Pest Control Hunt: Early Season Squirrels
From time to time I get the chance to enjoy airgunning with friends I have met on the internet forums. This year, a friend named Kevin asked me if I would like to drive down to a pecan orchard in Alabama to help with a pest control hunt.
It seems that the pecan orchards in Alabama get raided with discouraging frequency by the resident population of tree rats. Last year, Kevin managed to make the acquaintance of a pecan orchard owner who invited him to help control the little marauders with his airguns. Armed not only with his airgun, but with a state-issued predation permit that allowed pre-season squirrel hunting, Kevin managed to enjoy some fast shooting in the pecan orchard.
The invitation was a welcome event for me. I love to hunt with new friends, especially with my airguns. So when the invitation was issued, I packed up and drove 8 hours to Alabama from my home in Kentucky. The drive was pleasant and not too tiring, and I got there early enough to enjoy an afternoon hunt that very day.
One difference between the hunt this year and last year's hunt that Kevin went on is the timing. Last year, Kevin was hunting just before the opening of regular small game season, and the pecans were closer to being ready for harvest. This year, we were about 1 1/2 months early, and the conditions were quite different. The heat this year was in the low 90's, and the pecans were not ripe enough to seriously attract the squirrels.
Hunting an orchard is different than hunting the woods. The trees are evenly spaced, and there is lots of open space around each tree. A good tactic to use might be to set up a blind near the nut bearing trees, but for this hunt we elected to hang out near the edge of the woods near where the squirrels made their approach to the orchard.
We saw squirrels almost immediately, but they headed back into the woods at the first movement on our part. For the first evening, we didn't get a shot at them, and so we made plans for the next day. Early the next morning, I headed out to the same spot, and about mid-morning caught a pecan raider making his approach to the orchard. He stopped on a limb above me to try and figure out why I was pointing a long stick at him. He paused a little too long, and the "stick" puffed air and a pellet at him, and down he came. I had my first Alabama squirrel.
After lunch, I changed tactics to compensate for the heat. Since I wasn't seeing many squirrels in the orchard in the 90 degree weather, I reasoned that they were still in the woods where the shade was. I headed into the thickest part I could find, sometimes crawling on my hands and knees to get through the undergrowth. I was right.....in less than an hour I had another squirrel on the ground, and saw several more. But the thicket was just that......a thicket. Very heavy undergrowth that limited shooting options. However, I did discover where the squirrels were at, and stored that bit of info away for the next time I am able to come down for a pest control hunt during the heat of summer.
Even game animals like squirrels can approach pest levels depending on the circumstances. In a case like this, a pre-season hunt, legally sanctioned, can often provide an exciting, if challenging, opportunity to get in some shooting before the game season opens. And squirrels can do serious damage to agriculture in left unchecked. Just about any game animal can become a pest if left unchecked, so keep an eye out on game numbers in your neck of the woods. There may be opportunities if you go through the right channels to enjoy some shooting and hunting venues that are normally unavailable.
My thanks to Kevin for the invitation to hunt with him. I got to meet a couple of new friends who enjoy much of the same things I do, and will treasure the time I spent in Alabama this year.
It seems that the pecan orchards in Alabama get raided with discouraging frequency by the resident population of tree rats. Last year, Kevin managed to make the acquaintance of a pecan orchard owner who invited him to help control the little marauders with his airguns. Armed not only with his airgun, but with a state-issued predation permit that allowed pre-season squirrel hunting, Kevin managed to enjoy some fast shooting in the pecan orchard.
The invitation was a welcome event for me. I love to hunt with new friends, especially with my airguns. So when the invitation was issued, I packed up and drove 8 hours to Alabama from my home in Kentucky. The drive was pleasant and not too tiring, and I got there early enough to enjoy an afternoon hunt that very day.
One difference between the hunt this year and last year's hunt that Kevin went on is the timing. Last year, Kevin was hunting just before the opening of regular small game season, and the pecans were closer to being ready for harvest. This year, we were about 1 1/2 months early, and the conditions were quite different. The heat this year was in the low 90's, and the pecans were not ripe enough to seriously attract the squirrels.
Hunting an orchard is different than hunting the woods. The trees are evenly spaced, and there is lots of open space around each tree. A good tactic to use might be to set up a blind near the nut bearing trees, but for this hunt we elected to hang out near the edge of the woods near where the squirrels made their approach to the orchard.
We saw squirrels almost immediately, but they headed back into the woods at the first movement on our part. For the first evening, we didn't get a shot at them, and so we made plans for the next day. Early the next morning, I headed out to the same spot, and about mid-morning caught a pecan raider making his approach to the orchard. He stopped on a limb above me to try and figure out why I was pointing a long stick at him. He paused a little too long, and the "stick" puffed air and a pellet at him, and down he came. I had my first Alabama squirrel.
After lunch, I changed tactics to compensate for the heat. Since I wasn't seeing many squirrels in the orchard in the 90 degree weather, I reasoned that they were still in the woods where the shade was. I headed into the thickest part I could find, sometimes crawling on my hands and knees to get through the undergrowth. I was right.....in less than an hour I had another squirrel on the ground, and saw several more. But the thicket was just that......a thicket. Very heavy undergrowth that limited shooting options. However, I did discover where the squirrels were at, and stored that bit of info away for the next time I am able to come down for a pest control hunt during the heat of summer.
Even game animals like squirrels can approach pest levels depending on the circumstances. In a case like this, a pre-season hunt, legally sanctioned, can often provide an exciting, if challenging, opportunity to get in some shooting before the game season opens. And squirrels can do serious damage to agriculture in left unchecked. Just about any game animal can become a pest if left unchecked, so keep an eye out on game numbers in your neck of the woods. There may be opportunities if you go through the right channels to enjoy some shooting and hunting venues that are normally unavailable.
My thanks to Kevin for the invitation to hunt with him. I got to meet a couple of new friends who enjoy much of the same things I do, and will treasure the time I spent in Alabama this year.
posted by Randy Mitchell at
5:48 AM
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