Another squirrel hunt over dogs with pics this time

[Appalachiannative]

Went back to the same property with my FIL his friend, and his friends grandson. No where thus much activity this time although I got to see something I'd never seen before in my FIL's friend, we will call him G, managed to get one to come out of a hole by beating the tree with a stick. As promised before though here as some pics of the squirrel dogs. The two black and white ones are mother and daughter (Judy and JoJo)

 

[Appalachiannative]

Oh here is little JoJo using her special ability. Climbing the tree so you know she really knows it's up there

 

[BreechFace]

I have beagles and have never hunted them. I see posts like this and tells me I’m missing out.

 

[red rick]

Nothing like hunting with a dog .

 

[red rick]

I have beagles and have never hunted them. I see posts like this and tells me I’m missing out.

You are , this was Friday’s hunt . My nephew has one beagle that will retrieve .

 

[Appalachiannative]

You are , this was Friday’s hunt . My nephew has one beagle that will retrieve . View attachment 1189262

Rabbits? Nice looking dogs

 

[Appalachiannative]

This dog here was the star of the show today which was good to see. Her name is Gerdy and she has previously been rather gun shy and just shy in general. Often fleeing away from the sound of other dogs treeing in the past. However today and here lately in this season she has been the driving force

 

[Appalachiannative]

You might notice all dogs mentioned are female. My FIL is fully convinced that females are inherently superior to males for hunting as are most of the fellas in his pier group. Hoping to get myself a couple good female cur or feist or something in between as the third option is what you see depicted here

 

[Appalachiannative]

Nothing like hunting with a dog .

I got back into still hunting big game this year for the first time in maybe 10 years and it's fun and all but I can't help but think chasing these dogs around shooting small game is more fun

 

[Appalachiannative]

I have beagles and have never hunted them. I see posts like this and tells me I’m missing out.

Set live traps, catch some rabbits, introduce your dogs to them

 

[Patocazador]

My FIL is fully convinced that females are inherently superior to males for hunting

I agree with your father-in-law. They're easier to train, and seem to have more hunting sense.

 

[red rick]

I can’t say that I have noticed any difference in training with my beagles , but females seem to be less competitive running the track and less fighting . I have 3 males and my nephew has 1 male and 6 females . He and I both prefer females and he usually gets rid of the male puppies , that’s why I have 3 males . It doesn’t make that much difference to me , especially when they are free , so to say . The male that he has , was given to him as a 2 year old . Same reason his friend likes females . But my nephew would never get rid of him he contributes so much to his pack . He is great picking up checks ( loses ) and he retrieves . That male will die at his kennel . When I say mine are free so to say , my nephew just took 2 of his dogs to the Vets . It cost him $500 dollars for the male and $89 dollars for the female , but she has got to go back . I imagine it’s going to be $500 dollars for her and he’s got another one that he is taking to the Vets . I am picking up the bill on the male and probably one of the females . I figure that is the least that I could do since I get my dogs free and I hunt with him most every hunt . He has to feed them and clean the kennels . I also start the puppies training . I really enjoy that , but I hate to give them back when they are running good and I’ve spent so much time with them .

 

[courtgreene]

You’re a man of your word, thanks for the pics. I love watching dogs do their thing. I should say I love watching good dogs do their thing well.
Oh, and I have a jojo too. Shelter named her. She’s amazing.

 

[Art30/30]

Ok dumb question, are squirrels good to eat? I had some southern friends in the army that loved them. But they also ate carp n possum

 

[red rick]

Ok dumb question, are squirrels good to eat? I had some southern friends in the army that loved them. But they also ate carp n possum

I like squirrel better than rabbit , but you need a few if you want a meal . One rabbit will be more than I want to eat , but probably not enough for 2 people .

 

[Appalachiannative]

You’re a man of your word, thanks for the pics. I love watching dogs do their thing. I should say I love watching good dogs do their thing well.
Oh, and I have a jojo too. Shelter named her. She’s amazing.

she's my FIL's dog he wanted to call her Jolene but my wife trained the dog and got her used to being called JoJo

 

[Appalachiannative]

Ok dumb question, are squirrels good to eat? I had some southern friends in the army that loved them. But they also ate carp n possum

It varies from animal to animal. A mature male is not very good to eat. You can tell his age by the size of his jewels. I like the legs cooked at 350 in the oven for two hours with BBQ sauce. Not much different than chicken wings

 

[brewer12345]

I have a pointer who is nuts for game, but I am afraid to take her in the field because I am pretty sure she would be gone.

 

[buck460XVR]

Ok dumb question, are squirrels good to eat?

.....any meat is edible. Some is just better than others. Rats that live wild in the woods will taste just like their bushy tailed brethren. Animals that eat meat(predators) taste stronger than those that that eat plants. Deer that browse on natural vegetation only will not taste as good as those that feed primarily on ag crops. That said, I grew up eating wild game.....much of which was rabbits and squirrels. Even them they were not my favored meat. Kinda why I don;t bother to hunt them today. While I love domestic rabbit I raise myself, I have little to no desire to eat their wild relatives. Folks say it's all on how you prepare them. That may be true, but I've had 'em many a way. I've thought about trying to smoke squirrel but I'm gonna guess it's too lean. Maybe mix it with some pork and make sausage?

 

[dh1633pm]

I adopted my dad's German Short Hair a short time before he passed. He has made new friends with our Labs. He spends all his time outside by choice. He's a runner and likes our big fenced in back yard. He is hard to hunt with because he runs and runs. My wife makes him wear a jacket now that its cold. He can come in or stay out as he chooses. He likes outside. Comes in to eat, have a snack, or sleep. He goes crazy for squirrels.

 

[red rick]

I have a pointer who is nuts for game, but I am afraid to take her in the field because I am pretty sure she would be gone.

GPS training collar , but not cheap . I have the Garmin Alpha 200 i and TT 15 mini collars for my beagles . They came out with the 300 about a year ago . That and 1 collar will probably cost you about $1100 dollars .

 

[red rick]

.....any meat is edible. Some is just better than others. Rats that live wild in the woods will taste just like their bushy tailed brethren. Animals that eat meat(predators) taste stronger than those that that eat plants. Deer that browse on natural vegetation only will not taste as good as those that feed primarily on ag crops. That said, I grew up eating wild game.....much of which was rabbits and squirrels. Even them they were not my favored meat. Kinda why I don;t bother to hunt them today. While I love domestic rabbit I raise myself, I have little to no desire to eat their wild relatives. Folks say it's all on how you prepare them. That may be true, but I've had 'em many a way. I've thought about trying to smoke squirrel but I'm gonna guess it's too lean. Maybe mix it with some pork and make sausage?

Folks told you right . I just made some rabbit stew and I am sure enjoying it now with this cold weather . Nothing wild tasting . The only thing you might have is tough hind legs if you fry them to fast .

 

[dh1633pm]

I put an apple airtag on my dawg. On the cat too.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Folks told you right . I just made some rabbit stew and I am sure enjoying it now with this cold weather . Nothing wild tasting . The only thing you might have is tough hind legs if you fry them to fast .View attachment 1189677View attachment 1189678

So you fry it before you put it in the stew?

 

[red rick]

No I cook it in the crockpot until it is tender . Then I remove the rabbits from the crockpot and add the vegetables . When the rabbits cool down enough , I pull the rabbit meat off of the bone . When the vegetables are about 30 minutes from being done I add the pulled rabbit meat back to the crockpot and vegetables and start cooking my cornbread . I just finished my last bowl of stew tonight . I am looking forward to rabbit hunting again Saturday and getting a couple more it was so good .