Red Squirrel's

[Marvin S]

Finally getting the 25WCF shooting like I want. Went out today and got three nice Squirrels. Rifle is a mod 53 Win with marbles tang sight, load was 85gr RD GC TL with alox 3.5gr Win 231 and a Rem small rifle primer. Fired four shots total at these, the last squirrel was a clean miss on the first shot and a quick lever and a solid hit on the second. I'm highly impressed with the killing power of the 25 with the RD boolit.

[caseyboy]

Nicely done and great looking rifle. Were those squirrels ground shots or out of the tree?

[richhodg66]

Cool! I love to squirrel hunt with a .22 but don't seem to get out much for it.

What part of Kanas? I didn't see as many as usual during deer hunting this year around Milford Lake as I usually do.

[Marvin S]

They where all in trees, the first was was about 40 feet up and made for a long fall.
Rich these where just east of Topeka along the KS river, the gray ones have not made it there yet but starting to see lots of them around Clinton lake.

[45-70bpcr]

Great work! Interesting, We call those fox squirrels around here (PA) and those are 3 nice ones.
Red squirrels are the little annoying ones that other places call pine squirrels.

[Marvin S]

All we have here are the large red or fox squirrels and some of the scrawny gray ones which just started moving in.

[Mk42gunner]

We have always called fox squirrels red around here. They tend to be more of an upland timber/ edge dweller than the gray squirrels, which are usually found in river or creek bottoms.

Red suirrels are a lot easier to hunt with a rifle than gray squirrels are, the grays seem to be more nervous. Just about the time you start your trigger squeeze on a gray, he moves. Compared to a gray, if you are aiming at a red you have time to aim, drink a cup of coffee and then squeeze the trigger, or so it seems.

Nice job Marvin, I am hoping to get my .25-20 sorted out this winter; so I can use it for squirrells next year.

Robert

[excess650]

If you think grey squirrels are nervous, then you've obviously never seen a red squirrel. The fox squirrels are almost tame in comparison. Red squirrels are small enough that they wouldn't be worth hunting to eat.

[x101airborne]

Down here, we just call em squirrels cause that is all we have. Used to hunt em quite often making about 15 to 20 meals a year out of em. With the hogs on the increase, squirrel populations have decreased to the point that unless they are tearing up a feeder or something, we dont shoot em anymore. I may sneak a couple a year without my Dad knowing, but I will cook em and invite him for dinner and he doesnt say anything.

I bet that little 25-20 is an awesome squirrel getter. Great looking rifle and good looking vittles. Congrats!

[Russel Nash]

I'm pretty much a city slicker...having just started pheasant, chukar, and quail hunting this year since I got a Weimaraner back in February....

so how do you dress those out/clean them and then cook them?

[x101airborne]

Watch the youtube video on skinning a squirrel. I used to do it the hard way, then wised up. Then quater them up, soak them in milk over nite in the frige. Next day, pull em out, roll in seasoned cornmeal or flower and fry in oil till you see the blood coming out of the meat in the center. Remove squirrel and drain most of the oil out of the pan. Add in one chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of butter, three garlic cloves minced or sliced, and a good handfull of the seasoned cornmeal you used to roll the squirrel in. Cook till onion just starts to turn clear. DO NOT BURN THE FLOUR OR CORNMEAL!! you are making gravy. Add water and cook down stirring often.

In a 9x9 lay squirrel flat in a single layer. Preheat oven to 350. After gravy cooks, pour over squirrel and cover with aluminum foil. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes. When done, the bones will pull out on thier own and the meat will still be tender and juicy. Use a nice whole-wheat bun or maybe a rye bun (I also like a pumpernickle) to mop up gravy. Bring a big ole napkin, cause it is finger smackin good!!

[Russel Nash]

Cool! Thanks!

[Marvin S]

Yes the chubby ole fellow on you tube has the right way to dress them. We used to just call them Squirrels also until the dam gray ones moved in.

[richhodg66]

Marvin, I've homesteaded on Foprt Riley for years but have been stationedon Fort Leavenwoprth almost two years now while the wife and kids stay around Riley where I plan to retire. So I'm back and forth and drive right through where you're talking about a couple of times a week.

I have never seen a gray squirrel around Riley during the past 17 years or so, here on Leavenworth, all I see is gray squirrels like the ones we had back east where I grew up. It's funny that there's that big a difference in species distribution that close together.

[excess650]

I hunt in central Pennsylvania and have for more than 40 years. Way back before I started hunting, we had red squirrels, grey squirrels, and chipmunks. As time went on the red squirrel population seemed to decrease and we started to see fox squirrels in the woods where there had only been grey squirrels (mostly) previously. Now its a rarity to see a red squirrel.

Generally you'll see red squirrels in areas with lots of pines as Bart was alluding to. In the open timber the greys were common, but now you'll see fox squirrels there as well. There was a time when fox squirrels were only seen around corn fields close to creeks(here in Pa). The fox squirrels are a bit larger and far more curious than the greys, but not nearly as large as the fox squirrels that I had seen in Missouri. The grey squirrels at my property in the mountains of southern Virginia are small compared to the greys we have in Pa.

In northern Pa and southern NY I've seen the black phase of the grey squirrel. A couple of weeks back I saw a white one, and I'm told there are a fair number of them in certain areas in south central Pa.

[DIRT Farmer]

My grand pa made me case skin them, his theroy was when trapping season came around you were ready to skin a mink. Squirrels are what I learned to handle furs on.

Young ones are cut in 6 pieces, legs,loin and back, flowered ,fried slow in a covered skillet served with fried potatos and milk gravey on biscuts with butter and jelly on biscuts for desert. Old one are simmered down and bone removed then saved untill I get enough for "what you got Stew"