Squirrel hunting-a dying sport?

[swampman46]

Is squirrel hunting being overshadow by deer hunting? In my area the answer has to be yes. There is just absolutely no push for it. And the sad thing is, all these young guys I see coming up(12-16 yrs old)-all deer hunters. I guess if their fathers didn't squirrel hunt, then it's highly unlikely that the kids will. Don't get me wrong...I have nothing against deer hunting-I do a bit of it myself-just seems like a sad occurrence for the future.. Just looking at the past threads in this hunting section of the forum, I don't know how far down before I'd see a topic on squirrel hunting. Just my 2 cents.

[neverenuf]

I haven't had enough success squirrel hunting in LA to make it worthwhile to continue the sport.

[eman]

i just sit in my back yard w/ 22 shorts and get a limit of squirrels when i want to eat squirrel.

[redaddiction]

It's definitely a dying sport. It was usually the first introduction to hunting we all got. But I was never any good at it and could never get on the squirrels to make it fun and eventually stopped all together.

[marshrunner757]

Well, back in the day, you could hunt anywhere. I can remember people just parking on the side of roads and take off hunting. People don't have easy access to property anymore. I think that has a lot to do with it.

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[neverenuf]

Originally Posted by eman

i just sit in my back yard w/ 22 shorts and get a limit of squirrels when i want to eat squirrel.

I can kill easily a dozen in my yard daily, but I know how much lead they eat off our roof flashings, I'm not interested in consuming that......

[bjhooper82]

I used to go a few times a year on some family property when I was a kid but haven't been in years. I sure did enjoy it. But to answer your question, yes, I think it is a dying sport for sure. Seems like everybody is either a deer or duck hunter these days. Might be a good time to get in to squirrel hunting.

[swampman46]

Originally Posted by marshrunner757

Well, back in the day, you could hunt anywhere. I can remember people just parking on the side of roads and take off hunting. People don't have easy access to property anymore. I think that has a lot to do with it.

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That is a very good point you make. When I started out many years ago, there were no hunting clubs. Open woods were abundant. I myself belonged to hunting clubs in more resent years. And they all have the same thing in common...they are "geared" for deer hunting-not squirrel or rabbit. Just look at the landscape itself. Mostly cutover, if not clear cut at some time. This is one area of hunting where conservation of the sport has failed.

[Top Dawg]

Opening weekend of squirrel season is probably my favorite weekend of the year. I was brought up squirrel hunting and like state before my dad would take me just down the road from the house and park on the side of the road and wed go hunting. Those spots are now subdivisions. But I still go every year to a WMA and unt. Always camp, its a pretty big tradition to me. Its like a "start all" to hunting season. Great for kids and family to just get out and enjoys the woods. Not to mention they are delicious. I hate that it opened late this year. I'm leaving next Saturday for Canada but I will make a quick hunt before I have to catch my flight. Some of my fondest memories have been in the river bottoms with a vest loaded wit sweet smelling fuzzy tails.

[duckman1911]

I love to squirrel hunt. Cut my teeth on it with an old single shot 20ga. I quit squirrel hunting for about a decade and did nothing but hunt deer and ducks. When I started back squirrel hunting I realized I had forgotten a lot about hunting. I learned a lot about waiting and watching for ducks and deer but was forgetting how to hunt. Not downing duck hunters or deer hunters. I have enjoyed both. Sitting in a nice blind or stand is great but it isn't hunting. It's waiting and watching. Putting the sneak on a feeding squirrel is awesome. That is hunting down you prey and closing the gap. The same can be done with ducks and deer. Putting the sneak on some woodies in flooded timber takes some patience and stealth. That is hunting.

[swampman46]

Hunting vs. waiting...there is the difference, well said.

[duckman1911]

Originally Posted by Top Dawg

Opening weekend of squirrel season is probably my favorite weekend of the year. I was brought up squirrel hunting and like state before my dad would take me just down the road from the house and park on the side of the road and wed go hunting. Those spots are now subdivisions. But I still go every year to a WMA and unt. Always camp, its a pretty big tradition to me. Its like a "start all" to hunting season. Great for kids and family to just get out and enjoys the woods. Not to mention they are delicious. I hate that it opened late this year. I'm leaving next Saturday for Canada but I will make a quick hunt before I have to catch my flight. Some of my fondest memories have been in the river bottoms with a vest loaded wit sweet smelling fuzzy tails.

No doubt that they have a unique sweet smell. That first one to hit the ground on opening morning has to be smelled before it is put in the sack. The smell of that first shotgun hull and that first squirrel of the season is like smelling the trinity when it hits the roux(you're gonna cook the squirrels in) you just have to take a moment to enjoy it and realize that life is good.

[Flex]

I love squirrel hunting. Now that I'm in Texas I'll hunt some pecan orchards whenever I have a chance.

Yep, when I was a kid we would just park wherever land wasn't posted around carlyss and get after them! Nothing like running the squirrel dogs in the morning.

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[marshrunner757]

Originally Posted by Flex

I love squirrel hunting. Now that I'm in Texas I'll hunt some pecan orchards whenever I have a chance.

Yep, when I was a kid we would just park wherever land wasn't posted around carlyss and get after them! Nothing like running the squirrel dogs in the morning.

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My neck of the woods. Grew up on south Pete Seay Rd.

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[Flex]

Originally Posted by marshrunner757

My neck of the woods. Grew up on south Pete Seay Rd.

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Ha small world! We lived right off pete seay! My grandma lives on the bayou. Drawing a blank on the street name. Something Oaks? They're a few houses down from that place that built a levee around their yard.

We lived right off 90 about a 1/2 mile down Pete seay.

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[marshrunner757]

Originally Posted by Flex

Ha small world! We lived right off pete seay! My grandma lives on the bayou. Drawing a blank on the street name. Something Oaks? They're a few houses down from that place that built a levee around their yard.

We lived right off 90 about a 1/2 mile down Pete seay.

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It was Bayou oaks country club years back. The house with the levee is LA Paix Rd. Many years ago, before all the houses, my uncle kept a little 10' aluminum boat right by the bridge and set trot lines there. His biggest blue was 87#. Good Ole days.

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[duckman1911]

87 is a stud. That's a pig of a cat