Rabbit or squirrel that is question
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wankerjake
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AHHHHHHH! I can't believe it's even close, and I can't believe rabbit is winning!
I think diet in different parts of the country plays a big role in this. The squirrels we have eat pine cones/nuts, and the inner green bark of terminal buds. They also eat a lot of mushrooms. The ponderosa pine must be a milder variety than other kinds because I hear a lot of people from other parts of the country complain about pine flavor. The only flavor that seems to come thru to the meat is the mild nutty flavor. They all taste about the same, and are all delicious.
Rabbit on the other hand, is sometimes mild and sometimes has a stronger flavor. I used to attribute this to being gutshot from shotguns but over the last year, I've shot a couple cottontails with shotguns that came out mild. The last one I shot in the head with my pistol and it has a strong flavor. So maybe gutshot isn't the whole story. They were also shot at different times of year, the mild ones were last year at the end of our rainy season and were probably eating more green grass than the one I shot a few weeks ago. It seems feasible that diet would play a role in the flavor of the rabbit as well then.
Out of principal though I prefer the darker, fattier meat from a squirrel as opposed to the dry white meat of a rabbit. I prefer dark meat on birds and same goes with my rodents. Even if flavor was the same (which it isn't, around here) I'd take the squirrel for the moist dark meat.
And finally, I think squirrel hunting is way more fun. I go on squirrel hunts all the time but rabbits are more targets of opportunity. I love packing a 22 in the pines and oaks, and I love running a squirrel up a tree and having to look hard to find it and get a head shot on it. Good stuff.
Can't argue with that!
I think diet in different parts of the country plays a big role in this. The squirrels we have eat pine cones/nuts, and the inner green bark of terminal buds. They also eat a lot of mushrooms. The ponderosa pine must be a milder variety than other kinds because I hear a lot of people from other parts of the country complain about pine flavor. The only flavor that seems to come thru to the meat is the mild nutty flavor. They all taste about the same, and are all delicious.
Rabbit on the other hand, is sometimes mild and sometimes has a stronger flavor. I used to attribute this to being gutshot from shotguns but over the last year, I've shot a couple cottontails with shotguns that came out mild. The last one I shot in the head with my pistol and it has a strong flavor. So maybe gutshot isn't the whole story. They were also shot at different times of year, the mild ones were last year at the end of our rainy season and were probably eating more green grass than the one I shot a few weeks ago. It seems feasible that diet would play a role in the flavor of the rabbit as well then.
Out of principal though I prefer the darker, fattier meat from a squirrel as opposed to the dry white meat of a rabbit. I prefer dark meat on birds and same goes with my rodents. Even if flavor was the same (which it isn't, around here) I'd take the squirrel for the moist dark meat.
And finally, I think squirrel hunting is way more fun. I go on squirrel hunts all the time but rabbits are more targets of opportunity. I love packing a 22 in the pines and oaks, and I love running a squirrel up a tree and having to look hard to find it and get a head shot on it. Good stuff.
Can't argue with that!
I voted squirrel simply because I have hunted them more and in my opinion offer far more of a hunting experience.
Especially once a pack of them know what's up with the guy on the ground with the gun.
I have generally always found more squirrels than rabbits with the one exception being the south Texas ranch I deer hunt on.
At times the Cottontail population seems to literally explode with rabbits so thick you have to be careful driving around the place.
I saw a phenomenon like this once before near the Rio Grande river in Big Bend National Park.
And squirrel with red beans and rice is pretty tasty too.
Especially once a pack of them know what's up with the guy on the ground with the gun.
I have generally always found more squirrels than rabbits with the one exception being the south Texas ranch I deer hunt on.
At times the Cottontail population seems to literally explode with rabbits so thick you have to be careful driving around the place.
I saw a phenomenon like this once before near the Rio Grande river in Big Bend National Park.
And squirrel with red beans and rice is pretty tasty too.
Sav .250
Member
I voted, tree-rat but it`s really a toss up.
Blue68f100
Member
I voted NUT Bandit, tree rats what ever you want to call them. But it takes quite a few of grays to make a meal.
