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BUSHYTAILS - THE RIFLEMAN'S
SPORT
Hill Topping & Bunch
Hunting
 Editor’s
Note: To squirrel hunt, one of my favorite hunting sports,
effectively and accurately, I need a good rifle, a quality
scope and also the best binoculars I can buy. I'll only
find the rifle and the scope effective if I can see
the squirrel. Spotting a bushytail lying on the limb
at 60 yards will test even Superman's X-ray vision without
binoculars and a riflescope. However, from 60 to 80
yards with these optics, I can distinguish the difference
between a squirrel's tail swishing or a bird's wings
flapping. I also can determine if a bump on a limb is
a squirrel's head or a knot on the limb. I particularly
enjoy lightweight binoculars that have superior light-gathering
qualities, which many optics companies offer today.
Using quality optics enables me to bag bushytails at
long range.
 Hill
Topping:
When younger, I knew little about squirrel hunting from
first-hand experience. I hunted squirrels in the valleys
and creek bottoms between hills and mountains since
most books and magazine articles about squirrel hunting
stated that those areas should hold squirrels. However,
often I'd spy bushytails halfway up or right on top
of a mountain. After I made a long and exhausting climb
to get in a position to take a shot, usually I'd discover
the squirrels had left the region or gone into their
holes where I couldn't see them. Only young men enjoy
chasing squirrels up and down the sides of mountains.
Once you get older, you must replace the strength and
enthusiasm of youth with the wisdom of age. Today, instead
of starting at the bottom of a mountain or a hill and
looking for squirrels moving and feeding in a bottom,
I hunt the ridgetops for squirrels before the wind begins
to blow early in the morning. If I spot a squirrel on
a ridge, I can stroll rather than climb to him. Then
when the wind starts blowing, I'll drop off into the
valleys and the bottoms to hunt. Squirrels generally
don't like to feed in the wind. By hunting the ridges
in the early morning, I can take the squirrels on top
of the ridges before the wind blows and drives the bushytails
into their holes or down the ridge.
 Bunch
Hunting:
I've discovered when you find a bunch of squirrels you
can bag more bushytails in the time you have to hunt
than with any other method. By walking woods roads,
fire breaks, and power line right-of-ways, you can move
through the forest quickly and easily, cover plenty
of territory quietly and locate large bands of bushytails.
In years past, historians have written about squirrels
bunching-together and migrating for some distance. Perhaps
this trait of squirrels grouping themselves and migrating
explains why a place will have an abundance of squirrels
one year and few the next. Scientists have considered
that overpopulation of squirrels in an area or food
shortages may result in these migrations. However, no
one knows for sure.
 When
I bunch hunt, I walk until I spot three or four squirrels
playing in a tree. Because I stay well away from the
squirrels and take 40- to 60-yard shots, when my rifle
cracks and the squirrel drops, often I don't frighten
other squirrels in the area away because they haven't
heard the sound of my gun. Since the squirrels haven't
seen any danger, even if they do become spooked, they
may resume playing or feeding in the trees much quicker
than if I take a shot from closer range. Using this
tactic, I often harvest three to five squirrels out
of a region without having to change my position.
To learn more about .22 rifles for hunting squirrels,
use Google, and type in the words, “.22 Rifles
for Hunting Squirrels.”
TOMORROW: BOAT HUNTING
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