Phonetic Diabetic
Member
How does squirrel taste?
Which gun for squirrel hunting? Never hunted squirrel before.
- Thread starter the naked prophet
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Franco2shoot
Member
More importantly, describe how you clean one. Do you start by lopping off the head? Whats next, and what's the best way to get the bones out?
KKKKFL
KKKKFL
CajunBass
Member
I believe the OP said he was limited by law (or regulation anyway) to shotguns only, so shotgun it is. Any shotgun will work. I've probably killed more squirrels in my life with a 12 ga pump and number 5 shot than anything, but that's because I deer hunt with a 12 ga pump. Slip the buckshot out, a no 5 in and you're good to go. I've found no 5 be about right. A squirrels hide is tough.
Personally I prefer a 22. Most any 22 will do really. I like the Ruger 10/22 or the 597 Remington. I've got a Marlin 39A, but it's heavy to lug around all day. I ain't as young as I used to be so all my rifles wear scopes, mostly straight 4X and I really don't have to shoot far. I think the longest shot I ever made was about 60 steps. Most to be truthful are well inside 20 yards.
I did kill my first squirrel last fall with a Ruger 22/45, and plan to try it more this year. I've got a couple of really nice 22 revolvers I'd like to try too.
How do you skin a squirrel? Them little boogers are tough. They do NOT want to part with their hides I tell you. I'm told there are easier ways, I don't know. I've always made a cut across the back and pulled the hide apart toward the head and the tail. When I get it off, I cut the head, tail and feet off, then gut it.
To get the bones out, boil the meat until it falls off. Same as you'd do for chicken or anything else you wanted to make a stew with.
Personally I prefer a 22. Most any 22 will do really. I like the Ruger 10/22 or the 597 Remington. I've got a Marlin 39A, but it's heavy to lug around all day. I ain't as young as I used to be so all my rifles wear scopes, mostly straight 4X and I really don't have to shoot far. I think the longest shot I ever made was about 60 steps. Most to be truthful are well inside 20 yards.
I did kill my first squirrel last fall with a Ruger 22/45, and plan to try it more this year. I've got a couple of really nice 22 revolvers I'd like to try too.
How do you skin a squirrel? Them little boogers are tough. They do NOT want to part with their hides I tell you. I'm told there are easier ways, I don't know. I've always made a cut across the back and pulled the hide apart toward the head and the tail. When I get it off, I cut the head, tail and feet off, then gut it.
To get the bones out, boil the meat until it falls off. Same as you'd do for chicken or anything else you wanted to make a stew with.
22-rimfire
Member
If you are limited to shotguns, I'd go with the 20 ga with No. 5 or 6 shot. Take shots within 40 yds, but your pattern will not be dense at that range.
Phonetic Diabetic
Member
I don't think squirrel is a common dish around the Dallas area. Interesting though....
Franco2shoot
Member
Cajun,
Are you saying to make a cut around the animal like a belt, around the middle, then pull the hide towards the head and towards the tail, cutting off head and hide as well as tail and hide snipping the legs as well?
Thanks
KKKKFL
Are you saying to make a cut around the animal like a belt, around the middle, then pull the hide towards the head and towards the tail, cutting off head and hide as well as tail and hide snipping the legs as well?
Thanks
KKKKFL
Mossberg535
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- Jul 16, 2008
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- 158
Squirrel is all I hunt.
Ive been using an 17HMR with FMJ's for squirrel the last few years.
Im switching back to shotguns this year, though, so Im going to use a 12g for everything and just find the shells that work best for whatever Im hunting.
Mossberg535
Member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2008
- Messages
- 158
Thats one main reason Im going to just use a shotgun again.
I was up on a ridge and saw a big grey squirrel in a tree. Had a really great shot and since I was above him shooting down there were no worries about the round flying off for half a mile.
Just as Im about to pull the trigger (thank God I keep both eyes open just in case), I see this guy walking down a path thats directly in my line of fire. Out of shotgun range, but well within the range of a 17HMR.
The guy didnt have a vest or anything that I could see, it was just the movement that caught my eye.
Just too risky, Id rather have to move in for a closer shot with a shotgun than accidently shoot someone.
