went out squirrel huntin' (graphic pic)

[matthew_h]

i went out squirrel hunting today with my favorite squirrel gun , my nef .410 single . i got 3 , the most i had ever go before was 1 or 2 . it was a beautiful day and i also saw 2 turkeys and a few does . i was hunting a friend of mines private land 40 acres in the middle of no were . two of the critters that were not running i hit with the edge of the pattern in just the head so as not to ruin any meat . the other one saw me stalking it and it spun to the other side of the tree threw a dead log to the other side and he spun around and i shot #3 was in the bag . i cant wait to go agin , hopefully i can get out Wednesday .

i forgot to bring the camera out into the woods , so the only pic i have of the critters is right before i cleaned them up . 1 fox 1 red and 1 black .

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j283/matte20/hunting001.jpg

[bowhuntr81]

nice! I'm waiting for squirrel hunting to open up in my city. I've been watching hundreds of squirrels try to take over my toen! LOL. Nice job on the bushy tails! I've only got one down this year.

[matthew_h]

thank you . l love squirrel hunting it was the first thing i ever hunted . i hope to get out Wednesday and maybe sat or sun . my brother in law may go with me Wednesday we go at least one Wednesday a moth after squirrel opens . i will of course be using my .410 and my dad has said he could use his .410 so most likely we will both be using nef .410 singles .

[Fordman7795]

I love squirrel hunting with a .410 Some old guys i knew wanted some squirrel soup so i went to my dads property with the .410 and got a limit in about 1/2 hour. Good enough to kill em but doesnt tear the meat apart either. Nice mixed bag.

[thundrst]

the only one I tried decades ago was over a campfire and it tasted like it smelled before it was cooked (pretty doggon bad). Is there a good recipee that you know of? The big squirrels I usually just use chicken shake n bake with a bit of butter on each piece to keep from drying out.

[matthew_h]

before i cook any squirrel i leave them in salt water over night and change the water in the morning and ad a small amount more salt . i cook them different each time it seems as i have not been at this for very long only been hunting a few years now . i like them fried with some flour and bread crumbs bbq , etc . i usealy cook all the squirrels together and they all seem to taste the same .

however i had one red squirrel last year that tasted nasty , i think it was because i only soaked him in salt water for a few hours instead of over night . have not had a problem since i started doing it overnight .

[thundrst]

I do the same thing with salt water (in the fridge overnight) for all my small game except birds. I did NOT do that with the red squirrel so long ago & never tried to eat one since. Next time I get a chance, I'll try it again with the salt water soak. Thanks!

[matthew_h]

no problem . i cooked them up for lunch today , fried them up and made some gravy and toast it was real good .the little red and the black one were tender but the big fox was a bit tough , but not to bad .

[ghostrider]

Nice pics, and congrats on the good hunt.

Squirrel hunting seems to be good this year. I've had great success with my best year ever, and have heard others say it's been a good year. My personal best was last year with nine, however this year has been totally different. I lost count around 20, but figure I've got at least 29 more probably 31 so far).

I've also met more people this year who are getting into, or getting back into squirrel hunting. I personally think they are more fun than deer, and definitely easier to drag out:D. They are also quite tasty.

Question I do have:
Do you actually eat the Reds? I've been leaving the small ones in the woods because the last one I cleaned just didn't have much meat on them.

[matthew_h]

your right there is not much meat on the reds , but if i kill it and its edible i eat it . i have been trying to thin out the red squirrels and it has worked over the last 4 years hunting my friends land i mostly only saw red squirrels . been taking a lot of them and the fox squirrels have moved back in , and it force too . i went out Thursday with my savage .22 and got 3 more 1 red and 2 fox .

i agree squirrel hunting is much more enjoyable than deer hunting , but there is so more more meat on a deer . now that its getting close to firearm deer season i will not be going squirrel hunting till after late muzzle loader season . now were did i put my smoke pole .....

[stickem]

MMMmmmm squirrel soup..

[wJAKE19]

we soak squirrells in coke or pepsi over night, that makes them a lot less tuff...