Dumb Squirrel Hunting Questions

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Swifty Morgan

Swifty Morgan

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Today I went out back to see if I could shoot some squirrels. I failed, but I realized that was a good thing, because I was not really prepared to deal with the meat. I haven't hunted since I was a kid. I used to shoot rabbits, and whenever I got one, I gave it to my grandmother, and that made it her problem. Now I have to do everything myself, so I need some advice.

Come to think of it, this is the whole reason I never became a hunter. I'm all about the shooting and eating, but spending several hours dragging a pig or a deer out of the woods and then cutting it up and putting it in little bags sounds like a lot of work. I used to fish for dolphin and tuna, and when we filled the cooler, cleaning and packing the fish was a nightmare. I would expect big mammals to be worse.

Anyway:

1. What do you bring a dead squirrel home in? I grabbed a small trash bag from the kitchen, figuring it would work.

2. How long do you get to clean the squirrel? What if I'm having a good day and I want to stay until I shoot 3 squirrels? Do I have to stop to gut every one before I continue?

3. What do most people use for cutting up squirrels? I hate getting blood and gunk all over my nice pocket knife and then folding it up and putting it in my pocket, but I suspect that's what people do. My grandfather used to do it that way. Gross.

4. How do you get the blood out? My grandfather used to cut up rabbits without doing anything special to make sure they were drained. Is that how it works?

5. How do you get your hands clean after hacking up a squirrel? I don't want to handle a gun with squirrel juice all over my fingers. I don't have any creeks here. I feel like I should take a backpack with disposable gloves with me, but when I write that, it looks pretty sissified.

I knew squirrels were evil before I went out today, but my experience reinforced my opinion. Yesterday I went out without a gun, and I heard barking all over the place. Squirrels were everywhere. Today I took a .22, and I heard 1 bark in 90 minutes. Don't tell me the little dirtbags can't tell when you're hunting.

I had a good opportunity to nail one, but he was 20 feet off the ground. I knew the odds of missing him and the tree trunk he was on were about a million to one against, but I decided to play it safe anyway. I love rifles, and I really don't want to use a shotgun, but I guess I'm going to have to until I can get an air rifle that won't take out truck windows on neighboring farms. The squirrels refuse to sit on the ground for me.

I would love to shoot these things with a scoped rifle, but the only one I have which is even close to the right caliber is a .1 HMR, and I think it would spread squirrel over half an acre.
 
More than 60 years ago, when I hunted squirrels (and not too successfully) we brought them all home, whole. Then we would decapitate them, skin them, gut them, and then pop them into the pot, like chicken. Using a shotgun is very not-desirable, because of all the pellets. That required more attention to aiming with a .22. (I still have the incredibly accurate Mossberg I used back then.) Air guns were not common back then, but they are now, and is what I would use if so inclined. Do the messy stuff at home, not in the field.
 
just bring them home whole.i alwys carried a piece of twine to carry them by a rear foot.

a shotgun is perfectly acceptable to use, the trick is to not aim at the squirrel.aim in front of him a bit to catch his head with the edge of the pattern. it helps to pattern you gun at diff ranges so you know how big your pattern is at diff ranges.

a squirrel should not take more than 5 min to clean.look on yutube.you can cut the hide on its rear back just forward of the tail,stand on the tail and rip the hide off in a few seconds,then gut and quarter..a poultry shears is very usefull.
 
A trash bag is good to put them in , even if you have a coat or vest with a game pocket to put them in . If its cold outside I wait until I get home to clean them . I think it is easier to skin a deer than a squirrel , their hide is tuff to pull off . I have seen a video of someone skinning one in 2 minutes , sometimes I can do it like that , but most of the time it doesn't work for me . You also do not want to get the hairs all over the meat , so you need to keep washing off the hairs on your hands . You can get the squirrel wet first , this helps with the hairs .

I also like using a .22 or an air rifle so I do not mess up as much meat and have shot in it .
 
to answer some of your other? to clean a squirrel I use my razor sharp queen steel barlow pocket knife.and a poultry shears. the shears makes cutting off the feet,head and tail a job of a few seconds and keeps your knife sharp from not cutting thru bone.

your hands will get bloody,i guess yu could use some surgical gloves if yu wanted..

and yes the little buggers know when yu are hunting or not hunting them.if yu want to see tons of squirrels then just go deer hunting,they will be all over yu.
 
Get a small pouch to carry them in and if its cold enough and even like say 40 degrees they don't need cleaned right away but if its warm the faster the better!!

