Labor Day Weekend Hunts

[OutofSateSmallGame]

Back up in Southeast Georgia for a long weekend of squirrelin. Went to my honey hole of a WMA and chased them around the Hickories this morning. Pulled a limit by 9am. None had bot flies, which is interesting considering I've harvested 30+ this year from this same square mile and the majority were acting as hosts. Still cutting on the Hickories, none were found in oak canopy yet. 71 degrees at sunrise and didn't break 80 in the shade until I was leaving. That's cool weather as far as I am used to. Responded to an alarm call, shot, spooked the hawk down trail. By the time I was done with that squirrel, an alarm call was going off in the distance. Packed over and there was the same hawk with a new paranoid squirrel. Took him as well. Hawk got a good look at my stringer of 12 after a robbed him twice to end my morning, not a happy bird. I'll update as the Weeknd progresses, should have at least 2 hunts in me on some new ground. Excited to break ground on some new WMA's.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

Man your having a good year.

 

[Mark R]

Sounds like good times there . Hope they found some ice soon . I gonna get a few with the .22 as well I hope

 

[modulation]

Dang that's some good hunting. You wear much camo?

 

[OutofSateSmallGame]

Man your having a good year.

Sounds like good times there . Hope they found some ice soon . I gonna get a few with the .22 as well I hope

Between Georgia summer season and Florida, I usually harvest around 200 squirrel. That allows me to eat a large squirrel dinner once a week for the year and have some to cook/give away to friends. Everyone wants to get their hands on my squirrel wings once they've been lucky enough to try them lol.

Mark R- I was concerned about this issue several years ago when I first started hunting. Here's what I've found, hope it helps to anyone reading. This morning was 71 degrees at sunrise, followed by rising temps to the low 80's by 9am. However I was under the canopy all morning, so 80 is a good temperature cap. First squirrel was shot at 7am, last at 9am, that means a maximum of 2 hours dead at 80 degrees. I hang them from their necks on that duck lanyard, which sways on my hip. This allows air to pass through them and keep them somewhat shaded by my back. Even though these are the hottest hunts, the total time post death is minimal. Rigor mortis is barely occurring by the time they get cleaned. They get skinned, quartered, bathed in water, bagged up and buried in ice by 10:30am. Maximum 4 hours from 1st shot to on ice assuming a longer than usual morning hunt. In Florida in late winter I sometimes keep hunting until 11am, this means I may've shot the days first squirrel at 7am, and he isn't on ice until noon while swaying around in 70-80 degree heat. I have played this game for three years now, with over 600 squirrel. Never once has one gone bad. Last year I shot a boar 3 miles deep in a Florida WMA, he weighed 200lbs and it took me 6 hours to drag him out. Then I skinned him and got him on ice. Full sun drag out over 6 hours and nothing was spoiled, funky or any of the above. Might be an unpopular opinion, but when it comes to food safety, we have a lot more wiggle room than most think. That being said, the second they hit ice my anxiety falls off a cliff.

 

[1eyefishing]

Nice haul and fun, productive time in the woods... both meat-wise and woodsmanship-wise.
I alway count on very few if any wolves during the first couple weeks of early squirrel season...

 

[OutofSateSmallGame]

**** that's some good hunting. You wear much camo?

I wear the typical natural color pants with a camo shirt/hat combo. I've found that its more about seeing them and approaching with skill than what you wear. Once they see/identify what you are, you may as well be wearing chartreuse!

 

[OutofSateSmallGame]

Tried to get into Penholoway WMA this morning, but found a closed gate on Oak Landing Road. Didn't know it was private? Gate was 1.6 miles from the bridge that takes you into the WMA and had a no trespassing with a family name and sons written on it, not the DNR's gate. So after a 16 point turn, I returned to what I knew. Started the morning off in the cypress and mud. Dropped two right off the bat, recovered the first and spent 20 minutes walking in circles covering myself in mud only to come up empty handed. Heard a thud when he fell, not a splash. Starting to think he fell into the mud and was swallowed by the swamp, tragic beginning. Figured I'd walk the swamp edge and try and drop a few before they scattered over water, but the water was higher than I could cover and several got away before I could ethically shoot. It's been awhile since I've let them go once they are in my sight, nice to test the ethics every once in a while. Made it back up to the Hickories and the blasting began. Had three come off of the same limb, one after another they left the safety of the main trunk up high in the canopy to take the place of the other that was shot a minute before. High competition for grazing rights out here. They are starting to get a little too smart in this area. The ones that hide close to the trunk and stay quiet with their eating are living. These squirrel will have 100 IQ by year's end. For context, I've harvested 65 since August 16th in a 1 mile stretch on this WMA. Even today, a hunt where I wanted to go elsewhere to relieve pressure, still ended in 11 shot and at least 20 seen. Hard study to conduct, but it would be interesting to find out their ability to travel for food vs their territory. Are they living in the same several acres all year and making it work food wise, or are they moving miles based on the seasons. I heard somewhere that squirrel were witnessed crossing the Ohio river with deer one year when mast production failed. If they are willing to do that, I guess they will just keep coming out of the swamp into upland food sources until the local population fails, then to soon be replaced by the semi local population. Had my doubts when I heard people say "you can't over hunt squirrel". But after hunting the same several hundred acres across many WMA's between Georgia and Florida for 4 years now, I'm starting to believe. All that being said, I'll be on new ground tomorrow morning. Say 4 trucks and some shiny new shot gun shells on the trail. Nice to see others, don't forget to pack out what you pack in.

