Dang, I Miss Squill Hunting

BlaineCGarverakaTubbyTuba · Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:07 pm

Just that.

I think I would trade deer season for a good long squill season like we had in Ohio or Indiana...end of Aug to January or so, IIRC.....There was a honey hole on Ft Harrison that a fella could take a limit from just about every day and seemingly not reduce the numbers.
Dang

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:43 pm

I love squirrel hunting too. I have been twice so far this month. I don't always limit out, but it is a great time. This was my first hunt this year. Got three.

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:45 pm

Whats a squill?

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:47 pm

You mean like these?

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:47 pm

Dave wrote:I love squirrel hunting too. I have been twice so far this month. I don't always limit out, but it is a great time. This was my first hunt this year. Got three.

Dave,

Is that the average size for squirrel where your at?

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:50 pm

Ground squirrels are always in season here in Ca. love to bust then littel sage rats

.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:11 pm

WCF3030 wrote:[Dave,

Is that the average size for squirrel where your at?

They are about average. They are grey squirrels. People call them "cat squirrels". They aren't nearly as big as fox/red ones but eat a lot better.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:43 pm

WCF3030 wrote:Whats a squill?

You know..."Limb Chicken"

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:54 pm

C. Cash wrote:
WCF3030 wrote:Whats a squill?
You know..."Limb Chicken"

Tree rat you mean.

Yep, we eat rats!

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:59 pm

Here in the UK Grey Squirrels are classed as vermin, so NO close season or bag limits. Red Squirrels are scarce and so protected by law.
I have been an avid Squirrel hunter for 48 years and still enjoy hunting squirrels more than most other game. I use a 3 shot bolt action .410 or a .22LR Now I have a 9422 I will be using CB longs because it's a little too crowded here for shooting tree'd Squirrels with HV or even Subs.
Eating Squirrel meat is catching on over here at last so if you have any good recipes let us have em!!

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:08 pm

Dave, trade that doublebarrel cartridge for a black powder shotgun like mine, and you can add a new level of fun to squirrel hunting.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:11 pm

Our greys are largely Black here. But we also have Red, Flying and Fox.

The Fox are almost tameable.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:13 pm

game keeper wrote:Eating Squirrel meat is catching on over here at last so if you have any good recipes let us have em!!

Batter and deep fry or pan fry them like chicken. Or simmer down in a gravy. If they're young and tender, I fry them. If they're old, it's gravy time. There is no gravy better for biscuit sopping than squirrel gravy.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:23 pm

game keeper wrote: Eating Squirrel meat is catching on over here at last so if you have any good recipes let us have em!!

The ones I shot last fall mostly got cooked up and then shredded off the bone. Then you use the meat like shredded chicken and such. You could make a "squirrel pot pie" or "squirrel and noodles" or just about any such adaptation of other recipes.

My wife and sister-in-law are colombian. They took the meat from some squirrels I shot last fall and fixed up some coxhinhas - a brazilian snack food - meat mixture wrapped in a dough ball, dipped in farinha and deep fried. So we had american squirrels made into brazilian food by colombian women - and there were no leftovers.

Meat's meat, don't be afraid to experiment a bit. And it's also fun to slip something unexpected in on a "how could you eat that cute lil' squirrel" type person. Yeah, I've got a mean streak.

A couple days after they eat it you ask "how did you like the canapÃ©s (or whatever) and when they say "They were delicious!" you offhandedly mention "Yeah, I thought so too. Those (fill in the blank) I shot last week made for some good eating, didn't they?"

Post by **Hobie** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:45 pm

Or like this one...

BlaineCGarverakaTubbyTuba · Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:45 pm

AmBraCol wrote:
game keeper wrote: Eating Squirrel meat is catching on over here at last so if you have any good recipes let us have em!!

The ones I shot last fall mostly got cooked up and then shredded off the bone. Then you use the meat like shredded chicken and such. You could make a "squirrel pot pie" or "squirrel and noodles" or just about any such adaptation of other recipes.

My wife and sister-in-law are colombian. They took the meat from some squirrels I shot last fall and fixed up some coxhinhas - a brazilian snack food - meat mixture wrapped in a dough ball, dipped in farinha and deep fried. So we had american squirrels made into brazilian food by colombian women - and there were no leftovers.

Meat's meat, don't be afraid to experiment a bit. And it's also fun to slip something unexpected in on a "how could you eat that cute lil' squirrel" type person. Yeah, I've got a mean streak. A couple days after they eat it you ask "how did you like the canapÃ©s (or whatever) and when they say "They were delicious!" you offhandedly mention "Yeah, I thought so too. Those (fill in the blank) I shot last week made for some good eating, didn't they?"

