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All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: Hoosier Daddy on September 21, 2022, 05:59:54 PM
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For the last (a-hem) several years Squirrel season has been welcomed with open arms here.
BUT the last few years Fox squirrel was slim, then none to be seen.
Reds are always open and those little buggers are my target all year.
As you know, Reds chase off and even neuter Fox Squirrel.
Well it appears my efforts at the Reds has paid off. I now have at least 3 bushy tailed Foxs in the front and back yard oak and walnut trees.
While they drive the Dawg crazy I am glad to see them return.
Think I will give them a pass this season and let them regain population again. I have neighboring property some 50-100 acres away to stomp if I truly desire squirrel meat...
But still no bunnies here for years.
Hunter Management is something we need to consider when population runs low. Don't just shoot everything in sight... You may not see them for a while. ::)
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Management is definitely the key to sustained numbers. Kill too many and they dissappear. The more aggressive species make this problem worse as they compete for dominance. Glad to hear you are getting more fox squirrels back in the area. I enjoy watching the larger squirrels play and won't shoot the foxes here. The grays are everywhere but the foxes are slimming out pretty bad. May have to put a bunch of grays in the freezer this year.
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I think it is good to give them a break to regroup. I have been giving mine a break this year and last year after thinning them out heavily in previous years while trying to get some pecans. This has been a dismal year for the pecan, pomegranates, grapes, blueberries and fig trees I have with none of them producing due to the heat and drought. The squirrels which are at a good number now are going to have a hard time as it is this year and I doubt the acorn trees are going to yield much for them this fall either.
My garden is on a seven-year rest this year, but it did have some volunteer tomatoes and watermelons that came up. Something got at least thirty melons, but I did get a couple and the squirrels got most of the tomatoes, but I didn't care. The garden is for the critters this year anyways.
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Fox Squirrels get a break here also, way too many Greys though ;D
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I have no grey's out here.. they seem to be "City Squirrels"... Walking the utility lines and such in town.
The town I work in 25 miles away has a TON of Blacks... though none here in the country. :o
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Scott you know me, it's a never ending battle against those red devils, I got three more out on the state land this morning 8)
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Better dead than red...except for the Red Dog of course!
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I don't think I've killed a fox squirrel in 50 years or more. They are rare here in central Fl. The In-Laws in Alabama must have at least half a dozen. I don't bother them as they are "pets" and Ma loves to watch them run around the large oak trees chasing each other. They had one that was a pet and he would eat raw peanuts from your hand. I say was because he got ran over on the road last year. They put out peanuts and sunflower seeds for the birds and squirrels still, but none have tamed down like "Mr. Peanut".
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That reminded me of this....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvI4NoUX6E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvI4NoUX6E)
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Do Over... I want an Alt Ending
I hate squirrels since they steal 99 % of my pears for 30 years
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Toot the horn and gun it. What will be, will be!
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That reminded me of this....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvI4NoUX6E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvI4NoUX6E)
Yep, remember that one as well! ;D I just now remember the wife telling me that the last time she was there she heard a noise outside her window and when she looked out one of the fox squirrels was chewing on the trim around the outside of the window. She told her mother and Pa. Hopefully they will have forgotten about it by the time we go back up. :o He declares war every spring on the wood borer bees, swatting them with a badminton raquet. ;D
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I see a few fox squirrels now and then. They seem to prefer the ground to trees sometimes. There was one that would make the long haul from the nearest cottonwood to the bird feeders once in a while but not seen him for a bit. I suspect a hawk got him while making the traverse. There are so few they are welcome. But the rabbits that dig about my foundations, they do not fare well or should I say farewell to them ;).
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I've never seen a fox squirrel.
We only have grays and a few chippers here.
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around here fox squirrels are primarily in little patches or rows of trees surrounded by corn fields or along rivers. The gray squirrels are in the bigger forests. Fox squirrels are never too far from a field. Little red squirrels are only up in the mountains and primarily in the spruce forests. Chipmunks are everywhere.
