another great hunt with good friend !

[silent sniper]

i took keaton hunting last week and he had a blast. he was rearing to go again as soon as possible. well it worked out that we could go squirrel hunting again. this time keaton borrowed his grandpas beloved old lefever nitro special 12 guage SxS that was made in the 30's. keaton had never shot a 12 guage before and he was pretty intimidated by it. i finally coaxed him into shooting it and he found the recoil very magangeable and nothing to worry about. after that we got ready for the next days hunt then went to bed. we went out the next morning around 7:30. this time when i loaded up i loaded both barrel with shotcups so i wouldnt run into the same problem i had last week. i wanted to make sure when i shot at a squirrel, i got it :rotf: we started sneeking around in the woods. i snuck over by this old roof top and i heard a noise on a nearby tree. i looked up to see a big grey squirrel coming down the tree. i cocked the hammer and got ready. it hopped behind a tree then stuck its head around to look at me. thats when the load of shot caught it in the face and brought it to earth. i walked over to find a very nice looking grey squirrel. it was a big male and was the second grey squirrel ive ever shot. incidently, the spot where i shot the grey was only about 25 yards from where i had shot my first grey squirrel a week before. it still had the nut in its mouth.

while i was reloading i noticed that in the second barrel, the over shot wad hadnt sealed and was 6 inches off the load. i pushed it back on and put another OS wad on top. i figured the load would pry shoot different but i didnt worry about it. right after i got the grey squirrel gutted i heard a fox squirrel barking in the distance. i started my stalk. i ended up stalking within 25 yards of it without it seeing me. i decided to try the second barrel with the goofed up load first so i could put a fresh load in. i aimed at the squirrel and pulled the trigger. as i had expected, the powder wasnt packed tight and the shot was way underpowered and didnt touch the squirrel. the squirrel moved over a foot and looked at me. i cocked the first hammer and dumped the squirrel with a load of shot. it was a nice young fox squirrel.

we walked around for another hour or so. i really wanted keaton to shoot a squirrel. i spotted a fox squirrel in a tree but by the time keaton saw it the squirrel ran into its hole. we started to head back home. when we were close to the house keaton looked over and said that he saw a squirrel. i looked and saw something but i wasnt sure if it was a squirrel or a ball of leaves. then i saw the squirrels tail and was sure it was a squirrel. i gave keaton the go head to shoot. he raised the old double and shot. the squirrel was mortally hit but it hit the ground with some life left in it. as we walked up to it the squirrel tried to run along a log. keaton made a nice running shot on the squirrel that ended it very quickly. i was pretty impressed sense keaton doesnt have much experence with guns and no experence with shooting moving targets. we walked up and collected keatons first squirrel that only he shot. it was a beautiful black squirrel. we walked back to the house and i skinned all the squirrels.

i remembered that keatons grandpa had made a little hint that he wouldnt mind having a fresh squirrel for dinner.so i cleaned the fox squirrel and decided i would give it to keatons grandpa. we cooked our squirrels for lunch and it was delishous. then we went down to keatons grandpas to tell him the good news. keatons grandpa was ticked pink when i handed him a very nice cleaned squirrel that he had wanted. he was very excited and said he would invite his friends over to have squirrel for dinner. he was even more excited to hear that keaton had bagged a squirrel with his 12 guage. i told keaton i would tan the black squirrel skin for him so he can start his trophy wall :grin: keaton has been making good progress and is becoming a better hunter everytime we go out. i am really hoping he will get a deer this year. we all had a great time and we will definetly have more good times in the future. cheers SS

 

[buford87]

Great hunts great stories keep up the good work...........watch yer top knot.............

 

[wattlebuster]

Great hunts. :thumbsup: Keep at it

 

[hawk]

:thumbsup:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I never ate squirrel. What does it taste like? Is it gamey?

 

[lonehunter]

Attaboy! :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Soak the squirrel meat in cold water with some salt to draw the blood out of the meat. Then drain and soak in cold clean fresh water again, to soak the salt out of the squirrel meat, too. It takes the same length of time to get the salt out as you soaked the meat in salt water to get the blood out. More blood comes out with the salt, BTW. The water will be bright red. When the meat has that pale pink color to it, its ready to store, or cook.

What does it taste like? Taste is a combination of flavor and texture. The texture is not that different than chicken. Because the squirrel eats nuts, rather than corn( most of the time), the meat will taste a bit more nut-bitter, but not enough to be bad to eat. It tastes like SQUIRREL.

"Gamey" is a word most people not used to eating fresh meat use to describe the "bloody" taste of wild game. That comes from the metallic taste of blood that has not been drawn out of the meat. It should only be applied to game that has been allowed to spoil. Some cultures like meat that has been allowed to hang and spoil for several weeks, guts and all. Its an "acquired taste", to say the least.

If you eat plastic wrapped meat, that blood was drained from the animals within minutes of when its killed, and before the body cools enough for the blood to congeal in the tissues. That is why your plastic wrapped meat looks more pale(pink) than fresh meat will.

