REAL MEN HUNT SQUIRRELS

A Changed Man

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ted Salter of Moundville, Alabama, has hunted all of his life, primarily deer and turkey. But about 10 years ago, Salter got bit by the squirrel-dog bug.

QUESTION: What's your favorite method of squirrel hunting?
ANSWER: This past year, I had the opportunity to train my first squirrel dog. His name is Tigger. At 13-months old, he not only can find and tree his own squirrel, but you can road hunt with him. If scenting conditions are bad, or if you are tired of walking, you can get on a woods road and put Tigger out in front of the car or truck. He will run down the road until he sees or smells a squirrel. Then he'll run off the side of the road to tree the squirrel. You can stop your vehicle, get out, walk to the tree, take the squirrel, go back to your vehicle, and Tigger will come back to the road. You just keep on driving. This is the Cadillac system of dog-hunting squirrels.

Tigger and I often will hunt five miles or more down the road in the morning and then hunt five miles or more down a different road in the afternoon. When the squirrels aren't moving much or when scenting conditions are bad, road hunting a dog is the best way I know to cover a lot of ground quickly and to find numbers squirrels. I also road hunt Tigger in the middle of the day when very few squirrels are moving.

Squirrel hunting is very different from deer hunting. You get to walk more and spend more time with your friends and family. If you want to spend quality time with friends and family members in the out of doors, there is no better way to do that than to hunt squirrels with a dog.

I try and hunt Tigger every chance I get, and I always like to have two or three people with me. This way I enjoy the sport and the people more. The good thing about road-hunting squirrels is that older and younger folks can hunt this way, and they don't have to be in good shape. They don't have to be able to walk long distances, and they can cover a lot of ground more quickly without having to put out too-much physical exertion. I don't know why everyone doesn't own a squirrel dog.

TOMORROW: DOUBLING UP WITH YOUR DOG