Black Squirrels are big and tasty
By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
Dec. 19, 2003
While hunting in the Delta National Forest recently I spotted what looked like a skunk. Now I had never seen a skunk in the daytime in the woods before, but I knew I didn't want to tangle with one. However, when this black creature ran up a tree after a red fox squirrel, I was truly amazed. I had finally laid eyes on my first black squirrel. From that moment on I stalked the feed tree that held two red fox squirrels and one black one.
When I finally made it to within range, two of the three squirrels ran down the tree and onto the ground. Suddenly the black squirrel jumped onto a long log and bolted away with the red in hot pursuit. As soon as the black squirrel got to the end of the log I let him have a full load of number six shot from my old faithful Remington 12 gauge. He was literally bowled over and didn't know what had hit him.
The other fox squirrel changed directions and went back up the tree. His one final mistake was stopping about halfway up the tree to turn and look at what was going on. Instantly he was knocked out of the tree with another load of six shot. In just a few minutes I had not only killed the first black squirrel that I had ever seen, but had gotten a double that included a red fox squirrel as well. What a day this had turned into.
While fox squirrels have always been less plentiful than grey squirrels in East Mississippi, they are just about like hens teeth in these parts nowadays. You just can't find any fox squirrels after most of the hard wood trees have been cut.
Delta fox squirrels
The last few years I have heard more and more about the famous black fox squirrels of the Delta. Many area hunters even make the trip over just to squirrel hunt. Although I was scouting for deer when I came across my first black squirrel, I changed my focus and began to search for them. At the end of the day I had seen countless red and black fox squirrels and harvested quite a few for the supper table.
You can be sure that I'm going back over there with a good dog once the deer season ends. Those black squirrels can be taken at several wildlife management areas as well as in many of the national wildlife refuges located north of Vicksburg in the Delta area of the state. Sunflower, Mahannah and Twin Oaks WMAs are just a few of the public access areas that hold the famous black squirrels.
Just because there are a lot of those black squirrels over there doesn't mean that they are easy to locate.
Finding them
First you must find their food sources. As the acorn crop comes in or changes from location to location, the squirrels will change their locality as well. If you can find an area that is currently producing acorns then you will have found the highest concentration of squirrels. Many of the area managers will also help point you in the right direction when it comes to a starting point.
On another trip to the Delta, my nephew Justin Giles also harvested the first black squirrel he had ever seen. One shot from his .22 Ruger did the trick for the young hunter. If you want to check out those famous black squirrels then check on line at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks web page. They will have links to all of the WMAs as well as phone numbers for area personnel who will be glad to point you in the right direction. Or better still, contact me and I'll give you an idea about where to go. Until next time, I'll be somewhere outdoors.
