Wisconsin has some great squirrel hunting. Odds are that if you hunt during the week, you will probably never see another hunter.

I hunted public forest land in Price Co. for the last two years, staying at my friend Dale’s place in the town of Prentice. His land abuts about 3,000 acres of public land open to hunting. Both times, I was able to take some nice gray squirrels and had shots at grouse.

Dale told me several times about all the squirrels he observes while bow hunting. I decided to give it a try, walking up grouse, and sitting for squirrels. If you hunt an area with potholes and wetlands, you may also run into waterfowl. On one hunt, I flushed a wood duck out of a little pothole in the forest but didn’t have any steel shot. All I could do was wave as the drake woodie flew away.

Locating squirrel habitat

Look for mature oaks, with evidence of squirrels feeding on acorns. Cracked acorn shells are often found on stumps and logs. Oaks growing atop ridges seem to be the most popular. Look for signs like leaf nests and den trees. Hearing the bark and whine sequence of a contented squirrel will let you know you are in the right neighborhood.

One of the best spots I found was an oak ridge that showed signs of having been logged about 50 or so years before. Squirrels seemed to follow the ridge like a highway. Just about every old stump had cracked acorn shells on it.

You can also “prospect” for squirrels by walking or slowly driving ATV trails. Often, you will catch squirrels crossing the trails. If they are too far for a shot, ease up to where they entered the woods and move in slowly, looking for them. Look up into the trees, as well as watching the ground and listening to hear them scampering. Often, areas will attract both squirrels and grouse.

Sitting vs. stalking squirrels

If I’ve found an area with evidence of lots of squirrel activity, I’ll sit for 20 to 30 minutes to see if any squirrels show up. Usually, it’s near an active food source with signs that animals are using it. If I spot them in the forest, or catch one crossing a trail, I’ll put a stalk on it. Move slowly, a step at a time, looking ahead while watching for the squirrel. Pause frequently, looking and listening. Not every stalk will yield a shot at a squirrel, but it’s always worth a try.

Guns and loads

If hunting just squirrels, I’ll carry my 20-gauge pump with a full or modified choke and 1-ounce loads of 5 or 6 shot. If I’m likely to run into grouse, I’ll opt for my 20-gauge over-and-under. I use improved cylinder in the lower barrel and modified in the top. I’ll also change to size 7 1/2 shot in the lower barrel. Grouse are not very durable birds, and a couple size 7 1/2 pellets in the body will often result in a clean kill. I like the lighter, 20-gauge guns as I’ll often do a lot of walking. If you are in an area where you run into waterfowl, carry only steel shot; make sure that you have no lead shot on you. Size 6 or 4 steel works well for both grouse and squirrels.

Bow hunters will be working the woods once the leaves are gone. Deer and squirrels share acorns as a food source and will work the same areas. Yes, it is all public land, but I try to go out of my way to avoid areas with active bow hunters. If you see obvious signs like vehicles parked along the road, treestands, or baited areas, move on. I try to go out no earlier than 8:00 am or so, after most morning deer movement is over. Make sure to carry a cell phone, compass, map, water, and toilet paper. A lightweight fire-starting kit is not a bad idea.

Maps of various public hunting areas are available from the Wisconsin DNR web site, as well as maps from various counties. For detailed maps of National Forest land, you can also contact the US Forest Service. Simply click on maps and find the ones for your hunt area. They supply both digital and downloadable maps. County maps will usually show marked ATV trails. If you do take an ATV back into a hunt area, follow the rules and stay on the marked trails. I used one of Dale’s 4-wheelers to get back to an oak ridge I found that was infested with squirrels. Heavy rains that washed out trails prevented me from accessing that spot this year.

Yes, I could probably see more squirrels hunting in central farmland areas, but there is something about hunting above Hwy. 8 in the north’s big woods. It sort of harks back to an earlier time before everything needed to be paved or subdivided.

For more insight and tips on how to make the most of the time you spend hunting, check out the articles in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.