From Tree Tops to Cook Pots: Squirrel Hunting

As all hunters know, if you want to see the most small game—especially squirrels—you should go deer hunting.

All About Small-Game Hunting in America by Russell Tinsley (1976) is a great read for anyone looking to dive deeper into the world of small-game hunting. Tinsley helps readers appreciate the thrill of pursuing squirrels, rabbits, and other game on their own terms- without needing to chase big game first.

 Squirrel hunting holds a special cultural significance in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains where I grew up. Each year, the annual World Champion Squirrel Cook Off is held in the heart of the Ozarks. Even within All About Small-Game Hunting in America, Tinsley includes a recipe for “Pride of the Ozarks Squirrel and Dumplings.”

I have a faint childhood memory of a story told to me, though I can’t recall exactly who shared it (perhaps it was my great-grandmother). Whoever it was claimed that their elders would remove the contents of a squirrel’s stomach and dry it in the sun. Once dry, those crushed nuts were supposedly used to top cakes and other baked goods. I haven’t been able to find any source to confirm this practice, so perhaps it was just a dream—or a fragment of forgotten folklore.

Tinsley offers excellent tips for hunting small game and suggests that the best methods for squirrel hunting are either still-hunting or stand hunting. I personally enjoy the change of pace that still-hunting (defined as a technique where a hunter walks slowly and quietly, listening and scanning for game) provides, even if Tinsley describes it as “an appeal for the hunter who cannot discipline himself to sit quietly awaiting action.” In my opinion, more discipline is required to muster up the energy to slowly trek the miles and stalk game than to sit and wait. For still-hunting, Tinsley recommends going out on “late fall or early winter days when the leaves are reasonably well packed and a light drizzle rain falls from cloudy skies.”

I believe squirrel hunting is best summarized by this quote: “The hunter pussyfooting through the squirrel woods is not seeking a trophy animal, is not concerned about the behavior of an expensive bird dog, nor is he attempting to impress a hunting partner with his wing shooting. He is in the hardwoods for the pure joy of hunting.”

It can feel liberating to step away from the stands and the buck fever to pursue a simple, instant one-man meal. Squirrel hunting, and small-game hunting in general, deserves a top spot on any outdoorsman’s autumn and winter plans.