At some point, if the tract of land is large enough, move out of that block of woods and slip into another, repeating the process.

One of my best hunts was in exactly such a situation. The landowner said he'd seen many squirrels in the various wood lots, but no one ever hunted them. When dawn arrived on the morning I was hunting, the woods were working alive with squirrels. I'd wait until I could shoot at least a couple within easy range before firing. After 15 minutes or so of me not moving, the woods would get active again. After taking a half dozen from the first spot, I moved across the field to another wood lot . . . and this one was adjacent to a small pond, and I quickly finished my limit there. During the course of the morning I also saw several turkeys and two deer.

On large tracts of land you can use old logging roads to stalk squirrels successfully. Quietly covering plenty of ground can be a very effective technique and one that a pair of hunters can employ very successfully. The Mountain Hunt Unit of public land in Anderson, Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties offers tremendous public hunting lands for squirrels.

This is not a scientific survey, but based on personal observations from the 2005 deer hunting season and the 2006 turkey hunting season, there seems to be plenty of squirrels throughout the state right now. Of all the small-game species, this is the one where you can probably hunt successfully in more places than any of the others. Doves, rabbits and quail are all found in abundance in localized areas. But each requires specific habitat needs to be plentiful. Squirrels are simply more readily available in more areas.

But that's certainly not meant to discourage you from hunting rabbits. In fact, my favorite time of the season to hunt rabbits is late season from December through the remainder of the season. Part of the reason is that, like most hunters, I enjoy late-season deer hunting. Also, the crowds have thinned out by midwinter and the rabbits are still plentiful.

Rabbits are found statewide, but the highest densities are localized hotspots. Rabbits do require the right habitat to produce high populations. In addition, as the season changes from November to early December, the shock of midwinter cold that we generally get changes what rabbits need from their environment, and which parts of the environment can supply those needs. They must have a food source, water and cover. With the onset of frost and hard freezes, keep that in mind.