Small game- tips and tricks.

As the title suggests, I'm getting into small game hunting. Rabbits, squirrels, grouse, that sort of thing. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions that might help me be more successful this season?

I'm hunting public land around Washington county, primarily Indian Springs WMA.

I'm using a 12 gauge with #6 shot, and a .177 springer air rifle that can drive tacks.

Practice and experience. You're not going to win the Indy 500 without some experience. Same thing with hunting. It may take some time, but you will get better the longer you hunt.

Good Luck!

I assumed as much. I've got a few years to lean all about it.


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Become the woods. Good camouflage. Sit still. Be quiet. Stay off your phone. Become the woods.

Once you become the woods, woodland critters will surround you.

Then you can kill the hell out them.

Pretend like you are deer hunting and the squirrels will appear everywhere. At least that's what happens when I deer hunt. Seriously just sit still someplace for an hour or so and you should see the woods cone to life with squirrels.

iH8DemLibz said:

Become the woods. Good camouflage. Sit still. Be quiet. Stay off your phone. Become the woods.

Once you become the woods, woodland critters will surround you.

Then you can kill the hell out them.

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That is almost poetic.

Put out bird feeders, squirrels love them.

I also put out dry corn on the cob attached to a section of picket fence so it swivels, so they can only get 1 bite at a time.

These are videos


They literally line up for it.


Plant a garden and you will have all the rabbits you want, they tend to like areas that provide good cover, unless your in the city.

For tree rats the Primos Squirrel buster works pretty well to call them out. You can practice calling them at a park or in woods near your house. Practicing the calling will also get you to recognize the barking off in the distance when your in the woods.

Melnic said:

For tree rats the Primos Squirrel buster works pretty well to call them out. You can practice calling them at a park or in woods near your house. Practicing the calling will also get you to recognize the barking off in the distance when your in the woods.

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+1, there are several different calls out there this one that Melnic pointed out is one of the best. you can make a call simply with some nylon all thread with a spent shotgun shell running up and down.. make a chattering sound..

Haydel's squirrel distress call works well too.

on_the_rox said:

Pretend like you are deer hunting and the squirrels will appear everywhere. At least that's what happens when I deer hunt. Seriously just sit still someplace for an hour or so and you should see the woods cone to life with squirrels.

Click to expand...

If you go deer hunting you'll see squirrels and turkeys. If you go squirrel hunting you'll see deer and turkeys. If you go turkey hunting you'll see deer and squirrels.

If you take a shotgun, a .22, and a .30-60 up into a tree stand, I guarantee within one hour you'll see a 5-pound bass.

HazyDayz said:

Rabbits

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Look for rabbits around transition areas between brushlines and grassy/field areas like power line cuts and deer food plots, edge of low growth at clear cuts areas and right of ways. Look for places where they've chewed tender bark on small saplings and look for characteristic droppings resembling brown buckshot. They need escape cover and/or broken terrain to survive the bobcats, 'yotes and foxes. Sunny side of brushy fringes on cold days are good spots to look carefully and/or kick around. If you search likely spots, like pockets of brush against a tree trunk or fallen limb, you may be able to find them sitting and head shoot them. If they jump and run, don't shoot too soon, you'll most often either miss completely or demolish it. They'll often take off with a quick dodge, then straighten out a little and are easier to hit.

squirrels

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Find the food, they will travel for it. Here today, gone next week. They'll invade standing corn and if there are cornfields near big woods, you may find them. Right now, I'd look for hickory and especially white oak activity. Although it might be getting late for hickory, old cuttings will show you where to go next year. Sit quietly and listen, or quietly walk old logging roads near mature timber. Later in the year, maple buds will provide food when the nuts are under snow. You can often find them denned in big old gum trees, which are usually near wetter places like bottoms. If you inspect the big gums, you'll usually find hollows that the squirrels will use for dens. Even on days when they are too cold to move around much, they will often come out and lay on a flat limb in the sun near their cavity.

grouse

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Brushy gullies and bottoms adjacent to hardwoods and hemlocks. They eat quite a bit of small tree buds, but also scratch for bugs and seeds like a turkey or chicken. If there are dogwoods, they'll eat the berries, both off the limb and from the ground. They're probably eating a lot of smaller acorns right now, so brushy creek bottoms near red oaks is a good bet. Look for scratching around fallen logs/limbs. They will often work sapling cover in the early part of the season, like 2-3 year old clear cuts, but almost always in or very near the bottoms. Good spots are often areas where several small drainages converge - these areas often flatten out and flood enough to keep the ground vegetation down to annual seeds, etc.. Don't shoot too fast, before your pattern can open up, but don't wait long, those rascals will dodge behind a tree and be gone.

...12 gauge with #6 shot...

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I'd personally go to #5s for your target game/areas. They are less likely to hang up in a squirrel, produce fewer broken bones in the rabbits and most of the grouse you shoot at will be in cover that will soak up small shot and close enough that you don't want to pepper them with a high density of smaller shot.

Half-cocked said:

If you go deer hunting you'll see squirrels and turkeys. If you go squirrel hunting you'll see deer and turkeys. If you go turkey hunting you'll see deer and squirrels.

If you take a shotgun, a .22, and a .30-60 up into a tree stand, I guarantee within one hour you'll see a 5-pound bass.

Click to expand...

QFT.

Half-cocked said:

If you go deer hunting you'll see squirrels and turkeys. If you go squirrel hunting you'll see deer and turkeys. If you go turkey hunting you'll see deer and squirrels.

