Hunting squirrels (MU 2-8)

[Thetylerstanley37]

I’ve recently done my CORE course and obtained my hunting license and am excited to get into hunting. I want to start off hunting small game and have read in the hunting synopsis that there are no closed seasons for schedule C species which include both the gray squirrel and fox squirrel. Any tips on how to hunt these critters and what sort of habitat I should be looking for?

[Redthies]

You can usually find gray squirrels at my bird feeder. I hunt them by letting my Weimaraner and Weiner dog out the door!

[E-J Kooij]

i hunt squirells often, havent killed many but that is because i ussually just take my dog for a walk and tote a pellet gun along, shes treed many but not much luck with my old pellets. what is the best strategy is walking in very quitly, like your still-hunting for whitetails, aften the squirells will just bump right in front of you and do not know what just happened. a little trick is to call them in, no do not buy a call for a whole lotta money, take your pellet container (metal or plastic) and shake the can in a rithm, ive had many squirells come in to like a yard and there so focused on replying that you can easily kill them. also i strongly suggest getting good at shooting offhand because many shots will be fast and standing, my dad has an extremely accurate pellet gun from germany that weighs around 15 pounds which is hard to control, i would suggest a light, accurate and durable .22 for the sake of follow ups (some pellets are not very ideal for expansion making the recovery very hard. hope it helps

[RackStar]

People eat rodents?

[Drillbit]

People eat rodents?

I'm sure some people do, but hunting to eat is only one reason to hunt, there are many other reasons as well.

[adriaticum]

I don't know of anyone here hunting squirrels.
Gray squirrels are usually in urban areas where you can't hunt and most of them in the woods are red squirrels which you can't hunt.
The trick is to find locations where you can shoot gray squirrels.

Squirrels are good eating. So are beavers.

[wideopenthrottle]

from the internet so it must be true:
Many Americans consider squirrel the best meat in the woods – yet very few Brits have even tried it. Sweet and nutty, squirrel is a highly sustainable and delicious meat that we would like to see on many more plates.

https://www.wildmeat.co.uk/blogs/news/squirrel-why-everyone-should-try-it

[Arctic Lake]

Apparently hunting and harvesting and ultimately eating squirrels is a big thing down south . Duck Dynasty clan love em !
Wonder what they taste like . Pine , Fir , Spruce ?
Arctic Lake

[adriaticum]

Apparently hunting and harvesting and ultimately eating squirrels is a big thing down south . Duck Dynasty clan love em !
Wonder what they taste like . Pine trees ?
Arctic Lake


They taste like rabbit.
Brunswick stew is a great way to make them.
I made them like rabbit with mustard vinegrette in alum. foil.

[Arctic Lake]

Very interesting ! Thanks !
Arctic Lake

They taste like rabbit.
Brunswick stew is a great way to make them.
I made them like rabbit with mustard vinegrette in alum. foil.

[2chodi]

It's interesting that the topic of eating squirrels has come up in this thread as it has come up previously with a discussion of whether or not there could be a red squirrel hunting season in BC. As mentioned above, it is currently illegal to harvest red squirrels in BC other than by trappers.

If there are no conservation issues, would you support a hunting season for red squirrels in BC if there was a requirement to utilize the meat?

Take the survey for interest sakes to see what kind of support there is, or isn't: https://forms.gle/M6hPT1eEQBjcMe5c8 (https://forms.gle/9SuEQw1ikLypZCDf6)

[adriaticum]

I'd support the hunt, good for kids, but I wouldn't personally hunt them.
They are survival food for me like grouse.
Leave them be until one day you may need them.

[wideopenthrottle]

those red squirrels might be twice the meat of a mouse...pretty slim pickins

[joshbazz]

We have a fair amount of big grey squirrels in our Okanagan crown land. While hunting snowshoe hare my brother took down a massive grey squirrel, almost the size of the hare. One big difference was skinning them: the hares you could literally pull the hide off, whereas the squirrel was a quite a pain to take the hide off.

My sister in-law made a hare/squirrel meat pie that was out of this world!

My wife bought me a 10/22 for Christmas, so I was hoping to do some hare hunting, and possibly squirrel, before bear season. I know a few spots around the Kelowna area.

