Squirrels can be found in the woods at any time of day But they are most active in the morning on a tree limb only 20 yards 18 m away The boy takes careful aim Crack At the sound of the shot the squirrel falls to the ground The hunters get up to claim their trophy 6
A month later a light dusting of snow covers the area around the siblings home This time the young hunters are in an area of thickets filled with brush grass weeds and thorny raspberry branches They are looking for cottontail rabbits Suddenly a rabbit runs out of a brushy tangle It looks like a streak of gray But the white snow helps the girl see the animal She swings her shotgun makes sure the shot is safe and pulls the trigger Boom The rabbit skids to a stop in the snow The young hunter walks over and picks up the animal She admires it for a moment before putting it in the game bag of her hunting vest The hunters continue walking in search of more cottontails Small Game through History Small-game hunting has a long history in North America Native Americans hunted small game using bows and arrows traps and snares 7
Rabbits and other small game provide lean meat for hunters and their families The earliest settlers from Europe hunted small game to feed their families Squirrels were a favorite target Forests covered much of North America in the 1600s It was 8
thought that a squirrel could travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River without coming down from trees Squirrels were plentiful in the massive habitat Settlers began logging forests and creating farms This produced areas of young brush which rabbits inhabit Rabbit populations increased Raccoons thrived in the changing environment too Farm fields offered new sources of food for raccoons and plenty of woods remained for the raccoons to hide in during the day Through the late 1800s and into the early 1900s small-game hunting was a tradition for many families It was an important way to put meat on the table Today most people do not depend on the game they hunt But small-game hunting is still a great way for young hunters to learn important hunting skills to have fun and to provide meals for their families 9