Learn to call them then just set back and have fun.... No need tramping around in the woods if you can get them to come to you..... It only takes 50 cents to make a caller, aka 2 quarters.....
Learn to call them then just set back and have fun.... No need tramping around in the woods if you can get them to come to you..... It only takes 50 cents to make a caller, aka 2 quarters.....
Guillermo
member
squirrel is fun to hunt
fun to eat
can be found everywhere
fun to eat
can be found everywhere
For me it really comes down to what I want to eat. I prefer rabbit if I’m making stew but squirrel if I’m frying or grilling.
Btw reading this makes me want to cook some of both but I don't have any in the freezer and neither is in season now.
Btw reading this makes me want to cook some of both but I don't have any in the freezer and neither is in season now.
Here in the Northwest, we have been invaded by eastern gray squirrels and Californians. The squirrels, if fed lots of peanuts, taste great. However, I'm not so sure about the Californians since I haven't tried any of them......... yet.
Loyalist Dave
Member
Squirrel is called limb bacon for a good reason, and is best when properly used in an authentic, Brunswick Stew. 
LD
LD
Yeah...OK...fox squirrels. They get about 2-3 times bigger than red pine squirrels. In Pottawatomie County Kansas where I grew up, they are large, fat and delicious. And great sport for an eager kid with a .410 or single shot .22. I now hunt about 75 miles SW of Kansas City and the squirrels there are mostly fox with an occasional gray. Both are tasty and my eagerness has not dimmed a bit. I still get nervous and have to remind myself to be patient and not gut-shoot them. My guns have improved a lot though.
MCgunner
Member
If you'll bring along a couple of large plastic bags and clean 'em soon as you shoot 'em while they're still warm, they're a lot easier to clean, both animals. Hell, you don't even need a KNIFE to clean a warm rabbit if you can break their legs with a rock or something.
Well, I guess cutting the head off is easier with a knife, but the skin just rips. For those who don't think rabbits are fun to hunt, well, lot of walking and occasional shooting at flushing game UNLESS you have a beagle or beagle pack. I LOVE to hunt rabbits with a good beagle, did that a lot as a kid. I haven't been in the position to do that for a while, never wanted a beagle down here due to all the danged rattlers, had two dogs killed by snakes. But, hunting rabbits with a good hound and a shotgun is great fun. I do agree that hunting squirrel is great fun, too. I add to it by handgunning them with an accurate .22.
Guillermo
member
My old K22 with a 6 inch barrel is a great squirrel gun
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I never had squirrel until I moved from NYC to PA. I like rabbit but I really like squirrel.
Rabbit is easy to take but squirrel is a little harder to bring home. I like hunting squirrel more than rabbit too. It's fun to shoot their tiny little head off.
Rabbit is easy to take but squirrel is a little harder to bring home. I like hunting squirrel more than rabbit too. It's fun to shoot their tiny little head off.
sixgunner455
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I've eaten a lot of rabbit, never eaten a squirrel that I can recall, but my favorite upland game to hunt and eat is quail. Hands down, full stop.
MCgunner
Member
I have this, got it a few years back, yet to have the chance to go after tree rats with it. My TC's scoped .22 barrel didn't need inproving, but saw this used at a gun show for $275 scope, mount, and all, and had to buy it.
It's a cheap BSA scope, but it works great. It'll put a magazine into 1" at 50 yards from the bench, good 'nuf, eh? 
35 Whelen
Member
You're asking me to pick between squirrel stew and fried cottontail with bisquits and cream gravy?!?!? You ought to be ashamed of yourself....
35W
35W
arcticap
Member
Our state game lands mostly consist of broad leaf forests comprised of lots of oaks, so gray squirrel hunting is #1.
dagger dog
Member
A real hard decision for me !
As a young man rabbits were plentifull and so was the habitat that supported them, private land owners had a better attitude towards hunters, so that land was available too.
Young legs were able stomp the briar patches to kick up plenty of rabbits , sharp eyes and quick reflexes could put them in the gamepouch.
Nothing better than fried spring rabbit with plenty of mashed spuds and gravy like mom used to fix for Sunday dinner.
