Thursday, September 02, 2004
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Squirrel hunting is getting some attention
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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I’m observing a big hatch of squirrel hunting articles. Recent examples: Mark Taylor’s outdoor column in the Sunday Roanoke Times lauded squirrel hunting. The September issue of Virginia Wildlife features a squirrel article by Bruce Ingram. T. Edward Nickens has a five-page spread on squirrel hunting in the September issue of Field and Stream. The August issue of Outdoor Life carried two squirrel articles, and a sidebar of squirrel recipes.
Last year, about this time, I recall seeing five squirrel hunting articles. When you add the total of this year and last it’s probably more than the combined number of the previous 25 years.
Squirrel hunting is back. At least in publications. Virginia game officials say they aren’t observing much change as far as participation, but I think it is safe to say we are seeing the beginnings of a revival. And hunting is better for it.
Hunting was synonymous with squirrels for many people of my generation, and the one before. It was the first game I pursued. It was the avenue that I used to introduce my son to hunting.
It wasn’t just a kid’s thing, either. I spent more money on my scoped squirrel rifle than I did on my deer gun. And I have a top-of-the-line deer rifle.
So why did squirrel hunting drop out of favor for such a long period? Two things: deer and turkeys. Kids nowadays can begin their hunting career on deer and turkeys. Why bother with squirrels when you can nail antlers to the wall?
My answer to that, because squirrels are fun to hunt. They offer every element of big-game hunting: markmanship, woodsmanship, scouting, reading sign, camouflage, sitting still, stalking, preparing game for the table, bragging. You can find them close to home over a long season. Hunters appear to be rediscovering these facts as deer and turkeys become less of a novelty.
I’m old enough to remember when nearly every county had its own squirrel season. I recall doing a newspaper article early in my career that revealed each county bordering Roanoke County had a conflicting season. There was this big debate over how early you could hunt squirrels without harming the population or interfering with the harvest of agricultural crops.
Those arguments are over, because they had little biological or social value. They have been buried by a 2003 change in squirrel regulations that opened hunting statewide from early September to the end of January. That means you can hunt squirrels before and after deer season. The firearm squirrel season dates are Sept. 4-Jan. 31. Such generosity is certain to attract new converts.
What kind of season can we expect? I’m going to predict that it will be a decent one, not the best or worse.
The production of squirrels was high in 2003, according to a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ measuring device. The index was up 32 percent over the previous year, the highest since the survey began in 1988.
This season would have been awesome, had we had a good 2003 mast crop to carry the high number of squirrels through the winter in good shape. But that didn’t happen. Last year’s mast crop was a sorry one.
"When mast is scarce, winter survival is poor and females produce fewer young," said Mike Fies, state game biologist. "As a result, hunters should expect to find noticeable fewer squirrels this year than during the past several seasons."
The key to squirrel hunting success will be locating food-producing trees and shrubs that always concentrate squirrels, in good seasons and bad. I’d look for hickory nuts first, than acorns.
My observations reveal that the hickory crop is spotty. I’m seeing trees laden with hickory nuts in some areas and barren in others. The acorn crop appears to be only fair, although it is early to tell for certain. The total mast crop probably is going to be better this year than last.
Sportsmen are going to be dealing with a high percentage of mature squirrels this season, the result of the big crop in 2003. Expect to be challenged.
