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Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 79F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

A few passing clouds. Low around 60F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

This black bear strolled across the author’s lawn some years ago. The Vermont bear season opened on Sept. 1.

This black bear strolled across the author’s lawn some years ago. The Vermont bear season opened on Sept. 1.

With a noisy, little stream running a bit high due to a heavy rainfall the day before, just off to my left, and a big, rocky ridge rising up to my right, I made my way as quietly as possible, stopping now and then for any buck sign along the way.

I carried my rifle at the ready in my right hand, and while I kept a sharp eye out for new buck rubs on small trees here and there, I tried to focus on what was ahead of me, in the event my quarry for the day might show up.

I saw a flash of fur, stopped dead in my tracks, and raised the rifle to my shoulder. A moment later, I had the critter in the crosshairs of my scope. I gently pulled the trigger on the .22 caliber rifle and watched the gray squirrel drop, shot through the head, from the side of a thick hemlock into the soft leaves of October.

You could say I was squirrel hunting that day, but that would not be totally true. I was scouting some prime whitetail real estate, loaded with mature oak trees during a banner crop of acorns, looking for a prime location for the opener of the buck season, a month away.

But now I had a change in plans. I was not interested in heading back home with just one squirrel and spent most of the remainder of the morning trying to bring a few more squirrels back home for a meal. I set up in a likely place around a bunch of mature oak trees and a few hours later, I was heading back home with three bushy tails in my backpack.

While a fair number of hunters will be out hunting bear starting on Sept. 1, there is another game species, the gray squirrel, that offers a bit less of a challenge but still requires some degree of patience and savvy in the Vermont woods.

Through the years, I have taken my .22 rifle and set out for a morning of squirrel hunting. Now, some folks might wonder why anyone would shoot a gray squirrel. Well, they make pretty good table fare, if you can get three or four of the critters ready for a meal.

Open up the critter and remove all entrails. Then, skin the squirrels, something that will be somewhat easier the sooner you get back home. Cut away all damaged, shot meat, then cut the back legs, the front legs and the chest. Fry this collection up in butter or, better still, olive oil, until good and brown, then drop the meat into a crock pot, add two cans of crushed tomatoes, a diced onion, two cut-up potatoes, garlic and any other spices you desire. Cook in the crock pot for a few hours and, presto, you have a batch of bushy tail stew.

Most of my squirrel hunting likely would wait until, say, early October when leaf cover is beginning to shake down. But the most memorable squirrel hunts occurred with my sons. When they reached the right age, by my guess, around 12, I would take the boys out on their very first hunt and that hunt was for the bountiful gray squirrel.

They carried a 20-gauge shotgun, loaded with No. 7½-inch shot. Finding squirrels does not demand great woodsman skills. First, find a big stand of white or red oaks. Then, take a look skyward. As you move your eyes from tree to tree, look for the telltale bundle of dead leaves, usually in the crotch of a tree. That is the nest of a squirrel. Take a seat and get comfortable. When you came to this place, no doubt you alerted each and every squirrel in the area and they hastened to cover.

Sit still (and this can be difficult for new hunters) for maybe 10 minutes or so and, before long, you will spot the gray movement of your quarry. Wait until the critter gives your young escort a good shot, close enough for a kill, and let it fly.

Two of my three sons cut their teeth on squirrels, the third having taken to the woods for the first time a little later during the spring turkey season. The boys learned about stealth, one of greatest lessons any hunter can learn, while squirrel hunting.

The biggest lesson I passed on to my boys was this: Only kill what you intend to eat. So, when we got out and took home a couple of squirrels, it was time to get ready for “bushy tail stew.”

While I would not describe myself as a squirrel hunter, I still like to get into the fall woods maybe two or three times a year, scout some new terrain and, while out there, I try to bag a few gray squirrels.

Contact Dennis Jensen at d.jensen62@yahoo.com

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