Pocket knife and hands can be cleaned with soap and water and wear nitrile gloves! I don't clean any animal bare handed!

You will need some catfish pliers to skin them out. you can make a little hanger thingy to hang the feet and head in to skin them and gut them. Take a filet knife and poke through the butthole are and then slide and like turn it and cut the skin and then around the legs but there is like a gland thingy in the legs that you lop off with some garden sheers close to the joint and grab with pliers and pull. Then gut them and try not to cut the cuts or pee sack. Buy a crock pot of pressure cooker and cook them.

as far as not seeing any just sneak in and sit down by some oaks/hickories and just wait motionless and they will start appearing. I use a 22lr and either standing or sitting shooting sticks. if you start sending 17hmr or 22lr rounds through the woods make sure you know where other hunters and houses are.
 
I would bet there are YouTube videos about how to skin and clean squirrels. They skin easier if done right away. I often skinned and gutted them right after they were shot and put them in plastic bags. They aren't very messy to clean and the don't stink like rabbits. When you get home soaking them in salt water cleans them up nice.
I never hunted in very populated areas but shot at a steep upward angle a 22 bullet will just be falling back to the ground.
Moving slowly and silently is important. Squirrels are nervous and when one is alarmed and barks they all start barking.
If you use a shotgun, shoot out in front of them a little so just the edge of the patter gets them.
 
It's been 20 years or so now since I bagged any squirrel, but as I recall, I brought them home whole, (edit: the anatomically correct terminology is getting blanked out, so here goes) cut around the hooha and then up the belly to the neck, cut off the head and feet, pull the hooha up through the wazoo making sure to keep any poo from escaping, then just peel the skin right off. I was always told to soak them overnight in milk draw our some of the gamey flavor. Then to cook, it's all like chicken at that point. I would do a stew with mine. Pretty good, the grey squirrel I used to get back up north would be a little stringy and a bit greasier than chicken, but a fun fall treat. The tree rats down here in FL probably wouldn't be worth the trouble for the few bites of meat you could get from each one
 
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Hard to clean? Nope.

Treat the squirrel like he’s wearing a t shirt and pants. Cut around the waistline where the skin pulls away from the meat easily, then pull to undress him. A small hatchet or hand axe make quick work of removing feet, head, and tail. Gut him and your done.

When I was hunting a lot I averaged probably about 90 seconds a squirrel. A full bag limit was dressed out in a half hour pretty easily.

2 good ways to cook squirrel, batter and fry the legs, or use the Chinese food recipes for chicken on a stick.
 
stevehgraham said:
1. What do you bring a dead squirrel home in? I grabbed a small trash bag from the kitchen, figuring it would work.
Click to expand...

I used to use an M-60 100 round box pouch. A duck or turkey vest would work fine, they are designed for sticking larger game than squirrel in.

stevehgraham said:
2. How long do you get to clean the squirrel? What if I'm having a good day and I want to stay until I shoot 3 squirrels? Do I have to stop to gut every one before I continue?
Click to expand...
Depends on the temp. In MN in Sept and Oct. I had all day. You may not.

stevehgraham said:
3. What do most people use for cutting up squirrels? I hate getting blood and gunk all over my nice pocket knife and then folding it up and putting it in my pocket, but I suspect that's what people do. My grandfather used to do it that way. Gross.
Click to expand...
Folders work OK, I had a Buck 110 I used sometimes, sometimes I took the Buck fixed blade.

stevehgraham said:
4. How do you get the blood out? My grandfather used to cut up rabbits without doing anything special to make sure they were drained. Is that how it works?
Click to expand...
Are you a shochet? You don't need to bleed squirrels, unless you want to eat kosher. ;)

stevehgraham said:
5. How do you get your hands clean after hacking up a squirrel? I don't want to handle a gun with squirrel juice all over my fingers. I don't have any creeks here. I feel like I should take a backpack with disposable gloves with me, but when I write that, it looks pretty sissified.
Click to expand...
I'd wash them at home, but that's also when I usually cleaned them. In the field, I'd wipe 'em on my pants.
 
drunkenpoacher said:
They skin easier if done right away. I often skinned and gutted them right after they were shot and put them in plastic bags.
Click to expand...