Add a half century or so, and sitting under the shade of a large hickory waiting to ambush the first unwary bushytail is more of my type of hunting,
I even went to the trouble of picking out the overgrown farmstead in the state forest via satellite photos on the internet, and found the shortest distance from the car with my GPS receiver.
I may get lucky and bag a pair of grey Feburary fryers or have to settle for fox squirrel,dumplin's and gravy,it depends on how the wife wants to prepare it, or I just may take a nap and stop by the The Colonel's on the way home and save her the trouble of cooking.
I voted for Pete,but Rocky runs a close second these days!
As a young man rabbits were plentifull and so was the habitat that supported them, private land owners had a better attitude towards hunters, so that land was available too.
Young legs were able stomp the briar patches to kick up plenty of rabbits , sharp eyes and quick reflexes could put them in the gamepouch.
Nothing better than fried spring rabbit with plenty of mashed spuds and gravy like mom used to fix for Sunday dinner.
Add a half century or so, and sitting under the shade of a large hickory waiting to ambush the first unwary bushytail is more of my type of hunting,
I even went to the trouble of picking out the overgrown farmstead in the state forest via satellite photos on the internet, and found the shortest distance from the car with my GPS receiver.
I may get lucky and bag a pair of grey Feburary fryers or have to settle for fox squirrel,dumplin's and gravy,it depends on how the wife wants to prepare it, or I just may take a nap and stop by the The Colonel's on the way home and save her the trouble of cooking.
I voted for Pete,but Rocky runs a close second these days!
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Pop taught me to hunt squirrels as a life skill. A Depression kid, he knew that bigger game came and went, but we'd have squirrels to eat as long as we had trees.
Greys were good to eat and hunt. Red squirrels lived in the pines and tasted vaguely of turpentine. Only hunted them once.
Best squirrel guns tended to be light shotguns, at least where we lived. While Howard County was rural then, it was still populated enough rifles were not the best choice. A load of 6s in any gauge or 410 bore was good squirrel medicine. Tight chokes ruled for those tree top shots.
Beech and Hickory trees were the first to drop nuts, but when old White Oaks dropped acorns the size and shape of Kalamata olives, that was the place to be.
Ah, memories....
Greys were good to eat and hunt. Red squirrels lived in the pines and tasted vaguely of turpentine. Only hunted them once.
Best squirrel guns tended to be light shotguns, at least where we lived. While Howard County was rural then, it was still populated enough rifles were not the best choice. A load of 6s in any gauge or 410 bore was good squirrel medicine. Tight chokes ruled for those tree top shots.
Beech and Hickory trees were the first to drop nuts, but when old White Oaks dropped acorns the size and shape of Kalamata olives, that was the place to be.
Ah, memories....
LeonCarr
Member
As a general rule in Texas, East of I-45 is Grey/Cat Squirrels and West of I-45 is Red/Fox Squirrels. Between #6 from a Remington Sportsman 48/Remington 870 12 Gauge and Remington Golden Bullets from a Remington 552 Speedmaster .22 I wish I had a buck for every "Tree Rat" I shot back in the day. Lots of good meals for a poor college student and great target practice for deer season.
Cottontails are a delicacy. Pounded out flat and deep fried makes for some great eating.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
Cottontails are a delicacy. Pounded out flat and deep fried makes for some great eating.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
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jim147
Member
For hunting skill I have to go with the squirrels. For eating, I like the rabbits.
When I was younger and hunting farther north in Kansas the squirrels ate oak and hickory most of the year and tasted pretty good. In the same area the rabbits had good clover and grasses to eat.
Were I live in Missouri, the rabbits still have good food but the squirrels spend more time eating hedge balls then they should. If you can get a young one it's not to bad but an old one is very strong tasting.
jim
When I was younger and hunting farther north in Kansas the squirrels ate oak and hickory most of the year and tasted pretty good. In the same area the rabbits had good clover and grasses to eat.
Were I live in Missouri, the rabbits still have good food but the squirrels spend more time eating hedge balls then they should. If you can get a young one it's not to bad but an old one is very strong tasting.
jim
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