Squirrel Hunting

[Doc]

Now here is something I want to work in a bit more this year. The only thing is that it interferes with my bow hunting. However, I want a few good squirrel diners and get to take my old .22 hornet out and try to get  a shooting challenge from the "tree-rats". Great sport, and some pretty darn tasty meat.

Doc

[burmjohn]

Never ate one, however they annoy the crap out of me in my deer stand. There must be about 20 around me at all times, making noises, running, yelling at each-other..

[Doc]

You ought to try eating a few if you can get yourself to do it .... lol. They really are great tasting when cooked right.

They sure can be a pain when you're trying to listen for approaching deer. More than once I've gotten all excited only to find out it was just a squirrel.

Doc

[A6A6]

hey doc.

i was in sterling forest few weeks ago.

there is a trail at the end of ironwood drive under the powerlines past the gate and uphill and on the right , just past the highest point in the immediate area.

about 150-200 yards into the trail there is a pond on the right of the trail 30 yards .

squirrel all over..

and bold ones may i add.

just be careful.

ticks tick ticks all over too..

had them crawling all over me.

come fall season that should die down a bit but be careful.

[Doc]

So far over here in my chunk of Ontario County, we haven't had a lot of ticks on the squirrels. Maybe it's just a matter of time, because I have found ticks on deer.

The squirrels are full of fleas though. Generally, I skin them right in the woods as soon as I get them and leave the hide behind. I carry a big zip-lock bag for the skinned carcasses. All the guts and skin stay behind for the critters to feed on.

Doc

[A6A6]

i thought for some reason you were down here close to orange county doc.

didnt know you were up in ontario .

anyhow.

thats a good idea with the ziplock bag

[Doc]

Yeah, one of the things that started me cleaning the squirrels right on the spot in the woods was when I discovered that they were full of fleas. I didn't want to be dragging a bunch of fleas home. The same thing would apply to ticks if they were a problem here.

Doc

[JCTheGC]

Is there an actual season for those squirrels?

[Doc]

Yes ........ check the syllabus for dates.

[Clamp]

I hunt squirrels every year.. i love them. They are easy to hunt, and great to eat. People turn thier noses up at squirrels, but the meat is great when prepared correctly. I par boil the hind quarters and back straps. This is a process that can take a few hour, but it makes the difference. Once the meat starts to fall off the bone, then debone it all and start your marinaide. From there it can be pan fried, baked, ground into burger, or anything else you want to do. Squirrel meat is wonderful.. I am going to try to can some this fall and preserve it through the winter!

[Dom]

I agree weshould beable to get like ten per day instead of 6 just not enough for dinner.

[jkzfixme]

http://www.shootingsquirrels.com/

funny website on the subject, great vids and reviews. They do however, seem to do it out of spite and not sportsmanship 

[fasteddie]

When I was a kid I would shoot squirrels and my mother would fry them up for me . Tasty ! When I was home on leave from the Marine Corps , my brother in law and I shot some rats at the dump with his 22 pistol . The next day I went squirrel hunting and shot a couple . I didn't snip their tails as I had done in the past . When I pulled the hide off , I pulled the furry tail off the tailbone and thought , my gosh , it's a rat . I havn't eaten one since .

[burmjohn]

Hahah, they are the rats of the woods.  They sure do annoy the crap out of me.

[Fantail]

Ahh the good old days of Squirrel hunting. It takes me back, every great once in a while I pick up the 25mn and take a walk. After I took up archery though, small game hunting time has taken something of a back burner. Or just to clearing out the rats a bit around the stands.

[fasteddie]

My buddy and I hunt the big ones !

[Karpteach]

Fasteddie, that's good. Made my daughter and I do a double take. When I first started to hunt, we used to go upstate 2 days earlier than gun season. The owner would make us clean out all the squirrels we could find. The would make a pasta sauce with them, boy were they good.

[Fitzy]

I use the early squirrel season for scouting. Hunt'n deer but shooting squirrels! With a .22 it's a real challenge 'cause a head shot is the only way to ensure not loosing a cripple. I use a crock pot and make a great stew. It's done when the meat falls of the bone! Had a lot of non-hunters interested and after getting up the courage to try it,all I've ever heard them say is,"Wow,that's good." Making converts one bowl at a time!

[bowslinger]

i hunt them my self i use my 22 mag some times i use my 12ga last few years i'v bin using my bow more

[growalot]

22...but I only skin out the back legs....when I have enough they hit the crock pot....

[furman_ny]

Hunt them every year, great eating and sporting fun with .22 L.R. or a .410,  usually from Sept. 1 til the bow season opens. Great way to start young hunters, learn many of the needed skills to become an accomplished hunter, most people think its a joke to hunt them cause they see them runnin around while sitting 20 feet up in a treestand, start shooting at them and they not so dumb, stalking them with a .22 and taking a limit of them often is quite challenging, especially on pressured state forests.

[Fitzy]

Furman, you're right about it not being easy. They know when something out of the ordinary is in their living room! After years of hunting them I've only taken a limit once! If it where easy we wouldn't take the challenge.

[Fantail]

Toasty day to start this years season. And hurricaine "my name is Earl" should be cruising the coast for the weekend. Well, maybe take the Marlin for a walk Monday if I can catch a break.

[Contender]

Since the geese havent arrive in my hunting area yet, my son and I are going to clean out some of the tree rats in a couple of our deer hunting spots tomorrow.

Should be fun and hope to find some geese in our travels.

Found a video on how to skin these critters. I tried this a couple years ago and it works great.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-skin-squirrel-216908/

[Mr VJP]

Hey, what else can you start hunting on Sept 1 other than crows and squirrels.  I find hunting them tunes up my skills again after a long summer.  They do taste good as well.