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Sandy Creek wma squirrel hunt rendezvous

5K views 44 replies 11 participants last post by  lovesmausers 
#1 ·
1. This hunt is to happen on Oct. 22-26, 2020.

2. All people who read this notice are invited to attend.

3. The hunt will take place at the Sandy Creek wildlife management area in south west Mississippi.

4. This is PRIMARILY a rim fire hunt. if you just have to bring a shotgun to hunt with, we won't make fun of you.....too much. lol.

5.The city closest to the hunt area is Natchez. Anybody who wants to make motel reservations should try to go there as it is the closest to the campground that is going to have motels. Natchez is about 10-15 miles away.

6. Most of us plan to camp. There are 5 campgrounds on the wma. Be forewarned...there are NO electrical hookups or water! If you need hookups you can stay at clear spring campgrounds in the Homochitto national forest which is about 20 minutes from Sandy Creek

7. Mississippi sells a non resident 7 day small game license for 38.00 plus a 3.00 agent fee and a 1.29 licensing fee. You will also need a non resident wma use permit for 30.00 plus a 1.00 agent fee and 1.29 licensing fee. You can buy them here https://www.ms.gov/mdwfp/licensing/login
Imformation about the requirements for a license can be found here https://www.mdwfp.com/license/hunting/
General hunting regulations can be found here https://www.mdwfp.com/law-enforcement/hunting-rules-regs/
Information about Sandy Creek WMA can be found here https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/wma/region/southwest/sandy-creek/
A license can also be obtained at the wall mart in Natchez
You can put the dates of the hunt on the permit and it will become activated at that time. The limit on squirrels is 8 per day 16 in possession.
note! if you were born after Jan 1,1972, you will need a hunter safety certificate.

8. ALL GUNS MUST BE UNLOADED AND CASED WHEN INSIDE A VEHICLE AND YOU CANNOT HAVE A CENTER FIRE RIFLE OR PISTOL ON THE WMA

9. A list of things that you may want to know about would contain these items..skeeters, ticks, chiggers, poison ivy(lots!), rattlers, copperheads, and cotton mouth water moccasins. Bring insect repellent, you WILL need it. Therma cells work great around camp.

10. Snake safety! there are 3 kinds of poisonous snakes here.
a. DO NOT PUT YOUR FEET WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE!
PRETTY BASIC. IN OTHER WORDS DON'T GO WADING OFF THROUGH SOME HAY FIELD OR WEED PATCH ON YOUR WAY TO THE WOODS.

b. DO NOT STEP OVER LOGS! INSTEAD STEP UP ON THEM AND LOOK ON THE OTHER SIDE AND IF YOU CAN'T SEE BACK UNDER IT,WALK AROUND.

c. BE VERY CAREFUL IN CLIMBING STEEP CREEK BANKS. SNAKES LIKE TO LAY UP UNDER THE WASHED OUT ROOTS OF TREES AND WHEN YOU GRAB THE TRUNK TO PULL YOURSELF UP, YOUR ENTIRE BODY CAN COME INTO STRIKING RANGE.

d. DO NOT CHASE CRIPPLED SQUIRRELS THROUGH THE WOODS! MOST OF YOU HAVE REPEATERS AND RIM FIRE AMMO IS CHEAP! IN SNAKE COUNTRY, ANY SQUIRREL THAT EVEN LOOKS LIKE HE MIGHT HAVE SOME LIFE IN HIM SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER ROUND PUT IN HIM IMMEDIATELY!

e. If your in the woods before daylight or after dark carry a good flashlight. Probably won't help but at least you will feel better.

11.Hunters are required to keep game separately identifiable. if you share a ice chest with somebody , then you will need bags that can be marked with your name

12. Women and children are welcome
 
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#6 ·
Sandy Creek hunt

Recent back issues have limited my mobility a bit but I am in for this one. Sandy Creek is a great location with lots of hardwood on the hills and bottoms. Good population of grey and a few red squirrels. Hogs are present on the WMA and are legal game with weapons legal for the season in progress. I would advise head shots only and don`t try the big ones, (think BBQ hog). Terrain varies from swampy flats to steep hills. There is a small lake with campsites scattered around it as well. The lake is pretty overgrown and bank fishing is limited but possible, would be more accessible to a small boat or inflatable. The Archery deer season will be underway during the hunt so be aware of treetop bow hunters while on the WMA. I would love to see everyone's favorite squirrel guns and will probably have several of mine for show and tell if anyone is interested. Don`t often get to show them to people who really appreciate a nice 22 rifle.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Sarge for bringing this back up to the top. I was going to do that in a couple of weeks. Looks like gunslinger knows more about the wma than I do. My favorite spot(Mahannah wma) has been under water a lot in the last two years and is not what it used to be so I have been branching out and looking for new places. I have been wanting to go to the Shawnee hunt but have not been able to make it. I am really hoping to be able to make it up there next year. Anyway while scouting at Sandy Creek during the spring squirrel season the thought occurred to me that this would be a good place to have a Shawnee style hunt. I just want to get together with some people that share the same passion as I do and have some fellowship. Gunslinger, I will take great pleasure in looking at your rifles. I too will have a few of mine there but, mine are more like working guns and I will have them there for anyone who needs to borrow one
 
#8 ·
Back Issues

Gunslinger, I can sympathize with the back problems. I had a titanium rod and a cage put in my lower back in Nov. of 18 and it has limited my flexibility a lot. It got rid of the muscle pain I was having and reduced my sciatica pain some. I have to take cymbalta for the nerve pain. I have had back problems since I was 14 years old.
 
