Bushytail Lessons

Prefer uncrowded classrooms to learn the basics of hunting? Try western N.C. squirrel hunting at the state’s 1 million acres of public game lands.

For decades, squirrel hunting has been a rite of passage for young hunters.

A first .22 rifle or shotgun was proudly carried into the woods with dad for that first hunt.

However, something has changed in recent years and squirrel hunting doesn’t seem as popular as it once was, nor even a good training ground for youthful hunters. Too many young hunters now go directly to a deer stand.

The move away from hunting bushytails definitely isn’t for lack of game to pursue because Eastern gray squirrels are abundant in the heavily forested mountains of western North Carolina.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Mike Carraway agreed.

“We’ve got plenty of squirrels here in the mountains,” he said. “It’s really a matter of just getting out into the woods to find them.

“It’s an old mountain tradition to bring up a kid as a squirrel hunter and probably goes back to when squirrels were hunted for subsistence. But today, you just don’t see as many squirrel hunters as before.”

In fact, while many mountain hunters decry the loss of deer and grouse habitat, squirrel habitat continues to grow while the number of squirrel hunters dwindles. And with more than 1 million acres of National Forest as part of the North Carolina Game Lands system, there’s plenty of public land for pursuing shadowtails

Although bushytails are numerous and public land plentiful in the western counties, it’s not just a matter of walking into the woods and shooting squirrels. In fact, those factors are the exact reasons hunters need to focus their squirrel-hunting efforts at specific areas and vary their tactics, depending upon the time of year.

Food is the determining factor.

As with gray squirrels everywhere, the diet of mountain bushytails consists mainly of hickory nuts and white oak acorns. They also like beechnuts, although beechnuts aren’t common in the mountains.

At first glance, a hunter would think the expansive hardwood forests of the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests would provide a squirrel smorgasbord, but non-mast-bearing trees, such as poplars and maples, are predominant at many areas.

Squirrels also need water. Unlike the coastal and piedmont region where hunters can focus at oak bottoms near creeks, that type of habitat rarely exists in the mountains.

Small creeks and underground springs crisscross the vast areas of western N.C., many of these waterways no more than 6-inches wide. Mountain creek bottoms also often are choked by thick jungles of laurel and rhododendron.

However, mast-bearing hickory trees at the ridges bordering these small streams provide excellent squirrel habitat. White oak trees are more commonly found at dry south-facing ridges. So mountain squirrel hunters should scout areas to locate these two natural producers of favorite squirrel food.

Once hunters discover food and water availability and find fresh “cuttings” where squirrels have been eating nuts, bushytails should be in the area. Moreover, the same scouting skills required of a squirrel hunter will help a successful deer hunter.

Scouting for food will be important during 2007-08. Freezing weather during April had an impact on mast-bearing trees at lower elevations. Many trees already had started to bloom when this spring’s surprising late freeze occurred.

Carraway said the WRC’s annual hard-mast survey discovered nuts and acorns at all elevations. However, many outdoorsmen report there appears to be greater mast production at elevations higher than 3500 feet where trees hadn’t started to bloom before the freeze. Hunters who focus their effort there may increase chances for success this season.

Craig Byers, an Asheville-based hunter, said he honed his mountain deer-hunting skills by squirrel hunting.

“Dad started me out squirrel hunting as a kid,” he said. “I learned how to look for different wildlife signs, where the best place to find wildlife was, how to move quietly and overall good woodsmanship. Those are the same skills I use for deer hunting in the mountains today.”

Despite their abundance, squirrels are an elusive game animal that, similar to whitetails, use their natural instincts and the terrain to their advantage. So hunters have to use all their skills to level the playing field.

Stan Byers of Weaverville, Craig’s father and long-time mountain squirrel hunter, said the best time to start hunting is right after the season starts in October.

“Squirrels in the mountains much prefer hickory nuts over white oak acorns,” he said. “When I hunt new territory, I don’t hunt squirrels; I hunt hickory trees.

“You can see the bright yellow leaves on the hickories as they change color in the fall. It only takes you a hunt or two to find where most of the hickory trees are. I once shot seven squirrels out of one hickory tree without moving. And there were more in that tree.”

Byers said if a hunter finds a stand of hickory trees at the side of a mountain, in a hollow, or at a little plateau on the side of a mountain, he can enjoy plenty of early-season shooting.

During this time, squirrels spend most of the daylight hours in trees while “cutting” nuts. They’re so focused on putting up food for the winter, and making so much noise, it’s easy for the hunter to stalk within shotgun or .22-caliber rifle range.

There are two common methods in the mountains to hunt squirrels. Once a hunter has found a prime feeding area, he can “stand hunt” by finding a likely tree for a backstop and just sitting still in the middle of the area. However, that technique is difficult to do during the early season while leaves remain on most trees because they prevent hunters from seeing the movements of squirrels.

Byers said he prefers to still-hunt or stalk his squirrels during the early part of the hunting season.

