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Page 6 Wed., Jan. 5. 2000. Houston Home Journal Mid winter is great time for getting squirrels When the squirrel season opens in mid August of each year we might tell ourselves there's too many ticks and chiggers to be in the woods. Then the dove season rolls around and, and, oh yes, we love that wing shooting! Suddenly, before we know it, we are fully engaged in deer hunting, which now represents about 75 percent of all hunting activity in the state. But while the most popu lar small game hunting, which is for dove and quail, is on the decline because of loss of habitat and shrinking populations, squirrels are very numerous across the state and very under uti lized. A lot of hunters don’t ever think about squirrel hunting until after the deer season but Just after the leaves drop off the trees is a prime time for squirrels. So consider taking a few trips into the hardwoods in November and through early winter for some great bushy tail hunt ing. Mid to late season squir rel season is considerably different than early fall hunting. In the August to October time period most squirrels are still swinging in the tree limbs among the hickory nuts and acorns, thus they hang out where the food is located. Hidden among the canopy of thick tree leaves, they are not nearly as skittish or as wise as late season squir rels. Everything changes quickly after the leaves hit the ground. With all the mast crop on the ground, the squirrels pretty much abandon the tree tops, except for sleeping in nests and lounging around. Squirrels quickly learn, or at least the survivors do, that hawks and owls can swiftly snatch their brethren from tree branches or large patches of open ground. Regardless of whatever the squirrels are doing, some hunters think the number one occupation for squirrels in November and December is harassing deer hunters! Just think about the times you’ve been covered up with squirrels while sit ting on your deer stand. One of the most common conver sations among deer hunters goes something like this. “Seen anything this morn ing?" “No, just a bunch of squirrels!" On occasions like this it has probably occurred to more than one hunter that perhaps they should be squirrel hunting rather than deer hunting. With a handy 22 rifle or shotgun they might have gone home with a game bag Rill of squirrels rather than going out of the woods with Clark the NBA. playing on two Los Angeles Lakers champi onship teams. During his career, Nixon averaged more than 15 points a game while dishing out an average of just over eight assists. These great athletes are VdrivT^H W TODAY! 1 GOOD CREDIT M BLEMISHED CREDIT HS, NO CREDIT No matter what your credit situation is, \ we will work with you to get you in a l or pre-owned vehicle To get started, call anytime from any touch tone telephone or apply via the internet We'll take your appli cation for financing right over the phone Then we'll get back with you and set an flaT ? appointment. mt www I i ill- ..in tj.-'-Ki„ John Trussel I Home Journal Outdoors a sore rear end from hours of sitting with no action. Well here’s how you can get in on some good hunting. The first thing to do is narrow down a place to find concentrations of squirrels. Of course if you scan your brain you’ll easily remember all those hoards of squirrels you saw while deer hunting. Early in the hunting season the acorns usually are con centrated and the squirrels are found in hardwood groves. By winter however most of the nuts are gone or buried by squirrels. Then begins the period of time when squirrels start to disperse in search of food. To narrow down your search for good squirrel hunting locations, try scout ing for stands of hardwood trees and looking for signs of “cutting” activity, such as the hulls of hickory nuts, which squirrels cut through earlier in the season to get to the meat of the nut. Shredded up pine cones, another leftover from the bushytail's diet, is also a noteworthy sign. When in doubt, just stop, observe and listen for a few minutes. Squirrels are gre garious animals and like the company of their own kind. After 19 minutes or so, most squirrels will lose their caution and reveal their positions. If none are close by, try “barking." Barking is the sound squirrels make (similar to a human clicking noises with the tongue against the roof of the mouth) when they are either curious about what’s hap pening, they want to start a “conversation" with other squirrels in the area, or even when they want to sound an alarm. A squirrel call, which imi tates the squirrel’s bark, is an ideal tool for locating frisky squirrels and many accomplished squirrel hunters can fool them just by using their mouths to mimic the animal’s bark. Stand hunting for squir rels is very simple and prob ably the most productive for the average squirrel hunter. After I have found plenty of squirrel signs, such as fresh nut cuttings and an abun dance of old squirrel nests, I just sit down with my back against a tree and watch for the squirrels, sometimes among the treetops or most usually running across the ground, in the winter. Continued from page 5 the greatest among many Georgia natives who have made names for themselves during the past hundred years. It s an impressive list. And surely there are others who would be included on your own list! While you can shoot the first squirrel you see. I’ve found that if you wait just a little longer, you can increase the weight of your game bag. That’s because squirrels like to congregate