Small Game Hunting: The Complete Guide

Small game hunting is where most American hunters got their start — and for good reason. It requires minimal gear, costs almost nothing, offers long seasons with generous bag limits, and teaches every fundamental skill that transfers to big game: marksmanship, stealth, reading habitat, tracking, field dressing, and cooking wild game.

If you've never hunted before, start here. If you're a veteran big game hunter who hasn't chased squirrels since childhood, come back. Small game hunting is some of the most fun you can have in the woods.

Why Small Game First

Factor	Small Game	Big Game
License cost	$10–$30	$25–$500+
Gear required	.22 rifle OR shotgun	Rifle + scope + clothing + optics
Season length	4–6 months	1–4 weeks
Daily bag limit	4–8+ animals	1 (often once per year)
Public land pressure	Very low	High
Physical demand	Easy to moderate	Moderate to extreme
Skill ceiling	Medium	High
Time to first harvest	1–3 trips	1–10+ trips
Meat yield	0.5–2 lbs per animal	40–200+ lbs per animal
Total startup cost	$200–$400	$1,000–$3,000+

The progression is natural: small game teaches you to move quietly, identify sign, shoot accurately, handle game in the field, and respect the animal. Every one of those skills scales directly to whitetail, elk, waterfowl, and upland hunting.

Squirrel Hunting

Species

Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

• Weight: 1.0–1.5 lbs
• Habitat: Hardwood forests, suburban woodlots, parks
• Range: Eastern US, introduced to West Coast cities
• Diet: Acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, corn, fungi

Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)

• Weight: 1.5–2.5 lbs (noticeably larger than gray)
• Habitat: Open hardwoods, oak savannas, woodlot edges
• Range: Eastern and central US
• Diet: Same as gray but favors open ground foraging

Squirrel Hunting Techniques

Still Hunting (Sit and Wait)

The most productive method for beginners. Find a mature hardwood stand with active sign (cut nut shells, bark strips, chattering calls), sit against a tree, and wait. Squirrels resume activity 15–20 minutes after you get quiet.

The setup:

1. Arrive 30 minutes before sunrise
2. Find a tree in a mature oak or hickory stand with visible nut cuttings on the ground
3. Sit with your back against the tree, facing the densest canopy
4. Stay still. Listen for scratching on bark, rustling leaves, and chattering
5. When you hear or see movement, identify the squirrel, wait for it to stop on a branch or trunk, and take a steady shot

Rifle vs shotgun for still hunting: A .22 rifle with a 4x scope is ideal — quiet, precise headshots at 25–50 yards preserve the most meat. Aim for the head (instant kill, no meat damage) or the upper chest.

Walk and Stalk

Walk slowly through hardwood timber, pausing frequently to scan the canopy and listen. When you spot a squirrel, freeze and wait for a clear shot. If the squirrel goes to the far side of the tree ("trees" on you), move around the tree slowly, or toss a stick to the far side to make it circle back.

The buddy system: Two hunters working opposite sides of a tree is devastatingly effective. One stays put while the other circles — the squirrel inevitably exposes itself to one of you.

Hunting with Dogs

Feist dogs and Mountain Cur breeds are bred specifically for treeing squirrels. The dog ranges through timber, finds squirrels by scent, and barks at the base of the tree they've run up. The hunter walks to the tree and shoots.

Advantages: Covers more ground, finds squirrels you'd walk past, and the dog's barking pins the squirrel's attention away from you.

