Opening day of Squirrel Season

[Machias]

Got to go out for a couple of hours yesterday for the opening of Virginia's squirrel season.  Great time in the hardwoods.

[shedkid]

 :tup:Nice!Anyone know if there's a season in wa???

[turkeyfeather]

Do you eat them?

[ldjbuff]

x2 do you eat them

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Good shoot in! Those hardwoods are beautiful!

[Machias]

Absolutely eat them.  I kill more fox squirrels than grey squirrels, but they both eat really nice, just the fox squirrels are around 3 pounds each.  This one was right at a pound, real young one.

[turkeyfeather]

Interesting. Do you have to worry about diseases? What do they taste like? How do you cook them?

[Machias]

Nope no diseases.  They are a very sweet tasting meat.  I like to boil mine for about 15 min, then roll them in a batter and fry them.  Another favorite way is to put them in with a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot with carrots and new potatoes, really really good!!

[BiggLuke]

:tup:Nice!Anyone know if there's a season in wa???

No season in Wa.
The reason is because we such a huge diversity of different species, some of which are endangered, it would be very hard to manage. So it's easier for the rule makers to just say no to all.
Except for feral grey squirrels in down town.

[CP]

The Eastern Gray squirrel is an invasive species in WA.  Open season is all year long, no limit, have at the nasty varmints until they are all gone.

[DOUBLELUNG]

The Eastern Gray squirrel is an invasive species in WA.  Open season is all year long, no limit, have at the nasty varmints until they are all gone.

Ditto for fox squirrels. 

I would love to hunt squirrels in the oaks again, great fun and yes they are very good to eat - better than cottontails IMHO, but quite a bit tougher to clean.

[quadrafire]

Fred You're killing me 

Man I miss that so much. Cut my teeth in the North Missouri squirrel woods.
A game of patience. I always hunting with the .22
Good eats right there!!!!!!!!!

[Machias]

I don't really like hunting them in the early season as much as later on when the leaves drop, but the canopy is so thick right now I was using a 20 ga.  I love going sniper mode, with a scoped .22.  One of my favorite things to do is slip in and sit down and then give it 5 minutes and start using a turkey call.  The squirrels are like oh, it's just turkeys and start moving much sooner than if you just sit there.  Lots of fun, same with me, quadrafire, I grew in southern MO and loved hunting squirrels as a kid.

[Machias]

better than cottontails IMHO, but quite a bit tougher to clean.

Still pretty easy to clean, while they are still warm, slit across the back, stick your fingers in on both sides and pull apart.  Cut off the feet, head, tail and then gut.  Takes about 2 minutes max to clean one.  Now let them cool down and they get quite a bit tougher to pull the fur off.

[quadrafire]

Good memories..........Thanks!

[cowboycraig]

Nope no diseases.  They are a very sweet tasting meat.  I like to boil mine for about 15 min, then roll them in a batter and fry them.  Another favorite way is to put them in with a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot with carrots and new potatoes, really really good!!

Oh man that sounds good!

[Blacklab]

Nice. Is that a H&R or a New England

[Machias]

H&R 20 ga.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Damn I miss those days .....It must open a little earlier than in PA ...Always started around the middle of October ...Being there in the fall is something people need to see if they have never witnessed all the fall colors ..... Fox squirrels ?? Those were always my favorite ,,,Big as house cats ...

[Wacenturion]

Nope no diseases.  They are a very sweet tasting meat.  I like to boil mine for about 15 min, then roll them in a batter and fry them.  Another favorite way is to put them in with a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot with carrots and new potatoes, really really good!!

I too used to boil the quarters for awhile and then put them on a rack with barbeque sauce and put in the oven.  Made them tender up pretty good.  Unless one has squirrel hunted back in midwest or east, it's hard to describe just how much fun it is.  I always thought of it as the big game hunt of the small game world.

[Machias]

Exactly!   

[turkeyfeather]

Nope no diseases.  They are a very sweet tasting meat.  I like to boil mine for about 15 min, then roll them in a batter and fry them.  Another favorite way is to put them in with a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot with carrots and new potatoes, really really good!!

I too used to boil the quarters for awhile and then put them on a rack with barbeque sauce and put in the oven.  Made them tender up pretty good.  Unless one has squirrel hunted back in midwest or east, it's hard to describe just how much fun it is.  I always thought of it as the big game hunt of the small game world.

Sounds like alot of fun and some tasty dinner.

[KLRKeith]

Great pictures Fred.  Every time I make a trip to see my brothers down in Louisiana we try to work a morning squirrel hunt in.  The most fun small game hunting I've done.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Nope no diseases.  They are a very sweet tasting meat.  I like to boil mine for about 15 min, then roll them in a batter and fry them.  Another favorite way is to put them in with a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot with carrots and new potatoes, really really good!!

I too used to boil the quarters for awhile and then put them on a rack with barbeque sauce and put in the oven.  Made them tender up pretty good.  Unless one has squirrel hunted back in midwest or east, it's hard to describe just how much fun it is.  I always thought of it as the big game hunt of the small game world.

that's how we always done it too ... I like to bread them up like chicken and fry them up ....damn my  mmmmouth is watering ...

[Machias]

Great pictures Fred.  Every time I make a trip to see my brothers down in Louisiana we try to work a morning squirrel hunt in.  The most fun small game hunting I've done.