together and often where there is one squirrel, there’s a few more. I've taken as many as five squirrels from one tree and that’s not too unusual among experienced squirrel hunters. Squirrels have a bag full of tricks to avoid detection, with running into a knot hole or hollow cavity rank ing among the most effec tive. If you have spooked a squirrel into a hollow cavity, you can wait him out, but you might be in for a long wait. The squirrel might ease back out in five minutes, but I’ve watched a few hid den squirrels for as long as an hour without them com ing back out. Usually I give these squirrels a “free pass" and try to catch them another day. Squirrels which retreat into high leaf nests are usu ally safe also, but if it’s low enough to have a vine grow ing into it you might have a chance to roust the squirrel out of the nest. Just grab the vine at the base and give it a couple of quick yanks. Often the squirrel will abandon ship and run up into the top of the tree, giving you the opportunity for a shot. But don’t attempt to fire a round into the nest if the squirrel doesn’t come out. Not only is that unsports man like, the shot could kill Panthers Thomas said that the team had set a goal of fin ishing third or higher in the sub-region. “The way the region tour nament falls, third is an ideal spot for us," Thomas said. In girls action. Perry’s Lady Panthers were also defeated by the AAAA Eagles. Perry held their own in the first, but Northside shot out to a 25-15 halftime Looking to find a great buy on something? Need some firewood? How about a good used car? Want to rent or buy a home? All of these can be found within the Houston Home journal classified ad section each week. Do has thousands of Houston Countians have done during the past 130 years - turn to the Old Reliable, the Houston Home journal. Want to sell something? Ads begin at just S 6 per week and reach more than 10,000 homes, a potential of more than 25,000 readers. Call 987-1823 today. Houston Home Journal :<P ' • . . ~ . "j Got News? Call us at 987-1823 No more... EXCUSES the ty jttSNMUM 4 MUTBvWN Is taking shape at Curves* Join the excitement. We are helping women to lose excess pounds & inches while acquiring the habit of exercise. Our unique exercise program, Quickfit makes it easy! You warm-up, perform cardiovascular and strength cool down & stretch. That's a complete workout in just 30 minutes & it's FUN!!! — oCurves®-fi' S2O % for women y _ . . , . „ Service 30 rmnuie fitness & weight loss ctrs. 1309 Main St., Perry OQQ QHOI Eastgate Shopping Ctr. 5/00“yUfcl **<••■« K »'« J *«• '•'•J i A mm I? mm i .1 rttfran the squirrel in the nest, and be a total waste. Other squirrels try to hide on the opposite side of the tree from the hunter and this seems to be a universal trick among squirrels. To make matters worse, when the hunter moves, the squir rel moves, so it’s often hard to get the squirrel to make a mistake and show himself. This standoff can be quickly resolved if there are two hunters and they simply move to opposite sides of the tree so one can get a shot. But the lone hunter must resort to trickery himself by picking up a limb, pine cone or whatever’s handy, and tossing it to the opposite side of the tree. The squirrel, hearing the noise, shifts back to the hunter’s side of the tree, offering a shot if all goes well. The hunter has to be quick to capitalize on the opportunity. Another common squirrel trick is for the squirrel to just lay flat on a big, high branch where you can’t see him and sometimes moving around the tree or throwing sticks to the opposite side doesn't help the situation. The best strategy to deal with this predicament is to move back away from the tree as far as possible hut still be able to see the top branches and study the tree carefully with a rifle scope or binoculars. Often it's pos sible to pick out the top of the squirrel’s back or the end of its' tail, and then with a little more maneuvering, you can get a clean shot. (Continued next time.) Continued from page 5 lead that the Panthers could not come back against. Freshman Natassija Mitchell, led the team with 14 points, the only Panther to hit double digits. Percy 33 Northside 59 (Girls) Code 2. Ragin 2. Woodard !, Mitchell 14. Overton 6. Hill 4 Perry 50 Northside (Hi (Hoys) Allen 3, Thorton 3. Robinson 13, Foster 3. Asbtirv fc>. Whitehead 1. Scogin 18. Stripling 2. Mont gomery 2 Three pointers Robinson 1. Asburv 2. Scogin I CASH LOANS ON CAR TITLES NO CREDIT CHECK SIOO - SSOOO INSTANTLY Friendly courteous Staff • No waiting Executive loans s2ooo+ • Monthly payments Call Today For More Information Ace Title Pawn Inc. _ . . __ _ ._ _ _ 912-329-1999 Good food, good prices, good fun! greenderby Open nightly • 5 p.m. • 10 p.m. Perry, CD • Beside the Holiday Inn Middle Georgia ENROLL NOW! Learn the skills you need to compete for entry level jobs in manufacturing. Qualifies for HOPE Grant. Next class begins 1/10/00. Several major manufacturing companies are hiring Certified Manufacturing Specialist Now! For more information call (912) 988-6850 80 Cohen Walker Drive • Warner Robins, GA PERRY HEALTH CtUB I i First Baptist Perry School of the Arts Spring Semester 2000 Eighteen - 30 minute lessons Begins week of Jan. 20 Annual registration fee is $25. Spring tuition is $225.00 id/si iijjjjdsi OLu/s/j ui * 1105 Main St •P.0.80x 5 Perry, Ga. 31069 (912) 987-2002 • (fax) 987-1120 email 104276.114@ CompuServe http://www. horn, net/- fbcp “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” Psalm 150:8 - 1 f If *