KC Bait & Tackle

Provided by MDC

Squirrel hunting regulations remain unchanged from last year. However, some hunters might be confused by an action taken by the Missouri Conservation Commission at its March meeting. The Commission voted to increase the bag limit for squirrels effective on March 1, 2010. This year’s bag limits remain the same as last year – six gray or fox squirrels in the aggregate per day and 12 in possession.

“In the aggregate” means you can bag any combination of fox and gray squirrels, so long as you do not exceed six squirrels in one day in total. If you bag a daily limit two days in a row, you have a possession limit of 12 squirrels. After that, you must eat or give away some squirrels before going hunting again in order to stay within the possession limit.

Hunters can pursue squirrels from May 23 through Feb. 15, 2010, with rifles, shotguns or archery equipment. Summer foliage makes rifle shots more difficult than in late fall and winter, when leaves no longer obscure a shooter’s view. As a result, shotguns are the preferred method for most hunters during the early part of the season.

Hunters also can take squirrels with cage-type traps, as long as they label traps with their full name and address. Squirrel traps also must have openings measuring 144 square inches or less, for instance, 12 inches by 12 inches. Hunters must attend their traps daily. The same regulations apply to rabbits and groundhogs during their respective seasons.

Lonnie Hansen, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s resource scientist in charge of squirrel management, said 2008 was a down year for squirrel numbers in the Ozarks. That was because a late freeze reduced acorn production the previous year. White oak trees in the Ozarks produced a good crop of acorns last year, so squirrel numbers should rebound in that part of the state for 2009, making for better hunting.

Squirrels have a more diverse and dependable food base in northern Missouri, thanks to corn and other agricultural crops. As a result, squirrel populations are more stable there, and hunting is uniformly good from year to year.