How to twist a squirrel (or other animal) out of a hole

[WV Sawmiller]

   Because of comments and a request on another thread I am posting the below information. You might check to see if it is even legal in your state. In the case of a wounded animal it is often the ethical thing to do.

   When I was 10-12 years old I was fortunate enough to learn from my grandfather the art of twisting a squirrel out of a hole in a tree. Back in the day when more people hunted squirrels with dogs it was common to have a squirrel run into a hole to escape from the dog. Most of us serious squirrel hunters have wounded a squirrel and had him run into a hole where, unless we knew the technique for twisting him out, we probably lost him. I'd recommend any serious squirrel hunter learn this technique if just to keep from losing a wounded animal.

   The process is pretty straight forward if the squirrel takes shelter in a hole you can reach from the ground. First, cut a limber vine or switch long enough to reach the squirrel in the hole. Usually this is around three feet. The design of the hole will influence how limber the stick or vine must be. If the hole is part of a split a fairly stiff stick may be used but if it is an old knothole that turns immediately upward you will likely need a very limber vine. The absolute best choice, where available, is a greenbrier or Smilax vine about the diameter of a pencil. The bottom end of the vine where if comes out of the ground is often very thorny and ideal for catching the hair of the squirrel. Reverse the vine and send the thorny base end up first and twist from the top end. A pair of flexible leather gloves is handy to keep from getting thorns in your hand. The next best option is a grapevine about the same size. You may want to split the last inch or so of the end of the vine a few times to improve the chance of getting it to hang in the hair of the squirrel. I have seen my grandfather spit on the end of his switch to help make the squirrel hair stick to the vine. If I really expected to do a lot of squirrel twisting I'd take some shoe goo or other sticky compound to smear on my stick.

   Run the vine or switch up into the hole while twisting constantly in one direction. Usually when the vine or switch touches the squirrel he will scold at you and you will hear and feel him run further up the hole as far as possible. His head will be up and his tail will be hanging down. Keep twisting till the vine will no longer turn. What typically happens is that you get the hair on the squirrel's tail to hang on the vine or switch and you will wrap the squirrel's tail around itself.

   Once you have the tail twisted around itself start pulling steadily on the vine. Keep pressure on the vine in the same direction you first twisted to keep the tail from unraveling. Caution – do not pull too hard or too fast. Just keep steady pressure on the vine. If you try to pull too hard and fast you may break off the tail and not be able to pull the squirrel out.

   I made this mistake one time by pulling too hard and too fast on a spooky squirrel that always ran straight for his favorite hole. Once I broke off his tail I could not get enough body hair long enough to wrap around my switch to pull him out. I suspect he must have frozen to death the first cold spell because I had pulled off so much the hair off his body. I never heard of anyone reporting killing a bob-tailed squirrel that looked like he looked like he had mange in that area so I doubt anyone else ever killed him.

   With the squirrel's tail twisted around itself and steady pressure pulling him down the squirrel will be holding tightly to the sides of the tree. He may be chattering or he may be completely silent during this time. Eventually he will tire and lose his grip and slide down a few inches and get a new hold. Sometimes the squirrel's tail may slip free and you will have to repeat the process wrapping his tail around your vine or switch again. Keep the pressure on until you finally pull him out of the hole and dispatch him quickly. Grandpa used to keep a short hammer handle in his game bag for this purpose. My squirrel dog used to wait at the base of the tree and I'd toss the squirrel to her to finish. One quick snap and she was ready to go hunt for another one. I had a young friend who used to go with me with an air rifle who used to use it to finish off the squirrel when I had the animal about half way out of the hole.

   Bertha, my best squirrel dog treed a squirrel the first time I took my new bride hunting with me about 37 years ago. My wife had shot at but missed the running squirrel several times but when he got in a hole about three feet from the ground I knew we had him. I was wrong! When I ran a vine up the hole the squirrel started fussing at me my wife said "Stop that, you're hurting him!" I tried to convince her he was cursing me in squirrel language but she didn't believe me. She made me stop and leave the squirrel alone. It was okay for her to shoot him but nothing remotely painful was allowed! Bertha was disgusted and went home without looking for another squirrel that day. She figured she had done her part and if I wasn't going to do my part we weren't serious about our squirrel she was going on strike!

   I have used this technique to twist raccoons and opossums out of holes. You just use a slightly bigger and stronger vine and get the hair on their sides tangled around your vine. I have used it but this procedure does not work well with rabbits as a rabbit's skin is too tender and will tear free before you can twist him out. I have not tried but I assume this process would work with foxes and possibly groundhogs. It would probably work with a skunk but I don't recommend anyone testing that theory – I know I don't want to be there when someone pulls out an irate skunk out of a hole.