Best Squirrel Hunting States

State	Species	Season Length	Daily Limit	Public Land
Mississippi	Gray, fox	Sep–Feb (6 months)	8/day	National forests, WMAs
Tennessee	Gray, fox	Aug–Feb (7 months)	10/day	Cherokee NF, state WMAs
Kentucky	Gray, fox	Aug–Feb	6/day	Daniel Boone NF, WMAs
West Virginia	Gray, fox	Sep–Feb	6/day	Monongahela NF, state forests
Ohio	Gray, fox	Sep–Jan	6/day	Wayne NF, state lands
Missouri	Gray, fox	May–Feb (10 months!)	10/day	Mark Twain NF, conservation areas
Virginia	Gray, fox	Sep–Feb	6/day	GWNF, state WMAs
Georgia	Gray, fox	Aug–Feb	12/day	Chattahoochee NF, state WMAs

Rabbit Hunting

Species

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

• Weight: 2–3 lbs
• Habitat: Brushy edges, fencerows, briar patches, field borders, suburban yards
• Range: Eastern 2/3 of the US
• Behavior: Sits tight in cover, flushes at close range (5–15 yards), runs in circles (returns to starting area within 100–200 yards)

Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)

• Weight: 3–4 lbs
• Habitat: Boreal forest, dense conifer thickets
• Range: Northern US, Canada, Alaska
• Behavior: Turns white in winter (camouflage), runs through thick cover at high speed

Rabbit Hunting Techniques

Walk-Up Hunting

Walk slowly through brushy habitat — fencerows, briar thickets, brush piles, field edges — kicking cover and stopping frequently. Cottontails hold tight and flush underfoot, giving you a quick 15–25 yard shotgun shot.

Best habitat: Thick ground cover (briars, honeysuckle, brush piles) adjacent to open areas (crop fields, pastures). Rabbits feed in the open at dawn/dusk and hide in thick cover during the day.

Shotgun setup: 20-gauge with Improved Cylinder choke, #6 shot. Keep the gun mounted and ready — rabbits flush fast and you have 1–2 seconds to shoot.

Hunting with Beagles

The classic American rabbit hunting method. Beagle packs (2–6 dogs) flush rabbits from cover and chase them with musical baying voices. The rabbit runs in a large circle and eventually returns close to where it was flushed. Hunters position along the circle and wait for the rabbit to come back through.

Why it works: Cottontails have a home range of 5–10 acres. When flushed, they circle through their home range rather than running straight away. Beagles push them at a pace slow enough to keep the rabbit circling but fast enough to keep it moving. After 5–20 minutes, the rabbit comes back within 20–40 yards of the starting point.

The experience: Beagle rabbit hunting is as much about the dogs as the rabbits. The sound of a beagle pack in full cry on a cold November morning — baying echoing through hardwood hollows — is one of hunting's great experiences.

Best Rabbit Hunting States

State	Primary Species	Season	Daily Limit	Notes
Missouri	Cottontail	Oct–Feb	6/day	Conservation areas, huge public land
Kansas	Cottontail	Year-round (continuous)	10/day	No closed season, excellent populations
Ohio	Cottontail	Nov–Feb	4/day	Strong beagle culture, state lands
Michigan	Cottontail, snowshoe	Sep–Mar	5/day	Snowshoe hare in UP and northern LP
Pennsylvania	Cottontail	Oct–Feb	4/day	State game lands, strong tradition
Minnesota	Cottontail, snowshoe	Sep–Feb	10/day combined	Snowshoe hare in north, cottontail in south

Raccoon Hunting

Raccoon hunting (cooning) is a night hunting tradition in the rural South and Midwest, typically done with coonhound packs that trail raccoons by scent and tree them.

The basics:

• Dogs: Treeing Walker, Black & Tan, Bluetick, Redbone, Plott hound
• Season: Fall and winter nights (varies by state)
• Method: Release hounds after dark, follow the sound of the chase, walk to the tree when dogs strike (change from trailing bay to tree bark)
• Equipment: Headlamp, .22 rifle or pistol, good boots for rough terrain in the dark
• Culture: Competitive cooning events (nite hunts) are organized by breed clubs with scoring based on treeing ability and speed

Gear for Small Game

The Minimal Setup

Item	Recommended	Price
Firearm	Ruger 10/22 (.22 LR rifle)	$300
Ammo	CCI Standard Velocity .22 LR (500 rd brick)	$30
OR Shotgun	Mossberg 500 20-gauge	$350
Shotgun ammo	#6 shot, 1 oz, 20-gauge (box of 25)	$12
Hunting license	State small game license	$10–$30
Clothing	Earth-tone pants and jacket you already own	$0
Boots	Waterproof hiking boots	$60–$120
Game bag	Mesh or cloth game bag	$10
Knife	Folding or fixed blade for field dressing	$20–$40

Total: $200–$400 — the cheapest hunting startup possible.