“Early in the season while squirrels are really focused on collecting nuts for the winter,” he said, “you can hear them cutting and hickory nuts falling from quite a distance.”

But hunters can’t just go walking up to these squirrel- and nut-laden trees. The best locations to listen for squirrel activity may be at ridge tops or at National Forest Service roads that usually parallel ridge lines.

Although forest roads are good places to listen for squirrels cutting nuts and barking, stalking squirrels from above isn’t the best approach. With the keen eyesight squirrels possess, a stalk from above means a hunter will be approaching the little beasties from eye level and possibly spook them. (One of the prime enemies of squirrels are hawks, so these rodents usually have an eye peeled for danger coming at them from above).

Once Byers has found squirrels at a high elevation, he plans his approach to reach gunshot range from below them.

“With the leaf cover and all the noise they’re making, you can really get close, below their eyesight,“ Byers said.

As the season progresses, leaves fall from trees and cold weather invades the mountains, so hunters have to change their tactics.

After most leaves have dropped to the forest floor, squirrels spend more time on the ground to escape predators such as hawks and to search for nuts and acorns that have fallen to the ground and become buried beneath piles of leaves (squirrels also stash nuts by burying them when they’re falling from hardwoods).

But during late winter, squirrels also have better vision of their surroundings. With dry leaves on the ground, a really quiet approach by a hunter becomes even more crucial.

Mike Rector of Marshall is a veteran mountain squirrel hunter.

“I also stalk hunt early in the season when squirrels are up in the trees,” he said. “But after the leaves are off the trees still-hunting or stalking is tough. The best thing to do is ease into a stand of hickory trees and just sit down and wait.

“Squirrels start moving later in the morning when it’s really cold in winter, so you can get in there before they do.”

Another technique Rector uses in the winter is to walk old logging trails and service roads, stopping occasionally to listen for squirrels “cutting” nuts or barking. Many mountain hunters prefer to go into the woods early in the morning under these conditions after a rain or heavy dew dampens the leaves and muffles their footsteps.

Squirrels bury hickory nuts and acorns or store them in den trees where they gather them, so such places are good starting points to look and listen for their activities.

Although squirrels build nests in the tops of trees, Byers recommended finding “den” trees (trees with hollows).

Although a nest may hold a couple of squirrels, Byers said he’s seen many more emerge from a den tree. (Hunters should know it’s not only unethical to shoot into a squirrel nest — wounding or killing the animals often is the result — N.C. game laws classify the practice as illegal).

The same debate that rages across the country about which gun is best for squirrels is sustained in the mountains. Early in the season when leaves are on the trees, and hunters can get close to squirrels, many prefer a small gauge shotgun loaded with No. 6 shot. As winter descends on the mountains, some stick with the same load while others shift to a .22 caliber rifle to give them a little more killing range.

Byers uses a shotgun and .22 rifle, while Rector only hunts with a .22. The choice of weapons basically comes down to personal preference and the firearm(s) a hunter feels more confidence in using.

Squirrel hunting isn’t wasted on the old. It’s a great way to introduce a youngster to the outdoors.

Travis Frizsell, 13, started squirrel hunting when he was 10 years old, the normal starting time for young hunters. But he enjoys more than just shooting bushytails, watching them drop out of a tree and hit the ground with a thud.

“I just love the thrill of being in the outdoors,” he said. “I hunt a lot with my best friend, so it’s a great way to spend some time enjoying something we both enjoy.”

Frizsell uses a .410 shotgun, .22 rifle and sometimes a bow and arrow for hunting squirrels.

The youngster said he killed his first squirrel with a bow and arrow when he was 11 years old. His dad wasn’t home that day and didn’t want him to go out with a firearm but gave him permission to use his bow and arrow, probably thinking his son would spend most of his time looking for arrows.

After sitting for a few minutes and calling, a squirrel ran to within 20 yards, and the youngster managed to hit it with an arrow. The experience was so much fun, now the boy is training his dog, Indie, to tree and track squirrels.

Most WNC hunters said they don’t see many people, especially youths, squirrel hunting these days. That means they’re missing out on some great opportunities to improve stalking and shooting skills.

With abundant numbers of bushytails living in the N.C. mountains and ample public land available to hunters, hunting squirrels is an excellent opportunity to introduce a young hunter to the tradition. It’s pretty simple, fairly inexpensive, doesn’t require high-tech equipment and can be used as a learning experience.

Moreover, cutting one’s hunting teeth on squirrels provides plenty of excitement.

With young hunters such as Travis Frizsell still pursuing bushytails, this hunting tradition survives — for a while.

If your plans this winter bring you to the N.C. mountains, and you like to squirrel hunt, bring your favorite shotgun or squirrel rifle. There are more than 1 million acres of public land to wander.

Dupont State Forest, part of the N.C. game-lands system and southwest of Hendersonville, offers more than 10,000 acres of hardwood forests that contain plenty of gray squirrels. A N.C. game-lands permit is required to hunt at Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests along with Dupont State Forest.