Squirrel Hunting?

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Mr.Brown16

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Well I have never went squirrel hunting but sounds like a lot of fun.
A guy I know sead he hunted them with a pellet gun and ate them too.
Sead they tasted like chicken.
Well if I do decide to eat them how do I know they dont have any diseases ill get from them? :confused:
People hunt them with a .22 but ive got a 20 Gage.
 
I don't believe their diseases are transferable to humans (just as most animals). Although, I'm not a doctor.

As far as eating, squirrel tastes wonderful.

Your 20 gauge shotgun will work perfectly. I personally use size six shot. Go for it, it's tons of fun.
 
"...sounds like a lot of fun..." It is. However, tree rats in the bush aren't like the tree rats in the city that scamper around in parks. Everything that eats meat in the wild eats tree rats. Makes them very wary.
There's two ways of hunting them. Sitting quietly near a food or den tree and waiting or stalking. When stalking, don't look for the whole animal. Sometimes all you'll see is a wisp of tail or a flash of black or grey. Walk very slowly, stopping frequently, and watch the trees for that bit of black or grey that doesn't belong. Then move until you have a shot. Or if one scoots to the other side of a tree, toss a stone or stick to the other side to get the rat to change sides.
Use the 20 guage, but know how it patterns with the ammo you're using.
Remember that not all tree rats are legal to hunt in Canada. Depending on where you are, of course.
 
Just an aside, using a .22 makes cleaning/eating easier (no pellets to dig out!), and headshots make for more of a challenge :).

Growing up, we were always under the impression that you were more likely to contract something from handling (dead) rabbits than squirrels.

A quickie recipe is line up a bunch in a cassarole dish & cover with a mix of cream of mushroom & cream of celery. Bake 'til tender & browned ...

Nick
 
Growing up, we were always under the impression that you were more likely to contract something from handling (dead) rabbits than squirrels.
Click to expand...
You can buy a box of latex gloves from any drug store or hospital supply store. I generally use those.

Another point -- squirrels are susceptible to bot flies, which lay their laervae under the skin. These are often called "wolves" or "woofs." They look horrible, but don't affect the eating. They aren't found after the first frost, so many people like to hold off squirrel hunting until then.
 
"...no pellets to dig out!..." If you've hit 'em right with a shotgun, there are no pellets to dig out. The pellets are in the innards.
 
I know my dad couldn't clean rabbits because he'd get poison ivy from the rabbit's fur. No such problem with squirrels, at least that I have seen.
 
Shotguns are cheating. I prefer .22 handguns, myself, but I've used a rifle a LOT for hunting squirrel. When I was a kid, I took bunches of 'em with a .22 short. They're not hard to kill and easier to eat. :D

I got the worst case of poison ivy in my life shimmying up a tree to check out a squirrel nest. I got about half way up and noticed the ivy. "DANG, this ain't gonna be good", says to myself. I was right.
 
Tastes like chicken? Only if they had wings. :D

I prefer a .22LR with a reddot sight.
 
Squirrel Hunting Can be Dangerous!

When I was about 15 or so, a friend and I were squirrel hunting. I shot one out of a tree and it came plummeting down, kerthump. I ran to get it and it was still alive. So I decided I would stomp it. So I brought my size 12s down on that booger, and he flopped over on his back and grabbed the bottom of my boot and started chewing on it! I was hopping around on one foot shaking the other leg trying to get that squirrel off, but hung on tight. All the time he was growling and snarling and just eating my sole off. I just knew I was going to feel his teeth sink into the bottom of my foot at any time. My buddy yelled, "I'll get him!" and I thought he was going to shoot it off my foot, so I started hopping and kicking faster, screaming, "DON'T SHOOT!" Meanwhile my friend had found a big stick and came at me trying to knock it off. He hit me in the ankle and I gave a great big kick and that squirrel let go and took off running through the leaves. The only thing on my mind was I couldn't let that squirrel get away to terrorize someone else, so I blasted him again and took him out. Then I hopped over to get him because my ankle was swelled up and I couldn't walk on it. I turned around to show my buddy the squirrel and he was laid out cold as a cucumber. Evidently I had knocked him in the head when he hit me in the foot. So be very careful if you go squirrel hunting. All sort of bad things can happen! :eek:
 
Shotguns makes sense for squirrels. :Less chances of overshooting. A 22 can carry for a mile.

6 shot is typical. Go for the head, the best meat is the hindquarters.

They do NOT taste like chicken. They are much better.

I usually wait until after first frost. No ticks then, no "Wolf" worms.

And, it gives the newest litter time to get a little meat on them.
 
av a old fox 16 sxs. Squirrel killin machine. My 11 year old is using it this year. I'm gonna use my 17 because I havent really shot anything but targets with it. Will be using cci fmj.
I have a cool 10/22 delux with good wood and no barrel band. Topped with a simmons 22 mag 4x shooting cci standard velocity. Good little hunting rifle for squirrels etc.
Opens 10/1 here with a 10 per day limit.
 