Okiecruffler
Member
I put a slit up the back, from butt to neck and peel them that way. Then head, tail and feet come off, innerds come out and the rest gets quartered if I'm making stew. My favorite way to cook them is with some basil, oregano and garlic shoved inside, s/p the outside, wrap in foil and bake.
Franco2shoot
Member
Thanx Okiecrufler...
Next plump one is going on the grill.
KKKKFL
Next plump one is going on the grill.
KKKKFL
280shooter
Member
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- Jan 31, 2008
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- 707
clean the tree rat as soon as you kill them, it makes it easier to get the hide off,when they're still warm,works best for me,
I like using 22,But i killed lots withmy RWS 177 cal.
Im putting my scope back on my Ruger single 22,Now thats fun,I can shoot stamp size groups out to 35 yards,and i know to 50 yards i can hit the body with no problem,I like head shots best, your dont waste meat that way,
a shot gun is cheating,,LOL,But if u have to use a shot gun,,and If i had a 20 gauge i use that,
I like using 22,But i killed lots withmy RWS 177 cal.
Im putting my scope back on my Ruger single 22,Now thats fun,I can shoot stamp size groups out to 35 yards,and i know to 50 yards i can hit the body with no problem,I like head shots best, your dont waste meat that way,
a shot gun is cheating,,LOL,But if u have to use a shot gun,,and If i had a 20 gauge i use that,
Franco2shoot
Member
Dang, I finally find out how to clean em and they've disappeared. Head cound to date is 38 which might have something to do with the disappearance. What's the best bait to put on the top of a fence post?
KKKKFL
KKKKFL
A .22 long barrel pistol would be my weapon of choice. I think i would be squirrel accurate to about 150 yds minus bad weather or high wind. If I had a paticular vengence against the rodents I might just use my 9mm and call them out with a couple quarters like grandpa used to.
Okiecruffler
Member
I can.....
But I CHEAT
Hello,
New member here, just found this forum today and I like the looks of it. I was looking for some revolver advice but I love squirrel hunting and couldn't resist posting here.
That said, personally I like to hunt squirrel with a .22 whenever possible. I have used a .22-Hornet a lot but with any rifle anything other than a head shot is bound to mess up the meat.
In my opinion and experience it's quality vs. quantity.
Going for quality of the hunt go with a rimfire. Going for quantity of game go with either a 20 or 12 gauge. Anything less than a 20 guage IMO just won't reach out and get them if they are up in a tree. Especially in early fall with leaves. I like number 6 shot myself, but you can put more lead on target with a 7 and 1/2 (you just end up digging more out
To me there is nothing quite like a cold frosty morning before daylight hearing squirrels starting to move in the trees. Even if you don't get a shot being in that environment is what it is all about for me...
Someone asked how to go about cleaning them and I have hunted with some other guys who used a more "complicated" method, I'll try to explain what my uncle taught me (although it is hard to imagine without pictures.)
What I do is start off by holding the squirrels tail in my left hand with my thumb towards it's tail-hole and it's belling facing out. Make a cut across his hole and down each side of his rear legs, cutting through the bones of his tail and down to the skin on the opposite side. Don't cut his tail off. Then step on the "chunk" of his tail that is left and pull him up by his rear legs. With practice you will be able to pull his skin completely over his body and up to his front "ankles" and neck. You'll learn quickly you have to have a -good- solid foot hold on him, and you have to cut enough at the tail to allow the skin to start pulling over. Too much you will just pull a chunk of skin, to little and the tail will break off under your foot. The older the squirrel and the colder the squirrel the harder it is to do. The rest is pretty simple. Cut the head off, peel the fur off the rear legs and cut at all ankles. Make a cut up the middle of his cavity and remove all guts. (Unless it is a really warm day or i am going to be out a long time i hardly every remove the guts in the woods.) Quarter him up and and as my great-grandmother would say "roll it in flower and fry it in grease."
HTH. Reading this thread already has got me excited for hunting season to roll in here in SW VA.
-Jon
P.S. If you use a 22-Hornet or .17HMR with a ballistic tip, rarely do you have to cut the head of
New member here, just found this forum today and I like the looks of it. I was looking for some revolver advice but I love squirrel hunting and couldn't resist posting here.
That said, personally I like to hunt squirrel with a .22 whenever possible. I have used a .22-Hornet a lot but with any rifle anything other than a head shot is bound to mess up the meat.
