Opening day squirrel season

Hoosier_nitedog

Hoosier_nitedog

Well-known member
Aug. 15th opening day.. got the tactical solutions 10/22 with dead air mask suppressor sighted in and ready for daylight tomorrow. More Grey's in my area than reds but I'm okay with that when it comes to frying and eating lol.. anyone else excited to work on their woodsman skills? Post your success if anyone else gets out
 
Good luck getting after those squirrels h_n ! Our squirrel season doesn’t kick off until September here in NY. I look forward to hearing about your success and seeing some pics.
 
DoubleLungRage said:
A summer squirrel season? Do they not have bot flies?
Click to expand...
Interesting question. I personally have never taken a squirrel with a Bot larvae in it but I don’t generally hunt squirrels before the leaves are off either. I’ll go early every now and again, just never seen that.

Skeeves me out thinking about it actually! I remember the first time one of my beagles had one. Kinda freaked me out.
 
Our season doesn't come in until October. Most people don't start hunting them until after the first frost or first good cold snap because ours do have bots.
 
Not the most productive morning I've had in the woods but I still managed to have a blast and was able to get a few Grey's, limit is 5 a day I shot 4 but could only find 3 due to how thick the undergrowth was.. seen multiple squirrels out this morning cutting on hickory trees but I couldn't get my scope on them long enough to get a clean shot, part of it when you hunt with rimfire instead of a shotgun lol..i enjoy hunting the first 2 weeks because thats when they really cut the hickory nuts as far as having bots I've honestly never had any troubles when hunting before the first frost or cold snap in my area
 

Attachments

  • 20230815_083621.jpg
    20230815_083621.jpg
    201.6 KB · Views: 102
I put them in the crockpot with a bay leaf, salt, pepper until the meat comes off the bone. I then debone the meat and sit it aside. I pour the water from the crock pot into a regular pot and boil some egg noodles then add the meat and eat.
 
Planning on going again in the morning to try adding a few more to have a decent mess for me and grandpa to enjoy.. As far as my preferred way to eat them is having grandma fry them in a skillet and then make some gravy after in the same pan... hard to beat the front shoulders on taste but we eat the back legs as well and grandpa still likes chewing around on pieces of the back off young Grey's which I leave for him while I'm eating up the shoulders lol
 
Hoosier_nitedog said:
Planning on going again in the morning to try adding a few more to have a decent mess for me and grandpa to enjoy.. As far as my preferred way to eat them is having grandma fry them in a skillet and then make some gravy after in the same pan... hard to beat the front shoulders on taste but we eat the back legs as well and grandpa still likes chewing around on pieces of the back off young Grey's which I leave for him while I'm eating up the shoulders lol
Click to expand...

So did you get anymore tree rats?
 
Friday morning we had 5.5 inches of rain from 2am till 6am so didn't get to go due to my woods being flooded lol, but was able to get out yesterday morning and managed to get 4 more killed with the 10/22
 
Nice.

I usually don't mess with my yard deer or squirrels, but this year there are just too many squirrels. I will probably thin them out as soon as it cools down.
 
I have noticed around my area this year population of small game in general is way up compared to previous years.. some land owners say keep up the good work killing coyotes I have noticed alot more rabbits running around but I feel that it's everywhere not just properties that I'm hunting on lol
 
I gave squirrel hunting a shot. The first day I nailed five greys. I tried frying them but they came out chewy.
Went the next day and limited out with my first ever black squirrel. I put them in an instant pot with chicken broth pulled the meat off the bone and made mushroom gravy over rice. I’m not really into boiled meat so I might try frying them again. Any tips to make them less chewy?
IMG_7053.jpeg
IMG_7082.jpeg
 
ny hunter said:
Any tips to make them less chewy?
Click to expand...
Not really, but that black squirrel is cool! My results are similar to yours with pan frying. I liken them to rabbits, which in my mind are best very slow cooked in hasenpfeffer or similar stew. I suspect hasenpfeffer recipes would work great on squirrel.
 
Easy button is to cut them up, toss 'em in the crock pot with a can of mushroom soup, wait 6-8 hours, & supper is served.

I've yet to try it, but I heard to boil them first prior to frying works.

I'll always remember the big red I shot one time, had a hankering for fried squirrel & gravy like mom used to make.

Got him quartered and fried up, taste was like I remembered, but even the gravy was tough.😦

With nuts being the size of a ping pong ball should have been a clue to what I was in for.
 
Those blacks are cool, congrats.

I was bow hunting one year, & there was a black one farting around my tree stand.

A couple days later I went back with the 22 and found him in the same area.

Kid I worked with was just starting to learn taxidermy, so I had him mount it for $25.00.

I think I over paid, unfortunately......
 
Back
Top