Any fellow squirrel hunters here? I have an interesting problem

>>959269
If you mean tree squirrels, then yes, since I was 6.

>>959297
Yes sir, and. Since the same age lol

>>959305
Well. What's the problem?

>>959269
Shot a fuckload of squirrels last year trying to keep them from poaching the pecans off my trees. Would get up early before work and kill 2, sometimes 3 every morning with a shotgun before work.

Stopped counting how many I'd killed after I hit 60.

Made for interesting shooting. Sorta like hitting a rolling clay (rabbit), except they'd be smart enough to climb along the opposite side of the branch, so you only had a small window (like when they're jumping from tree to tree) to get a kill.

Always came in pairs.

I've done a fairly good job of thinning the population of red squirrels getting into my attic with leisurely use of a pellet gun. The cat seems to find them tasty.

File: IMG_2179.jpg (2MB, 3264x2448px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3264x2448px

>>959322
Ive only started recently having this problem, and it's only happened a few times. When I'm pulling the hide off, it seems the abdominal wall and ribs want to come with the hide. This results in the guts just falling out and making the rest of the process annoying. Granted, I don't lose any meat, it just takes a bit longer and gets on my nerves. I think it's a new knife I'm using, it's a tad too big and I think I'm cutting too far down the back before I start pulling the hide.

File: IMG_2180.jpg (2MB, 3264x2448px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3264x2448px

>>959322

>>959347
It's weird, because I've been hunting for years and just recently started having this problem.

>>959348
Are you skinning them right after shooting them or are you freezing them first? Just to make sure I'm understanding this, the flank pieces are pulling away with the skin? How are you skinning, where are you putting the incision, etc?

>>959351
Roughly 30 minutes to an hour after I kill them depending on the temperature. I make the cut at the base of the tail, break the tail bone, cut through to the other side ( making a flap to put my boot on), cut down about an inch-1/2, then put it on the heel of my boot and pull. and yea, the flanks and ribs are staying attached to the hide. Its causing me to stop just past the ribs and work my fingers into the hide to detach them. The part that really gets annoying is the guts falling out in the process. This is only the second one I've had do it this season, all the others came out perfect, so I'm not really sure what's going on. My dad has been hunting all his life and has never seen it either.

>>959346
How do you skin? I start by pinching a little skin right in the middle of the squirrel beside the belly. I then make an incision just big enough to get a finger or two in. I work my fingers between the belly and fur and loosen the fur from the belly. Then, I continue the incision all the way around the squirrel. At this point it looks like the squirrel in wearing tops and bottoms. Next I put two fingers from each hand under the skin on the back, then pull the hands opposite each other, pulling the top and bottom skin away from each other. My dad used to call it "taking his pajamas off".

Kinda hard to explain, but I could show you in 60 seconds. The belly aways stays together unless he's gutshot. I've seen people skin several different ways, but this is how I was tought. Do you get what I'm saying at all? If you don't, I could always make a YouTube video or something.

>>959363
I think ive seen it done that way a few times.

This is almost exactly the way I do it, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4c8OyexZ10E

>>959359
You need to skin it down farther, the boot pull method is common for squirrels but is really better for rabbit as their fur pulls away easier; squirrels have a tougher and better attached hide, especially in winter, but in reality, this guys post: >>959363 is the best way to do it if you aren't worried about the hide. Basically just make a side-to-side incision in the centre of the back, big enough to fit your index and middle fingers in on either side. Pull his "shirt" off toward the head and his "pants" toward the tail simultaneously. When you get the backstrap, flank, thigh, and shoulder meat skinned, cut off the tail, head, and 4 paws at the joint.

>>959269
Where abouts are you? Is your season still on?

I'm in South Mississippi. Our regular season lasts Oct.15 to Feb 15. This year the state is running a second season from tomorrow thru the 7th, with daily limits reduced from 8 to 4. Don't think I'm going. All the females are full of babies right now. It gets pretty warm here now. Snake are already out, and the turkey hunters are scouting. I don't know why there doing this unless the biologist think the poulation is way up, or availible habitat is way down.

>>959359
Skin 'em on the spot. It's easier and the meat cools faster. I take a little thing of handy wipes to clean my hands, and a couple of gallon zip locks for the meat. I leave the waste parts in the woods, where they make food for other critters and fertilizer.

File: IMG_5041.jpg (6KB, 114x108px) Image search: [Google]

6KB, 114x108px

But squirrels are so kawaii.

:3

Anybody got any good recipes besides fried, in gravy w/biscuits, or stewed/gumbo? I've deboned them and made jerky when my freezer was too full. The flavor was good, but the texture was a little slimy.

>>962148
Start with the animal skinned and cut into five pieces (4 legs and the back.) You want 2 to 3 pounds of meat. Soak it for two or three days in a brine of:
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. whole cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
After the brining period, drain the meat and save the brine. Then pat the meat dry and dust it in flour. Fry the pieces in hot oil until they are nicely browned. Then add the onions and fry them a bit. Then pour in the brine, enough to cover the meat, and let it simmer on a low flame for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender. Remove the meat and thicken the gravy in the pan with crushed gingersnap cookies. Then pour the gravy over the meat. Serve hot with mashed potatoes.

>>962423
This is basically how I do my squirrel and gravy. I've never tried vinegar soak and those those type Caribbean and Indian spices though. Got some thawing. Ima give it a whirl.

File: 20170306_201640.jpg (4MB, 5312x2988px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 5312x2988px

I'm cooking a squirrel right now (pic related). I just coat in salt, pepper, & flour, then fry for a couple minutes, then simmer in water for 45 minutes. Simple and tasty.

>>962148
Squirrel burger. Debone 8 squirrels and grind along with a pound of fatty smoked bacon. Patty up and cook well done. Awsome.

Get the recipe for chicken and dumplings. Substitute the squirrel for the chicken.

dude don't kill squirrel. Squirrel is fren.

>>959370
Once skinned, inspect the arm pit areas, they have glands that look like nodules, remove them too.

>>967645
A very good friend. Squirrels fed my great-grandfather during the Great Depression, when protein was scarce. Squirrel hunting became a family tradition.

>>959269
Only hunt ground squirrels here mate. Doubt that'll help because it's basically a game of wack'a'mole with a scoped rifle instead of a mallet.