When the leaves are off the trees and the weather is cold, squirrel season becomes the art of the sniper.

Here are my tips to aid in your success while late season squirrel hunting.

In early season when the leaves are on the trees, squirrels are less wary of intrusion into their domain and less likely to be spooked by the quiet hunter. In late season, after facing other hunters, they have become educated. Also, the leaves that once hid the hunter are now gone.

This becomes the hunting game of the rifleman.

Hunters are wise to utilize full camouflage, including the use of face masks and gloves to mask their human presence. Moving ever so slowly, the hunter scans the tree tops with binoculars looking for that small part of the squirrel that might give them away. This may be a silhouette,  a flickering tail, a tail blowing gently in the breeze, or its ever-present intensely black eyes.

This is the hunt of the rifleman, as ranges are frequently more difficult than that of a shotgun’s capability. The Ruger model 10/22 is a reliable .22 long rifle chambered weapon that is very effective on quick, accurate shots at squirrels at quite a distance.

The .22 long rifle cartridge is accurate and damages the meat little, especially if you take head shots. Any small caliber rifle will work, and a scope will help you fire those accurate shots with ease.

Take a seat and become a stump. Find a large nut-bearing tree or a hollow tree and sit close enough to it to do your surveillance. Once the woods get quiet, the squirrels will start to travel again and you are bound to get a shot. Keep quiet, don’t move and be patient. Tiny black eyes are watching you from above!

Good luck and be sure all of your shots you take have a solid backing, such as a tree, to stop the bullet after it exits your squirrel.