[terry f]

   I would have to agree with your wife, if I missed and the squirrel made it to its hole, he won that day.

[sandsawmill14]

that is exactly how we do it except i find a hickory limb about the size of your finger with a fork on the end of it cut the fork about 3/4" long and go at it sometimes i may keep the same stick for the rest of the season as you cant break hickory until it starts to dry out

[WH_Conley]

A piece of Barbed Wire works good if any is to be had.

[WV Sawmiller]

A piece of Barbed Wire works good if any is to be had.

  I have used BW an it does work but I still prefer Smilax if available.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I would have to agree with your wife, if I missed and the squirrel made it to its hole, he won that day.

Terry,

   Bad mistake :( Those are the first squirrels you want to remove from the gene pool :D It sure hurt my dog's feelings - she took it very personal.

[drobertson]

Not a big squirrel hunter, but have hunted a few, never knew of this trick, sounds like it could get pretty squirrely, ;D  of all the ones I've shot, I've been fortunate enough to have them fall out of the tree.. I would like to know some of you all's calling tricks,,, and ole timer now passed, shared with me his technique, he went nearly every saturday morning while season was open,,  tapping a silver dollar on the butt,, it works, vary the speed and location for different sounds,, they can't stand it and will come out to see what's up,,fun stuff, sure miss ole Thell, he was a dandy,

[Texas Ranger]

I used a silver dollar as a drum, and tapped it with a quarter, chattered like ol' bushy.

[thecfarm]

Hunting squirrels, ??? Does it count when I shot them off the bird feeders?  :D I feed the deer and common to see 20 squirrels and 10 deer.

[Peter Drouin]

This twisting thing is one of the meanest things I had heard of in a long time, The other is to set a hook 3' or so off the ground with a peace of meat on it so whatever jumps at it is hanging there when the guy comes back.

I mean no disrespect. 
But, everything I kill is one shot.

[WV Sawmiller]

Not a big squirrel hunter, but have hunted a few, never knew of this trick, sounds like it could get pretty squirrely, ;D  of all the ones I've shot, I've been fortunate enough to have them fall out of the tree.. I would like to know some of you all's calling tricks,,, and ole timer now passed, shared with me his technique, he went nearly every saturday morning while season was open,,  tapping a silver dollar on the butt,, it works, vary the speed and location for different sounds,, they can't stand it and will come out to see what's up,,fun stuff, sure miss ole Thell, he was a dandy,

   Another technique that sometimes works is to take 2 hickory nuts or 2 walnuts or such and rub them together vigorously. Sounds just like an old tree rat chewing on a nut and others in the area will sometimes come investigate.

   The best way to find squirrels is to go out and sit quietly waiting for a deer. Seems every squirrel in the area will want to come around and any that see you want to tell the others.

   Actually. I rarely shoot squirrels any more as they and the chipmunks are an excellent early warning system for any deer headed your way. They often give me a few extra minutes to get ready by telling me a deer or other critter is coming. As the animal leaves one squirrel's territory he will hand him off to the next one in the chain and you can determine location, speed and direction from the scolding squirrels and chipmunks.

[samandothers]

WV

This is the trick I have seen my dad use.  He did not use a vine but used a stick fuzzed up on the end to catch the tree rodent.  It's whats for dinner!

[terry f]

   I have to agree with Peter again, I guess I've never wanted a squirrel that bad. What do you do with a angry squirrel at the end of a stick fighting for its life? I don't think I'd want to interrupt a nice relaxing day, walking though the woods looking for squirrels, with a few minutes of shear terror.

[WV Sawmiller]

Terry, Peter, and other like minded readers,

   I apologize if you are offended. Using this technique is totally at your discretion for a healthy animal. The squirrel is quickly dispatched as soon as or just before you remove him from the hole.

   If it is an injured animal I maintain we as hunters are obligated to make every effort to retrieve any killed or injured animal we hunt. One shot one kill is obviously the goal but I know of no hunter who has not had to dispatch an injured animal they or someone in their party had shot at least once in their career. Shotguns are notorious for knocking game animals and birds down which have to be finished off. Maybe you are hunting with a child or grandchild on his/her first hunt and they make a less than perfect shot.

   I am convinced the technique is less painful or stressful than a leg hold trap, snare or even a live trap. Keep the technique in your tool kit and use it as a last resort if you prefer but please don't leave an injured dying animal out there without trying to retrieve it.

[sandsawmill14]

Terry, Peter, and other like minded readers,

   I apologize if you are offended. Using this technique is totally at your discretion for a healthy animal. The squirrel is quickly dispatched as soon as or just before you remove him from the hole.

