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Post by Russ Koon on Mar 21, 2020 13:06:28 GMT -5
Just curious about hunting squirrels in the rain. I always just wrote off a rainy day as being one not fit for hunting, at least for squirrels. Watching my bird feeder has convinced me that at least one of our local fox squirrels seems to have a preference for midday eating at our feeder when there black sunflower seeds to be had and there's a steady rain falling.
Part of the attraction may be that the screen is under the eaves of the house enough to keep the rain off his back while he's out there gorging on the seeds. He does usually have his tail curled over his back as an umbrella.
Anyway, that got me wondering if I'd been missing some good opportunities by not using some rain gear and spending some woods time on a day of steady rain, not storms, sitting under a hickory.
Any rainy-day squirrel hunters out there?
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Post by Pinoc on Mar 21, 2020 13:09:34 GMT -5
I don’t know about during a rain but after it has finished and there isn’t any wind you can hear the water drop when they shake the limbs. Plus the wet ground makes it easier to stalk.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2020 13:20:28 GMT -5
Like Pinoc said, after a moderate to heavy rain, the squirrel activity picks up substantially. They`re glad the rain has stopped and they get busy doing whatever they intend to do. And yup, you can hear their movement as the limbs drop whatever water it had been holding. It`s a really fun time to be out squirrel hunting.
During a light rain or mist, when I squirrel hunted a lot, my experience was that squirrels moved about freely, generally even less warily than usual. It allows the hunter to move about much more quietly as well.
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Post by Russ Koon on Mar 21, 2020 15:35:38 GMT -5
yeah, gregr, that's what I was wondering about. I had waited out some showers and then hit the woods in the past, so I knew they were active right after, but I couldn't recall ever hunting them during rain, or even staying out to continue hunting when it began raining. I was always more concerned about getting back to the vehicle without getting soaked. Probably missed some good hunting that way.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2020 18:24:25 GMT -5
Back in my late teens and early twenty`s, there may have been deer in Indiana, but not where I was, or could get to, and I had a burning desire to hunt. I had an older brother who deer hunted, but I had never been exposed to hunting, so I have no idea where the hunting bug came from, but I had it.
I bought a Winchester Model 1200 pump shotgun at Emroe Sporting goods downtown. Back then, they didn`t make screw in chokes, and this was a full choke shotgun. I taught myself to squirrel hunt, and until I finally got a .22, I hunted exclusively with that old shotgun.
Back then if you knocked on doors, you could get permission to hunt a woodlot for squirrels, and I did a lot of knocking on doors. I had several woodlots I had access to, to squirrel hunt. I remember once, being the diehard hunter I was, I got into the woods with that old shotgun while it was still pouring down rain. I was a young guy with no money, so I didn`t have good rain gear. I was getting pretty soaked. But I toughed it out, sitting at the base of a known den tree, hoping it would quit raining soon. Finally, it did quit raining, all at once, like someone turned off a faucet, and the action was fast and furious. Immediately, a big fox squirrel came down the trunk of the tree, nearly into my lap. He, along with several others went home with me that day. I sat after the action slowed, and used an old Olt squirrel call to bag several other squirrels before I slipped out of the woods to my truck.
That was a great time for a young "nimrod", as the property owner called me.
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Post by bullseye69 on Jul 28, 2020 10:38:45 GMT -5
I have noticed they really come out when a light drizzle is going and have hunted in that type of weather as well with great success.
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Post by omegahunter on Jul 28, 2020 14:19:15 GMT -5
I don't have a waterproof gun, so that would be a "no" from me.
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Post by bullseye69 on Jul 28, 2020 14:30:50 GMT -5
I don't have a waterproof gun, so that would be a "no" from me. I don't either but WD-40 before and after the hunt works wonders. |
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Post by omegahunter on Jul 28, 2020 19:09:08 GMT -5
I don't have a waterproof gun, so that would be a "no" from me. I don't either but WD-40 before and after the hunt works wonders. Nah, I can't do that. Been caught by rain twice and used 5w-30 Valvoline to get me home and then did full disassemble, dry, oil, & reassemble. Not doing that anymore than I have to.  |
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Jul 28, 2020 19:40:52 GMT -5
I don't either but WD-40 before and after the hunt works wonders. Nah, I can't do that. Been caught by rain twice and used 5w-30 Valvoline to get me home and then did full disassemble, dry, oil, & reassemble. Not doing that anymore than I have to. You guys are way better to your guns than I am. Been on plenty fo rainy day hunts. Still just put them in the safe and clean at the end of season like usual. No issues thus far. |
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Post by deadeer on Jul 29, 2020 2:03:41 GMT -5
Nah, I can't do that. Been caught by rain twice and used 5w-30 Valvoline to get me home and then did full disassemble, dry, oil, & reassemble. Not doing that anymore than I have to. You guys are way better to your guns than I am. Been on plenty fo rainy day hunts. Still just put them in the safe and clean at the end of season like usual. No issues thus far. Lucky! I at least wipe down, use fan or blow dry, then wipe with oily rag. |
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Post by bullseye69 on Jul 29, 2020 6:35:26 GMT -5
You guys are way better to your guns than I am. Been on plenty fo rainy day hunts. Still just put them in the safe and clean at the end of season like usual. No issues thus far. Lucky! I at least wipe down, use fan or blow dry, then wipe with oily rag. Yes hair dryer works well. |
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