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[P]
Hunting Squirrel: The Other White Meat

By t1ber in Culture
Wed Mar 22, 2006 at 12:00:00 PM EST
Tags: Food (all tags)
Food

Black squirrels, brown squirrels, red squirrels, white squirrels! They are all rodents, they are found in most parts of the world and they all have one thing in common: They are all delicious.

It is the end of hunting season in my corner of the world and I have hung up my rifle but I would love to get more people interested in the sport. When the collapse of civilization comes, the only people left are going to be those willing to fend for themselves and live off the land. Hunting is a good skill to have and fun to cultivate and it is a good way to explore some different cuisine. Hunting is also a good way to spend time with my father, the original gun-geek in the family.


Background
My father was a Sergeant in the Army and served through Vietnam. His father was in the Marines and spent time in North Africa and Korea and retired before Vietnam. In a fit of teenage rebellion, I joined the Air Force and washed out shortly thereafter because they discovered I could not distinguish between green and yellow (sometimes even red). The Air Force generally wants people to be able to find which wire is which color so that no-one turns on the air-conditioning and finds themselves over the jungle hanging from their parachute. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed as I had grown up helping my father work on his Triumph and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life working on engines. Fortunately for me, my father had seen fit to sell some of his guns which he had collected and buy a computer, which contributed to my current career in technology. The other thing he had given me was the skills to shoot from having a rifle so early in my life.

My brother and I (my sister came too late) grew up shooting 22 caliber bolt action rifles. 22 cal is nice to shoot, reasonably accurate for the novice shooter and it probably is the cheapest ammo you can buy. For comparison, a 22 cal bullet is probably about the size of a small pea, and the shell is no longer than three or four centimeters. There is almost no recoil or noise shooting a 22 cal bullet from most rifles which makes it a very mild round to practice good shooting techniques with.

Learning to Shoot
At 10, learning to control breathing, heart-rate and finding the subtle nuances of my own body was far from my mind. There was a coffee-can sitting on the stack of railroad ties which served as the backstop and it made a nice hollow thump when the round struck it. This was back when you could still find steel coffee cans; the new aluminum ones simply do not have the same resonance. Sometimes it was a balloon, or a light bulb which had burnt out. Soda cans worked, but I had found them hard to hit in the same way my father did which sent them soaring. I later would figure out that my father was cheating and that his 30-06 bullet -- which imparted many times the force that my 22 bullet did -- caused a proportional reaction. This would be important later. The basics were easy enough; I put the pole on the front sight into the notch on the rear sight so the ball on the pole was resting in the half-circle of the rear sight and made sure it covered up the target. A quick yank on the trigger and hopefully the can made a metallic thump.

The sight-picture was right but I was missing the nuances. At 12 I had figured out that my eyes grew dim if I held my breath too long, but I was tall enough that I could no longer ignore the wobble from my own lungs. Yanking the trigger had become squeezing it as my hands grew stronger and could exert five pounds of force with my single finger. I had noticed that there was a notch in the seer of the rifle which allowed me to squeeze things just enough that the kinetic energy sat on edge, but no further so that it unleashed itself. In my mind, it was a cracking ball of energy being fired from my shoulder, down the lightning rod my rifle had become, and out the front of the barrel instantly arcing through the air to hit the target. I would draw in my breath, focus on the front sight, bring the rear sight in to cup it and center it on the fuzz of the black paper target and squeeze. A sharp crack followed, and if I had maintained a good, steadily increasing pressure with my finger, I would be rewarded with a hole through the 10 ring of the target. Another year would come and I became interested in cars and driving and slowly abandoned the rifle after winning a few awards in Scouts. Things would come full circle when I discovered the magic of the turbocharger. Instead of 15 PSI, I wanted to play with 15,000 PSI, and the rifle re-entered my life. I relearned these skills quickly. Focus. Breathe. Squeeze. I was ready for more interesting targets and some variety and reward for shooting more than holes in paper. I became interested in hunting...