First selfi in a long while, not sure who looks in worse shape lol.

 

[antharper]

Another great hunt ! I believe they will travel a good distance for food or during mast failures . I also believe they are hard to over hunt . When I was a kid I use to hunt the same branch that was surrounded by farmland . Hunted that spot for many years and it never disappointed

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

They breed twice a year, but they are a lot smarter than people give them credit. I kill my share every year dog hunting. I can tell you for a fact they move their den/nest to be closer to the mast. Back in the mountains where everybody squirrels hunts, you can easily see how they react to pressure. They will often get on the opposite side of the tree and bail straight over the hill staying behind the tree. Makes it hard to get a shot. I don’t think you can kill them off….. but you sure can educate them. I too have heard of mass migration where hundreds of squirrels move to new mast, swimming rivers and people seeing them cross roads. Nice brace of squirrel you have there. The fleas would eat you up here if you hung them around your neck.

 

[dwhee87]

Was out setting some cameras in a WMA yesterday and squirrels were out and active until about 1030a. Had several come down the tree next to me and bark in incessantly while I strapped and locked the cameras to trees. Had my .22, but had just had squirrel for dinner the night before, so they all got a pass. Found a couple honey holes to hit in the future, though.

 

[OutofSateSmallGame]

They breed twice a year, but they are a lot smarter than people give them credit. I kill my share every year dog hunting. I can tell you for a fact they move their den/nest to be closer to the mast. Back in the mountains where everybody squirrels hunts, you can easily see how they react to pressure. They will often get on the opposite side of the tree and bail straight over the hill staying behind the tree. Makes it hard to get a shot. I don’t think you can kill them off….. but you sure can educate them. I too have heard of mass migration where hundreds of squirrels move to new mast, swimming rivers and people seeing them cross roads. Nice brace of squirrel you have there. The fleas would eat you up here if you hung them around your neck.

There is a WMA in Central Florida where you have to get a permit to hunt. The application costs $100, instead of free like virtually all others. They only open that permit hunt for 4 weekends between various weapons. Long story short, its 20,000 acres that gets hunted by about 100 people across 4 weekends that are paying top dollar and you bet they are 100% focused on deer and maybe pigs, no one is shooting squirrel during those weekends. Then they open it for small game for 2 weekends in Feb. I hike deep into that place and hunt the same 500 or so acres. Because I know no one is hunting them, its a good standard to based more pressured areas near by off of. I beat them up bad in those 2 weekends, and year after year they are there waiting come Feb. I think calories and suitable habitat for dens is probably more of a limiting factor for population compared to breeding cycles. Good point.


WWSD- Nothing better than hearing that bark knowing you're about to get a easy shot opportunity. Testosterone is the vigor of life, but can also be your downfall.

 

[outdoorman]

Back up in Southeast Georgia for a long weekend of squirrelin. Went to my honey hole of a WMA and chased them around the Hickories this morning. Pulled a limit by 9am. None had bot flies, which is interesting considering I've harvested 30+ this year from this same square mile and the majority were acting as hosts. Still cutting on the Hickories, none were found in oak canopy yet. 71 degrees at sunrise and didn't break 80 in the shade until I was leaving. That's cool weather as far as I am used to. Responded to an alarm call, shot, spooked the hawk down trail. By the time I was done with that squirrel, an alarm call was going off in the distance. Packed over and there was the same hawk with a new paranoid squirrel. Took him as well. Hawk got a good look at my stringer of 12 after a robbed him twice to end my morning, not a happy bird. I'll update as the Weeknd progresses, should have at least 2 hunts in me on some new ground. Excited to break ground on some new WMA's.

Wow, no botflies!
This is going to be my first year really going after squirrels and just been waiting for it to get later so no botflies. But if your not seeing them I might get out sooner as I'm in SE Georgia too.

 

[OutofSateSmallGame]

Wow, no botflies!
This is going to be my first year really going after squirrels and just been waiting for it to get later so no botflies. But if your not seeing them I might get out sooner as I'm in SE Georgia too.

Seems to be a 50/50 chance of an individual being infected from Aug 15th-mid September according to my observations this year. Just think of them like ticks, you wouldn't throw away a deer for having a tick would you?