Squirrel season is almost here: what you need to know

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV)—Open season starts for Georgia’s little bushy tailed friends on Aug. 15, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

Squirrel season is Aug. 15-Feb 28, 2025, and you can bag a maximum of 12 squirrels, both gray and fox squirrels, daily. There are exceptions if hunting on Georgia Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), Voluntary Public Access areas and department managed lands, they have a fox squirrel bag limit of one per person per day.

“If you have kids that are itching to go on their first hunt, squirrel season is a great idea because you don’t have to be absolutely still or quiet, making it an ideal first hunt opportunity,” said Diana McGrath, Wildlife Biologist with the WRD Game Management Section. “Finding squirrels is typically easy as they occur on nearly every wildlife management area and hunting lease in the state, but they still provide enough challenge to make the hunt exciting.”

The WRD explains that though they may be cute and fluffy, it’s important to hunt and harvest game animals since it is an ethical and efficient means of maintaining healthy populations in our local environments. It also can help the Georgia Department of Natural Resources track population numbers.

That’s also why the WRD asks that hunter harvest records and regulations are used and followed. The regulations are made to keep the squirrel population in check to ensure that numbers do not become too large or too small and to make sure that hunters “for generations of hunters to come” will be able to hunt squirrels.

For squirrel season, you can use rifles and handguns that are a .22 caliber or small, for shotguns a no. 2 shot or small and bows.

Gray and fox squirrels are common throughout Georgia, with gray squirrels being the most common and smaller than fox squirrels typically. They are usually most active around late wintertime during dawn and dusk, but typically won’t leave their nests on very cold days.

The GA WRD also has several squirrel recipes for those who partake in the hunt and harvest including dishes like, alfredo and casserole.