anyone still hunt and eat squirrels??

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Sure glad I didn't have to fill the fridge with a .22 pistol - I'm not near as efficient with a .22 pistol as some.
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The key to squirrel hunting is to follow the dictum of the Spanish philosopher, Oretga y Gasset: "One does not hunt to kill, one kills in order to have hunted."

I don't HAVE to kill a squirrel. I like to take a little folding stool and sit out in the woods in a prime feeding area just before dawn and listen to the woods come awake. If I don't get a good shot with my pistol, it doesn't really matter. I'll get enough squirrels tomorrow or the next day.

And oddly enough, this relaxed approach works -- I kill more squirrels the more laid back I am.
 
When I was a kid, I couldn't sit still, but my grandpa would tell me to find a tree and lean against it and just watch and listen. As I became older, I saw his wisdom and as my metabolic rate slowed, it became my favorite form of hunting squirrel.

Now, if i hear 'em barking, squalling, or maybe runnin' around on the limbs, I'll stalk toward 'em. You can hunt squirrel with your ears. My ears haven't deteriorated, thankfully.

A pistol makes it tougher to find a rest when you stalk. I like to lay on my back if the ground isn't wet and clamp the gun in my hands between my knees if I can't get a rest on a tree or something. Shooting off hand is pretty tough and I always rest the gun or just not take the shot. A monopod is a handy tool, too.
 
MCgunner said:
When I was a kid, I couldn't sit still, but my grandpa would tell me to find a tree and lean against it and just watch and listen. As I became older, I saw his wisdom and as my metabolic rate slowed, it became my favorite form of hunting squirrel.

Now, if i hear 'em barking, squalling, or maybe runnin' around on the limbs, I'll stalk toward 'em. You can hunt squirrel with your ears. My ears haven't deteriorated, thankfully.

A pistol makes it tougher to find a rest when you stalk. I like to lay on my back if the ground isn't wet and clamp the gun in my hands between my knees if I can't get a rest on a tree or something. Shooting off hand is pretty tough and I always rest the gun or just not take the shot. A monopod is a handy tool, too.
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My Gramps used to have a stock cane that he would clamp a section of broomstick to at a right angle to the cane and use the broomstick part for a pistol rest. Since he used the cane on uneven ground the system did a double duty. You might give that a try.
 
Never hunted or eaten a squirrel, but I would try it if presented in an appealing manner.

I wonder if you can get rabbit starvation from eating squirrel constantly?

Not that it's really a factor in this day and age though.
 
Never hunted or eaten a squirrel, but I would try it if presented in an appealing manner.

I wonder if you can get rabbit starvation from eating squirrel constantly?

Not that it's really a factor in this day and age though.
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I'm not sure, but they're very lean like rabbits. There's enough wild pork around here that even if I didn't buy a T bone now and then, I won't have the problem. :D
 
My Gramps used to have a stock cane that he would clamp a section of broomstick to at a right angle to the cane and use the broomstick part for a pistol rest. Since he used the cane on uneven ground the system did a double duty. You might give that a try.
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If it weren't for all the paperwork and the $200 tax, I'd make a shoulder stock for my Colt Woodsman. That would be the ideal squirrel gun.
 
I cooked one today . It was the only one I got last season . I don't know if it was the weather or what , but I did not see many after deer season . It was below average temperatures and snow most of Jan. & Feb. .

We were having a cookout today so I thought I would try it on the grill . I soaked it overnight in teriyaki sauce .

It was looking like rain all day so we cooked inside . I cooked the squirrel on that electric burner , in a pan that you see on TV all the time . The one you can touch without getting burnt ( New Wave PIC , a commercial just came on while typing this ) .

I put a like bit of oil in the pan , set it on medium , put a lid on it and cooked it turning several times until done , about 30 mins. .

Everyone that tried it loved it . I thought it was some of the best squirrel that I ever had . Just wish that I had more .

Next time I am going to add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the teriyaki sauce . No need to add any salt , the teriyaki gives it the salt .
 
red rick said:
I cooked one today . It was the only one I got last season . I don't know if it was the weather or what , but I did not see many after deer season . It was below average temperatures and snow most of Jan. & Feb. .

