Is it considered a dick move?   I don’t plan on hunting deer until rifle season and I enjoy going on nature hikes with guns. I can’t make it out to the farm for a few weeks, so I figured I’d shoot some squirrels. I just don’t wanna break any unwritten rules.

It would piss me off. if it can wait... wait.

I would stay out of the woods during deer season unless deer hunting.  It really would be inappropriate.

Thanks for the replies.   I guess I’ll just wait

Hey, OP, they some duck hunting?

Not a lot of walking, but watching the sun rise or set is always great.

If it’s your land, you do what you want.

If it's your land do what ever. In Ohio during deer gun being caught with  firearms not allowed for deer could be a problem.
Now if your attacked by a grouse you can defend yourself

whhhaaaaat??? no, don't listen to these guys. If you want to hunt small game, hunt. If someone pisses and whines about you hunting small game when they are trying to hunt deer tell them it sucks even more that they are scaring all the small game away when you are trying to hunt and they should go home and wait until you say it's ok. Bull shit. It's an open season, have at it. I don't even hunt small game, ever, and I see that as pure bullshit. Hell, having a squirrel hunter stalking through the woods will get deer up and moving around, I've been hunting for over40 years and I've never felt bad toward a small game hunter of any kind as long as they are following the rules and not acting like dumb fucks. And yes, I've seen plenty of dumb fuck deer hunters stumbling through the woods. If you want to hunt, HUNT.

In some places, it is pretty dangerous to hunt small game during deer season.

There are some pretty inept hunters.  Two terms I recently heard:  'hail mary shot', and 'sound shot'.  Some hunters are also drinking alcohol when they hunt.

I wouldn't get caught in the woods on opening day of deer season in many places.

You will at least be shot at.

I’m quite about it.

A long time ago,
in a place far, far away...

Southern Canada (wisconsin), you could, as long as you had a small game license.
One guy took a squirrel at the end of the last day, and tied it down to the hood of his truck, and hit the local bar.
Game warden seen it, asked to see said license. The guy didn't have one, and got arrested on the spot.

I was in the same situation once, and took a squirrel with my trusty .44 Marlin.
The little bastard had been over my head for about 2 hours, chattering at me, so 2 minutes before season close said fuck-it, and took him with a head shot.
Hardest damn squirrel I ever cleaned because of the head being gone...

This is the correct response and attitude.

You have just as much right to enjoy your chosen activity on public lands as the next guy who chooses his.

Stomping all over the woods to pursue small game while many fellow hunters get up at 3am to get set up quiet before twilight and sit all day to pursue game that can feed their family for a long time, is definitely a dick move.

Hunt it.

Just not during deer gun. Archery is so long, you’d never get to hunt small game.

I hunt the public whenever, but the private I have access to, I wait until the freezer is full before small game hunting.

If someone doesn’t like it, they can go get their own land and do as they please.

What makes you a real asshole, is the stupid karens that like to make all kinds of racket jogging or riding horses. I absolutely despise horse riders, snobby, stuck up cunts who want to ban hunting. It’s literally bad enough on the public land near me, that despite it being public hunting, you can’t actually hunt any of it. De facto ban by proximity to “trails”. The fish cops don’t actually care though, because they know it’s BS.

Honestly the public land i was hunting in the picture above is by small game hunting permit that is only allowed on monday tuesday wednsday before the end of deer season.

But in other areas around here most deer hunters don’t sit all day. Morning and afternoon.  Most small game hunters are out between then.

There is also a lot of deer hunters running dogs so it isn’t the small hunters causing a ruckus most the time.

I like to still hunt for squirrels anyway.  And when i stalk i am watching every step i take im not jogging through the woods dragging my feet.

I understand the sentiment when a non respectful hunter screws up someone else who has put a lot of work into it.  But I don’t think one can sit there and say one type of hunter should give up half their season because their type of hunting “isn’t as important as mine”.

If i get to a spot and I believe a deer hunter is already in there I’m going to another spot.  I like to deer hunt too and I know what it feels like when someone isn’t courteous.  Everyone can get along out there if reason prevails imo.

No

Hunt squirrels from 10:00am to 4:00pm. The deer hunters will be gone home or to camp during those times.

I totally agree about horse riders. In northwest SC, they have trails that begin on private land, but continue onto public land. Of course, the private land is posted. If you're scouting those trails, one has to watch out for horse s#$% and all the damn knats that go with it.