If the young hunter in your family missed the Oct. 11-17 Youth Squirrel Hunt, there’s still plenty of time. The regular season runs from Oct. 18th to Nov. 29th, and the late season runs into February. But the best time to get out there is now. And the ideal game to pursue with a learning hunter in the fall is squirrels, because of the animal’s abundance throughout the state, the beauty of the October squirrel woods and the leisurely hunting methods that facilitate teaching about wildlife and wild places.
If possible, choose days that are free of high winds, which cause bushytails to hunker down and disappear, or heavy rains, which will just make your hunting buddy miserable. A light drizzle is okay, because it can soften the ground leaves in the woods and help your young hunter move quietly. With any luck, though, an October Saturday should provide good weather, beautiful scenery and lots of game, whether you visit public lands or secure permission to hunt private property.
From the moment I walk into the woods with a learning hunter, I think about sharing knowledge and teaching skills. Lesson Number One is “slow down, be quiet and listen.” This is the sacred forest, not the riotous city, I try to convey, a place where we can leave behind the busy schedules and conflicts of civilized life and pay close attention to the same compelling sights, sounds and smells that our ancestors once knew.
Lesson Two is “safety first, always.” I reiterate the gun-handling and safe-shooting skills we have already practiced on the range and make sure the learner is committed to the how and why of hunter safety.
Lesson Three is “safety assumed, we’re here to relax, enjoy and have fun.” I remind the young hunter that we’ll focus on interesting sights and happenings. We’ll talk in low tones, but we’ll share the observations and experiences that will make our day in the outdoors special.
The next decision is “where shall we hunt,” which might provide an opportunity to teach something about nature, such as tree identification. We might spot some easy-to-identify sycamores along the banks of a river and perhaps willows or hemlocks nearby in the lowlands, then maples, oaks and shagbark hickories on higher ground. We’ll appreciate the scarlet foliage of the red maples, but we’ll pass on them and the silver sycamores and select hunting grounds near golden shagbark hickories for their tasty hickory nuts and bronze-colored white oaks for their large and nutritious acorns. These natural foods may attract squirrels and other wildlife into our sight lanes.
We’ll probably choose Stand Hunting (sitting still at the base of a tree in a selected area and watching for game) over Still Hunting (walking very slowly through the woods while carefully searching for telltale movement or sound) as our method. By sitting quietly side-by-side, we’ll increase our chances of observing wildlife such as deer or wild turkeys, which can provide more educational opportunities. For example, when observing a deer herd, I might point out characteristics of a yearling deer (compact body size and shorter muzzle) versus those of a mature doe, information that may pay off for the learner during a later antlerless deer hunt.
I personally prefer to hunt squirrels with a .22 rifle, because of the challenge and the shooting practice for deer season, but I recommend using shotguns during a mentoring hunt, because they make it easier for a learning hunter to make an instant kill. A 20-gauge is often the best choice for a smaller-built youngster, because it will likely exhibit less recoil than a 16- or 12-gauge. I don’t recommend the tiny .410-gauge, because I don’t think it has the firepower to clean-kill squirrels, which have much tougher hides than rabbits and other small game.
If the learning hunter and I have any success on squirrels during our day, I’ll get the chance to demonstrate the skinning and field-dressing of the game, which I often do right in the woods rather than later at home, because the tough hides are fresher and easier to work with there. And of course that evening I can demonstrate the preparation of savory wild game recipes. The lesson here is that modern humans can still engage directly in the food chain just as our ancestors did and that not all edible meat comes plastic-wrapped from the grocery store.
Good luck out there. And have a great week outdoors.
Don Feigert is the outdoors writer for THE HERALD and the ALLIED NEWS. He can be contacted at 724-931-1699 or dfeigert@verizon.net. Visit his Website at www.donfeigert.com.
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October is the time to mentor young squirrel hunters
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WM baseball, Sharpsville and Wilmington softball playing for D-10 titles
Sharpsville and Wilmington softball teams and the West Middlesex baseball squad return to the diamond today to compete for District 10 championships.