Domestic livestock is also fed grain, which includes a lot of corn, to both fatten the animals prior to slaughter, and to sweeten the meat. You don't find nearly enough fat in wild game as you do in penned raised animals.

If you want wild game to taste "sweeter" then add something sweet to the cooking. I use apple juice, or tart green applies when cooking venison, and I have used pineapple, apples, oranges, grapes and cranberries when cooking birds.

Squirrel can be pan fried, but use flower and eggs, and corn meal to coat the meat before frying. They will add much flavor to the meat, which is more dark meat than light, if you would compare it to the turkey you are used to eating at T-day.

I had a squirrel stew/soup one day, where the squirrel meat was chopped up into small bits, and was added to a pot of vegetables, and noodles. Think of chicken soup without the chicken, and squirrel meat substituted. It also was very good. Use real cream( sold as whipping cream in most stores) in your soup to sweeten the taste of everything in the pot. You will be going back for seconds. :thumbsup:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I'll give it a try, but this isn't the best area for squirrel hunting. I thought I might try it while camping during an Elk hunt.

When I mentioned gamey I was thinking of venison. I've had that when it was prepared right and never liked it. I can only describe it as gamey. Whatever that is suppose to be.

Now Elk is another story. I love that meat and always taste delicious.

 

[rkmeyer]

I'll take the Elk please! :hatsoff: Tree rats, not so much. :barf:
Dusty :wink:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I'll take the Elk please! :hatsoff: Tree rats, not so much. :barf:
Dusty :wink:

You reminded me why I never tried it.

Tree rats. :rotf:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I never ate squirrel. What does it taste like? Is it gamey?

Tastes like chicken. :wink:

Actually, more like rabbit but tougher and more earth. Not "gamey" . . . whatever that is. :haha: All depends on how they're carried, dressed and cleaned.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Gamey might be what you call "earth".

 

[luieb45]

What problems did you have last week without the shot cups?

 

[August West]

I never ate squirrel. What does it taste like? Is it gamey?

I was raised in the rural applachians and ate a lot of squirrels, "tree rat" or not, it is dang fine eating. Young, tender squirrel breaded and fried then make gravy with the drippings, mashed potatos, cream style corn out of the garden with some hot biscuits is better than a steak dinner to me. Here is a couple of old tough fox squirrel bening tenderized for stew. Chris

 

[paulvallandigham]

Unless the air temperature is under 38 Degrees F., you need to get any game, like deer, on ice ASAP to prevent spoilage. Its the spoilage- bacteria feeding on the meat and excreting YOU-KNOW-WHAT that makes the meat taste like---- Dirt! More deer is ruined for the table during the first hour after a kill than by all the other dumb things people do with game getting it home. Remember that roadways hold more heat, than does the air. And the sun COOKS closed metal containers, like a trunk, or truck cab, or camper, so that the inside temperatures can rise to well over 90 degrees, even on days when the air temperature is below 32 degrees F.

Take an ice chest, WITH ICE to use to begin cooling the animal down. Get that hide off the deer as soon as possible, because it insulates, and conserves( holds back) body heat in the meat, so that the meat can begin to spoil under the hide. Take Cheesecloth- buy it in the auto section of the discount stores- its cheaper than if you buy it in the same store in their fabric section, or cooking section. The Cheesecloth sold for waxing and polishing the finish on a car comes in a huge tube-like length- like a woman's nylon stocking. Only the cheesecloth can be stretched wide enough to slip over the entire chest. I remove the fore and rear legs, and cover them separately with cheesecloth to keep them clean. I then put the parts in large plastic "garbage" bags, with ice in zip lock baggies, to keep them cold. A couple more of the 8-10 lb. bags of ice available from nearly every grocery store, gas station, bar, or Stop 'n' Rob, put on top of the pile of bags of deer in my trunk, or the back of my SUV, then covered with a heavy wool blanket, or a sleeping bag, keeps the entire volume of meat cool to cold for the long drive home.

I do not use saws to cut up Deer. I don't want bone chips taking bacteria into my venison. Instead, I bone out the meat, and cut off all the WHITE tissue- the fat, sinew, and connecting tissues. Those tissues contain strong enzymes that continue to toughen and sour the muscles(meat) even during freezing. Those tissues are not the same as we find on domestic cattle, and pigs. Those enzymes alone, if given enough time, will ruin the flavor of the meat.

There are also glands in the back of the rear legs of deer, and under the skin on the back legs, that need to be carefully removed, to prevent their stench from tainting the meat. If a hunter doesn't know these things, his venison is just not going to taste very good. :shocked2: :thumbsup: :idunno: :hmm:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Another great answer from Paul. :bow:

Maybe i'll give deer another shot. I was going to stick to Elk from now on, but getting a tag is not always easy.

I'm certainly guilty of doing some of the things you say I shouldn't do.

A positive note is I don't have to go as far for deer. I don't even have to camp out. It's less than an hour from my home. :grin:

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Way to go, SS! :thumbsup: Good hunting.

Oh yeah, looks like you broke your shotgun. :hmm: :grin:

GW

 

[boar]

Another good hunt,great. Been thinking about going in the bottom, as it is cooling off now. Keep up the good work. PP Dilly