quite wary and have the ability to tell when you are looking for them and when you are not. The males are called bucks (like deer), the females are does and their young are called kittens (meooow). Their nests are usually built with leaves and twigs and lined with moss, thistledown, dried grass and feathers. Their nests are generally built in tree branches, inside a hollow tree trunk or in an empty birds nest. They build several nests or dens and use them all. When a female has babies (kittens), the nest is theirs alone, but winter nests are often shared to generate better warmth.

The females mate only twice a year, but males can mate at anytime. Often, several males will attempt to mate with the same female. They try to attract her attention by slapping the bark of trees with their paws and chattering loudly. After mating, the males take no part in the rearing of the young. Birth occurs six weeks after mating. The naked, blind young are fed every two to four hours for several weeks. At seven weeks, the young follow their mother out onto the tree branches and soon learn to climb. The young squirrels gradually begin to eat solid food and are weaned at 10 weeks old. A month later, they will leave the den and be on their own. As adults, their bodies are between 16 and 20 inches length and they will weigh up to 1 ½ pounds.

Where can you find them? Yes, they do live in our cities and towns as well as in grave yards. But, those are not areas we can hunt. A key to finding them is knowing what they eat to survive. They live on a varied diet of mast crops such as acorns, walnuts, beechnuts, etc, being very important components. Other food items include seeds, fruits (such as apples), berries, insects, fungi and occasional bird eggs and wild mushrooms. They are also known to feed on the seeds found inside green pine cones and thus they will live happily among pine trees as well as hardwood trees. At the end of the summer, gray squirrels will store seeds and nuts to feed on when food is scarce during the winter months. So, look into the woodlands, most especially those that have trees that provide acorns and beechnuts in particular. Old apple orchards are also another good area to seek gray squirrels.

Feeding habits are also important to know and will help you be successful in choosing areas in which to hunt. Gray squirrels feed mostly during the morning and evening hours, although weather and other considerations may cause them to feed most anytime during the day. They rarely, if ever, feed at night, instead retiring to their dens or nests. They prefer to eat their food from an elevated position, the better to spot danger. Occasionally they will eat nuts on the ground, but more often they will take them up a tree to eat.

Gray squirrels communicate with visual signals, scents and sounds. Visual signals are usually performed with the tail, which may stick straight out or be curled above its body. Most often, when used for signaling, the tail will wave about. They also place scents on tree limbs and other locations to mark territory, among other things. Audible communication consists of squeaks, barks, purrs and such. Their meanings vary widely from "Come here," to "Look out!"

The gray squirrel is a worthy game animal to hunt. Hunting them is a great way to learn patience, woodcraft, stealth, marksmanship and firearms handling skills while still affording a decent number of opportunities for action, which is important in keeping a novice hunter’s attention and interest. The art of being patient, sitting and observing, is very important for hunter success with gray squirrels. They are keen to movement and observant to being sought by predators,
including by humans. In fact, having a pair of small binoculars can be helpful in finding squirrels and finding where they are moving to and from.

Squirrel hunting can be pursued using a number of hunting tools, from .22 rimfire rifles, to shotguns, handguns, muzzleloaders and even bow and arrows. My preference however, is using a .410 shotgun rather than the .22 rifle. The advantage of using the .410 shotgun over the .22 rifle is that the chances of hitting it are better if the squirrel should go on the run.

The squirrel you shoot doesn’t need to go to waste. I remember many years ago, I went squirrel hunting while in Maine, with a friend who lived there. We shot four gray squirrels. After he skinned them out and cleaned them, his mother made a squirrel stew that was delicious. I wish I had the recipe to this day. But, there are plenty of good gray squirrel recipes out there. There are several good internet outlets that have recipes for gray squirrel, such as for: Squirrel Stew, Crock Pot Squirrel, Squirrel Pie, BBQ Squirrel and Honey and Cider Squirrel. Squirrels have scent glands in the small of the back, as well as under all four legs. They should be removed. Don’t remove all the body fat. Leave some for flavor. A young squirrel’s meat is pink to rosy in color while raw. The meat color turns darker as the squirrel ages. If you think you have an old, tough squirrel, soak it in ¾ cup of salad oil with ¼ cup of lemon juice for 1 hour before cooking.

There are numerous recipes for squirrel. Readers can go to the following websites to get recipes:

1. www.gamecalls.net/wildgamerecipes/squirrelrecipes.html
2. www.ushotstuff.com/wg/SquirrelSmp.htm
3. www.bowhunting.net/susieg/squirrel.html

Gray squirrel season in New Hampshire runs from September 1 through December 31. The daily limit for gray squirrels is 5, but there is no season limit. No hunting is allowed in parks and cemeteries. Find a good woods area that has ample mast (acorns, beechnuts, etc.) and do your scouting. Remember to be patient, sit and watch. There’s plenty of time left, so enjoy some squirrel hunting.

Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at: outwriter2@aol.com

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DISCLAIMER:  The opinions expressed by Mr. Harris are not necessarily those of the Goffstown Residents Association or its members

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