Are hare good to hunt this time of year?
Is there an easier way to skin a squirrel?
Do squirrel hunters get a bad rap (crazy squirrel guy stigma)? -just kidding...

As a new hunter (still haven't bagged a big game animal) I've heard it's good practice to hunt small game - but I only shoot if I'm going to eat it.

Cheers!
Josh

[Bigdoggdon]

In Louisiana they hunt and eat Nutria(swamp rats)
Gotta be something to this rodent hunting thing. I hunt snowshoe hare's and eat em and they're pretty good. Just can't see how you'd get enough meat off a red squirrel to make it worth the effort.

[E-J Kooij]

theres enough meat on em, especially grey or fox squirells.

[adriaticum]

i think most of us associate the word rodent with rats and other human garbage eating things. but these other rodents are fully wild and dont depend on humans

[Redthies]

theres enough meat on em, especially grey or fox squirells.

Right. The previous post specifically mentioned RED squirrels. They are much smaller, and illegal to hunt, so it doesn’t matter how much meat they offer.

[Rieber]

I tried squirrel many years ago after ready about squirrel hunting and their wonderful stew in Outdoor Life as a kid.

Then, several years ago, I saw the video on squirrel melt - grilled open sandwich dish. When I remembered back to my previous experiment, I decided to leave the squirrels to their own business.

I have no good reason to ever shoot another squirrel - although I've had many bad thoughts after being busted by squirrels when deer hunting.

[Arctic Lake]

I need to revisit my wildlife books as I think the squirrels we see in the LML the black and grey ones are European . The Douglas ground squirrel are native .
Arctic Lake

[wideopenthrottle]

we also have flying squirrels

[hunterdon]

As pointed out in a previous post, sometimes there are other valid reasons other than meat hunting for which shooting an animal is warranted. Self protection first comes to mind (example, protection against a bear attack). But, other reasons such as pest or rodent control, is another reason, as well as injured, sick or diseased animals (such as rabies) and other valid reasons.

Years ago, I had a severe infestation of gray squirrels attacking my orchard. I live in the okanagan and there seems to be a lot of gray squirrels here. Now I tolerated the little creatures for several years as I did not want to bother the little guys. They are cute you know. However, around and in my orchard, I noticed an increasing population of squirrels over time along with a corresponding increase in damage to my apple crop. It got bad. So bad, that the damage to my apple crop reached an estimated 50 percent loss. Just completely unacceptable.

What the little buggers would do, is they would go up the tree and nibble on an apple creating little bite marks on one apple, then proceed down the branch and nibble on another apple and again and again, until most, if not all apples on the branch had little bite marks on them. This they did to many branches on many trees., This of course would render the apples useless to sell.
I didn`t even want to consume these apples myself. What with rodents chewing on them. No thanks!

It was then that I decided I had to take action. The next year I shot dozens of them and it took about about 4 years to clean them up. So, with that in mind, if you are looking to eat them, I am told that they are quite good to eat. A lot of work to shin them in comparison to the amount of meat you get though. I`ll stay with deer.
On the other hand if you are looking to practice a little and sharpen your hunting skills on smaller critters first before moving up to larger game, here is my 2 cents worth.

First, don`t start off hunting with the idea that it is ok to shoot any animal just for fun. It should not be this way and don`t let anyone tell you different. Have a valid reason for killing any animal. You can certainly eat them and this will also be good practice for you also. Skinning, cooking and proper care of meat. If you don`t want to eat them, then perhaps check out some orchardists who may also be experiencing damage from squirrels. They may be willing to let you help them. And who knows, perhaps they also have a deer damage problem and may be open to allowing you to hunt deer at some point later.
Good luck and welcome to our hunting community!

Note: I also have flying squirrels on my property. They only come out after sunset though. Funny thing is, After shooting off most of the gray squirrels, I noticed an increase in their numbers. Yet, no damage to my apples. They are welcomed here. Seems like they don't like the grays either.

[Moose63]

It's interesting see that no one called out this first time poster requesting a joke as per the usual standard when joining the Forum.