If you take a shotgun, a .22, and a .30-60 up into a tree stand, I guarantee within one hour you'll see a 5-pound bass.

Click to expand...

,seen many a deer while fishing also.

E.Shell said:

Look for rabbits around transition areas between brushlines and grassy/field areas like power line cuts and deer food plots, edge of low growth at clear cuts areas and right of ways. Look for places where they've chewed tender bark on small saplings and look for characteristic droppings resembling brown buckshot. They need escape cover and/or broken terrain to survive the bobcats, 'yotes and foxes. Sunny side of brushy fringes on cold days are good spots to look carefully and/or kick around. If you search likely spots, like pockets of brush against a tree trunk or fallen limb, you may be able to find them sitting and head shoot them. If they jump and run, don't shoot too soon, you'll most often either miss completely or demolish it. They'll often take off with a quick dodge, then straighten out a little and are easier to hit.
Find the food, they will travel for it. Here today, gone next week. They'll invade standing corn and if there are cornfields near big woods, you may find them. Right now, I'd look for hickory and especially white oak activity. Although it might be getting late for hickory, old cuttings will show you where to go next year. Sit quietly and listen, or quietly walk old logging roads near mature timber. Later in the year, maple buds will provide food when the nuts are under snow. You can often find them denned in big old gum trees, which are usually near wetter places like bottoms. If you inspect the big gums, you'll usually find hollows that the squirrels will use for dens. Even on days when they are too cold to move around much, they will often come out and lay on a flat limb in the sun near their cavity.
Brushy gullies and bottoms adjacent to hardwoods and hemlocks. They eat quite a bit of small tree buds, but also scratch for bugs and seeds like a turkey or chicken. If there are dogwoods, they'll eat the berries, both off the limb and from the ground. They're probably eating a lot of smaller acorns right now, so brushy creek bottoms near red oaks is a good bet. Look for scratching around fallen logs/limbs. They will often work sapling cover in the early part of the season, like 2-3 year old clear cuts, but almost always in or very near the bottoms. Good spots are often areas where several small drainages converge - these areas often flatten out and flood enough to keep the ground vegetation down to annual seeds, etc.. Don't shoot too fast, before your pattern can open up, but don't wait long, those rascals will dodge behind a tree and be gone.
I'd personally go to #5s for your target game/areas. They are less likely to hang up in a squirrel, produce fewer broken bones in the rabbits and most of the grouse you shoot at will be in cover that will soak up small shot and close enough that you don't want to pepper them with a high density of smaller shot.

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Wow. That's the mother load. Thanks.

I'm using #6 because other than #8 bird shot and 00 buck, that's what I have right now. I caught it on a really good sale a while back ($3/box).


I know what you folks mean about not seeing what you're hunting for. Out yesterday, I saw a really nice 8 point buck but only had a shotgun and so had to pass.



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Skin your squirrels as soon as possible after recovery.

The warmer they are, the easier you'll find your job to be.

Rabbits by way of comparison are a breeze to skin.

Surgical gloves can help to keep your hands clean. Just don't trash the woods and fields with them. Helps to keep blood off your gun also. Blood is no friend to gun blue.

Small game hunting is a blast. I used to go growing up with my uncle and grandfather, especially for rabbit. We took 2-3 beagles that we owned out and they'd hit the briars and drive them out. They seem to stay in there as it offers them protection from fox, feral cats, etc. I will say one thing, those dogs would not quit, regardless of how bloody they may get, until they found a rabbit.

Generally we'd go out for rabbit but always stumble upon some deer bedding themselves or some squirrels in a tree. Of course, the things we weren't actually after haha.

I wish you all the best of luck and hope you get some good memories out there!

I do keep latex gloves and plastic bags in my pack. Wouldn't hunt without them.

Neot said:

Small game hunting is a blast. I used to go growing up with my uncle and grandfather, especially for rabbit. We took 2-3 beagles that we owned out and they'd hit the briars and drive them out. They seem to stay in there as it offers them protection from fox, feral cats, etc. I will say one thing, those dogs would not quit, regardless of how bloody they may get, until they found a rabbit.



Generally we'd go out for rabbit but always stumble upon some deer bedding themselves or some squirrels in a tree. Of course, the things we weren't actually after haha.



I wish you all the best of luck and hope you get some good memories out there!

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That sounds great. My grandfather raised beagles for hunting for years. I'll never forget pulling up to his place and hearing 30 beagles go nuts.


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HazyDayz said:

I do keep latex gloves and plastic bags in my pack. Wouldn't hunt without them.





That sounds great. My grandfather raised beagles for hunting for years. I'll never forget pulling up to his place and hearing 30 beagles go nuts.


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lol reminds me of what ours would do. As soon as they saw us they knew they were going to be going out in the field. They are loud as can be but they are great hunting dogs! We'd have to pull them back to the truck because they didn't want to leave.

Half-cocked said:

If you go deer hunting you'll see squirrels and turkeys. If you go squirrel hunting you'll see deer and turkeys. If you go turkey hunting you'll see deer and squirrels.

If you take a shotgun, a .22, and a .30-60 up into a tree stand, I guarantee within one hour you'll see a 5-pound bass.

Click to expand...

Or you could just take an over under that is .22 and .410

I'd love a .22/.410 OU, but I hate the little plastic savage, and more traditional offerings seem hard to come by around here.


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