   If it is an injured animal I maintain we as hunters are obligated to make every effort to retrieve any killed or injured animal we hunt. One shot one kill is obviously the goal but I know of no hunter who has not had to dispatch an injured animal they or someone in their party had shot at least once in their career. Shotguns are notorious for knocking game animals and birds down which have to be finished off. Maybe you are hunting with a child or grandchild on his/her first hunt and they make a less than perfect shot.

   I am convinced the technique is less painful or stressful than a leg hold trap, snare or even a live trap. Keep the technique in your tool kit and use it as a last resort if you prefer but please don't leave an injured dying animal out there without trying to retrieve it.

x10 if you went with the intention of killing by all means finish the job

[Peter Drouin]

I gave up squirrel hunting with a 22 when I was 10 years old. Lucky to have enough meat to make a sandwich.



 

I'm not offended, Just surprised that someone would do a thing like that.
At 61 years old, I have never seen that done in NH.

[sandsawmill14]

i have never done it before one was crippled  and i dont bait deer or turkey i believe in fair chase and if he makes to the hole before i shoot him he won BUT if i was hungry i would do whatever it took to get him out ;D :D :D :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   As I mentioned earlier squirrels are generally more valuable to me now as early warning beacons than to eat so I don't generally hunt them although most of what we have here are large fox squirrels and bigger than the grey/cat squirrels we hunted as kids. My mom was not a great cook and did not cook game when I was a kid. Down South every kid that hunted started on squirrels. I had several old neighbors in their 70's and 80's who loved squirrels but could no longer hunt them so all I killed went to them. I had another disabled neighbor who got all my coons.

   My old mentor was in his 70's when I was in my early teens did the best job cooking them of anyone I ever met. He had no teeth and would flour and fry them brown, wrap them in foil, float them on an inch or so of water in a pressure cooker and cook them on pressure 15-20 minutes. They would fall off the bone. Served with home ground coarse yellow grits, hush puppies and home grown/canned field peas they were part of a fine meal. He, and most of the old timers I gave my kills to, cooked the heads and ate the brains and I had no problem with him having my share. He also cooked rabbit and young coon the same way.

   I had the best squirrel dog I ever saw for many years and often took neighborhood kids whose parents did not hunt along with me. Bertha treed the squirrels, I'd position the kid and chase the squirrel to his side of the tree and he'd shoot it. I enjoyed watching them hunt more than I would have in killing the squirrels or rabbits or coons or such myself.

[HP]

I guess some of you guys have never heard the Carter Families "Rabbit in The Log. or Feast Here Tonight".

Cheers,
Harry

[sandsawmill14]

wv thats the way i cook them for breakfast every once in a while (minus the pressure cooker) my youngest daughter loves them better than anything you can cook fry the rabbit and young coon the same way  the old boars make dumplings and the old big coons get baked or bbq to tough for frying ;)  never had a tough rabbit though

[sandsawmill14]

you know i think jeff could have got by with only the food section here on ff that where they all go eventually anyway :D :D :D ;)

[WV Sawmiller]

S14,

   Probably right.

   On the coons I my wife used to boil them tender and make hash or BBQ with them. My old disabled neighbor who got them when I was a kid wife used to cook them in a Brown 'n Bag so we tried that with a big boar coon with split ears, chipped teeth and scars everywhere that Bertha treed one night when we were at Camp Lejeune USMC base. We cooked it slow in the oven while we went to church. When we got home it was done :-\ so we tried it. Was so bad the dogs would not even eat the taters off the roast.  Had to take the wife out to eat. Technique was probably ok but the specimen used was not the right one.

[sandsawmill14]

 :D :D :D yep if its over 8-10 lbs here it goes in the pot to boil till fully cooked but not falling off the bone the rubbed with a little salt and coarse ground black pepper then stuck in the oven with tater and onions till the taters are done we have cook some that would weigh 18-20 lb we caught while hunting on the lakes and they turned out good but i think it has to be boiled to tenderize it and get the strong taste out. some time we have to do an old (5-6 yo) buck deer that way usually if killed in rut never had any trouble with 3-4 yo or less though rut or not. i dont know if the rut is what causes it or just the age but around here when you kill a buck 4+ yo it will be in rut

[Magicman]

Twisting a squirrel was never a means of hunting for us, but a manner of retrieval.  An injured squirrel will seek such a place and it is the hunter's duty to follow through with any animal after the shot.  In all of my squirrel hunting years I never had to resort to twisting, but I heard of others doing or trying it.

