Best Squirrel State

[wvbuckbuster]

Squak season in WV opens in October and ends last day of January. There is thousands of acres of national forest as well as state wildlife management areas. It is a fairly popular sport still yet. The population was pretty good last year and the nut crop looks to be plentiful this year. Looking forward to squirrel season as that is one of my favorite times of year. I do eat them and have any of you ever tried canning them? Vary tasty! :wink:

 

[paulvallandigham]

There are some good recipes here on the forum for squirrel, and several websites with tons of recipies for squirrel. I had a squirrel soup that was fantastic. I would not hesitate to make a good, thick " chicken soup" using squirrel instead of the chicken. If someone is interested in a dynamite recipe for soup, send me a PM.

I also have a couple of wild game cookbooks, including one sold by the North American Hunt Club, with recipes for squirrel. I believe in eating what I kill, or not killing it. What other folks choose to do is their business. I spent considerable time 40 years ago, when I first was able to hunt after law school, learning how to cook wild game, and picking the brains of every hunter I knew or met about recipes. I still am willing to try anything new when offered. The most exotic game I have eaten to date is Lion.

 

[Trench]

Oh yeah! I deffinitely only shoot for meat. Squirrel could possibly be my favorite game meat...right behind rabbit. I cooked up a couple of Squirrel Pot Pies this year and they were great!

 

[sidelock]

When I was growin up in VA my family lived mostly on wild meat--- mostly SQ and I supplied most of them. Still even today I would rather have a big plate of fried SQ than the best steak in KC. I seldom get SQ now that I live in MT --no grays here--- think I may go back to Va????? (you can't go home again--do you think ??--- Possible ????)

 

[Travis Gregory]

I agree with buck 1. Arkansas has wonderfull squirell hunting. Season opens around 1st weekend in Sep and goes throught the end of Feb. We have tons of state and national forest land. The White Rock Mgmt area covers over 200,000 acres, the Ozark Highlands Trail runs through the middle of it and would make for some great trekking. Squirrels are usually plentiful all season and the bag limit is 8per day with a possession limit of 16. We also have a spring season which runs the month of May. Usually lots of young grays that will just sit and watch you and beg to be put in the skillet.

 

[PJC]

Most people nowadays don't realize what a good meal squirrell makes! Just curious, You fellars do beleive in eaten whatcha kill right?

I just assumed that everyone ate what they shoot. I posted a great and EASY recipe for Squirrel soup some time back.

PJC

 

[J.M.]

I also hunt them (and eat them) here in Massachusetts. Like Bigbore said, I never see anyone hunting them anymore. I get lots of strange looks when I am moseying around with my fowler looking for squirrels. Someday I would like to move to an area with great small game hunting, I really enjoy it much more than big game.

 

[29caliber]

Southern Illinois has great squirrel hunting with the season set to open here on August 1st and running through mid-February. Hickory trees are loaded this year, so it should be lots of fun slipping from one tree to the next, trying to find those pesky gray squirrels somewhere close to straight up from where the cuttings are falling. I'll use my .29 flintlock until my .25 arrives from Sitting Fox. I always take head shots, even with the smaller calibers, since I enjoy eating them. It's hard to beat a mess of fried young gray squirrels! Some 50 years ago when I used a single-shot .22, I would take my grandparents squirrels and I had to not shoot them in the head since they'd make a big pot of dumplings and squirrel heads, cracking them with a butter knife handle to scoup out the brains! Somehow those big 'ol eyes lookin' back at me quinched my appetite and I passed on this epicurean delight! Tom

 

[paulvallandigham]

Poeple eat brains, because they are "sweet". With a chronic shortage of sources for sugar in the colonies, except when a honey tree could be found, settlers were desperate for anything that tastes " sweet" as a change to their routine diet.

Wild Onion patches were cultivated and protected so there was a source of this sweet root through out the year. Yams were one of the first crops planted, again, because they were sweet. They were often preferred to the potato varieties then available.

 

[buck1]

You would be as shocked as I was if you had met as many well to do bigtime hunters that hunt all types of game and dont eat any of it! In fact where I was raised there were so many wild hogs in this country that every time we went to town we would have to let them get out of the road at least once or twice on the way! But those same well to do bigtimers hired guys with dogs to take them in on the hogs and slaughter them and leave them lay in the woods to rot!!! :cursing: Now you really have to know what your doing to even find one!! Every year I find deer carcuses laying in the woods withe the heads cut off, and sometimes the hams and loins!! :barf: :barf: Makes me sick and fighting mad!!! Buck

 

[slowpokebr549]

Left by some donkey's behind with an inline no doubt.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

simmered squirrel w/dumplings is some good eating. fired okra or squash goes good with that dish.

 

[Big Lee]

Here in SW Michigan we have good numbers of fox squirrels, Grey and black ar incresing in numbers. Have 2 dens of flying squirrels in my woods. First I've seen in years.

 

[buck1]

when we were boys me and my brother would take our 22s and go[hunting] all day on saturday sometimes when the farm work was caught up and we would kill us a squirrell, skin it, wash it in the creek, build up a fire and cook it on a stick! Dad taught us to always keep a little salt and pepper in our gunny sack which really made a tasty meal with some wild onions!!! Specially for a couple a hungry boys!! Them were the days!! Trying to recreate them with my kids now and loving it!!!! Buck :wink:

 

[slowpokebr549]

My boys, 8 and 9, were shocked when on a camping trip this spring,I killed and skinned some bullfrogs. They changed their tune after smelling them cook on a stick over the fire.Only thing that comes close to campfire squirrel is frog legs on a stick.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Limb Rats are fit for a king! Yer right about that, lota people will shoot critters all day long and leave them to rot, it's makes us ndn's and other folks really mad that people will waste things, especially animals that will keep you fat and happy when times are hard. You can do many things with squirrel meat, as well as the hides, brains,fat, and bones. Too many people claim to have the real spirit but are only kidding themselves.

 

[buck1]

Amen Brother!!

 

[mart]

I left the north country of New York in 1981 but remember many enjoyable days in pursuit of gray squirrels. I don't know if NY still has a good squirrel population but I really enjoyed them when I was there. Windwalker, you say our Alaskan squirrels are good huh. I will have to try a few this year.

Mart

 

[JackAubrey]

When I was in Texas there wasn't an abundance of suitable trees, at least around Dallas.I am in Florida now and there are quite a few hickory and oak forests,it seems.Squirrels are doing very well so much so that I will be trying my hand at it soon.So for me this is the best ,so far.Didn't do any hunting back in the UK.Best regards,J.A.

 

[Ethan]

I have a little farm-place in ne nebraska nigh the missouri river. My favorite place is a WMA with 700 acres to move about. Hunt deer and fox squirrels fall and winter and have met only one other hunter in a hundred days of hunting. Lots of game. I guess people aren't into roaming.