I think it's because he was asking about squirrels.....if he asking about elk or moose, whoa! that's another matter...lol

[wideopenthrottle]

As you probably know, some birds will also do the peck-peck on green fruit....I am almost certain it is to make them turn -again, as you have probably noticed, fruit that is damaged by pests or disease will ripen much earlier providing ripe food to them before the regular ripening would occur.....
As pointed out in a previous post, sometimes there are other valid reasons other than meat hunting for which shooting an animal is warranted. Self protection first comes to mind (example, protection against a bear attack). But, other reasons such as pest or rodent control, is another reason, as well as injured, sick or diseased animals (such as rabies) and other valid reasons.

Years ago, I had a severe infestation of gray squirrels attacking my orchard. I live in the okanagan and there seems to be a lot of gray squirrels here. Now I tolerated the little creatures for several years as I did not want to bother the little guys. They are cute you know. However, around and in my orchard, I noticed an increasing population of squirrels over time along with a corresponding increase in damage to my apple crop. It got bad. So bad, that the damage to my apple crop reached an estimated 50 percent loss. Just completely unacceptable.

What the little buggers would do, is they would go up the tree and nibble on an apple creating little bite marks on one apple, then proceed down the branch and nibble on another apple and again and again, until most, if not all apples on the branch had little bite marks on them. This they did to many branches on many trees., This of course would render the apples useless to sell.
I didn`t even want to consume these apples myself. What with rodents chewing on them. No thanks!

It was then that I decided I had to take action. The next year I shot dozens of them and it took about about 4 years to clean them up. So, with that in mind, if you are looking to eat them, I am told that they are quite good to eat. A lot of work to shin them in comparison to the amount of meat you get though. I`ll stay with deer.
On the other hand if you are looking to practice a little and sharpen your hunting skills on smaller critters first before moving up to larger game, here is my 2 cents worth.

First, don`t start off hunting with the idea that it is ok to shoot any animal just for fun. It should not be this way and don`t let anyone tell you different. Have a valid reason for killing any animal. You can certainly eat them and this will also be good practice for you also. Skinning, cooking and proper care of meat. If you don`t want to eat them, then perhaps check out some orchardists who may also be experiencing damage from squirrels. They may be willing to let you help them. And who knows, perhaps they also have a deer damage problem and may be open to allowing you to hunt deer at some point later.
Good luck and welcome to our hunting community!

Note: I also have flying squirrels on my property. They only come out after sunset though. Funny thing is, After shooting off most of the gray squirrels, I noticed an increase in their numbers. Yet, no damage to my apples. They are welcomed here. Seems like they don't like the grays either.

[hunterdon]

When it comes to apples specifically, any damage from critters chewing on them is detrimental. Most varieties of apples, with few exceptions are very prone to oxidation damage, (browning) once the protective layer of skin is removed. In addition, they not only do NOT ripen earlier, they actually often and I mean very often begin to rot. Mold/fungus will set in, and or little flies will be attracted to the damage area, introducing bacteria and if that's not enough, the yellow jacket wasps will be attracted to the damaged area and finish off what's left of the apple. They love rotting fruit. In short, bad news all around.

But you may right that some fruit will ripen quicker. Such as cherries. The problem there is, if that happens to any large extent, this will make it very difficult for orchardists to pick the fruit, as some cherries will be ripe while other berries will be overripe. Not good either.

[adriaticum]

are you brewing any liquor from them apples? for medicinal purposes of course

[MB_Boy]

Who would have known there was a World Championship Squirrel Cookoff?

https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/small-game/world-championship-squirrel-cookoff-recipes

Rinella has a few episodes where he hunts squirrels and cooks them up afterwards. Lots of recipes on his site.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/chicken-fried-squirrel-or-rabbit-recipe

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/parker-halls-squirrel-rollup-recipe

[hunterdon]

are you brewing any liquor from them apples? for medicinal purposes of course

Well, I'm retired now and have not been commercially growing any fruit for several years now. Actually, many of the original trees have died either from disease, animal damage, old age or simply neglect on my part. I did remove/allow the largest part of the orchard to be used to support the deer. That part the original orchard is theirs now. They do feed on the fruit and twigs mostly during the fall season. My way of giving back to nature I guess. Not just taking.