Hunting squirrels and rabbits was not an option during my growing up years, but rather a requirement to put something on the table.  The fresh meat was a welcome treat in the Fall and Winter.  There were no deer or turkeys during that era.

[WV Sawmiller]

MM,

   Spot on. Very few deer and turkeys when I was a kid. A swamp rabbit or coon was a big kill for us.

   I still remember when first armadillos came to our part of N. Fla when I a kid. Also no coyotes back then. In college I learned Fla used to have only about 10,000 deer when settlers arrived. Big factor limiting their number was screwworms. Get a cut, flies laid eggs and larvae screwed into the flesh and animal got weak and sick and died or predators caught them. They eliminated screw flies by irradiating and sterilizing them. Sterile males mated with many females but no offspring. Female would only mate once so if got sterile mate was the end of that fly family. No harm to the environment (except maybe for whatever predator fed on screw flies).

    Modern agriculture and timber practices has actually been good for some wildlife.

[Magicman]

You bring back memories, some not so fond.  The dreaded screw fly caused much misery during my early youth days.  I never considered what they did to wildlife I guess because we had no deer.  "Big game" to us was a fox squirrel.

I often see folks write what they would or would not eat.  If they had grown up in my circumstances, "not" would not be in their vocabulary.  Some things that we ate were the only things between us and hungry.

[sandsawmill14]

mm it was not that bad on me personally but my parents and grandparents were in the same shape you described and that was how i was raised. we had hot dogs every friday night for supper for years before the ball game because it cost to much to buy  everyone one at the game :-\ the thing is that was a real treat that everyone looked forward to and it was still the friday night meal at home when i married :D . and a grilled hamburger was a REAL treat up until i started driving and got a job then that helped some  at least 95 % of what we ate meat and otherwise  when i was growing up was either raised on the farm or got hunting/trapping  i guess i can see how people who were not raised this way could see it strange :D  just dont pick on us >:( ;) :D :D :D

[sandsawmill14]

i also remember when we were kids the store in town sold everything feed/seed hardware groceries gas and kerosene, and ammo by the box or by the piece 12 gauge were 10 cents each or 2.50 a box and 22 long rifles were 2 cents or 1.00 box but i dont remember ever buying them 1 at the time cause dad kept us in shells. but do remember other folk getting a dimes worth of 22 and .50 cents worth of 12s when i was there things have changed alot now  and we are a lot bigger town now we're almost up to population of 300 last time i heard but i still live about 2 miles out side of town ;D

[Peter Drouin]

My dad and his dad would go ½ or a ¼ on a cow and pigs with their friends. We would put it down with one shot to stun it and start cutting. :D :D :D

MM you did not have cows down there with all the land you have. Did you not have a garden, My dads Was big enough to feed 50 people. :D :D :D
And every one had chickens.
Sand14, I don't remember how many cows, pigs, chickens,deer, bear,moose,rabbits, fish. I cut up over the years. Hell, I don't eat pig no more, but, still have an 8'x8' block smoke house where I use to smoke 4 pigs at once.

[thecfarm]

My Grandparents,that lived about 500 feet across the road from me,kept us well fed. We had cows and chicken to eat. My Father shot alot of rabbits. BIG garden,BIG potato one too.

[sandsawmill14]

cant speak for mm but around here you were well off if you had a beef. everyone had a milk cow and if she had a bull calf it was raised for meat if it was a heifer you raised it for a cow. most of the other kids my age done none of this and some made fun of us but our folks thought it was important we new how it used to be and appreciate what we had. but i have to admit i did not understand why dad made me plow the garden with a horse when there were 3 tractors setting there :-\ >:( but now that im grown with my on kids i understand clearly what he was doing and am thankful for it

[sandsawmill14]

My Grandparents,that lived about 500 feet across the road from me,kept us well fed. We had cows and chicken to eat. My Father shot alot of rabbits. BIG garden,BIG potato one too.

thats the way our grandparents were too but it has to be passed down to the next gen or it will be gone. i gave a friend some jelly i made last fall and he said he wanted to come help this year to learn how to can/preserve foods his grandmother always did the canning and gave it to kids and he had never helped or even seen it done said he had picked peas 2-3 times other than that never even had a garden  ??? which really surprised me as his folks grew up within 3 miles of me and when his parents married they moved about 20 miles south on another pretty good sized farm but both worked in a factory and bought everything they eat except what come from granny

[4x4American]

Thanks for the lesson, WV.  It's a good trick to keep in the bag.  I would have otherwise prolly just starting shooting into the hole.. And yes, I agree completely about the best way to see skwerls is to go out with the mind to kill a deer lol..