I can personally vouch that possum, coon, and snapper turtle are good eats. I can't be for sure, but in Panama I prolly had cayman, iguana, various snakes from the old fella that sold "kabobs" across from the main gate....mmmmmm. I don't want to think about some of the Korean chow I had, tho most of it was good.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:49 pm

BlaineCGarverakaTubbyTuba wrote: I can personally vouch that possum, coon, and snaper turtle are good eats.

Possum, turtle, anaconda, hawk, tiÃº lizzard - and more that escape my mind at the moment, all make for decent eating. I've never had a chance at coon, perhaps one day...

Never, EVER attempt to eat macaw. They are horrid and tough. Perhaps if I'd skinned 'em they'd have been almost edible, but the toughness of their flesh is unequalled in my experience. They make a 15 year old longhorn bull seem like tenderest veal in comparison.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:51 pm

Hobie wrote:Or like this one...

Hobie, is that a Browning? Tell me 'bout the pistola...

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:52 pm

I mostly like to turn the legs into sloppy joes and ditch the rest (except the tail)... but there are more than a few folks who eat the brains too.

Turn ya right off of squirrel meat that will...

paulyseggs · Post by **paulyseggs** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:59 pm

I love squirrel huntin, I'm willin to bet I spend more time in the woods lookin for squirrel than anything else. I like all the "normal" ways of cookin( gravy, dumplin, stews) but one method stands above the rest for my favorite. I got this from an older man named Dean. He called it's tunasquirrel.

You simmer the squirrel till the meat falls off the bone. Pull meat from bones, mince celery and onion, mince meat, mix with mayo and a lil hotsauce. eat on a nice roll with lettuce tomato and some bacon. I've had people eat it and think it was chicken with flavor. Has a sweet nutty taste to it.

DerekR · Post by **DerekR** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:11 pm

I love to squirrel hunt myself. I've never tried 'em with a handgun, but this year I think I'll give it a try. My favorite way is with my T/C Cherokee in .32 caliber. Our season starts the end of August and goes through February. Can't beat that!

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:20 pm

My state's small game season's due to start in mid-October, running to the middle of February - rimfire rifles, shotguns, sub-.40cal muzzleloaders & archery allowed.

The squirrel's are ready.

Mojo · Post by **Mojo** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:23 pm

To me, there are few things more enjoyable than squirrel hunting. We have a long season here in GA (Aug. - Jan.) but it mostly overlaps deer season and I know of no other hunter that would tolerate a squirrel hunter upsetting a deer hunt. I honestly wish we had public lands dedicated to just small game hunting.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:38 pm

I haven't hunted squills in many years, except for ground squill killin', that is. Our yard is full of Red Fox and Western Grays. I call 'em bushy tailed tree rats.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:23 pm

Junior wrote:Dave, trade that doublebarrel cartridge for a black powder shotgun like mine, and you can add a new level of fun to squirrel hunting.

I never thought of that. That would be cool!

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:32 pm

Pete44ru wrote:My state's small game season's due to start in mid-October, running to the middle of February - rimfire rifles, shotguns, sub-.40cal muzzleloaders & archery allowed.

I'm sorry ... did you say archery for sqirrels? We have the tiny little high-speed grays here in Florida with an occassional Fox Squirrel. I'm not a bow hunter ... but I can't even imagine how unproductive that might be. I probably just don't understand the accuracy that can be achieved with the modern bow. I can forsee a lot of hunting down errant arrows that sailed into the yonder.

Post by **AmBraCol** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:46 pm

Rimfire McNutjob wrote: I'm sorry ... did you say archery for sqirrels? We have the tiny little high-speed grays here in Florida with an occassional Fox Squirrel. I'm not a bow hunter ... but I can't even imagine how unproductive that might be. I probably just don't understand the accuracy that can be achieved with the modern bow. I can forsee a lot of hunting down errant arrows that sailed into the yonder.

I'm no archer, but folks who are hunt 'em with a bow. You use blunts - NOT broadheads - for small game. And just like with a rifle or pistol or shotgun - you've got to know what's behind your quarry. I think there's something called a "flu-flu" or some such that is designed to not fly very far and be easier to find than regular arrows.

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:48 am

AmBraCol wrote:
Rimfire McNutjob wrote: I'm sorry ... did you say archery for sqirrels? We have the tiny little high-speed grays here in Florida with an occassional Fox Squirrel. I'm not a bow hunter ... but I can't even imagine how unproductive that might be. I probably just don't understand the accuracy that can be achieved with the modern bow. I can forsee a lot of hunting down errant arrows that sailed into the yonder.

I'm no archer, but folks who are hunt 'em with a bow. You use blunts - NOT broadheads - for small game. And just like with a rifle or pistol or shotgun - you've got to know what's behind your quarry. I think there's something called a "flu-flu" or some such that is designed to not fly very far and be easier to find than regular arrows.