.22 LR vs .17 HMR vs .22 WMR

Cartridge	Velocity	Effective Range	Noise Level	Cost/Round	Best For
.22 LR	1,050–1,250 fps	75 yards	Low	$0.06–$0.10	Squirrel, rabbit (close range, minimal meat damage)
.22 WMR	1,900–2,000 fps	125 yards	Moderate	$0.25–$0.35	Larger small game, foxes, coyotes at distance
.17 HMR	2,550 fps	150 yards	Moderate	$0.30–$0.45	Long-range precision, prairie dogs, squirrel (headshots only — destroys meat)

The recommendation: .22 LR for 90% of small game hunters. It's quiet enough to not spook other game in the area, cheap enough to practice extensively, accurate enough for headshots at 50 yards, and gentle enough to not destroy meat on body shots.

Field Dressing & Cooking

Quick Field Dressing (Squirrel)

1. Pinch and cut the skin across the back (midline)
2. Insert two fingers under the skin on each side
3. Pull in opposite directions — the skin peels off like a jacket and pants
4. Gut (remove intestines and organs)
5. Rinse and cool immediately (ice or cold water)
6. Total time: 2–3 minutes per squirrel with practice

Best Small Game Recipes

Squirrel and Dumplings — The classic. Brown squirrel pieces, braise in stock for 2 hours until tender, add drop dumplings for the last 20 minutes. Feeds 4 from 3 squirrels.

Fried Rabbit — Soak rabbit pieces in buttermilk overnight, dredge in seasoned flour, fry in cast iron at 350°F for 12–15 minutes per side. Better than fried chicken.

Slow-Cooker Squirrel Tacos — Place squirrels in slow cooker with salsa, cumin, garlic, and chili powder. Cook 6–8 hours on low. Shred meat and serve in tortillas.

Rabbit Cacciatore — Brown rabbit pieces, add crushed tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, Italian herbs. Simmer 90 minutes. Serve over pasta.

Nutritional comparison:

Meat	Calories (4 oz)	Protein	Fat	Cholesterol
Squirrel	120	21g	3.5g	83mg
Rabbit	140	26g	3g	73mg
Chicken breast	130	26g	3g	85mg
Venison	135	26g	2.5g	95mg

Wild small game is among the healthiest meat available — lean, high protein, no antibiotics or hormones, and free-range by definition.

Getting Started

1. Take hunter education — Free in most states, available online + field day
2. Buy a .22 rifle or 20-gauge shotgun — Either works, both together is ideal
3. Find public land — National forests, state WMAs, and conservation areas all hold squirrel and rabbit. Many city/county parks allow small game hunting with specific regulations.
4. Go on opening day — Squirrel season opens in August or September in many states. First day out, find oak trees with cut nut shells, sit down, and wait.
5. Keep the first few animals — Clean them, cook them, eat them. The full cycle from field to table is the most rewarding part of hunting.
6. Bring a kid — Small game hunting is the single best way to introduce young people to hunting. Short sits, frequent action, low stakes.

The Gateway

Small game hunting isn't just a starting point — it's a foundation. The skills you build chasing squirrels through hardwood timber and rabbits through briar thickets are the same skills that produce success on whitetail stands, elk mountains, and duck marshes. Start here, and everything else gets easier.

Read our deer hunting guide | Big game hunting guide | Browse hunting experiences