Them don’t look to be no short squirrels... just sayin...
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Them don’t look to be no short squirrels... just sayin...
Plata o plomo?
Plomo, por favor!
Don't eat those ring tail ones. Totally different taste!
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I know people who eat coon and possum, and even mtn. lion when they can get them. Actually they taste pretty good when you know how to prepare them. I've eaten quite a few when I was young. james
A friend of mine used to smoke raccoon when I was younger. It was pretty good.
What kinda rolling papers ...
Couldn't resist, wierd mood tonight
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
Big newsprint. He claimed he could get high on it, but I don't believe him.
Squirrellin is peaceful. Rolling the previously mentioned makes it even more peaceful. Might make ya see strange looking squirrels ……!
Fix bayonets!!
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That was the only picture I have of the rifle it seems, though it's done some time in the field with me. I had lusted for years to have a Model 69A, but was going to be picky and wait for a nice one that was late enough to be grooved for scopes. The money and opportunity never seemed to come together for one, then this 72A, same rifle with a tube magazine showed up so it came home and got that Redfield scope. Good rifle and I like it a lot, though it has some stock cracks I'll eventually fix and the finish isn't pristine. I have a Remington 511 that will outshoot this one pretty consistently, but I like the Winchester better. Odlly, I recently did have money and opportunity and now have a 69A which is nicer, got to get it scoped and work with it.
That coon was big, and old and smart. Had been eating our outside cat's food and making him nervous in his little living area on our front porch. Bi, friendly tom cat who I was fond of. Tried live traps, this thing defeated them but I managed to figure out the rough times it was coming at night, waited all night in the passenger seat of the truck under the car port and still almost didn't get it, it made several passes and looked right at the truck like it sensed something was up, but eventually committed and I nailed it. It died hard. Took several rounds before it gave up the ghost.
No way could I ever eat a coon, at least not unless it was a survival situation. Did eat a possum once, but coons are just so nasty I don't think I could do it.
Cleaning them is sure easier!Originally Posted by EMC45
Getting them out of the woods sure is easier. Had a few the past couple of years that just about caused me to give up deer hunting.
Old fellow that lived beside us when I was young was the one who introduced me to coon and possum. The trick is to trap them with baited traps and then put them up and feed them layer mash and table scraps for about 3 months to clean them out. He had a 3 layer old chicken coop that he used for this. I don't think I ever saw that coop without at least one or two in it. He baked then in an oven with bacon strips pinned to them and sometimes garlic bits embedded in the flesh. He also made a gravy with them. He died while I was in the Navy and I never got to thank him for all the things he taught me about baseball, trapping and life in general. He was in his early 80,s when he died in 1961.
They carry nicely. As for easy to clean?.....I have had some where it was like ripping apart an old work boot. Some come right apart others get me huffing and puffing. Rabbit are the easiest. You can skin and gut them without a knife.
You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.
Been my experience that squirrels are much easier to clean if you do it soon after killing one. Wait until they're cooler and it takes a lot more to get the skin off.
I never spend more than a minute or two on any squirrel when cleaning it. My father taught me a method that works really well whether the carcass is warm or long cold. Doesn't leave any hair on the body either. 5 squirrels in less than 10 minutes consistently.
I have taught this method to many people over the years and have never seen anyone using it that I had not taught.
No special tools other than a sharp knife.
So, what's the method?
Make a cut sideways just under the tail, through the bones but not through the skin where it attaches to the back(you have to cut through a joint in the tail bones here). Make a short incision from the ends of this cut across the top of the thigh on both rear legs, cutting just through the skin(try not to cut the meat). The length of this cut isn't terribly important but too short a cut will make thing difficult later.
Grab the squirrel by the hind legs, step on the tail with your foot and pull up. This will peel the skin off the squirrels body like a tee shirt. Pull until the skin is nearly off the front legs and is at the base of the head. There will still be skin on the hind legs at this point. The skin will tear so there is a point, like an arrow tip on the belly just in front of the hind legs. Grab this tip with your knife and a finger and peel it to the back legs, Put two fingers between the skin you just peeled and the belly and pull the skin off the back legs while keeping your foot on the tail.
Use your knife to cut off the front feet, hind feet, and head.
Split the pelvis and make a slit through the skin up to and through the ribs to the neck. Peel out the guts and lungs.
Rinse with water and cut up however you wish.
It takes longer to write it down and read it than it does to actually do it once you have done this a few times.
My fastest time was cleaning 10 squirrels from a family hunt in just under 12 minutes this way. All the squirrels were cold by the time I started them.
I am not nearly that fast now.
If you want, you can use a set of side cutters to cut the feet off, but I just use my knife as a rule.
Funny, Dad taught me and the whole neighborhood of young boys this almost exact same method of squirrel cleaning. Except he loved the brains and he would skin the head out to get them. We also saved most of the tails until it got to be a little too much storage wise. We took the tailbone out and turned the tail inside out to fill it with salt to preserve it. Used a really small wood dowel to turn the tail right side back out and let it dry/cure. It took us longer than you though. We usually cut the head off at the shoulder. Cut the front legs off. Cut the rear legs off. and left the chest and back together. Took between 3 and 5 minutes per squirrel. But then the good part, frying squirrels and making gravy with the grease. Add biscuits and you had a meal fit for a king.
Dads are good for things like that.
Did you do anything special to tenderize the old ones?
Mom would always brown then in a skillet, then pressure cook them for about 10-15 minutes. Even the oldest ones were tender then.
Now I am getting hungry for some. I haven't taken any for a couple of years.
taz, we did the same. Granny had an old pressure cooker and a wood stove. The older ones went into the pressure cooker until the meat would literally fall off the bone. Dang, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I haven't eat a squirrel in years. She would also use that old pressure cooker to can some squirrels, as well as rabbits, ducks and especially sausage meat. We also kept hogs and killed about 3 or 4 a year, usually when the first cold snap hit the region. We had a smokehouse out back of the house and it was always full of meat goodies. I fed the hogs every morning before I went to school and in the evening just before dark. It was also my job to keep up with the meat in the smokehouse and rub salt onto any pieces that needed it and turn them to keep then fresh. We gardened in the summer and raised most of what we eat in the way of veggies (corn, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, beets, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and once in a while water melons or cantaloupe). By todays standards, we worked hard but although I did not appreciate it at the time, I know now that it was good for us. Taught us self reliance and instilled a work ethic in us. Something that seems all too lacking today. Good days indeed, james
Finally quit raining here, went out yesterday with the 1022 and got 4 in the wind. Today was a bit nicer, but they were skittish. Only saw 3 and this was the only one I got a shot at. He thought he was hidden, playin like a limb. Shot was 55 yards or so, I wasn’t gonna spook this one trying to get closer! It’s zeroed at 40 with Sub Sonics and I held just above the hair, dropped 1/2 inch entering just below the ear, out the other ear.That T-bolt has been with me since 72, and taken lots of squirrels, and does 3/8 at 50 yards. I like the little Redfield clone, it fits and is nice and clear. Think I will be hunting the rest of the week with it, reminds me of growing up. Same beautiful woods, 45 years ago!
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
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