I killed one tree rat and one rabbit with a bow. What I used was a judo tip.
Which really do pay for themselves. When you miss, and I did miss alot. The "legs" catch on the ground or limbs and flip the arrow.
http://tinyurl.com/2jkc36

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:17 am

[did you say archery for sqirrels? ... but I can't even imagine how unproductive that might be. I probably just don't understand the accuracy that can be achieved with the modern bow. I can forsee a lot of hunting down errant arrows that sailed into the yonder.]

About as "unproductive" as any other type of archery hunting. Hunting is hunting, not just walking around taking potshots, IMO.

The use of proper tackle, as AmBraCol & WCF3030 posted above, gives an excellent chance of arrow recovery, in the advent of a miss.

I don't bow hunt anymore, since the surgical removal of some neck & shoulder muscle precludes my drawing a bow any more, but my adult son does - and I've watched him put several arrows atop one another, into a target.

That's better than many folks can do with a pistol.

He, and his peeped Matthews bow, are so accurate, that at 30 yds (all my backyard allows) he has to shoot one arrow into each of the five separate bullseyes on his target block to keep from destroying the expensive carbon fiber arrows.

I can tell you, I was impressed - The first time I saw how accurate a bow coud be. Much better accuracy than I was able to achieve with my old Ben Pearson takedown recurve.

Post by **Hobie** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:56 am

I have hunted squirrels with airgun (.177, .22 and .20) shotgun (cartridge every gauge, cap lock and flintlock), muzzleloading rifle (.36, .45 and .54), cartridge rifle (.22 LR, .22 WRF, .30-30 loaded down), handgun (.22 LR, .22 WMRF, .38 Spec), and bow (blunts and Judo point). I don't know of a bad way to hunt them.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:38 am

Saute'ed Squirrel: Wash, wipe and quarter 2 squirrels, rub with salt and pepper, slowly fry 1 onion and a crushed clove of garlic in some butter until golden. Add squirrel and 1 handfull of chopped ham,sprinkle with flour and fry til brown. Add 1 1/2 cups of red wine, thyme and a bay leaf. 1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind, cayenne pepper and salt. Simmer until tender.

Hobie, I'm with you , I dont know of a bad way to hunt them either!

paulyseggs · Post by **paulyseggs** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:30 pm

Hobie wrote:I have hunted squirrels with airgun (.177, .22 and .20) shotgun (cartridge every gauge, cap lock and flintlock), muzzleloading rifle (.36, .45 and .54), cartridge rifle (.22 LR, .22 WRF, .30-30 loaded down), handgun (.22 LR, .22 WMRF, .38 Spec), and bow (blunts and Judo point). I don't know of a bad way to hunt them.

I'm tryin to get a straight answer from my state dep on wether or not I can use a blowgun.

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:33 pm

Until I scrolled down a few posts, I was about to say, "WHAT IN THE HELL IS SQUILL???? I never heard ANYONE pronounce the word SQUIRRELL,..... "SQUILL". jd45

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:00 pm

Someone on the forum said their squirrels were getting kinda big, so they had to send some soldiers after them...

gundownunder · Post by **gundownunder** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 12:07 am

You eat rats in America?
I thought you people were civilized

My wife is a strictly beef and chicken kinda woman but she just left on a six week vacation to the UK and before she left she filled my freezer with the following;
* kangaroo
* camel
* venison
* rabbit
* crocodile
* goat

So tell me,
whats a furry tail rat taste like?

paulyseggs · Post by **paulyseggs** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:52 am

gundownunder wrote:You eat rats in America?
I thought you people were civilized

My wife is a strictly beef and chicken kinda woman but she just left on a six week vacation to the UK and before she left she filled my freezer with the following;
* kangaroo
* camel
* venison
* rabbit
* crocodile
* goat

So tell me,
whats a furry tail rat taste like?

Outta that list I would say rabbit is the closest. But with better flavor.

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:52 pm

Missouri's "squill" season is open 8 1/2 months a year.

5/26/07 - 2/15/08

Post by **AmBraCol** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:11 pm

Andrew wrote:Missouri's "squill" season is open 8 1/2 months a year. 5/26/07 - 2/15/08

Some of last year's Missouri squirrels.

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 9:26 pm

AmBraCol wrote:
Andrew wrote:Missouri's "squill" season is open 8 1/2 months a year. 5/26/07 - 2/15/08
Some of last year's Missouri squirrels.

I thought that ground looked familiar.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 1:17 pm

Spent a little quality time with my Marlin 39A this weekend. I missed three and one got caught in the tree when he fell so I bagged four. It was a sweet hole. If I had used the shotgun I could have cleaned up! It's all about being there though.
Took my Winchester 94 along and carried it while my buddy and I made some blinds, scouted, and moved a stand. It is a joy to carry with plenty of power. Saw numerous deer including a sho nuff buck. Saw a bear with a little cub and a lot of hog sign. This year is shaping up real good.
Caught three big catfish jugging in the evening so we had fish for dinner last night. Good weekend.