We were having a cookout today so I thought I would try it on the grill . I soaked it overnight in teriyaki sauce .

It was looking like rain all day so we cooked inside . I cooked the squirrel on that electric burner , in a pan that you see on TV all the time . The one you can touch without getting burnt ( New Wave PIC , a commercial just came on while typing this ) .

I put a like bit of oil in the pan , set it on medium , put a lid on it and cooked it turning several times until done , about 30 mins. .

Everyone that tried it loved it . I thought it was some of the best squirrel that I ever had . Just wish that I had more .

Next time I am going to add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the teriyaki sauce . No need to add any salt , the teriyaki gives it the salt .
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I usually just coat them in flour and fry them then use the grease to make milk gravy. Of course you have to have baking powder biscuits to put the gravy on. Along with either green beans or when in season sweet corn. The guys know better than to complain but they always seem to bring me more squirrels or rabbits...
 
In a time long ago, I used to roam the woods in Putnam County WV with Pop's 12 gauge 870. I have it in my safe. Mom (grandparents) would parboil the squirrel, head included, and make a delicious light gravy with it. I loved the brains.
I haven't pulled the trigger on an animal for over 20 years.
 
I'm up in mass I use a .25 pcp air rifle I soak Em in a water soy sauce and cider vinegar solution over nite then wrap Em in bacon and throw them in the oven pretty tasty tree rat !!
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First one I get this year, I'm cooking half of it like that.


Thanks for the tip, that sounds amazing !
 
this is great guys in fact I gotta new ruger air magnum rifle 22cal and want to try it squirrel hunting this year. I just sighted the scope in and its dead on :)
 
The problem I have with squirrel hunting is deciding which rifle to carry; I now have 5, two 22s, two 17 HMRs, and one 17 Mach 2. Each year I kill and eat 2-3 dozen. For me, squirrel is the best tasting wild game. I love it. I've hunted many different critters over my lifetime and at age 67 and having hunted for 60 of those years, squirrel hunting is still my favorite. Nothing is more enjoyable to me than a cool autumn morning in the woods. But, I'm strictly a rifle shooter as I love the challenge of head shooting a batch of squirrels.
 
sniper66 I wondered about the 17's how they fared with head shots and such but I do own a henry leveraction 22lr with a scope 4x32 and a savage lefthand 22mag and it has a scope on it but always used the leveraction and I like solid nose bullets 40gr and had success with that leveraction! :)
 
Heck Yes

Heck Yes we still hunt and eat squirrels.
I'll be honest they are not my favorite table fare, but
I enjoy them a few times a year in a squirrel mulligan.
Fresh veggies, rice and squirrels, mmmm, mmmmm good
 
I also have the ruger air magnum in .22 it packs a serious punch!! Kicks like a mule too... I guess I spoiled myself with my benjamin. 25 pcp.
 
My grandfather would prepare squirrel in a frying pan, but cook it slowly. The gravy/sauce had a very unique flavor. That would have been in the late 70's.
 
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Fried as normal then baked covered with foil on 250. After 2hrs the muscle will relax and the sinew will breakdown. Make gravy with your frying grease.
 
I'd rather hunt squirrels than hunt deer. Because:

  • No sitting in a stand all day for one shot.
  • Usually plenty of action.
  • No need to be in the woods so early.
  • A lot less time and trouble preparing the kill for the table.
  • I get to shoot more, move around more.
  • I don't have to get so serious about a day afield, as in deer hunting.
  • No dragging and hefting into the truck.


    My squirrel rifle is the same as my turkey rifle. A Savage .22M. The magnum allows me to take those very long shots in open woods late in the season. Plus, when fall turkey season is in, so is squirrel season.

    A young squirrel can be breaded and fried. An older one treated the same, but only after parboiling. Another way to prepare them, my favorite, is on a cold and snowy day in the woods. Kill one or two, build a low fire, and roast them slowly. All kinds of ways to do that, depending on how much stuff you want to carry. I only carry salt. The woods provide all the cooking materials needed. A great way to spend your day off, and a day you won't forget. Take a kid with you for even better memories.
 
I usually bake them whole, low and slow pick the meat off and make a pot pie mmm.
 
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