First Black Fox Squirrel

shelton573

Active member
Not sure how typical it is to shoot them, but i have been squirrel hunting since I was a kid and have never shot or seen a black one. My uncle has been tree rat hunting for 40+ years and has only killed one in that time. A couple weeks ago, I was out squirrel hunting where they always terrorize me while bow hunting and ended up shooting a black one. I thought it was pretty neat.
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He was much smaller than the female I shot in the same tree. Do you all see a lot of them or are they pretty uncommon? We have black squirrels in town, but they are not fox squirrels, they are some strange breed that have a different back story depending on who you talk to.

Shelton
 
I hunted in Mich. Several years ago for squirrels after hunting in Indiana .
We killed several of them while we was there .
They are few and far between here in western Maryland we do have a white one now and then .

We also have a different breed of squirrel in maryland but they are down state around the Washington d.c. area they are delmarva and big one per dinner size lol.

Actually they are just a grey squirrel with a different hair color that's why it seemed so much smaller than the Fox squirrel.
But they do taste just the same ............ awesome lol.

Nice harvest ,
Scott
 
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Thanks guys! Scoremaster I think you might be right on the grey squirrel thing. I just assumed it was a fox squirrel because the red tint on the underside of it but looking at it it does look more like a grey in size. Thought it was just a young fox because it didn't have quite the set of nuts on it that they usually do. I reckon the title is incorrect then hah.

Shelton
 
Originally Posted By: bigdog1True fox squirrels are about 3 time the size of the ones presented here.
JD

The red one on the tailgate sure looks like a "true" fox squirrel to me.
 
Like Scott said, "black" squirrels are just a dark color phase of gray squirrel and fox squirrels are always much larger. I see them most often in areas with evergreen stands but I don't know that has anything at all to do with coloration. You got a beauty. Congrats!
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: bigdog1True fox squirrels are about 3 time the size of the ones presented here.
JD

The red one on the tailgate sure looks like a "true" fox squirrel to me.


Well, It ain't
 
Congrats. I'm still after my first black one. Took a white one a number of years ago. Interestingly I have seen two more white ones since (one just a couple weeks ago). Gave them both a pass. I've seen two blacks in the wild (outside of towns) and both were out of season.

Both Eastern grays and fox squirrels can be "black phase".
 
Thanks guys! bigdog1, if that is not a real fox squirrel, what does a real one look like? I agree that the black one is not a fox squirrel after doing some reading. Not trying to start a fight, just curious. I have shown the picture to a few conservation agents and they say it is a true fox squirrel. If it's not one, then I guess me and the agents I talked to have never seen a real fox squirrel. The red one was roughly 1.5-2 lb so three times its size would be quite the monster! Not saying it can't happen cause I have seen much bigger than this one. Like one agent explained, not all fox squirrels are created equal, they are not all the same size and size varies by location. Here is another pic of it by the tip of my size 12 rubber boot.

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Shelton
 
Here In the U.P. of Mich we have Blacks they are a color phase of the Gray Squirrel-Hardly any fox squirrels at all. Fact I've only seen one in 55 years of hunting -Blacks and the grays live togather and reproduce-lots of them around this area looks to me you have and color phase gray squirrel--very pretty--you should have it mounted--Congrats on you kill-Thanks for sharing--------------------------svb
 
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You are right Shelton. The red one is, without a doubt, a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger). I've seen some "monsters" - maybe pushing 3# but nowhere near "3 times" the ones presented.

Not sure about your black one - not even sure about my "white" one - though I think it was a young-of-the-year fox.

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Originally Posted By: bigdog1Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: bigdog1True fox squirrels are about 3 time the size of the ones presented here.
JD

The red one on the tailgate sure looks like a "true" fox squirrel to me.


Well, It ain't


My apologies.
It resembled some other fox squirrels I saw one time.
The one on the left looks like a gray squirrel, but I might be wrong about that too.

l


 
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SVB - I agree with you 100% that it is a gray. My first thought was fox squirrel because the red on the belly but turns out I didn't do my research before posting hah. I kinda wish I would have mounted it but there is no turning back now because he got crock pot fried along with the rest of them lol. Maybe I will get a chance at another one someday though!

Hidehunter - That is an awesome looking squirrel! Did you get it mounted? It would make a good mount with that one right beside a black one.

Fw707 - Not enough examples to prove it lol! Good shooting by the way!

Thanks for all the replies!

Shelton
 
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