out of gas???

[454 Big Block Chevy]

so it appears as my brief vacation from shooting nutters... has caused them to elude me...  no fresh cutting signs under my pecan tree... my bird feeder is full after a week... no nutter sign whatsoever.... for a week...has my 51 nutter kills... finaly made a dent... i took a walk to the mialbox today... not a single nutter seen..... normally i'd see 10+ in a block... oops....  now i'm screwed aren't i... glad i have 20+ in the freezer currently...

[Carl]

They have just found another food source. Happens alot, one week they will be cutting pine burrs the next acorns afterthat hickory nuts. It is a crazy sight seeing a food migration. Everything is quite and then here they come and there they go.

[454 Big Block Chevy]

well, the pecans should be ready to start falling in a month... just in time for the deer rut to start up... the deer season opens up here oct 16th... and goes for 3 months... long season.  that will invest a lot of my time... i am picking up a 24 CF freezer, and i gotta fill that puppy up... i'm legally allowed to take 12 deer a year here.... no that they require the use of tags... its an honor system... god i love georgia... the hunting and fishing laws are so relaxed... especially for private land hunting... hunting WMA's is a little rediculous... but its to be expected... gotta share the wealth.  working a few avenues on some private land... might do some rodent culling and some pig culling, for permission to take a few deer... i figure if i get 3 deer, that should fill my "game" freezer quite nicely.

[only1harry]

12 deer in 1 year?  wow that's a lot of deer. 

Yeah you need to lay off the squirrels for a couple of weeks and let them find your tree and your yard.  They will come from other neighborhoods, and will even move in/relocate near-by or on your yard in the dens of the dead squirrels, if they are better than what they have now.  Just lay low and give them a chance to come.  Don't shoot the 1st one you see, because there is usually another one not too far or across the street watching the one in your Pecan tree.  Let them follow each other to your Pecan tree or bring friends.  Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks but they 'll come.  I usually "run out" and have to wait 2-3 weeks after the first 15-20 squirrels, and even then it's 1 or 2 every couple of weeks after that, but this season it got "dead" very quickly, after the 6th or 7th one.  I knew I didn't have as many this year because I have taken well over 100 squirrels in the last 3 years.  But with that pecan tree of yours, you are almost guaranteed to have a steady flow.  There may not be as many as you had before, but they will come one at a time or in pairs every week or 2 from neighboring areas.  Yes, believe it or not, you have put a big dent in their population.  50 squirrels is substantial for 1 neighborhood.  Now it's just a waiting game.  I have read a couple of posts of people shooting 100-200 squirrels and then laying off them for 2yrs to rebuild their #'s and even then there weren't as many.  It takes time, and sorry to say you will not see those large #'s of squirrels again.  It may seem like that at first next season if you don't hunt them during the Spring/summer, but they will run out again quickly after you take a couple of dozen.  I learned my lesson over the years, and only shoot 1 or 2 for a meal, and then wait a few days or a week, before looking to shoot another one, or before my "fix" wears off  

[Jonesin]

454, see my post about hunting WMA's!! :-) Between the hikers and the iffy spot selection as mountain critters are on a different wave length then the critters I have harvested in lesser remote areas, I may have to beg/borrow/steal to find a private area in a highly populated section of Northern Virginia to enjoy.

[only1harry]

Squirrels in remote areas or away from residential areas are much more cautious and try to hide right away when they see or hear hunters.  Seeing people is not an every day occurance to them, and they view everyone as a threat or predator.

[Jonesin]

Agreed, harry. Just didn't have a good "zen" day with mother nature. I was within 40 yds on every single nutter I saw today. Just didn't work out...and then the hikers stomping their loud talking selves through the area didn't help. My miss in the first 15 minutes in the woods didn't help either! lol

[shadow]

Just give the newbie nutters time to find your area bro. Once the realize that the others are gone for some weird reason lol they'll wonder in to claim the turf. Ed