It’s September, and you know what that means. No, not big bulls and bucks. Well, not just big bulls and bucks. September means a small-game smorgasbord. Oh, and don’t forget about those small-game bird and mammals that tend to fly under the must-hunt radar of many.
by Scott Haugen
September marks some of the most anticipated big game hunts of the year. But if you’re like me and own a versatile gun dog or two, now is also the time to get them afield. Face it, it’s been a long time since our dogs last hunted, and they anticipate the coming seasons as much as we do and probably need it more than us.
For Kona, my male pudelpointer, his favorite hunt of all is for Western Gray squirrels. Pudelpointers hit a different level when the smell of fur is in the air. When cut loose, Kona chases squirrels through the forest as fast as any animal I’ve seen run. And when he finally trees one, his man-bark echos through the timber.
Though the fall hunting season is only 10 weeks where we live, our addiction to hunting gray squirrels runs year-round. I run trail cameras all year to monitor tree squirrel movement and populations. I rely on Moultrie Mobile cellular trail cameras to provide me with immediate feedback on where squirrels are, and this is especially important this time of year when hunting season is in full swing.
Changing food sources will often cause tree squirrels to move from one area to another. Having hunted gray squirrels for several years and using the information from trail cameras to help study their movements, I’m amazed at how precise and cyclical these critters are from year to year, being in the same places at the same times as the seasons change. These movements are based on a shift in food availability. I know where gray squirrels will be this time of year based on acorn and other mast crops dropping. I also understand their routes in the forest, which helps me decide where to hunt. These are the places where I increase the number of trail cameras during hunting season. In years of bumper crops, more squirrels show up.
Walking overgrown logging roads closed to motorized access is how we often find success. Once a squirrel is spotted, I let Kona chase and tree it. In the past two seasons, I’ve turned to a QuietKat electric bike to cover more ground. These eBikes are silent and allow me to cover ground much faster than on foot. I’ve successfully used the QuietKat on remote logging roads, along the edges of farm fields where oak trees thrive, when traveling horizontal ridges in the hills, and while hunting semi-open hill country. They’re fast and quiet, and Kona can easily keep up with me.
Covering ground is key to gray squirrel hunting success, and the QuietKat allows me to do so efficiently. The pedal assist is great for pulling hills, and the battery life has always lasted for the duration of our hunts. When hunting on an eBike, take extra water for your dog, as they’ll cover several miles a day and need to stay hydrated.
Some areas we squirrel hunt are thick with trees and brush, especially where hardwoods meet the coniferous forest. Many squirrels are in this habitat, but stalking in on them can be challenging as they often see us before we spot them. On top of that, once a gray squirrel trees, the shooting window is brief before they reach thick cover to hide in up high.
When hunting these treelines I rely on Moultrie Mobile trail cameras for fast, accurate information. I run all trail cameras on video mode. A 15-second video clip reveals more than a photo ever can. Not long ago a thumbnail of one gray squirrel popped up on my Moultrie Mobile app. I requested the video to see which direction the squirrel was heading and see what it was feeding on. The video clip revealed not one but five gray squirrels working the forest floor. That’s when it’s time to go hunting.
If I know there’s a squirrel in the mix of coniferous and deciduous trees, I’ll slowly move in with Kona heeling. If there’s a time of day when squirrel movement is high based on what trail cameras are conveying, I’ll slip in a couple of hours ahead of time and sit against a fat fir tree with Kona at my side. We sit where visibility is maximized and when a squirrel is spotted, Kona gets to work. Kona almost always sees the squirrels before I do and gets them up a tree impressively fast.
A .410 is a good gun of choice if shooting in thick cover. I like tungsten loads over standard loads as their pattern is more dense and their killing power greater. If the habitat is semi-open and the trees are not overly tall with thick, brushy limbs, then a .22 will suffice. I like shooting a scoped .22 rifle with CCi Sub-Sonic HP 22 LR 40 Grain .22 long rifle ammo, as it offers plenty of power and won’t damage the meat. It’s also quiet, allowing you to get on more squirrels in the area. The gray squirrel is excellent, mild eating.
Another September special I look forward to hunting is the band-tailed pigeon. I started hunting bandtails in the 1970s when daily limits were seven pigeons. Today the bandtail daily limit is two. The season is brief where I hunt them in Western Oregon, September 15-23. Kona and Echo, my female pudelpointer, and I will hunt bandtails every day of the season. Kona and Echo love hiking up ridges in the Cascade Range, sitting and spotting flocks of pigeons as they speedily fly our way from great distances. The birds are feeding on berries at this time of year, mainly cascara berries and elderberries, which are our target food sources.
Bandtails can be easy to hit when their pace slows. But when they dart and dive, they can be one of the most challenging targets. They’re excellent eating and the dogs are great at marking these gray bombers that often leave a trail of feathers once hit.
Another season that opens in September — and is one both my dogs love — is fall turkeys. Oregon allows hunting fall turkeys with a dog, and we go about it multiple ways. My favorite approach is to spot a flock feeding uphill into the trees and then send a dog to bust them up. This flat-out sprint may be 200 yards or more, depending on where the birds are and what the terrain is like that separates us.
I’ll call the dog back once the birds take to the trees. Then, we’ll approach the area where the turkeys landed, staying out of sight. When we reach that location, we start calling once the turkeys start chattering at one another with assembly calls. I only hunt one dog at a time when using this approach. Few bird hunts are as exciting as calling a 20-pound tom into spitting distance of where you and a well-disciplined dog sit, still as a stone Buddha.
We’ll also track fall turkeys, just as you’d hunt pheasant. The amount of scent left on the ground by turkeys is unmatched, and you’ll immediately notice it in your dog’s demeanor. Once they catch a whiff of fresh turkey tracks, gun dogs will trail it like no bird you’ve seen.
When a dog catches up to a turkey, two things can happen. The bird will either hold like a quail or run and then take flight. I’ve found lone toms and a few bachelor toms to hold best, especially if a dog can take them by surprise near thick cover. Early fall flocks of hens and young of the year will also hold well, with some birds usually hopping into nearby trees. A good dog will hold point until you catch up, and that’s asking a lot with such big birds and so much scent in the air.
While some folks chase elk, deer, bear, and moose in September, and wing-shooters focus on doves, grouse, and glamorous quail, take notice of the other small game options out there. After all, our dogs’ time with us is brief, and the more quality time you spend hunting with them, the happier both of you will be.
