Squirrel Hunting
- Thread starter mosinmaster
- Start date
Mount Sweetness
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Ontario
They taste good, better than rabbit. There is not a lot of meat on them and they are very difficult to skin...tough tough hide.
I agree that they are better than rabbit.
They taste really good. If you just toss them in a fry pan, chewy like rubber. Instead, throw the parts in a zip lock for several hours with your favorite marinate plus a shot of olive or canola oil. Then you slow cook the meat for a few hours and the meat just about falls off the bone. Mine ends up with the same tenderness as a kentucky fried drumstick. In the slow cooker I throw in a can of mushroom soup, a little salt/pepper, a coupla bouillon packets, celery, carrots. Nice to pour all that stuff over a bed of rice after the meat seems cooked. My wife and kids each tried a nibble and liked it as well.
As for field dressing, just do a search on youtube. There are different techniques shown, that's all I did first. Pick one you think you'd prefer.
They taste really good. If you just toss them in a fry pan, chewy like rubber. Instead, throw the parts in a zip lock for several hours with your favorite marinate plus a shot of olive or canola oil. Then you slow cook the meat for a few hours and the meat just about falls off the bone. Mine ends up with the same tenderness as a kentucky fried drumstick. In the slow cooker I throw in a can of mushroom soup, a little salt/pepper, a coupla bouillon packets, celery, carrots. Nice to pour all that stuff over a bed of rice after the meat seems cooked. My wife and kids each tried a nibble and liked it as well.
As for field dressing, just do a search on youtube. There are different techniques shown, that's all I did first. Pick one you think you'd prefer.
LuckyStrike
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Keep up the good work!
Tree rats .... non native species that causes no end of grief.....
squirrel pie! yummm and good material for tying salmon flies!
BTW .. watch for out little native red squirrels.. they are protected and in my area are finally making a comeback...
Tree rats .... non native species that causes no end of grief.....
squirrel pie! yummm and good material for tying salmon flies! BTW .. watch for out little native red squirrels.. they are protected and in my area are finally making a comeback...
If you can find a place to hunt eastern grey squirrels in B.C., have at 'er.
What really bothers me is when people want to shoot the native Douglas Squirrel for which there is no open season.
There was even a guy on a B.C. hunting web site that posted a photo last year of his two girls with two dead Douglas squirrels they'd shot. He thought it was cute.
What really bothers me is when people want to shoot the native Douglas Squirrel for which there is no open season.
There was even a guy on a B.C. hunting web site that posted a photo last year of his two girls with two dead Douglas squirrels they'd shot. He thought it was cute.
badgreenbird
Regular
- Location
- Dawson Creek, BC
I hunted & ate them back east... good sport & good eating! I think they are an unprotected species in BC, accordingto the regs. The main issue would be to find the squirrels in an area where hunting/shooting is allowed. They seem closely linked to human settlement in most areas of BC?
LuckyStrike
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Tree rats .... non native species that causes no end of grief.....
BTW .. watch for out little native red squirrels.. they are protected and in my area are finally making a comeback...
By native red squirrels are you referring to fox squirrels or Douglas squirrels? Pg. 14 of the current BC hunting regs under Schedule C:
"(h) all species of the genus Sciurus - gray squirrels and fox squirrels"
Googling fox squirrels shows pretty red squirrels.
LuckyStrike
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Photo of(pest) Grey & Red squirrel(protected)
Can I ask a really silly question?
Squirrels are often in trees. This implies shooting upward-ish, which is a big no-no since the bullet can then go ungodly distances if it misses. Do you have to wait for them to be on the ground, is there a special round or some other detail I don't know about?
Around here we have lots of big black squirrels, which are related to the grey squirrel I believe.
Squirrels are often in trees. This implies shooting upward-ish, which is a big no-no since the bullet can then go ungodly distances if it misses. Do you have to wait for them to be on the ground, is there a special round or some other detail I don't know about?
Around here we have lots of big black squirrels, which are related to the grey squirrel I believe.
LuckyStrike
CGN Regular
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Personally I wouldn't be concerned shooting up with small calibres like .22's or .17's .... And its not likely legal to shoot in any populated areas.
Black squirrels are actually grey squirrels (just a dark phase) same critter.
Yeah I saw that in the links you posted. It does not answer my question. What species is "native red" squirrel? I googled fox squirrel and came up with a similar photo.
Note the white ring around the eyes, olive brown / rusty red body, and less bushy tail with black tips. The "native red" squirrel looks like a fox squirrel to me, which are not protected (see my previous reference to schedule C).
The native red squirrel is not the same as the fox squirrel - the latter is even bigger than the grey squirel. The red squirrel is the Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus, aka Pine Squirrel.
edit - the size difference between the Fox and Red squirrel is really pronounced. The fox can be ~4x as big as the red.
edit - the size difference between the Fox and Red squirrel is really pronounced. The fox can be ~4x as big as the red.
I looked into this quite some time ago, I believe in my "Mammals of North America" book. I too was interested in squirrel hunting, but there isn't much opportunity to find grey/fox squirrels in my neck of the woods.
I do believe that the fox squirrel was listed as the largest squirrel, but I will look into it when I get home.
- Location
- North Shore, BC
Eastern Grey is 20 - 25cm long not including tail and is usually in the Black colour phase. Found in the GVRD and Victoria.
Easter Fox is 25 - 63cm long not including tail. It is rusty on the upper part with a pale yellowish belly and it's tail is bordered by a tawny fringe. Found in the extreme southern Okanagan Valley.
Both are listed Schedule "C" and may be hunted anywhere (with permission on private land), any season as long as you have a hunting licence, and are in a legal shooting area.
Easter Fox is 25 - 63cm long not including tail. It is rusty on the upper part with a pale yellowish belly and it's tail is bordered by a tawny fringe. Found in the extreme southern Okanagan Valley.
Both are listed Schedule "C" and may be hunted anywhere (with permission on private land), any season as long as you have a hunting licence, and are in a legal shooting area.
Turkeyslayer 1300
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Russell, Ontario
Shotgun is the best medicine for actively hunting squirrels.