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Chips are out in droves right now hoarding for the upcoming winter, I did manage to get three nice red squirrels yesterday though.
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Tonight, when I got home from work, there were two playing in the yard, never seen that before.
I just sat in the truck for about 10 minutes watching... one chase the other, tumble, then the other would take chase... and repeat.
I had to google when their mating season is, but that is back in June-July.
It was almost comical.
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Scott I give the fox squirrels in my back yard free reign when I'm out there sniping for reds with my C362. This year I've been seeing a regular brood of white tailed fox squirrels that were born last year, there's probably 4 or 5 of them.
There were two white tailed one and a regular fox squirrel playing around my back yard just like what you described.
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It was better than watching a football game for sure!
I think I actually LOL'ed a couple times. ;)
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I have never seen a fox squirrel around here. I have seen them in FL and NC where I lived before. This is typically the grey's that I see. This one is fairly brave. Pic taken 9/17/22.
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I am with you that it is a good time for a squirrel break. Here in town they are doing really good, but my daughter lives in another city and has several Red Tailed hawks that seem to enjoy the squirrels and that has greatly reduced the number there.
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Keith, it sure is nice when the critters get along.
I see many more Gray Squirrels in the Rockvale area. But there are a few Eastern Fox Squirrels. I would guess the ratio is about 9:1 - Grays to Fox Squirrels.
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Tonight, when I got home from work, there were two playing in the yard, never seen that before.
I just sat in the truck for about 10 minutes watching... one chase the other, tumble, then the other would take chase... and repeat.
I had to google when their mating season is, but that is back in June-July.
It was almost comical.
Guess I've been watching for them in the wrong places.
Been out watching the yard since sunup today.
Nothin' yet but i'm sure theyll show up!
Just one will be fine. I hear they're pretty big.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_squirrel
The Eastern Fox Squirrels I see here are larger (about 30%) than the Fox Squirrels in the Louisiana woods I hunted for over 40 years. Other than the size difference, they seem to be the same.
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Ray, they are about 2-2.5 lbs for adults and their tails are about the length of their bodies.
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I seem to have the opposite problem from the OP. My hunting areas used to have boatloads of reds and a few foxes. There are very few grays because it is mostly reclaimed farmland rather than mature forest. I have killed hundreds of reds over the past four years and taken foxes when the opportunity comes up. Now, this season, the reds are relatively scarce and the foxes are much easier to find. The foxes are now the priority for the bag and the pot.
Reds are called pine squirrels in other parts but around here they love walnut and osage orange trees. A lot of people who live where they are a nuisance don't bother to eat them because they taste "piney," but ours are walnut fed and delicious. You just have to shoot a whole bunch of them to make a meal. :D
I think the count is up to 9 fox, 5 red, and one gray after three weeks of season. In the past the red count would be triple the foxes or more.
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Kieth you are a regular Marlin Perkins!!!
Others, there is a reason Fox and Grey's have a season, but Red / Pine are open all year...
They are EVIL! >:(
(https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/squirrels-really-organize-nuts.htm)
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Keith, it sure is nice when the critters get along.
I see many more Gray Squirrels in the Rockvale area. But there are a few Eastern Fox Squirrels. I would guess the ratio is about 9:1 - Grays to Fox Squirrels.
I remember you mentioning seeing some fox squirrels in some of your hunting posts which made me envy of you with being so close to where I live.
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Kieth you are a regular Marlin Perkins!!!
Others, there is a reason Fox and Grey's have a season, but Red / Pine are open all year...
They are EVIL! >:(
(https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/squirrels-really-organize-nuts.htm)
"Keith you are a regular Marlin Perkins!!!" LOL!!! There are about 15 turkeys and six squirrels along with four or six deer that are coming around daily right now. It can get to be grand central station out there at times. The hawk has dropped the squirrel count a bit. We have seen two taken so far.