Tennessee Squirrel Hunting Season

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SQUIRREL SEASON OPENS…VOLUNTEER STATE TRADITION CONTINUES

By Steve McCadams

Bouncing from limb to limb the bushy tails have been busy lately. Some high in the treetops; others just roaming at random in low areas sampling the opportunities of late August acorns.

Tennessee’s statewide squirrel season opens Saturday and it’s one of the state’s longest hunting seasons as this year it runs all the way through March 15, 2023. While there are a few small game seasons open year round such as coyote, beaver groundhog, striped skunk and armadillo you get the idea.

Squirrel hunters will again have a liberal daily bag limit of ten offered to them. That’s been the norm for many years but in all honesty the list of hunters bagging a 10-squirrel limit on a morning outing is relatively short. But it does happen. A tip of the hat to those straight shooters.

All signs point to a pretty good season ahead. That is if you find the acorns. Some ridges and deep bottom hardwoods are showing abundant signs where squirrels have been cutting away on scaly bark hickories and other mast producing varieties of trees.

The drought conditions earlier this summer had pushed squirrels to areas offering access to water or ridges with abundant mast—sometimes good looking spots just don’t have the acorns---but it appears that scenario has eased up a bit. A lot of folks are seeing big numbers of squirrels moving about these last few weeks so things look promising.

There’s no better time to introduce a youngster to the outdoors than exposing them to the early morning wake-up call of the squirrel woods. A silent walk down old logging roads or quiet sandy ditches---maybe a cow path or two---will help introduce kids to the sights and sounds of Mother Nature waking from a summer night’s sleep.

Kids remember most what you do with them…not just for them. That’s why walking along clinging to the guiding hand of a mentor helps put them at ease in a new environment. Taking steps on a pitch dark journey has its own uneasiness but reassuring that young boy or girl everything is okay will help tentative feet move freely.

It’s an educational hike into the deep dark woods as there will be a lot of “what’s that” questions. Owls hooting their predawn serenades as they turn the darkness over to daybreak blue-jays and squawking crows.

These keepers of forest gates sound off once intruders are heard and seen. No problem as the start and stop walk allows time to listen and observe as daylight peaks through a thick canopy of timber and wakes up a sleepy world.

Dodging a few spider webs and ducking a branch or two are all part of the experience. All the time looking and listening is part of it too.

A little scouting will take you back to where the clumsy gray squirrels partake of the daylight breakfast buffet. From branch to branch they navigate their path from one tree to another and scurry up flimsy twigs where their bounty grows in clumps.

Hard to believe they can maneuver like they do. Darting here and there with acrobatic leaps saved from a long fall by limber branches. Yet the squirrels seem to know just how much spring a flimsy branch will hold and just how far to jump.

Often times they munch then fumble, dropping a hefty acorn to the forest floor but not before it bounces off several limbs on the way down. It sounds off the origin of its intruder. Observant hunters scan for motion and listen close for the tiny droppings of green acorns being gnawed away. High among the treetops is a busy tail sometimes in competition with another squirrel with the same idea.

Here’s where more lessons are learned as the whispers from dad, grandad, uncle or just an old friend are taught about sly movement as squirrels possess both keen eyesight and hearing. Slipping about and choosing your steps to get into position before taking a shot are imperative.

Sitting still and waiting. Swatting a mosquito or two that challenges the repellant applied earlier is all part of the process. Using ears and eyes to observe the busy tail’s whereabouts before he discovers yours.

Patience is an active ingredient in the recipe for success. It’s a requirement for life and such lessons are learned and demonstrated in a variety of ways, namely deep in a squirrel woods or on the shorelines of fishing.

It is indeed a game of cat and mouse. Only this time it’s out in the woods where a lot of distractions come into play.

Trying to outfox a sly bushy tail who has home court advantage is as much a part of the hunt as pulling the trigger.

Hopefully the stars line up for a clear shot from a youngster who might be taking his or her first shot on that first hunt. There’s only one first hunt and first squirrel taken but the memories made are endless.

SQUIRREL OPENER REKINDLES SPORTING TRADITION

A long standing Tennessee tradition resumes Saturday morning with the opening of the statewide squirrel season. It’s a great time to introduce another generation to the great outdoors during the predawn hours.

Dads and grandads blazing a trail down old logging roads or sand ditches in the wee hours, dodging spider webs and low hanging branches.

For many youngsters it will be their maiden voyage into the outdoor arena. A guiding hand will help them cross fences or logs while all the while making sure safety is at the top of the list.

Answering a lot of “what’s that” questions will be adults making a big impression. The outing will be a lot more than just shooting a few squirrels but the opening day of squirrel season is the catalyst that makes it all happen, bringing folks together on this special occasion.

Bluejays will squawk the arrival of intruders to a sleepy, dark woods despite all efforts to slip around and perform a silent entry. Youngsters will step on those dry sticks and a cracking sound will announce their entrance to the world.

Finicky squirrels headed to a hickory tree might be sluggish in their arrival and allow the hunters to arrive and get set up as daylight slips through the thick forest canopy.

A mistake or two is allowed as some noise might signal an alarm but within minutes the critters of the wooded jungle return to chirping as the world wakes up from a late summer sleep.

Watching, looking and listening are as much a part of the trip as taking that first shot. At the hands of a mentor the youngster absorbs it all.

Now it’s time to apply the basics of gun safety and practice. From the back yard to the wild woods. Careful loading of the gun and double checks of the safety. Cautious pointing of the muzzle.

Staying still and scanning the treetops, watching for any sign of movement as the busy tails bounce from limb to limb on their morning breakfast commute.

Some scouting prior to the season opener helps determine where the grays are cutting acorns. Finding the fresh cuttings help target the ridges and trees where the prey is sure to show up.

If everyone is lucky it will be a quiet morning free of gale winds or perhaps the aftermath of a rainy night where drenched limbs loaded with raindrops help reveal the path and destination of careless, clumsy squirrels.

Swatting away a few annoying mosquitos may require another application of repellant or perhaps a spray or two around the ankles to ward off ticks but proper preparation is all part of the learning curve. Minor inconveniences on the path to being an outdoorsman.

From the high canopy comes that falling sound as a huge scaly bark acorn fumbled by a young squirrel falls victim to gravity and makes a thud in the midst of peace and tranquility.

Up above is a squirrel shredding away, dropping little bits and pieces of the nut that has lured him to this locale.

Whispers from ole’ dad or granddad and a hand on the shoulder help pinpoint the prey’s whereabouts. Buried in the foliage and using every limb and leaf to his advantage is a finicky gray squirrel delivering quite a challenge for a young hunter anxious to pull the trigger and feel the recoil.

An empty hunting coat yearns to feel the bulge of that first squirrel. On the road ahead will hopefully be many more steps and many more outings. However, there will never be another “first squirrel” so times like these are precious for all involved.

One day you’ll reminisce and wake up to discover that time has darted far too fast. The one who introduced you to the opening day squirrel woods had long passed but the memory is rekindled in the eyes of a youngster anxious to begin a new journey.

In your memory is the vision of an old gray haired gentleman handing you the gun and presenting the shells just before that first shot of the morning.

Down the creek a spell is a placid puddle where the old spring mirrors an image of an aging outdoorsman guiding a juvenile as they kneel and pause on the path of life. Funny how history sometimes repeats itself.

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