Anyone hunt Fox Squirrels ?

[GeorgiaDave]

Greetings from Georgia,

   I have always been fascinated by fox squirrels and have taken relatively few. I have a pretty good population of them on my property and in the adjoining woods. I think what attracts me the most is the variety of colors I have seen. Within walking distance of my house I have seen gray, white, cream, fawn, black, auburn, silver, and my personal favorite, chocolate brown. I also love the way they move. They are very deliberate in their travels, unlike the jerky skittish grays. They react to intruders completely different. While a gray will take off for the tree tops, a wise old fox will simply find a crook, or knot hole flatten out and try to out wait you. As a kid I was introduced to this and the best way to counter it. We call it "limb counting". This works best with 2 hunters and starts out by getting into a position where the tree can be seen from both sides. Then we call out " I see the first limb from the trunk to the tip....................And don't see him" The other hunter says " I see the second limb from trunk to tip and don't see him" This goes on until one of us sees him. At times it has been only an ear, or some other small part since you RARELY see the whole squirrel. Then the accurate .22 comes into play for the harvest. We also choose to hunt them like deer. Simply set up before daylight where you know them to den, and wait. They are usually spotted low, holding tight to cover and bounding from tree to tree.

   One tactic that works for all squirrels, is to go out just before and just after a day or two of terrible weather. Of course that works for most mammals, but squirrels are very active after they have been forced to den for more than a day. I have given up shooting my beloved Foxes. I instead try to get to know each one individually. I know where there several "families" and truly admire them. I am looking forward to keeping them around and will not allow guests to shoot them either. Now, the grays are all fair game and I still love me some "squirrels and rice" !

   So, all that being said, do you hunt them ? Ever seen a variety of colors, and what is your favorite ? How do you hunt them, and what is your favorite weapon to use ? Thanks, And God Bless !

Dave

[Graybeard]

Around here there would be a LOT of hunting and not a lot of finding. I know one place on private land I used to hunt where I saw them regularly but the owner absolutely forebade shooting them. Other than there I've likely not seen a dozen of them in 40+ years of woods roaming here.

[Mack in N.C.]

have 9 mounted

here in nc the southeastern fox squirrel is found raleigh east though you cannot hunt the ones in wake or chatham co........the ones here are the same ones found form very se virginia to florida......they can be any color or variation except the head is always black with white ears and a white nose.......the fox squirrel found in our ne mountains....ashe and allegany conties is a different subspecies and is genneral more reddish.........i hunt them in several places but where i hunt them they are in no danger of being overhunted and the habitat is still good.......anywhere in eastern nc that has big longleaf pines usually has fox squirrels.....also they can and will live in big loblolly habitat if it is burned every now and then..........lots of the golf courses in easten nc and the sandhills are full of them also.......if you ever visit myrtle beach, sc  go to brookgreen gardens, this is about 10 miles south of myrtle beach, this is the best spot for seeing and observing se fox squirrels....most golf courses in myrtle beach are loaded with them also..............with that said they are  somewhat spotty in eastern nc as the habitat has to be right.......just when you you think you know all about them and there preferences for big pines and you see some on a river floodplain 2 miles from the nearest pine grove.....

my favorite colors are 1.saddleback...thats a black one awith a salt and pepper back
and 2. a jet black except for the ears and nose are white.....

i have one jet black one that has a white tipped tail.......i also have anothe one that is jet black except for some chochote on its back.....also have one that is silver blue and it weighed 3.5 lbs......one of my jet black ones was 17 inchs long from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail and the tail is 17 and 1/2 inches long!!...i was reading a squirrel hunting article in the newest fur-fish-game and the author talked about the small greys found in the southeast.....he failed to mention that the southeastern fox squirrel is the biggest squirrel found in the new world.....it follows the reverse bachmans rule....most mammals are bigger the farther north you go........the fox squirrel is the exception...