This is how I do it now. When I was a kid we would hunt all day and carry them from twine on our belts. Then we would clean them when we got home. They skin way easier right after shot as the attachment of the skin to the meat has not cooled. Easier to pull it off around the legs before rigor mortis sets in. If you clean them in the woods you don't have the guts, head and skin to deal with at home. Use regular food bags, and rinse them with clean water when you get home. I always carry disposable Nitrile gloves with me whenever I hunt. The cost about $5 for a box of 100 at Wallyworld. I put them in the bag with the squirrel and throw them away when I get home, instead of leaving them lay in the woods. There are glands under the front legs of the squirrel(think armpits) that need to be removed before you eat them..........
 
a squirrel should not take more than 5 min to clean.look on yutube.you can cut the hide on its rear back just forward of the tail,stand on the tail and rip the hide off in a few seconds,then gut and quarter..a poultry shears is very usefull.
Click to expand...

+1

Don't forget to save all of the tails. The fishing lure MEPPS buys them to make lures
 
Heck, I could drive them over there. About 180 miles from my house. Wonder if my son knows about this, he squirrel hunts and lives a little closer to Antigo....guess I'll text him the web page.
 
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I don’t keep/eat anything but the legs. Cut the feet off, cut the tail off, cut around the lower part of the torso with a sharp knife, grab the squirrel by the upper body and legs, slide your other index finger under the skin and pull the squirrel apart. The skin comes off and then you can use the hatchet or other larger knife to sever the spine just above the back legs. Then cut the attached intestine from the lower torso. Takes about 1:30 to skin one out and be ready to rinse off and then cook.

The 17Hmr will do just fine. Just head shoot them. Unless you want Ms. Kay’s favorite part.......the brains.
 
1. What do you bring a dead squirrel home in? I grabbed a small trash bag from the kitchen, figuring it would work.

Plastic shopping bag inside a day pack. Or in a shopping bag inside a game vest. Or paracord loops on their feet and just carry them.

2. How long do you get to clean the squirrel? What if I'm having a good day and I want to stay until I shoot 3 squirrels? Do I have to stop to gut every one before I continue?

I don't hunt far from home in warm weather typically. I go for whatever squirrels I can shoot, up to the bag limit of 5. I clean them all at once at home. When I've shot stuff in warm weather, I do it quicky. Hour or so and then right to cooling. I wouldn't pop a squirrel on a 80 degree day and not have it processed in 20 minutes just for my own sense of food safety.

3. What do most people use for cutting up squirrels? I hate getting blood and gunk all over my nice pocket knife and then folding it up and putting it in my pocket, but I suspect that's what people do. My grandfather used to do it that way. Gross.

Sometimes rabbits and squirrels and pheasants are targets of opportunity, so I use a pocket knife. I really try to use a hatchet and a fixed blade whenever I can for ease of cleaning. I was recently enlightened on gumming up the action with blood on a folder, so that's one thing.

I've found the best way to hack up a squirrel or rabbit is while they're warm. Hatchet off the feet. Cut across the back and down the sides, pull apart like you're stripping off its pants and shirt. Chop off the head. Gut it. Rinse it.

It'll take some time to get good at it and not have overly hairy meat. There will always be some hair. Paper towel works pretty good for getting hair off the meat.

4. How do you get the blood out? My grandfather used to cut up rabbits without doing anything special to make sure they were drained. Is that how it works?

I rinse them in the sink or in a pail of water outside.

5. How do you get your hands clean after hacking up a squirrel? I don't want to handle a gun with squirrel juice all over my fingers. I don't have any creeks here. I feel like I should take a backpack with disposable gloves with me, but when I write that, it looks pretty sissified.

Soap and water. In the field, I carry wet ones or other sanitary wipes. I also am a strong believer in gloves and use them whenever possible. Clean and safe. I also always have a liter of water with for drinking.

For cooking - pan frying is my favorite, but the slow cooker is a very close second.
 
I put in another hour today. They know exactly why I'm there. It was as quiet as a room full of men bidding on a date with Hillary Clinton. I saw exactly one squirrel, and he was moving too fast for me to aim at him. Wondering if I should invest in a blind. Or maybe I should just shoot off the back porch. That's where I always see the little vermin. Chair, cooler, bipod, shade...maybe this is the way to go.
 
If I cleaned them out in the field what would my dogs have to eat. Game shears work well, as done a simple homemade gambrel, think 8 inch long piece of metal with a center hole for the hanging cord and hole on each end for the S hooks. Wear your hunter orange and the squirrels will think you are deer hunting and be all over the place.
 
In my neck of the woods the Shag Bark Hickory nuts are the squirrels favorite food.
Many times I've sat near a tree and shot my limit of six without moving.
 
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