A good day in the woods

[DIRT Farmer]

This year has not been a good one, woods time considered, but today I decided to stop at the woods at the home place after finishing my oil well run. I prefur to hunt squrriels at day light but this year, I had not been out yet. I noticed the pecans were starting to drop and in the woods there is an area with about twenty pecan trees. I had just walked into the woods and a red squrriel was about seventy five yards ahead of me. I started a stalk when my cell phone rang ending the stalk. ( I have to keep it on while my wife is out and if my Dad has problems) I handled the buisness and moved up where the squrriel had been, two does walked up to less than thirty yards browsing. As I was watching the deer a red squrriel moved down a tree to mayby twenty yards, then two others started barking. He sat up facing me looking around. I set the trigger on the .32 flint slowly brought the rifle up and touched it off. I hit low for where I was holding, the ball went in the center of the chest exited through the spine. I reloaded and spent a few miniutes watching for another, then decided one was enough on a beautiful day with the leaves changing and the warm sun feeling good. I thanked God for his gift and went home to show Dad and he told me he wanted fried squrriel, fried taters and biscuts and gravey for dinner tomorrow. Now I don't have to think up some thing to cook .

[home in oz]

Have not been squirrel hunting for years.

Most I have shot have been taken with a muzzleloader.

[DIRT Farmer]

Home in Oz I hope to get in your neighborhood this Fall or Winter, I have two grand daughters who are starting to hunt without me. The youngest has spent several days sitting in a tree stand with her dad looking for deer and wanting to shoot the squrriels under the stand.

[northmn]

Squirrel hunting with a flintlock is a special experience. I have to hide the squirrel meat in other dishes so that the rest of the family will eat them. Such as a chicken pot pie with biscuits. Would be fun to try for the bigger fox squirrels as we call them further south (red squirrels up here are very small little pests often called pine squirrel). The grays are pretty tasty though. May have to try for some again today.

Northmn

[Hanshi]

Squirrel hunting with a flintlock is a special experience. I have to hide the squirrel meat in other dishes so that the rest of the family will eat them. Such as a chicken pot pie with biscuits. Would be fun to try for the bigger fox squirrels as we call them further south (red squirrels up here are very small little pests often called pine squirrel). The grays are pretty tasty though. May have to try for some again today.

Northmn

I use to hunt both fox and grays in Ga. but have no experience with reds. Now that I live in Va. they are fair game though I've yet to actually see one. I gather reds are not tasty?

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

Hanshi,

I was told the same thing about the reds when I was stationed in Maine. But being from Missouri, I had to try one anyway. They are edible, not as good as a young fox squirrel, but not bad. The only problem that I had with them was it takes a bunch of them to make a decent sized meal. They're pretty small.

Regards,
Everett

[home in oz]

I have some land in Eastern Kansas.

Strangely enough, I have fox and grey squirrels on the property.

The fox are found in mixed woodlands, and the grey are found in pre dominately oak woods.

Yes, we used to hide the squireel in meat pies, too.

[DIRT Farmer]

It's funny I grew up knowing that what we called reds because they were red, just like greys are grey. Then I went to the big school of higher learning and they said I had fox squrriels and grey squrriels. It put me off a little because any body can see they are red.

As you might have noticed I still call fox squrriels reds. The big platter of fried squrriel fried taters and milk gravey with a side of dropbiscuts went well. (my daughter had a ham sandwich) Dad is getting harder to find what he will eat. He is 92 and the miles are showing. He has always loved fried squrriel and squirrel stew (vegetable soup with the meat stewed off the bone) I have to work on number two now.

[flyingstick]

Sounds like a good day Dirt! We have fox squirrels in florida but theyr'e in the endangered list. Eglin Air Force base has plenty but there again we can't hunt them. I took my flint up to the talledega national forest at the beginning of the season to hunt them and took one. They are beautiful creatures. I would rather fox squirrel hunt than deer hunt. Though I do love both!!!

[Jayhem]

How do you cook squirrel to get it tender? I used to stew grays but they were always tough. Perhaps crock pot cooking on low heat for 6 hours?

[northmn]

How do you cook squirrel to get it tender? I used to stew grays but they were always tough. Perhaps crock pot cooking on low heat for 6 hours?

Fry them and then simmer them in a sauce like a gravy or cream of mushroom soup. Also I cut them in smaller pieces for casseroles to hide them. Age of the squirrel makes a difference. I shot an old male this year that really was chewy. Younger ones fry up better. Shot a couple of pheasants with spurs like nails that were about 40" from beak to the end of the tail. Compare them to boiled owl. Dirt Farmer, I assumed your reds were likely fox squirrels. all that stuff is regional. People call ruffed grouse up here partridge, some call quail that and others will call pheasnats partridge. While the pine squirrel can be eaten they are just too small to mess with.

Northmn

[DIRT Farmer]

Northmn, yes our reds are fox squrriels old one get farily large, and if fried they will stay with you, you can chew all day.
When Dad was able to camp with me I would take dutch ovens and while I was hunting or if we were at a shooting match, Dad would set a dutch oven by the fire at breackfast and start simmering the squrriel, when the meat would fall off the bone he would add vegatables to the boned meat and left over sasauge, or bacon crumbled and if any thing was left from lunch he added it to.
If you are fimularwith burgu the result is simular. with biscuts and a dutch oven cake or just more biscuts it makes a great supper.

