Edible small game in WA?

[PoseurMarksman]

New member, here.  Infrequent and rarely successful fisherman, haven't hunted since ducks and pronghorns many years ago as a teen.

Looking around, it seems like the amount of edible, mammalian small game in Washington isn't impressive.  I was looking for an excuse to buy a nicer .22LR rifle, and it took me a while to realize that, if I'm reading things correctly, rifles aren't allowed for squirrels here?  And maybe the population of huntable squirrels is pretty small?

I'm not interested in shooting coyotes, so maybe the best "small" game is the puny blacktail deer we have?  Or what am I missing.

[Timberstalker]

Rabbits.
Snowshoes, and cottontails.

As far as "puny" blacktails, do a little research on some of the BT bucks taken.

[jeffro]

Raccoon eats well and are not in short supply

[Bob33]

New member, here.  Infrequent and rarely successful fisherman, haven't hunted since ducks and pronghorns many years ago as a teen.

Looking around, it seems like the amount of edible, mammalian small game in Washington isn't impressive.  I was looking for an excuse to buy a nicer .22LR rifle, and it took me a while to realize that, if I'm reading things correctly, rifles aren't allowed for squirrels here?  And maybe the population of huntable squirrels is pretty small?

I'm not interested in shooting coyotes, so maybe the best "small" game is the puny blacktail deer we have?  Or what am I missing.

I'm not aware of a restriction against using a rimfire rifle for squirrels. The challenge with squirrels is that Washington has several species, and most are protected. My might try contacting a WDFW biologist in the areas you are considering hunting to learn more about the different species.

[nwwanderer]

Collared doves are bigger than regulated ones, eat up!!! 

[boneaddict]

Could I interest you in about 10K starlings...

[pianoman9701]

Eastern grey squirrels are invasive and can be hunted year round. There is no restriction on firearm. If hunted off of your property, a big or small game license is required. The attached PDF describes the different squirrel species in WA and their ranges. Eastern grey squirrels, also known as Chicken of the Trees, are wonderful breaded or battered, and deep fried. They also make a great stew.

[ducks4days]

Eastern grey squirrels are invasive and can be hunted year round. There is no restriction on firearm. If hunted off of your property, a big or small game license is required. The attached PDF describes the different squirrel species in WA and their ranges. Eastern grey squirrels, also known as Chicken of the Trees, are wonderful breaded or battered, and deep fried. They also make a great stew.

I LOVE squirrel hunting, and its a damn shame we dont have more opportunity. The problem is that Eastern's are mostly clustered around populated city areas where they were introduced. Ive had convos with Sherriff's deputies more than once because people got nervous about me shooting squirrels around Issaquah. I have a few that hang around my property, but I cant convince myself to take more than a couple a year for fear of wiping them out of the area for good. I want to continue having opportunity.

The best squirrel habitat I have seen in the state is between Klickitat and Goldendale where oak trees are the dominant plant species. Its also the epicenter of the protected Western Gray squirrel distribution for the same reason.

The SJ islands have fox squirrels that are HUGE and DELICOUS. Access is a problem, but if you can get somebody to let you hunt, you can stack them up quickly.

[Bob33]

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=231633.0

[PoseurMarksman]

Rabbits.
Snowshoes, and cottontails.

With or without a dog?  Not that I've been trying very hard, but the rabbits I've seen are usually in a state park or someone's front yard in Seattle.

As far as "puny" blacktails, do a little research on some of the BT bucks taken.

No doubt. My impression of them has been ruined by spending time in the San Juans, particularly years ago at Friday Harbor Labs.  That place is overrun with little deer.  A few of the does are semi-respectable, but the bucks I've seen are kinda pitiful.

An exception was once when I was kayaking around Shaw Island (depart from FHL, about four hours).  Around 15 years ago, I saw a really nice blacktail buck on the middle of the hillside facing Upright Channel, NE of the county park.  Possibly only a four-point (memory fails me) but he was a good-sized animal.  I'm sure you'd never get permission to hunt there, so he almost certainly died of old age, unless he got run over by a ferry.  (On another lap around Shaw in another year, I saw a deer swimming from Shaw to Lopez in the same area.  Tough animals; that water is COLD, even in summer!)

[PoseurMarksman]

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=231633.0

[PoseurMarksman]

Raccoon eats well and are not in short supply

Yeah, I had a chance to take one with my car at 8:00 last night and passed it up!  Not kidding: on 65th St at 1st Ave NE in Seattle.  If I'd floored it, I could have had 'im.

I don't think I'd get raccoon past my wife.  And you should be real careful of the gut contents when cleaning them.
https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/depts/health/communicable-diseases/zoonotic/facts-resources/diseases-by-animal/raccoons

These worms don't harm the raccoons, but they're bad for many other mammals.  A raccoon left a dump on our deck once a few years ago, and you could actually see a big worm in the turd, and they're full of eggs.  I'm always surprised that more people don't catch this stuff because it's almost literally everywhere raccoons are found.  It's nasty if you do get it: my sister is a psychologist in Portland and she had a patient who had picked up some of those worms and one got into his brain and caused real damage!

Since I learned about this, I no longer follow the five-second rule.  If I drop food on the floor, it goes in the garbage unless I'm planning to cook it good and hard afterward.

[PoseurMarksman]

I'm not aware of a restriction against using a rimfire rifle for squirrels. The challenge with squirrels is that Washington has several species, and most are protected. My might try contacting a WDFW biologist in the areas you are considering hunting to learn more about the different species.

OK, I saw a website that said shotguns and arrows only in Washington, but I didn't verify that with the state's site.  I must have been mis-informed.

OTOH, shooting a rifle up in the air (meaning, at a tree branch) does kinda bother me from a safety standpoint.  I'm not going to claim I never miss!  I don't currently own a shotty, but I was thinking something like this stoked with duck or goose loads might not be a terrible idea, although a quick search seems to show that right now, 12 GA is hard to find, while 20 GA are abundant:
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/savage-301-turkey-single-shot-shotgun
Tell me how wrong I am!

[PoseurMarksman]

The SJ islands have fox squirrels that are HUGE and DELICOUS. Access is a problem, but if you can get somebody to let you hunt, you can stack them up quickly.

I know a couple of people who have semi-rural lots on San Juan Island, but not sure if any would be OK with shooting squirrels, unfortunately.  I'd think of a .22 or .25 gas piston air rifle for that area, to keep the noise down and to minimize risk of the misses hurting someone.

[Bullkllr]

I'm not aware of a restriction against using a rimfire rifle for squirrels. The challenge with squirrels is that Washington has several species, and most are protected. My might try contacting a WDFW biologist in the areas you are considering hunting to learn more about the different species.

OK, I saw a website that said shotguns and arrows only in Washington, but I didn't verify that with the state's site.  I must have been mis-informed.

OTOH, shooting a rifle up in the air (meaning, at a tree branch) does kinda bother me from a safety standpoint.  I'm not going to claim I never miss!  I don't currently own a shotty, but I was thinking something like this stoked with duck or goose loads might not be a terrible idea, although a quick search seems to show that right now, 12 GA is hard to find, while 20 GA are abundant:
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/savage-301-turkey-single-shot-shotgun
Tell me how wrong I am!

Just a guess, but the above reference to shotguns/bows only may have been regarding a firearm restriction area, of which there are many. And they are often in the semirural areas you might find the eastern gray squirrels.

That shotgun would definitely work. 20 gauge would be more than enough. I imagine you would want to use lighter 'game loads' for most squirrel/rabbit hunting. Duck and goose loads would be substantial overkill not to mention being generally much higher priced.