There's bad news and good news for the hunter who lives to stalk and stand in the winter woods. With the exceptions of Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5C and 5D, deer hunting is history across most of the state (it closes Jan. 24 in those WMUs).

The good news is that the closest thing to hunting whitetails is still an option in every one of the state's 22 WMUs, on public land and private.

Squirrel hunting is the source of those good tidings, and if you're laughing at the notion of substituting arboreal rodents for rutting bucks, you stand to lose three weeks of high quality hunting for an excellent-eating game animal with liberal bag limits, hunted free from crowds.

The winter squirrel season runs statewide through February 7. Squirrels thrive in the same habitat as deer and they're alert to sights and sounds, so stealth is critical. In most places you can even hunt squirrels with a scoped light-caliber rifle, though a tight-shooting shotgun with No. 5 or 6 shot is a perfectly good choice.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I learned the basics of hunting deer when I was a kid and my Uncle Bob took me squirrel hunting," said avid deer hunter Kevin Gathers of Erie. "I learned how to sit still, what to listen for and what to watch in the hardwoods that might reveal a squirrel. That's the part of squirrel hunting that sticks with me to this day."

Sitting quietly in a likely spot or stalking quietly on snow or wet leaves can be equally effective tactics for winter squirrels.

Squirrels do not hibernate in winter, but they will spend long hours inside dens or leaf nests, venturing out mostly at dawn and before dusk to feed. In winter, attention to current food sources, and the weather is the key to a hefty game bag.

Once the acorns, hickory nuts and beechnuts in typical squirrel haunts are exhausted, squirrels may desert those places. They may be nearby, but using different kinds of habitat. In the colder months, squirrels -- especially gray squirrels -- often shift to places that look more like grouse cover than squirrel woods. They find shelter in the masses of grape vines that hang from trees in grape thickets and build leaf nests within the tangled vines. The dried "raisins" that remain on the vines also provide a generally reliable winter food.

Early mornings free of rain, wind and heavy snow are good times to catch squirrels moving about in the trees or on the ground if the snow is not deep. Gray squirrels, especially, are not active during extreme cold, wind or periods of precipitation. They prefer to wait out the weather in their nests or a den inside a hollow branch or tree cavity.

During mild spells, though, squirrels can be found in the same places they foraged in the fall.

"Take advantage of periods when the snow melts off," said Bob Sopchick of York, Pa., who returns often to hunt squirrels in his native Western Pennsylvania. "They'll be scouring the ground under oaks and hickories then, looking for nuts buried during the weeks of plenty earlier in the fall."

Sopchick says squirrels are more wary in the winter, probably because they can see and hear danger for longer distances. Once squirrels are out and moving, he tries to minimize the disturbance he makes, even after a shot.

"I mentally mark the position of any squirrel I shoot and remain motionless, hoping others will ignore the shotgun report and venture out once again to feed," he said.

Fox squirrels can offer an alternative when the weather banishes gray squirrels to shelter. Fox squirrels, which hunters and biologists agree have grown more abundant across Western Pennsylvania in recent years, often forage undaunted through rain, snow and wind. They also tend to be more active throughout the mid-portion of the day. They are easily distinguished from gray squirrels by their visually striking rusty-red coat and large size.

Fox squirrels are highly desirable as table fare. While a mature gray squirrel generally weighs about 1.5 pounds, adult fox squirrels can exceed that by nearly 100 percent, and their meat is equally delectable.

The dense thickets that often harbor gray squirrels are shunned by fox squirrels. Look for them in more open woods or along field edges.

There are no contests for the biggest squirrel, and there is no way to measure a "trophy." Hunting squirrels is pure hunting for its own sake, and that may explain its enduring allure, even in winter.