i hunt them usually with a 20 gauge single shot shooting 4,5, or 6 shot.........i use a single shot most of the time just because i like them and they are lighter........

the fox squirrel is my favorite mammal......and a very worthy adversary......i have seen them jump out of a tree 50 feet and hit the ground running...also if you walk up on one on the ground they will run off like a deer most of the time instead of going uip the nearset tree.........also the black ones are very hard to spot if one is flattened on top of a big pine limb 80 feet up........

also in sc they are getting more concerned about them as on most public land you cannot hunt them whereas in nc on public land you can in the counties that your are allowd to hunt them......it used to be 20 counties in the east and 0 in the west but i think here in nc it is now 22 or 24 counties in the east and 2 in the west........so here in nc they are doing ok....the ones in the west are also expanding into nearby counties though theyy are not legal in wilks and yadkin countie....mack

forgot...how do i hunt them?.......love to hunt them in a very light rain or just after raining so i can walk quietly though the longleaf stands and spot them.......not safe i know, but if you i spot 1 in a tree i usually rush the tree as if i dont they will jump or run down the tree and take off like a deer......i also sometimes just sit for them in good spots..............i have one spot where the open stand of longleaf pines meets the thick bottom habitat, i usuall hunt his edge.......also i have one place where on this "edge" the is a very big old hickory tree and it is full of holes........holes are hard to come by up in the longleaf savannahs but common alog the edge and in the bottoms......if it is gioing to be a very cold night i  sit within 30 yds of this tree.......i am also facinated by these big squirrels .
if you can find this book i highly reccomend it THE ECOLOGY OF THE FOX SQUIRREL(SCIURUS NIGER) IN NORTH CAROLINA . IMPLICATIONS FOR SURVIVAL IN THE SOUTHEAST

this book(study) was done by wake forest university and several bioligst.....i knew one of the bioligist and he gave me a copy...it is abosutely the best (almost 100 pages) of fox squirrel info you can find......you may find a copy in a university library near you....it was never sold to my knowledge.....mack

[S.S.]

I live in Georgia myself and I have never seen one at all in the wild?
My brother has a couple mounted that were taken somewhere around
Talledega(sp) Alabama.

[AtlLaw]

Back in the day I used to see a few when I was stationed at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.  Never seen one up here around Atlanta.  But they are all over the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge down around Macon.  For years I hunted deer there and always saw Fox squirrels.

I to was fascinated by the color variations.  It seemed the grey with black mask was the most common but there was everything from black to white and in-between!   

I've never killed one but always planned to go to the Piedmont for that purpose.  Just another one of those things I never got around to...   

[T/Chmr]

Wow....Thanks for bringing back some fantastic old memories.  My grandfather was a "rider" on Foshalee Plantation between Tallahassee, FL and Thomasville, GA and one of his favorites things to do was to ride thru the woods and spot them for me.  It was amazing how he could see them.  I bet with his help I've killed two or three pick-up truck loads of them whem I was a kid.

I live in central TX now and I've seen (rarely) something they call a Rock Squirrel out here, not sure if they are related but the very few I've seen in 15 yrs sure look and act like the old Fox Squirrels of back home.

Again thanks for bringing back some memories of some of the best times of my life.

My favorite was the black with white ears

[Mack in N.C.]

AtIlaw.......havent been to Ga. or florida in years but in 1990 i drove to tallahasse......i noticed that going south from atlanta  that longleaf pine habitat started around macon......lots of places looked just like the fox squirrel habitat in eastern nc..........it did look espically good in places  from thomasville to tallahassee......sandy land with open pines then very thick along the bootms........the se fox squirrel ranges from very se virginia to middle florida and then to eastern alabama .........somewhere in alabama it is replace with another subspecies that ranges from alabama to ms. or la. ............mack 

[AtlLaw]

That's interesting Mack!  Thanks

[BCB]

This is one at my bird feeder this past winter.  I used to hunt them here in Western PA many many years ago.  There was not many around in the 1960's when I hunted squirrel.  Mostly in old beech woods with lots of white oaks and hickory.  They were indeed a rarity back then.