Shottie before leaves are down, rifle after.

I've been known to use a shotgun when the leaves are still on the trees and go to a .36 caliber flintlock when they come down.

My favorite recipe:
Line the bottom of a crock pot with onions. Skin, bone and rinse squirrel meat, place on top of onions. Put potatos, carrots, etc. on top. Cover and cook for several hours.
 
I'm with this guy^^^, the crockpot is magical. I've found their flavor to be closer to pork than chicken. I use a 22/45, and sit in an acorn rich area, quietly. They usually show up in droves.
 
I chunked my crock pot when I got a dutch oven. :D Actually, that's a bit of a fib, the crock pot broke, got this dutch oven because I wanted it, decided it works as good or better than the crock pot and just haven't bought a new crock pot. LOL

When I was about 15 or so, a friend and I were squirrel hunting. I shot one out of a tree and it came plummeting down, kerthump. I ran to get it and it was still alive. So I decided I would stomp it. So I brought my size 12s down on that booger, and he flopped over on his back and grabbed the bottom of my boot and started chewing on it! I was hopping around on one foot shaking the other leg trying to get that squirrel off, but hung on tight. All the time he was growling and snarling and just eating my sole off. I just knew I was going to feel his teeth sink into the bottom of my foot at any time. My buddy yelled, "I'll get him!" and I thought he was going to shoot it off my foot, so I started hopping and kicking faster, screaming, "DON'T SHOOT!" Meanwhile my friend had found a big stick and came at me trying to knock it off. He hit me in the ankle and I gave a great big kick and that squirrel let go and took off running through the leaves. The only thing on my mind was I couldn't let that squirrel get away to terrorize someone else, so I blasted him again and took him out. Then I hopped over to get him because my ankle was swelled up and I couldn't walk on it. I turned around to show my buddy the squirrel and he was laid out cold as a cucumber. Evidently I had knocked him in the head when he hit me in the foot. So be very careful if you go squirrel hunting. All sort of bad things can happen!
Click to expand...

Wasn't that a scene in the movie "Ernest Goes to Camp"?

Squirrel, pork? The other, other white meat? :D

I've been thinking of getting one of these 1200 fps air rifles from Gamo for squirrel hunting. Those sound as powerful as a .22 short! I bet you could take a squirrel with one out to 40 yards. They're a little expensive, but I could legally practice in my back yard. :D

product_whisper.jpg
 
Quote "Wasn't that a scene in the movie "Ernest Goes to Camp"?"

If it was, they must have been hiding in the woods watching, or read it somewhere else I posted it in years gone by. Maybe they owe me some money!

A dish I like to make with squirrels is squirrel dumplings. Yum Yum. :)
 
Out here in california the squirrels have been known to carry bubonic plague.

Wouldn't want to eat that.
 
If your 20 guage is a full choke then a shot to the head will work. I use a 12 guage Ithaca 37 12 guage before the leave fall. After that I use a Ruger 96M .22WMR with a redfield scope when the leave are down. I like to boil them for an hour, then add brown rice to it. cook it fir another 1/2 to 1 hour after that. You will have tender squirrel and rice with squirrel flavor. YUM YUM!
 
Reports are that Gamo's Whisper isn't all that quiet, and Gamos are fairly low quality airguns anyway. I'd get the best basic rifle I could without any bells and whistles.
 
If we could hunt 'em here, I'd shinny up the trees and take 'em on hand-to-paw with a hat pin . . . or, mebbe I'd remember how old I am & just settle back with a scoped 22 . . . nothing against scatterguns, just happen to like really accurate 22s . . .
 
The biggest - but not only - disadvantage to a shotgun is the noise. Shoot a shotgun, even a 20GA, in an area holding squirrels and everything but the wind goes deathly quiet and stays that way for awhile. Shoot a .22 and if it is windy you might not even notice it a hundred yards away; it certainly doesn't disrupt the natural like the shotgun. Shotguns have their place for sure and I use both but a .22 whether you are sitting or stalking is hard to beat if you can shoot straight. My .02.

As for squirrel tasting like chicken - not any squirrel or chicken I have ever tasted. A squirrel that has been properly field dressed and taken care of is as good as any meat wild or domestic. And, a big old boar squirrel is tough, gamy, and just not very good when fried and that is the only way I like them with mashed potatos and gravy, sweet corn, a mess of wild greens, and sweet tea.

Anywho, I am going to get a mess next week if I can get a scope mounted on my bubba gun. I have an old .22 that I decided to make a project gun out of and I can't get scope mounts to fit the receiver grooves. Any suggestions?
 
Even better with the .22 is if your state allows suppressors.

Generally I'll go with shotgun in the early season when the leaves are still up and a .22 later on in the fall/winter once the leaves come down.
 
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