In my opinion and experience it's quality vs. quantity.
Going for quality of the hunt go with a rimfire. Going for quantity of game go with either a 20 or 12 gauge. Anything less than a 20 guage IMO just won't reach out and get them if they are up in a tree. Especially in early fall with leaves. I like number 6 shot myself, but you can put more lead on target with a 7 and 1/2 (you just end up digging more out
To me there is nothing quite like a cold frosty morning before daylight hearing squirrels starting to move in the trees. Even if you don't get a shot being in that environment is what it is all about for me...
Someone asked how to go about cleaning them and I have hunted with some other guys who used a more "complicated" method, I'll try to explain what my uncle taught me (although it is hard to imagine without pictures.)
What I do is start off by holding the squirrels tail in my left hand with my thumb towards it's tail-hole and it's belling facing out. Make a cut across his hole and down each side of his rear legs, cutting through the bones of his tail and down to the skin on the opposite side. Don't cut his tail off. Then step on the "chunk" of his tail that is left and pull him up by his rear legs. With practice you will be able to pull his skin completely over his body and up to his front "ankles" and neck. You'll learn quickly you have to have a -good- solid foot hold on him, and you have to cut enough at the tail to allow the skin to start pulling over. Too much you will just pull a chunk of skin, to little and the tail will break off under your foot. The older the squirrel and the colder the squirrel the harder it is to do. The rest is pretty simple. Cut the head off, peel the fur off the rear legs and cut at all ankles. Make a cut up the middle of his cavity and remove all guts. (Unless it is a really warm day or i am going to be out a long time i hardly every remove the guts in the woods.) Quarter him up and and as my great-grandmother would say "roll it in flower and fry it in grease."
HTH. Reading this thread already has got me excited for hunting season to roll in here in SW VA.
-Jon
P.S. If you use a 22-Hornet or .17HMR with a ballistic tip, rarely do you have to cut the head of
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moooose102
Member
best squirrel gun i ever owned was an over and under rifle/shotgun combination gun. it had a 22 magnum on the top, and a 20 gauge shotgun on the bottm. that way, you had the righ gun for the situation!
rototiller -
How do you like the 17M2. I was thinking of trying one because it will make less noise than the HMR.
Another good tip for squirrels, the less noise your gun makes the better. I have had good luck with 22 Shorts in the past and I am either going to try those again or maybe a new 17M2 this fall.
What mooooose102 said is good advice too, my father always hunts with a Savage over and under. He has a 30-30 over 20 gauge. They are a great choice for the kind of hunting we do because if you aren't seeing any deer you might get a shot at a squirrel and not walk out of the woods empty handed. He has a 22Mag/20Gauge like you mentioned which is a great squirrel gun, a little on the heavy side is the only con.
How do you like the 17M2. I was thinking of trying one because it will make less noise than the HMR.
Another good tip for squirrels, the less noise your gun makes the better. I have had good luck with 22 Shorts in the past and I am either going to try those again or maybe a new 17M2 this fall.
What mooooose102 said is good advice too, my father always hunts with a Savage over and under. He has a 30-30 over 20 gauge. They are a great choice for the kind of hunting we do because if you aren't seeing any deer you might get a shot at a squirrel and not walk out of the woods empty handed. He has a 22Mag/20Gauge like you mentioned which is a great squirrel gun, a little on the heavy side is the only con.
ScotZ
Member
I have used a Savage 22/410 over under since I was a kid. My dad gave me that gun when I was about 12 years old. He is gone now, and I am now 49 years old. That gun has many memories that simply can not be replaced . Thanks for taking me for a trip down memory lane.
Franco2shoot
Member
What does squirrel taste like? Pleeeze don't tell me "Chicken".
KKKKFL
KKKKFL
I think it has a taste all it's own. If it is cooked where it isn't really tough I prefer it over venison. It's just unique I guess. My mother used to boil it then fry it rolled in flour. I think it is really good that way. Squirrel gravy is really good too. Get ya some and find a good recipe, if you like wild game I am pretty sure you will like it.
WV SCROUNGER
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SKERWL Gun?
thar so thick here I use a 12ga streetsweeper! got my limit in 3 seconds and went home...
thar so thick here I use a 12ga streetsweeper! got my limit in 3 seconds and went home...
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