Today, I think there are more of them and on another property from where this picture was taken, I have a shooting range and small cabin.  I see them frequently there.  They seem to move considerable distances, several miles, searching for food.  A mature one is about 1.5 times larger than a gray squirrel.  That is the color they are in Western PA.

They actually are somewhat tame and quite easily approachable.  I wouldn't shoot them today.  I enjoy them at my birdfeeder.

Interesting critters...BCB

[Mack in N.C.]

very nice picture BCB ....per my book that is either sciurus niger vulpinus or S.n.rufiventer depending on wher in Pa. this was at...looks like rufiventer is in extereme west pa and vulpinus is in souther central Pa........Rufiventer is the one that is also in Wv ,  Western Va. and NW N.C.....
Sciurus niger niger is found from se Va to Fl.Al, and S. n. Bachmani is from Al. to mississippi.......funny that in another book i have it has pictures and the 2 different ones found from mississippi to se virginia look the same... i cant tell a difference but the experts surely can.....both have dark heads except for white ears and nose(what some people refer to as a mask), and both can be almost any color.......
i have not got one in the nc or va. mountains but i hope to get one soon.....
Did i say that the fox squirrel is my favorite mammal and it is also my favorite to hunt??....
If i was limited to 1 animal to hunt it would be the fox squirrel....forget the bucks, ducks, hogs, ect....the fox squirrel is more interesting than any of them!!!!
If i ever make a trip out west it will not be for elk, deer or what ever it will be for the aberts squirrel...interesting animal also.....mack

[Mack in N.C.]

correction on my first post. sorry i was going from memory....there are 10 sub species of fox squirrels......the western subspecies follow "bergmanns" rule (that is the northern ones are larger like in most mamals) and as you go south they get smaller....but, the atlantic coast sub species follow the reverse bergmans rule so as you go south the  squirrels get bigger....it also says that the southeasten fox squirrel is the biggest........i incorrectly called it bachmans rule which was actually one of the subspecies name....mack

does anyone else have some nice fox squirrel pics like BCB???..i would like to see them....thanks...mack

[FourBee]

Here in extreem eastern Oklahoma the Fox Squirrels on my place basically look like the PA pic.   Don't have the variety that you have in Georgia.    

I haven't hunted squirrel in several years until this last winter.   And then only to prove to myself that Gray's had moved into the area.    Sure enough they're here.   I hear that when they move into Fox Squirrel territory that the Gray's will eventually take over??.....  

[AtlLaw]

I hear that when they move into Fox Squirrel territory that the Gray's will eventually take over??.....

Ya know, now that you mention it I remember hearing the same thing many years ago.  Wonder if it's true?   

I asked my hunting buddy down in south Jawja if he'd ever seen any down there.  In all the years I've been hunting there I've never seen one.  He said he's seen one or two in the last 15 years or so.

Wonder how they taste?   

[Mack in N.C.]

i woulds say no that grey squirrles do not take over fox squirrel territory......se fox squirrel needs open pines....burned frequently......and some bottom habitat where the range of the 2 may over lap......the problem is when the woods get thick is when it favors the grey..that is not fox squirrel habitat.........i dont have any data on it but i would say from waht i see and hear in nc is they are expanding ... 1 reason is i think  more and more landowners are burning pines......well i guess one data is that they have increased the counties in eastern nc that you can hunt them.......also i do see greys in the open pines but not many....seee more of them when you go into the bottoms near the criks or streams......my book does say that thaey put up nest box for the fox squirrels and checked them frequently....they only used them alot during rearing of young and when cold..very cold..other times they used the leaf nest...espically when hot......it also said that when a fox squirrle wants a box or cavity in tree that it could dominate the greys that wanted it at thet the fox squirrel got the hole.....also a grey in the open pines is more of a target than the fox sq....hawks can get the greys easier as the grey cant run as fast.......i also have an article that charles elliot(outdoor life editor for years) has alot of mounted animals...he said that even though he has sheep and so forth that his 2 most talked about mounts from guest are a fox squirrel he shot near the suawenne river in fl and a red squirrel he shot at near 6000 feet here in nc.........he aslo said that he shot the fox squirrel after a hawk had attacked it in a tree.......the fox squirrel won the battle with the hawk......he did not win it with the gun..some of these fox squirrels look almost as big as cats when you see one walking throught the longleaf pines.............mack

