An overwhelming majority of WCOs rated squirrel hunting prospects as good to excellent. There also seems to be increased opportunity this fall to take black-phased gray squirrels in some northern tier counties.
Squirrels are one of the state's most under-utilized game resources.
In 1985, more than a half million Pennsylvanians hunted squirrels. Today, squirrel hunters number about a quarter million. Some have speculated that this decrease in hunting pressure has influenced the eastern expansion of fox squirrels, which are occupying more and more territory east of their established western Pennsylvania range, especially in southcentral counties. The prospect of hunting fox squirrels, which are North America's largest tree squirrel, appeals to hunters in eastern counties. They represent something new, different and fondly reminiscent of the gray squirrels most young hunters cut their teeth on.