Coulee Country Squirrel Camp

Deer camp is a serious tradition in Wisconsin. However, squirrel camp is a relatively unknown entity, which is unfortunate as squirrel camp holds many advantages over deer camp. I recently spent a full week, Sunday to Sunday in a muzzle loader squirrel camp in Vernon County. The county is in the heart of the Driftless area. The land is rugged with numerous Coulees, towering ridges, many small ravines and streams in the narrow valleys. Since the glaciers went around the driftless areas, water is the primary force shaping the hills and ridges. The sides of the Coulees and ravines are very steep. The ridges and hills are covered with hardwood trees. Red and white oak, butternut, maples, walnuts, and a scattering of popple and pine trees dominate the landscape. Our camp was in the lowland of a valley near a great trout stream. Hunting in this area reminded me of hunting in the Appalachian Mountains of Southeast Ohio. The difference is that the mountains in Ohio are taller and have more land area while the land is much steeper in the driftless area. After hunting for a few days, I began to understand what the daily life of a mountain goat must be like in the Rocky Mountains.

The fall colors were approaching their peak. Being able to experience the fall colors is one advantage squirrel camp has over deer camp where gray and brown are the colors that dominate the landscape. The weather threw a little surprise at us by dropping the nighttime temperature into the mid 20s three nights in a row. After the sun warmed the temperature the morning after the first freeze, there was a veritable leaf blizzard as many trees shed their leaves. The remaining leaves fell after the two subsequent freezing nights until the only trees in the woods with leaves were the oaks. The lack of leaves makes it harder to sneak up on the bushytails, while the oaks retaining their leaves made it easier to find the mast-producing trees where the crafty critters are most likely to hang out.

Every night I would hear a critter wandering around in the the brush next to my tent.  One night, I took the mag light out to find the critter.  When I shined the light on this little critter, it climbed up this tree.  I took this photo with my phone camera while using the mag light for illumination.  

I arrived at the camping spot early on a Sunday afternoon. By the time I had camp set up and organized, there were only two hours of daylight left. I opted for my ultra light fishing pole over the squirrel gun. It proved to  be a good choice as the trout hit my spinners regularly, and I had fresh trout for supper.

The next morning, I headed out as first light was illuminating the woods. This time of year that means sleeping in as it does not get light until almost 7:00 AM. The bushytails were very active and I quickly added a gray squirrel to my game bag. I moseyed my way up the ridge looking for more squirrels. I spotted one squirrel on a branch about 50 yards away and a fair distance higher on the ridge. It was eating an acorn, and had its tail over its head. I think that when squirrels flop their tail over their head its a way of hiding and they tend to be stationary. I figured if I moved slowly, I could sneak up on the critter and get a shot. First, I worked my way up the ridge until I was level with the bushytail and was hidden from the squirrel by the trunk of a large oak tree. I slowly walked toward the tree. When I reached the tree, a quick glance around assured me that the squirrel was still on the branch. I silently cocked the trade gun, shouldered the weapon, and spun around the downhill side of the tree to take the shot. Unbeknownst to me, a short thick piece of wood was hiding under the leaves where I stepped with my down hill foot. The piece of wood skidded out from under my foot, and instead of firing a shot, my foot slide downhill, with the rest of me following. The squirrel was long gone by the time I regained my footing.

Now, dear reader, you may be wondering, what the heck is a “Trade Gun?” Well, the short answer is that a trade gun is a flint lock shot gun with a cylinder bore. My trade gun is a 20 gauge. Trade Guns are designed to shoot shot or a single round ball bullet. Trade Guns got their name because they were designed and made to be carried into the wilderness by the fur trade brigades in the 1700 and 1800s. In the heyday of the fur trade in Wisconsin, the trade gun was the most commonly carried gun by the many indigenous tribes, and the voyageurs.

The full moon shining through the trees.  

The rest of the day was a typical squirrel hunting day. I alternated between moseying slowly through the woods and sitting on stumps or next to a tree. The majority of the squirrels pulled a Houdini and vanished before a shot was possible. However, with a combination of patience, perseverance, and a whole lotta luck, I was able to added enough gray, black and fox squirrels to the game bag to make myself a small batch of squirrel stew for supper over the campfire.

The next morning was the first of the subfreezing sunrises and the leaf blizzard. The sun was shining and it was windy. The falling leaves blanketed the ground. The newly fallen leaves were very crunchy and loud. So I could hear a squirrel moving from a long ways away, and the squirrels could hear me from even further away. It was a low-surprise kind of day. Crunchy leaves, sunshine, and strong winds make squirrels borderline paranoid and more difficult to hunt. My strategy was to walk into a spot where I had heard squirrels moving around, or to sit in a spot with oaks or butternuts. I covered much less ground than the previous day, but was able to add one fox and two gray squirrels to the game bag.

This evening, we had a squirrel dish game feed with two kinds of squirrel stew, a squirrel and potato hot dish, and some canned venison on the menu. We also had apple pie for dessert. Whenever a group of hunters gathers for a wild game meal, the hunting stories come with many added embellishments much to the entertainment of all. What a feast.

Squirrel stew by lantern light as good as any candlelight dinner in a 5 Star Restaurant.  

The next few days of squirrel camp were much like the second day, cold mornings and warm afternoons. More squirrels were added to the game bag which were brought home to be added to some of our favorite squirrel dishes like squirrel spaghetti, bbqed squirrel, and squirrel and dumplings. The tails were saved to be turned into fishing lures. We were fortunate that the full moon rose over camp nearly every night we were encamped. Sitting around the campfire with friends watching the full moon rise is a wonderful way to end a day. Squirrel camp was a grand outdoor adventure. We already have a date set for next year.