But I still do have a smaller orchard, mostly of apples, but also some other fruit such as cherries, plums, pears etc. We grow numerous other small fruit, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, both eating and wine grape varieties and a host of other food items.

But getting to your question, which is a great question. Yes, I do set aside some apples for fermented apple cider. For health reasons of course! LOL. We have 4 different varieties of apples and the royal gala works best for us. You want a good sweet apple and one that will clear up nice. Granny smiths are not so good, Not as sweet and too much natural pectin making the final product cloudy. I do not use any additives or clarifiers of any kind in our brews. Good and healthy the way our forefathers did it before modern artificial methods.

We also make both red and amber wine from our own grapes. Really good and yes healthy when drank in moderation. All of our produce is grown truly organically. That is, we actually add large quantities of organic matter to our soils, and not just omit chemical and other harmful products, as so many others do in order to qualify for organic certification.

Sorry for the long winded answer, but I think your question is a great one and needed more than a simple yes or no, especially since you referenced the health aspect.

Cheers

[walks with deer]

You greenhorns wanted tp get your feet yet..go ground squirrel hunting a farner will thank you..apparently there tasty..

I just shoot them if they are annoying me but generaly dont. Note only legal on private land in season.

[adriaticum]

Well, I'm retired now and have not been commercially growing any fruit for several years now. Actually, many of the original trees have died either from disease, animal damage, old age or simply neglect on my part. I did remove/allow the largest part of the orchard to be used to support the deer. That part the original orchard is theirs now. They do feed on the fruit and twigs mostly during the fall season. My way of giving back to nature I guess. Not just taking.

But I still do have a smaller orchard, mostly of apples, but also some other fruit such as cherries, plums, pears etc. We grow numerous other small fruit, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, both eating and wine grape varieties and a host of other food items.

But getting to your question, which is a great question. Yes, I do set aside some apples for fermented apple cider. For health reasons of course! LOL. We have 4 different varieties of apples and the royal gala works best for us. You want a good sweet apple and one that will clear up nice. Granny smiths are not so good, Not as sweet and too much natural pectin making the final product cloudy. I do not use any additives or clarifiers of any kind in our brews. Good and healthy the way our forefathers did it before modern artificial methods.

We also make both red and amber wine from our own grapes. Really good and yes healthy when drank in moderation. All of our produce is grown truly organically. That is, we actually add large quantities of organic matter to our soils, and not just omit chemical and other harmful products, as so many others do in order to qualify for organic certification.

Sorry for the long winded answer, but I think your question is a great one and needed more than a simple yes or no, especially since you referenced the health aspect.

Cheers

Good to know.
I favour a good medicinal brandy. Apple, pear or plum.
My family had a good orchard and grew William yellow pears and idared apples specifically for the liquor making.
My uncle supported his family with this orchard during SHTF times.
It's hard to find a good brew here. I have found a good plum brandy in liquor stores but can't find any apple or pear.
Years ago when i travelled back to europe, I'd always bring 2 or 3 bottles. But those folks are now all gone.
Good pear is a really great brandy.

[hunterdon]

Much agree adriaticum. I also take advantage of the old styles of wine when in Europe. My wife has direct family in Ukraine and their homemade wine is superior to anything here I have ever tasted. Not even close actually. I believe you are correct in stating pear wine or pear cider is quite good. That's next on my list.

[Treed]

My dad made apricot brandy with our neighbour when I was a kid. I think to was medicinal because I found them both very relaxed in our kiddie pool one sunny afternoon in Kamloops. There were no squirrels hurt or killed during this event. If there had been squirrels present, the two dads were in a vulnerable condition based on the relationship that squirrels have with low hanging fruit.

[2chodi]

Sorry folks - forgot to post the poll results. Take them for what they are i.e. not a properly framed question in polling standards.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/1ge1krvjt35nbth/squirrelpoll.jpg

[MOOSE MILK]

When I lived in Ontario we hunted grey and black squirrels regularly. I think they are more plentiful there, a lot more oak trees and beech nut trees.
To call them just rub two quarters together, rub the ridges together, surprising how much they sound like squirrel chatter.
MM