in some southeastern states fox squirrels are decreasing and greys are getting the habitat but that is because they are loosing the habitat.....they need old grothw...years ago i would have bet someone money tthat there were no fox squirrels around jordan lake ......now i hear reports about them bing there........the army coe has been burning the big pines aroud the lake for years.......new habitat....plus they have been thinning them and not clearcuttin them so the pines are 28 years older that when the lake was formed.......= new or better fox squirrel habitat......i will quit for now and go to bed.....mack

[jenkst]

Hello squirrel hunters; Here in Missouri the grays and reds or fox are plentyful. Not all that hard to kill a few. The limit is six per day. The reds are good to eat if you get a young one. We got more greys than reds. The good thing about squirrel hunting is your not stuck with one method of hunting them. I have a dog that came to the house two years ago and has turned into a squirrel fanitic. I take him out looking for antler sheds yesterday and must have treed at least a dozen times. The reds don't seem to be as wild as the grays. I use my fry-daddy deep fryer and just salt and peper, roll in flour. Can cook five to seven pieces depending on size of squirrels. Cook about eight to maybe ten minutes. When my son's and grandson's are home you better be quick to the table cause they ain't going to last long. Even if they are old the fry-daddy seems to seal the juices in and they are realy good eating. They don't dry out as when cooked in a skillet and I think it does'nt take as much time to cook. I use veg-oil or any that I have on hand. Iam making myself hungry thinking about'em.   Jenks

[ironglow]

 Not as many around here as once was...just have to find the proper woods. My woods doesn't have many..guess it may be because the Beech trees are dying and most of my deciduous trees are maples with some aspen & ironwood.Lots of deer, turkeys, geese and beavers are always a bother down at my property line/creek..but squirrels are few enough that I go to other woods for them.

[GeneRector]

  Howdy!  I don't know what varieties we have in Texas; however, there are counties with no bag limit and season open year round. Where I live we have a split season with a Fall & Winter season with a 30 day Spring season in May. Bag limit is 10 per day. Where I live people don't seem to be very interested in squirrel hunting.  Years ago when my uncle was still living he always had plenty squirrel on the stove cooking whenever we went for a visit.  We see some most every day usually near the bird feeder. 

[streak]

I have hunted fox squirrels and cat squirrels all my life.My daddy was a superb squirrel hunter and taught me alot about all the in`s and out`of squirrel hunting. Most of my hunting took place in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. Fox squirrels were my first to be bagged,the first one I shot when I was 14 with a Remington semi automatic .22 rifle( open sights). Many more fell to the deadly Remington.Alot of the fox squirrels were shot out of some very tall pines and oak trees. Color phases were mixed from the normal type of coloring to grizzly,black,albino, and sometimes a combination of grizzly/black.
Squirrels were a large part of our menu as I was growing up.
One of my favorite tricks in hunting squirrels was the use of a rubber bulb squirrel call. I could really get the old bushytails moving with the right call and location. Other wise most of my hunting was still hunting. A few years we had dogs and they were alot of fun to use for hunting.
Begining of season we normally used shotguns because of the heavy foilage, but as the leaves started to really fall we brought out the .22`s.

[billy_56081]

In souther MN they are thick in the country. In town it is mostly grays but in the country we rarley see a gray.