[nicholst55]

Tree rats; that's what we call 'em. They're a challenge to hunt, but I don't/won't eat them.

[DIRT Farmer]

They are an old tradition for the rural people here. After spending the summer eating cured meat with a rare chicken thrown in the mix the young squrrils in August were and still are a welcome change, fresh meat. I rember canned beef and cured pork in the summer. Some of it devoloped a strong taste and canned beef even though it was good and fell apart in the mashed taters a change was in order. Rembering how good the first squrriels of the year tasted usualy gets me in the woods amungst the ticks and chiggers to try to find a clear shot through the skeeters up in a shag bark hickory.
When I was a kid it was considered a part of my chores to get a few squrriels for the old people at church. Not only did I get permission to hunt their farm, I generaly got a slice of pie and some sweet tea when I delivered them. I also knew the ones I had to make neck shots on because thy would fry the heads for the cheek meat and brains.
I hope when I get to where I am not able to get to the woods there is a smart kid who figures out how to get permission to hunt.

[qajaq59]

I can remember when we were kids we'd shoot a squirrel, skin it for the hide, and then build a fire to cook it on a stick. It probably was tough as old shoe leather. But I guess we didn't care. We were little savages anyway. LOL Ahhhh, the grand old days of youth.
And yesterday I was out with the ML. Didn't see a deer or a hog. But it's still great just to get out there.

[ghh3rd]

Was out in our ML season (Chassahowitzka FL) in the stand for a deer or hog. My buddy got a hog, but all I got for two days was harassed by the squirrels! They visited me at dusk and at dawn, chattering at me at great length.

If they only knew what I was tempted to do with a 310gr boolit! :)

[qajaq59]

Too bad you didn't connect with the ML. I didn't get one either over near Lake Istokpoga. That Chassahowitzka river is a nice place to kayak. We've gone over there several times.

[Newtire]

How do you cook squirrel to get it tender? I used to stew grays but they were always tough. Perhaps crock pot cooking on low heat for 6 hours?

We used to parboil them for 20 minutes to soften up the meat a little and then fry them. No need to hide them in anything for me!

We used to call fox squirrels "red" too. The little red ones are what we called "pine squirrels" and if you like chewing on pine pitch, I guess they'd be pretty good!

[qajaq59]

How do you cook squirrel to get it tender? You could try a pressure cooker and then put it in the stew. Those seem to make everything tender.

[Hanshi]

As a youth I use to hunt squirrels like there was no tomorrow. They were usually parboiled first which made eating them simpler. The younger ones, however, weren't tough at all.

[smoked turkey]

DIRT farmer:
I think the world would be a better place and folks would be more contented with their lot in life if they spent a little time in the woods squirrel hunting. Sounds like you are taking good care of dad. Good on you. Thanks for the post it brings back a lot of good memories of many wonderful squirrel hunts. I have taken to it again myself. This time with my TC .56 smooth bore as a 28 Gauge. Thirty yards and the little critter is stew meat!

[DIRT Farmer]

smoked turkey, I spent a lot of time hauling folks to and from nursing homes, not ment to be negetavt to them as I know a lot of good people who work in them, but I don't plan on being there and I hope my kids learn by example.
As to people being happy, I don't undestand the current crazewith big deer. I do have a few mounted, two in the Long Hunter book, and have not been deer hunting this year. The way of the hunt and my understanding what I have taken is no different weather it be a deer or squrriel or for that matter, a musrat. they are all the same. I intend to eat what I take and the big deer require a lot of grinding and spice this time of the year not to say I would shoot another big rack if God chases one in front of me.
As to the smooth bore, I got to admidt the 28 trade gun go out a lot more, some days I can see my sights but 7/8 oz of shot make placement easier on the days the sights fuzz up. The small bores are fun.

[smoked turkey]

DIRT Farmer, I agree with what you said. I did shoot a nice 8 point buck yesterday morning. True he won't be nearly as good eating as a nice fat doe. But being the kind of people we are, we will eat it and not waste it. I still have a doe tag and plan to take my muzzleloader and get that doe. I currently subscribe to a deer hunting mag, and plan to let it expire cause you are right about everyone wanting to take only the larger bucks. I know it is big business, but I think we have missed the point of deer hunting somewhat when we gage our success by the size of the rack. Keep up the good work.

[DIRT Farmer]

The big name outdoor magazines in the fall are full of how to kill a monster deer. Several orgiznations have formed to promote managing whole states for big deer. One researcher did a study on growing big deer his work was on a 1500 acre lease that four people hunted. I feel this attutude is killing the sport. If it takes 500 acres to raise one big deer, not many of us will get to hunt. When the numbers of hunters decline, the antis will get laws pushed through to limit hunting more then outlaw it. My thoughts, raise a few more deer plus rabbits, quail and squriells and take a kid out to hunt the excess. more vested interest voters.

[rhbrink]

You said a lot there Dirt Farmer, I have several friends that will only shoot monster rack deer and don't seem to care if they have to do it by illegal methods. Matter of fact seems like they prefer to cheat. And I use that term loosely "friends". I think that people like that will eventually bring a end to hunting someday, then gun ownership would soon follow. Try to explain that to them! Hopeless!
But back to squirrel hunting never did understand what a fox squirrel was there are reds and there are grays, fox's come in red and gray colors too don't eat the fox's though be a little too gamey I think?