anyone still hunt and eat squirrels??

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midland man

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I love to hunt squirrels and I use a shotgun whiles the trees are still leafed out then once the leaves are gone in the winter I use a 22 rifle to make things more interesting! so anyone still hunt squirrels and what you use and how you cook them etc?:cool:
 
I haven't in a long time, but I used to go every year. We would shoot them with 22's or pellet guns, then cook em up over a grill with Bar B Q sauce, quite tasty!

GS
 
Grew up hunting and eating squirrels in WVa. but the ones here in this part of Tx. are small and unappealing. Generally used 6 shot in any gauge, or .22. They are pretty good quartered soaked in salt water overnight and rolled in flour with salt and pepper and just pan fried in a little oil.
 
I've done pan fried as well, quite good. I also had some terrible table fare as well, that my brother in law cooked up. Very dry. The trick it seems with tree rats as we call them, is to not let them dry out.

Another common method of cooking is to pour a can of soup in with the critter and cook till it falls apart. Bunnies are good that way too. In a crock pot.

Small game hunting is not as popular here as it once was due to high interest in bow hunting. It is not uncommon to peeve some tree stand hunter as you stalk through the woods for spooking his deer off. :eek:

Interested what other guys do with them as I like trying different things with them. As for guns, not much is needed. I like the single shot 20, due to light weight and its fun to hunt with. The Henry is a good rifle for nailing these critters in the head. A single shot will MAKE you aim. LOL!:D
 
I love squirrel hunting after deer season is over . It extends my time in the woods almost another 2 months . I use a .22 just to put a little more challenge in it . My nephew uses a .20 ga. I fry them just like chicken .
 
Shot some this season with my LeFever Nitro Special 16 gauge double. Used Estate shells with #6 shot.

It was a double treat. The paper base wads in the fired hulls smelled like the fired paper shells from years ago. Fried the squirrels and made some gravy in the skillet...not bad at all.
I don't like skinning squirrels...never been good at it. :scrutiny:
 
Oh yea,
A family favorite hunt. We own a decent amount of hardwood forest, and have an annual camp/squirrel hunt in August.
I use a .45 flintlock or .22 pistol with red dot. #3 son uses a Savage .22/.410. Scoped ,22 rifles are most popular.

Fried squirrel and gravy.
 
True Story.

I don't hunt them much since our archery season for deer opens in late September, but back in the good old days we had tree ratsl a lot. In fact my youngest girl didn't know that you could make dumplins with chicken until she was 12 years old.
 
Oh yeah.
Squirrel and dumplings are much better than chicken IMO. I'm not big on just fried squirrel but I'll shoot em and clean em all day for some dumplings.
 
hey mcgunner that's a nice pistol there! I tried handgun hunting with a pistol one time and I got several squirrels and it was a lot of fun! :)
 
22 semi auto mainly but sighting in a bolt action for this season. So far have only tried a few crock pot recipes that turn out good. Planning on trying to find a good blaze orange camo shirt and jacket since I hunt on public.
 
Squirrel recipe

Cajun Sauce Piquante

Ingredients needed:
(recipe for 4-6 people)

2-3 med-large ducks, squirrels, rabbits or venison
2 large onions
2 bell peppers
2 cans chopped rotelle tomatoes with jalipaneos
4 tbs cooking oil
salt
black pepper
cayanne pepper
4 cups white rice

1) cut game into manageable pieces
2) add oil to cast iron pot, brown meat thoroughly in cast iron pot. Remove and place in separate bowl.
3) Chop onions and bell peppers as desired.
4) Brown onions and bell peppers thoroughly in cast iron pot.
5) Add browned game pieces to cast iron pot.
6) Add salt and pepper as desired.
7) Add 2 cans rotelle tomatoes. Add water to cover meat.
8) Bring to boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes.
9) Reduce heat and cook on low-med heat until meat is tender and gravy is desired thickness (2 – 2 ½ hours).
10) Cook rice seperately in another pot or rice cooker.
11) Serve over cooked rice.


This recipe is excellent using venison, squirrels, rabbit or any combination of the 4.

Leissez Les Bon Temps Roulette !!!!
 
hey mcgunner that's a nice pistol there! I tried handgun hunting with a pistol one time and I got several squirrels and it was a lot of fun!

Yup, I could get more with a shotgun, but pistol hunting 'em has been a lot more fun for me. I chased 'em with .22 rifles when I was a kid, but started handgun hunting in the 80s for squirrel and deer/hogs. I don't exclude rifles on deer/hogs and shotgun/.22s on squirrel during my woods walks. Often carry my shotgun with one 5 shot 3" 20 gauge for squirrel and one slug in case I rustle up a hog, but when I'm jsut after squirrels, I really like to use a handgun to make it a bit more challenging. Off hand shots ain't in the cards that way. :D

In my part of Texas, there is no closed season on squirrels. So, if there ain't any hogs around and it's not deer or bird season, I can always go after squirrels. :D
 
dang. I need to get some acreage or find somewhere to get some. How many acres of woodlot would it take do provide some decent chances at getting some?

Then - how many squirrels would it take to make a decent meal for 4 - figuring in some leftovers?

There's plenty of tree rats in town that live off bird feeders - but I really don't know how healthy they'd be to eat.
 
Cut my teeth hunting squirrels as a kid, then got away from it when I took up bowhunting(bow season and deer season runs concurrent here). When my first son was old enough to hunt, I got back into squirrel hunting till he moved on to bowhunting. Same happened with the youngest boy. Having a bird dog that likes to hunt keeps me from pursuing them much also. One only has so much time, but the tactics learned from squirrel hunting are universal for most game animals.
 
I've got them all over -- the wife feeds the birds, and the squirrels come for the sunflower seeds that fall out of the bird feeders.

I live on 185 acres deep in the woods, and do a lot of squirrel hunting -- mostly with either a Kimber M82 or a Colt Woodsman.

Right now, though, squirrels have "wuffs" -- bots -- and I'm waiting for the first frost.
 
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