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11 more days!!

Enjoy yourselves. I have a question for those of you who eat squirrel meat. Do y’all encounter parasites in the squirrels when hunting them in the summer months? When does squirrel season end for y’all?
Sometimes they have quite a few wolves/warbles/botflies, and other times they have none. No real rhyme or reason here other than location maybe.

Wolves/warbles don't usually affect the meat. Most times, the meat is not even bruised under the skin. The "wait till first frost it kills them" is an old wive's tale.....the squirrels body heat would keep the worm alive anyway....think about it. The larvae mature and crawl out after a few weeks, and usually here before the first frost even happens.

Our season opens in September, and runs through early March. It may not frost here till Late October some years. I start hunting when it gets cool enough to stand being in the woods. The most productive time to hunt is when the leaves are still on the trees, and the hickory and oaks are still holding nuts. The squirrels will be so absorbed in eating in the treetops, they won't even notice you most times.

Once it gets and stays cold, squirrel activity really slows here. Late season is my favorite time to be in the woods, but the least productive.
 
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@thumper Thanks for the reply. What you say makes some sort of sense to me. My thinking is that people have hunted for food or to supplement their diets throughout various periods of human existence. Consequently, as a species we appear to be thriving. Hunting seasons were established for other reasons to my understanding. Anyhow, I was just curious about the experiences of others.
 
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