#15 ·
Bug spray

Gunslinger is right. These are world class mosquitoes down here. I would recommend that you use something with no less than 25% deet. I like to use the towelettes with 30% deet because they are easy to apply. Take the repellent with you in the woods so you can refresh it because you WILL need to. I wear long sleeve thick shirts even when it is hot. I also wear camo mechanix gloves and have had some bite me through those. A head net is a good idea so you don't have repellent on your face. If you do put repellent on your face take a handkerchief with you to wipe your face when you start coming out of the woods. When the time comes to head back to camp it will be warmer and you will be moving much faster and sweating. When sweat mixed with repellent gets in your eyes it burns. It even causes my vision to get a little blurry
 
#16 ·
Best of luck to all who attend.
I have hunted Sandy Creek WMA my entire life, and squirrel is the only thing I hunt.
Born and raised in Natchez, my parents never were land-owners, and couldn't afford expensive hunting club dues, so my hunting activities were always on the public Sandy Creek WMA.

I moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in September of 2014 (before squirrel season opened), so I haven't hunted Sandy Creek since 2013.

I've always had the best success in these areas.
Road #175
Road #173B
(I have a .jpg map I was gonna post, with the areas circled, but can't figure out how to upload a pic on here - it keeps asking for the URL of my image, and I don't have URL for my image. It's on my hard drive).
 
#19 ·
Sandy Creek hunt

Hi Bucko,
There will probably be some of both, depending on the turn out. All sites in the WMA are primitive with no power or running water. I do have a cabin a few miles from the campsites where I would be glad to provide water if anyone needs it. The WMA headquarters is a stones throw from the majority of the campsites and there may be water there as well. Are you planning to make the trip?
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the map. I have only been to Sandy Creek a couple of times so it is going to be a learning experience for me. I was going to gravitate towards the swampy areas as I have been hunting at Mahannah for the last 20+ years and that is what I am accustomed to. Mahannah has been under water for extended periods of time the last couple of years and judging from what the Mississippi river is doing now I don't see that changing. The woods being under water for such long periods of time has been detrimental to the squirrel populations. Also if there are hogs I would think they would be in the swampy areas at least that's the way it is at Mahannah but , I could change my mind and hunt the hills.

I plan to tent camp. This will be my first time camping with adults. I have had some experience camping with young men as a church group leader. It will be nice not having to hit the ground running putting out fires all night.

Thanks for the offer of water Gunslinger. I plan on bringing 35 gallons with me for washing and cleaning game. I will drink and cook with bottled water.

I am hoping for a good turnout for this and would like to make it a annual event. I am going to try real hard to go to Shawnee next year. Then I will be able to say I have hunted at both ends of the Mighty Mississippi.

BTW I will be flying the 1894 Mississippi flag at my campsite.
 
#21 ·
A phone # to call for directions to the campground for those that are without a gps or map and are prone to getting lost would be a good idea. Is there even cell phone coverage there. I know at shawnee there is not cell phone coverage.
 
#22 ·
Cell service

Cell service with my provider is spotty at best or at least it was the times I have been there. Other providers may be better(or worse) But, my cell # is six o one, six three zero, five one two seven.

I plan to make some signs to place at Highway the 61-98 junction and at the 98-33 junction and again at the 33-liberty road junction
 
#34 ·
Gunslinger has graciously volunteered to mow the campsites as soon as I figure out how many are going. I don't want him mowing campsites that we are not going use.
We have less that two weeks to go. I would like to get a head count of how many are going to attend so now is the time to sound off.
 
#35 ·
Sandy Creek hunt

I was in the WMA today. Got a notification the power at the cabin was out due to hurricane Delta and that it may be as long as 7 days before it was restored.
We went to get everything out of the refrigerator before it thawed and left us with a bigger mess to clean up.
Looks like the woods fared well, with no widespread damage. There were power lines down throughout the area from random trees that fell across them, but overall it will be fine for the hunt. I did stop at the campsites on the return trip and they had not been mowed since the early summer.

I am planning to mow one on each side of the road near the WMA head quarters next weekend as long as its dry enough. The site on the side opposite of the HQ is high ground and should not be a problem. That side could probably accommodate 8-10 tent campers and the side the HQ is on maybe 4-6 tents. If we can get a head count I will try to be sure there are enough mowed spots for everyone.
 
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