[billynwtf]

 Squirrels have excellent eye sight so I always wear full camo from head to toe including a headnet. I have been using a 17mach2 savage boltaction lately. The little 17 seems to shoot flatter than my old ruger 10/22 with little meat damage.

[okielectrician]

The little varmits are all over northeast okla.When I go bowhunting and one comes across your tree they know real quick you dont belong and the will go to the next tree over and bark and bark for 30 to 40 minutes straight till I finally get enough,and I keep a blunt tip in my quiver just for that purpose.in the woods we have greys and foxes but in Tulsa there is probably two to three foxes in just about every back yard that dont have a dog and will tormit the ones that do.My dog treed one last year and did not let him down for over an hour till the squirrel finally got fed up and leaped out as far as it could and the race was on.Didnt get it this time but he has got them before.(Half wheaton and half westie)good squirrel dog.

[rokefert]

Ive eaten quite a pile of Michigan fox squirrels.  If you have a cornfield adjacent to a stand of hardwoods with beech or oak you can really get into some big squirrels.  And they are fantastic on the table!

[FourBee]

Referring to the Fox Squirrels ~

Posted by: Mack in N.C.      .....they need old growth...

Mack;  that explains a lot.  In the last several years here in SE Oklahoma we've had 2 extremely hard freezing rains that killed lots of big old decideous trees.   That brought in the large Pileated Woodpeckers for awhile.   Since then those trees have fallen over.   So now the Gray's are coming in.

Posted by: AtlLaw ~ Wonder how they taste?      

The Gray's are very tender and more tasty, and they're easier to skin than the Fox Squirrel IMHO.   

[FourBee]

First hunt for the year today.    Took my 6yr old grandson with me.    He was all excited and a little antsy.   Gray squirrels were scurrying.   Got off a couple of quick shots only to hit treebark.   Mostly enjoyed my grandson doing his thing with his Daisy buck BB gun.      It's just a bit big for him right now, but he had fun.   After he tired, I took him home and returned for some serious hunting.  One gray squirrel ran up behind me on the ground and barked at me.   All I could do was look at 'em.    After seeing several, I finally got to take a shot.  About 30 yards with a Winchester Sub-Sonic to the neck of a nice Fox Squirrel.  Didn't see any exit wound.  These bullets are great.  Soft report and he absorbed all the energy; DRT.   Goin back in the a.m....   Gotta get some 'o' them grays.

[Dee]

There are so many fox squirrel where I live (North Central Texas) there is no season. Shoot all you want. I have hunted them all my life, and may go tomorrow. I have to keep them shot out of my paper shell pecan trees or I wouldn't have any pecans. They get in folks attic and eat their wiring, and they eat phone lines. We have tons of'em and unless you swing your bird feeders they will raid them.

[Duane]

All we have in South louisiana Louisiana is big fox squirrels ,North La has alot of cat squirrels

[FourBee]

Way to go Duane:    I admire those of you who can use a handgun with expertise.  Hope to get out in the squirrel woods tomorrow.

[Swampman]

I did until it became illegal.

[FourBee]

Went out this morning from a little before 7:00 to 10:30.  Heavy Clouds.   It was cold and damp from yesterdays rain, and worsening as the morning grew on.  It was so wet, I decided to walk the 2 miles into the woods.    I could hear the distant honking of geese, and the blasting of guns from the goose hunters down on the Arkansas River a few miles away.    Only saw one Fox Squirrel and took him around 9:20am.   Saw a little friskey Gray, but couldn't even get a bead on it before it vanished.  The weather finally won out, so I hiked it back home.  Hope I can get in a few more days of hunting before the season ends.

[hunt-m-up]

Ah, "tree rats" as they're not so fondly referred to here by bowhunters. Nothing like a chattering squirrel to let the whole woods know you're there. I took three with my bow one day last year, wasn't seeing a lot of deer, but the squirrels were thick. I've threatened to sit in a treestand with a 22 or 22mag and see how many I could pick off, may just have to do that yet this month.