The Forest Service and game department close access gates to their respective public lands pretty much as soon as deer season ends even though squirrel season runs another two months. Same thing on the front end - they don't open until archery even though squirrel opens a month prior. My request for an explanation a few years ago never got a response. So the silver lining is this forces me to search for new areas that are accessible. Found these guys on NF land up high, practically near the top of the mountain. We had a good acorn crop this year, but hickory not so much. Rare for me to get a limit in the NF.

Some excellent bushy-tail hunting VF59! You sneak up on 'em or wait on 'em in a tree stand?

Thanks! I have a buddy who hunts them out of a tree stand...sometimes. But he's in his 80's and has been hunting them all his life. He shoots 50-100 or more every year so I figure he knows what he's doing! These were rutting, so I used Mountain Laurel for cover and sneaked into range and just waited. Got the first three by 10:00 before the activity waned. Did some walking around, got another one, and came back around 11:30. They came back out shortly and I got the final two by 1:00. Only one was a young 'un. The rest were old and tough.

Glad you were able to get out for some presumably undisturbed hunting! How do you prefer to cook them?

Had the woods all to myself. Saw about 8 deer including a decent buck! Boiled until tender, then dipped in flour and fried.

That's awesome! I'm gonna hunt the weird late fall Turkey season that goes until 25JAN one evening this week for the same reason. Not expecting a high percentage chance of success, but cool to get out and see the woods by yourself sometimes. Is Squirrel pretty good that way? Been years since I've had them

Pretty good. I had squirrel jambalaya once that was prepared by a friend. It was way better, but that's beyond my skill set.
Good luck with the turkeys!