I start my scouting about a month before squirrel hunting season. I drive country roads with a plot map of my county. I know from experience the three things a good squirrel woods must have: water, food and shelter. Ideally, I hope to find an area with a small creek, mature walnut or hickory trees, or an old cottonwood tree next to water and a cornfield. I’ll mark several likely areas on my map and ask permission to hunt from the landowner.

After permission, I do a scout to find out if there is much game present and if the area looks good. I want to determine where the squirrels are most likely to be. I need to find my places to sit and locate a noiseless entry into the squirrel woods.

My scout consists of walking the ground I intend to hunt. Suppose I am scouting a wooded area that has fairly clean, mature timber and a small creek. I count the number of squirrel nests and divide the figure by two. I have read that the male squirrel will usually build two nests and the female will accept one of them, but sometimes move into the other. Studies have shown that the female will have one or two litters of kits during the spring and summer months. The litters usually have two to four kits. In other words, plenty of nests should translate into plenty of squirrels.

The next thing I do is check out the trees. White oaks bear nuts every year, and black oaks every other year. White oak trees are squirrel magnets. I have counted as high as eight squirrels in a huge white oak. Also look for walnut trees. Squirrels love walnuts. Check the older or dead trees for squirrel dens. Cottonwoods seem to attract squirrels. Look for holes on the tree trunk two, maybe three inches in diameter. (Any hole much larger is probably the home of a racoon.) If a hole is in use, the edges of the hole will be polished.

To save myself a few steps, when I find nests and an active den tree within close distance of a white oak or walnut tree, I find myself a place to sit within 50 yards of the feeding tree. I mark this spot with some red reflecting tape so I can go right to it during hunting season.

Next, I always look over the creek. If the stream is small and relatively clear of brush, I give it my utmost attention. It can be a perfect place to hunt from and give it what I call a “slow stalk.” You will likely find nut trees on either side of the stream, with the tree branches from either side interlacing. The trick is to stay in the shade and mosey along on the sand or in the shallow water. Squirrels will cross overhead on the interlacing branches, going from one side of the stream to the other. They make excellent rifle shots while on the branches and will mostly fall dead in the stream.

The next thing I do is zero in my rifle. I shoot my rifle at 50 yards, using a paper target printed for that range, and shoot from a firm base. I almost always shoot a .22 with iron peep sights. Remember to move (adjust) your rear sight by moving the sight in the direction you want the bullet to go. Once you have zeroed in your piece for 50 yards, try the 25-yard distance. Your bullet will hit high at 25 yards. Just how high depends upon each rifle. Measure the distance between the two bullet impacts and remember it. You might get a close shot in the woods; who knows? One more thing: Always hunt with the same bullet brand that you used to zero in your rifle. Now, let’s go hunting!

You get to the hunting area about eight o’clock in the morning. The time’s about right; squirrels don’t get up early. You are dressed in camouflage clothes and mask. Enter the hunting area by way of a highway underpass. Your quarry does not see you or hear you. Coming out of the underpass, you step on a sandbar under several inches of water. No noise! Some crows start to argue, and the hum of the traffic above and behind you is background noise. Stay in the shadows and wait. Watch the interlacing tree branches above the creek. A fox squirrel appears from around the bole of a hickory tree. He struts out on a limb and flips his tail. Don’t shoot him; he is your decoy.

You see tree limbs move in spasms down the creek from the decoy. It must be a squirrel. Breezes move limbs in smooth, bending movements. Your decoy chatters and a black squirrel jumps out on a limb in a pool of sunlight. You rest your forearm on a nearby tree and take a good sight picture. The range is close to 50 yards. Hold dead on, front sight centered on his head. Squeeze one off; the squirrel falls, body limp and feet up—a sure sign he is stone-dead. You hear the body thump i

Relax. After a time, a squirrel chatters and the tree branches over the creek start to move again. Uh, oh.

The decoy squirrel moves back into view. Maybe he thinks he is bulletproof? A young squirrel runs out on a dead tree trunk bridging the creek. He squats and chews on a hickory nut. Range, 25 yards, you guess. Your rifle is zeroed in for 50 yards, and shoots an inch high at 25 yards. Sight on the squirrel’s body about an inch below its head. Squeeze one off. Perfect. Another head shot. Time to pick up my game and go home.

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