Squirrels are December delights

Squirrel hunting the winter woods

When it comes to squirrel hunting, Hunter Cook of Santee, SC is looking for one thing – fun shooting. And that’s why he doesn’t have one favorite firearm for hunting them. He uses just about every type that’s suitable for small game hunting.

“Now, I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy eating squirrel, because I truly do. But when I’m hunting them, the foremost thing on my mind isn’t bagging enough for a meal, because I know that will come,” he said.

Cook’s love for squirrel hunting goes back to his early years of learning the ways of the woods. As the resident chef for Santee Cooper Life, he’s also learned some creative ways to cook them.And even though he’s killed his share of big game animals all across North America, including deer, elk and bighorn sheep, shooting tree rats in the Carolinas remains his all-time favorite outdoor activity.

“To be honest, I can’t think of any shooting activity that’s more fun. And what keeps it fun for me, is constantly hunting with different guns, and different types of guns,” he said.

Rimfire

Cook said last time he counted, he noticed 16 small game rifles in his arsenal, eight shotguns, and four air rifles.

“And I’ve sold or traded a heap more over the years,” he said with a chuckle.

His preferred rifle caliber is .22LR, and that’s what the majority of his are.

“I have a couple chambered for .22WMR and I’ve had a few .17HMRs over the years. But .22LR cartridges are just so much easier to find. And when I buy bullets for squirrels, I like knowing I can use that same bullet in all, or at least the majority, of all my rifles,” he said.

Does Cook have a favorite rifle for squirrel hunting?

“Naw, but I have a favorite type. I love hunting them with bolt action rifles,” he said. 

The reason for that, he said, is a bit of a mystery.

“You would think I’d like semi-auto best because you can often get off two quick shots and kill two squirrels just like that. But I just love the movement and action of shooting a bolt action rifle. Plus, I’ve had my share of semi-autos that didn’t fully eject a shell when hunting. And that has never happened to me with a bolt action,” he said.

A semi-auto isn’t even his second favorite.

“What I grew up shooting, and I guess that might be why I still love it now, is a tube-fed .22LR pump,” he said. “They hold anywhere from 15 to 21 rounds, so you can load your rifle and never worry about carrying any other bullets with you on a hunt. And they’re just plain fun to shoot.”

And while a handful of his .22 rifles have scopes mounted on them, he prefers hunting with iron sights.

“I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or what. But I’d much rather hunt squirrels with iron sights. Plus, with a lot of my hunting being in pretty thick woods, most shots are fairly close. So seeing a squirrel with the naked eye, then finding it again through a scope can take a few seconds. By then, I’d have already raised my iron-sighted gun, acquired the squirrel in the sight, and shot it,” he said.

So when does Cook suggest hunting with a .22?

“Well I have to admit, I’d be hard pressed to ever turn down a hunt with a .22. But they are best for when you’re shooting at least a little bit of a distance. I don’t want to use a .22 when I know most of my shots are going to be 25 yards or closer. It’s plenty effective, but it’s just more fun when you’re shooting them at 50 yards or so,” he said. “I’ve shot them up to 90 yards away, and that’s just plain fun, and something you can’t do with an air rifle or shotgun.”

Cook said hunters also need to consider safety when using a .22.

“I hunt mostly big woods, lots of acreage with no houses around. If you’re hunting close to any houses, you’ve got to be much more careful with a .22 because of how far a bullet can travel” he said.

Shotgunning

And when does he prefer to use a shotgun?

“In the early season, when you’re hunting in hardwoods that haven’t dropped leaves yet, a shotgun is great. If you see a piece of a squirrel but his head is behind leaves, you don’t want to try that with a .22. The shotgun will take them right out,” he said.

It’s also good when getting kids involved in hunting.

“A kid can learn to shoot them with a .22. But when it comes to kids hunting, it’s best to give them the best tool that gives them a shot at success quickly. Even seasoned hunters miss their share of squirrels when hunting with a .22 rifle. So you can’t expect a kid to be perfect with it. Let them get into the hang of things with a shotgun, then work with them shooting still targets with a .22 later on,” he said.

Another reason early season is good for shotguns, said Cook, is because squirrels are usually more active then.

“They’ll run and jump, and just generally be much more active when it’s warmer, like during the early season. In December, it’s kind of a mix in the Carolinas,” he said. “Some hardwood forests are thinned out from dropped leaves. But some are still quite leafy. Either way, when the squirrels are especially active and you’re looking to score, a shotgun is much more effective. You really don’t want to shoot at quickly moving squirrels with a .22 or even an air rifle.”

Air rifles

Cook also enjoys squirrel hunting with air rifles.

“I can’t think of a single gun available, other than an air rifle, that is more fun for even the most experienced hunters, while also being easy enough to shoot, that even the most inexperienced hunters can feel comfortable with it very quickly,” he said.

Cook said some hunters give air guns a bad rap for being inaccurate, but he disagrees.

“If you’re missing a lot of shots with an air gun, chances are your problem is with your pellets and not the gun,” he said. “Some pellets aren’t fully formed correctly, so they don’t fly consistently. But if you spend just a little extra on high quality pellets, you’ll cure the majority of accuracy problems.

“And if you’re trying to kill a squirrel at 60 yards with an air gun, which is certainly possible under the right conditions and the right gun/pellet combo, you’re simply going to miss a fair share. Pellets just don’t fly as true at long distances as rimfire bullets,” he said.

The best part

“For me, the best part about squirrel hunting is it can be as solitary or as social as you want. Especially this month with the holidays, family members and friends have some free time and can get together and hunt as they walk along the woods,” he said.

But when no one else is willing or available, Cook said he enjoys it just as much to hunt alone.

“Hunting with others and hunting alone is almost like two different activities,” he said.

Cook said he’d also like to try hunting squirrels with archery equipment and with a muzzleloader some day.

“I’ve got some archery gear, but I just need some of the small game points. And I’ve been looking at buying a Pedersoli muzzleloader in either .36 or .32. But I’ve heard rumors of a North Carolina company making some around Thomasville soon. So I’m holding out hope for that.

“I can’t think of anything better than squirrel hunting in the Carolinas with a muzzleloader made right here in the Carolinas,” he said. 

Keep it quiet

When it comes to keeping quiet, Hunter Cook said it’s tough to beat the proper air rifle. His is the Gamo Swarm Magnum Pro 10X Gen3I. It’s an inertia-fed .22 caliber air rifle with Whisper Fusion technology.

“It’s the quietest gun I’ve found for squirrel hunting, and it’s got a lot of other nice features too, and it includes a decent scope,” he said.

It makes a slight noise, but not the kind that alarms the squirrels.

“The sound is more like a distant car door closing. I’ve shot a squirrel that dropped, then shot another one off the same limb without it ever flinching. And still saw other squirrels in the distance not even move,” he said. “You won’t do that with a shotgun or even a rimfire rifle. Any sound from those will put a squirrel in hiding for a good few minutes.”

Another feature he likes about this particular air rifle, and one that many air gunners overlook, is the weight of it.

“It’s right hefty at almost 7 pounds. The good thing about that is it’s the perfect weight for adults and even kids, because its heavy enough to keep the rifle steady,” he said. “Especially with kids, you’ll often see the barrel of their gun doing its own thing, wavering a bit too much. And that’s because some air rifles are really too light. It leaves a lot of margin for error.

“But the main thing I like about this rifle is how quiet it is. It’s also an inexpensive gun that is full of features and can get anyone in the woods. Your range is limited compared to a rimfire, but for most squirrel hunting in wooded areas, the range is more than enough,” he said.