SOFTBALL
Class A Championship
Coach Bob Zikovich's Sharpsville Blue Darlings (15-2) battle a tough Saegertown (18-2) squad at 2 p.m. today at Penn State-Behrend in Erie. -
PIAA Track Notebook: KC's Wareham made round trips to "The Ship"
The most impressive race during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships did not take place at Shippensburg University, nor will you read its results in any newspaper on or any web site.
To be sure, it was a race against time, but not in the sense of being defined by a coach’s hand-held device, nor Seth Grove Stadium’s scoreboard clock. -
Hickory girls grab PIAA Class AA Track team title
SHIPPENSBURG — This news bulletin just in: Mercer County athletes dominated during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Nothing new there, you say? Well, perhaps you’re correct, considering how well the area aggregation annually accounts itself on Memorial Day Weekend at Shippensburg University. Therefore it was not surprising how much hardware was hauled home — once again. -
PIAA Track: Hickory's Bell, Lubarski, Regginello grab gold
SHIPPENSBURG — There’s a big difference between being seeded 1st and finishing 1st — Matt Bell can attest to that.
After settling for silver last year, the Hickory High senior put the shot 59 feet, 6 3/4 inches Friday afternoon to garner gold at the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University. -
WM to play for D-10 baseball title; GC, Sharon, Sharpsville lose
Four area baseball teams were in action on Friday in the District 10 semifinals as the squads battled to compete for District 10 championships on Monday.
West Middlesex rolled past error-prone Linesville, 8-0, in Class A action at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
In Class AA, both Sharon and Sharpsville suffered 2-1 losses. The Tigers fell to Saegertown at Ainsworth Field in Erie while the Blue Devils lost to Titusville at SRU.
In Class AAA, the Grove City Eagles were denied the chance to defend their D-10 crown after suffering a 6-3 loss to Warren at SRU. -
Farrell volleyball falls in D-10 semifinals
The Farrell High boys volleyball team suffered a 2-0 (25-15, 25-12) loss to Saegertown on Thursday night in the District 10 semifinals at Meadville Area High’s “House of Thrills.”
“This was the first year we made it out of the first day (pool play) of the playoffs,” said Steelers’ coach Dan Dragicevic. “I’d like to cite my seniors (Eric Demus, Anthony Perkins, Jaylen Chambers and Lawrence Hughes). -
Locals ready to go for gold at Shippensburg
Now that Mercer County is on the map, it’s incumbent upon the area aggregation to chart a course for the ultimate destination — Seth Grove Stadium’s medals stand — during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Led by West Middlesex High sprinter Clay Allen, many Mercer Countians are seeded at or near the top of their respective events for the annual 2-day marathon at Shippensburg University, which commences 9 a.m. Friday. It will continue beginning 9 a.m. Saturday. -
D-10 Playoffs: Local teams go 6-for-6
ä Grove City 1, Harbor Creek 0 — At Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park, what the Grove City Eagles couldn’t accomplish themselves, the Harbor Creek Huskies unwittingly did for them.
Unable to plate runs themselves, Torin Smith scored the Eagles’ only run when teammate Tyler Devine’s seeming inning-ending pop-up to left field was dropped by Harbor Creek’s Chris Merritt in the bottom of the 7th inning of Tuesday’s tourney opener. -
Great year for WM track; local qualifiers listed
It’s been a big year for the Big Reds.
Though there’s no official documentation, the 2011-12 academic year may be the most successful in West Middlesex High’s athletic annals. -
SPORTVIEW: Local names Kroko, Lutz, Kareklas in news elsewhere
IT’S ALWAYS GOOD to hear of former area people who have gone on to athletic success in other areas, or the family of former area residents. Following are a few of those stories:
ä Bob and Betty Kroko of Sharon are avid followers of professional baseball. No, not necessarily the Pittsburgh Pirates or Cleveland Indians like many local fans.
The Krokos keep a close eye on the Austria Major League! - More Sports Headlines
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