I limited out in 7 mins the other day. Early morning hunt first light. Let them come out of their nests and down the trees. Once 2 were on the ground within range. Cci quiets dropped the upper 2 and as they hit the forest floor the others run up the trees and flap their tails. Offered another quick double. Less than 2 mins i had 4 down. I sat for several mins and spotted a nice large grey coming down a tree. I slowly stalked over and popped him in the face at about 20 yards. Great fun. Love my savage fv in a mdt chassis. 4 shots off hand one off a fallen tree as a rest
Squirrel hunting
- Thread starter 1963beretta
- Start date
I have a slight hang up with the idea of skinning/eating squirrels...and I should try harder to get over it. Spent too many years looking at rats when I went to school in the city, and when I see a squirrel..."filthy rats" come to mind instantly. I'd have no issue shooting them, not much of an issue cleaning them...but the prospect of eating them..
Everyone I know who has, say they're very good.
Everyone I know who has, say they're very good.
You dont hunt them out of a garbage dumpster behind an apartment building, though.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
In all honesty, I was so surprised how well groomed and clean they were when I handled them. Much cleaner then most animals I’ve had my hands on. You usually wont find me touching any of the dogs in the family because to me they look and smell filthy. Also, I find it way messier and smellier to clean birds then it was to clean squirrels.
You know...I'm 49, and have been wandering around outdoors..in the woods..fishing/shooting for almost 40 years...varmint hunting seriously about 8 years...grouse hunting about as long. In all that time, I never gained any understanding of where to find squirrels. Your comment will help me narrow the search, so thanks!
I feel the same way about dogs oddly enough. (not a fan, but several in the family I can't avoid. lol) I mean...if I could own one for 20 minutes a day, I'd have gotten one a long time ago. Anyhow, that's an interesting comment. I haven't had any issues cleaning grouse...but if you're referring to those, I get it. Started wearing nitrile gloves to do that, after the first few birds. I think for me, it's more the idea of eating one. A buddy of mine hunts them, but lives a couple of hours away. Maybe I'll sniff around for an invite. Considering how much I love rimfires, and how much I think I shoot them pretty well...it seems like a great fit.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
I dont like touching dogs....but I refuse to wear nitrile gloves for anything. Whether its cleaning game, working on cars, or using paint stripper or stain. I just cant do it. Go figure
In all honesty rats are extremely clean animals. Ive raised them and bred them. And even once ate a pair of fancy hooded rats. It was due to a language barrier but they were way better than muskrat. Dated a cambodian girl with broken english while in collage. I was talking about muskrat dinners with a buddy and in canada when you say rat dinner its accepted as muskrat. Well i came home to a nice stir fry type meal. It was good. She said "rat dinner ...like" wasnt till later i thought where did she did muskrat so i asked her. She said "good deal 2 for $6.99" then i looked in the trash can. Yep. A brown and white one and a grey one. She bought them killed them skinned them deboned them and cooked them. She was soooo hot though.
but hey other cultures eat different things. I cant walk through a petting zoo without getting hungry. Ive eaten camel. Lama. Alpaca. Various deer. Even opossum and coon. The alpaca is the best of the bunch but squirrels are tasty
And as for those gloves. Nope cant do it. The feel nope.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
It just so happens that puff balls and squirrels are often found in the same areas...
While down working in Oklahoma, a lot of folks are from Arkansas, Texarkana etc. After eating gumbo with gawd knows what in it, I broke down and ate some bushy tailed rats they cooked up..... Gave me an excuse to buy a Annie 1712 is what that did! I can never tell the wife, it will be rabbit or grouse wings until she has had some and commented on how good it is and I may still not fess up!
I can't help thinking that there is an east/west thing on squirrels. Where I am,(in the west) there are an abundance of squirrels. Its mostly reds, with a few grays and just enough flyers to prove they are there. A typical response to mentioning a flying squirrel is questioning whether they are a real thing or a made-up comic strip/taxidermy joke type of thing like a jackalope. There's no closed season, no licence, no limit and no interest. I can think of a few people that ate them for a novelty or joke but not a single meat hunter who seeks them out deliberately. Same with rabbits come to think of it.
It is a habitat/range thing... not an east/west thing.
Red squirrels are considered "furbearers" here in Ontario and may only be taken under a licence to trap. It is the grey and fox squirrels that inspire people to hunt... black squirrels are just a colour phase of the grey squirrel, not a different sub-species. We also have plenty of flying squirrels here in Nor Ont... but they are almost entirely nocturnal... cute little suckers, can't imagine trying to hunt them, they could make the limit one per year without much fear of anyone going over their limit.
Confession; as a kid I thought red squirrels were included in the "squirrel season." I shot and ate hundreds until I read their status in the regulations, I was gobsmacked at the time... but I am in the unique position to state that even red squirrels taste good... although not nearly as good as their chubby, Southern relatives.
Now you are just being silly...
Kind of off-topic...but why is ^ that? I don't like the feel of them..my hands start sweating within a couple of minutes of putting them on...but the amount of lead residue I exposed myself to unnecessarily cleaning guns over decades, I wished I started wearing them sooner. I also remember the first few grouse I cleaned with my bare hands. Took more than 2 days for the smell to go away. lol Now I wear them doing any gun cleaning duties, handling/preparing (fired) brass casings, etc. Definitely cleaning small game.
It is a habitat/range thing... not an east/west thing.
Red squirrels are considered "furbearers" here in Ontario and may only be taken under a licence to trap. It is the grey and fox squirrels that inspire people to hunt... black squirrels are just a colour phase of the grey squirrel, not a different sub-species. We also have plenty of flying squirrels here in Nor Ont... but they are almost entirely nocturnal... cute little suckers, can't imagine trying to hunt them, they could make the limit one per year without much fear of anyone going over their limit.
Confession; as a kid I thought red squirrels were included in the "squirrel season." I shot and ate hundreds until I read their status in the regulations, I was gobsmacked at the time... but I am in the unique position to state that even red squirrels taste good... although not nearly as good as their chubby, Southern relatives.
Now you are just being silly...
So we could legally hunt these flying rats if they ever showed themselves during daylight? Huh. Not much bigger than a chipmunk. This thread has me convinced to try a couple greys before years end. My yard is loaded with them.
[/IMG]
So we could legally hunt these flying rats if they ever showed themselves during daylight? Huh. Not much bigger than a chipmunk. This thread has me convinced to try a couple greys before years end. My yard is loaded with them.
No... you cannot hunt them... Northern Flying Squirrels are protected... at least they are in Ontario.
Interesting story... a few years back I was calling coyotes on a poleline, when I saw a flying squirrel jump from the top of a pole and glide to the next pole, he contacted the pole a few feet above the ground and then ran to the top and jumped again, gliding to the next pole in the row, and again contacted the pole a few feet above the ground... I watched him do this for six or seven poles... these are the big poles, with about 100 yards between them... he covered almost a kilometer in no time at all... very cool to see.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
I hate the way they feel. Like you, my hands start to sweat almost immediately. Also, I cant grip anything worth a damn. They just seem to make things more difficult in my opinion. A good hand cleaner with pumice has always got my hands clean enough...even when I worked as a mechanic way back when.
Save the neck for me, Clark.