Squirrels
The squirrel is a member of the rodent family (genus sciuridae). Check your local laws for how to apply for a hunting license and if you can apply for a hunting license in your area for squirrels. They are amusing little creatures and come in a variety of sizes and colors. Most of them have large, bushy tails, and the most common variety is the grey squirrel with its grey-coat and tail about the same size as its body. The next most common one is a black squirrel, which has a tail slightly larger than its body and is a tad smaller than the grey squirrel. Beyond that is a red squirrel, which is smaller still but keeps the large tail, and the rarest squirrel of all is a white squirrel. The white squirrels are an albino mutation and may occur in any squirrel colony, including setting up their own colony if there's a particularly high instance of white squirrels in a given area. Squirrels are not picky about mating, so it is not uncommon to see grey squirrels with a red stripe, or black squirrels with a grey stripe. Do not hunt animals with black with white stripes, these are not squirrels.

Squirrels are opportunity scavengers, which is to say that they eat just about anything and are just as content finding food as they are returning to known-plots. A squirrel diet consists mainly of local farming (corn, greens, oats, etc) and fruit or nut bearing trees (acorns, walnuts, even pinecones). These animals have happily learned to co-exist with humans and will also eat fried foods and prefer crunchy items or fatty items such as peanut butter, puffed cheese chips, or potato chips. Squirrels do not enjoy spicy items and sprinkling ground hot pepper or similar products such as Tabasco around trouble spots will make for a squirrel-free area in short order.

Hunting
The squirrel social life is fairly lonely. A squirrel will typically become pregnant and bear two or three young (kit or kitten, male or female) squirrels into her nest (drey) which is typically a mess of dried leaves and other papery cast-offs perched in a tree. The male squirrel will go off to find the next pretty young thing to mate with while the female squirrel is left to gather food and nurse the young. The young, unsupervised and virtually blind, do occasionally fall out of the dreys and usually die from the impact. A good indication of an active drey during the birthing season is to look for tufts of fur or even dead kits and kittens below or near the nests. An active nest after the birthing season will have dry leaves and other nest refuse lying below it, in addition to having a fair amount of squirrel traffic coming in and going out of it until the kits and kittens are big enough to set out on their own.

As a result of the squirrel's solitary lifestyle, squirrels generally are not vocal creatures. Kits and kittens follow their mothers around learning the smells of food (and what is not food) but there is no colony social structure the way lions or deer have an alpha male and a harem of does. Squirrels have a distress call, which sounds like a high pitched squeak similar to a rusty hinge on a door and they have a chatter which serves as a challenge call if two males are fighting over food or a female. Kits and kittens flee from either call, and female squirrels may be attracted to either call. Males generally flee at the distress call and are attracted to a challenge call. Female squirrels, however, are usually homebodies and do not stray far from their dreys. This makes it unlikely that a particular squirrel you see will be attracted to the distress call but squirrels may poke their heads out to investigate a challenge-chatter. My personal experience is that squirrel-calls only serve to alert the squirrels of my presence and this is not advantageous to hunting them.

We already know what squirrels eat, and what squirrels do not eat, and we know that squirrels generally are solitary, quiet creatures. From here, we can set off into the woods and actually begin looking for squirrels. A good place to start is the drey, which will tip you off to about how many squirrels are in a given area. If you happen across a strong population, there should be a drey every few trees or so. These are not always occupied with squirrels as they are fairly transient, but this means that food is likely to be around somewhere. Now you want to fan out. We happen to have plenty of oak trees in my area so my brother and I usually look for split acorns on the ground. Other fruit or nut bearing trees will do fine (including a pine with green pine-cones, not mature brown cones) but oaks are by far the easiest to find around here.

If you do find an oak, observe the acorns under it. Are there many whole acorns? If so, this tree may be too new for squirrels to be using as a food source. If the acorns are split open and their shells are lying around under the tree, then you have found a tree the squirrels are using for food. For pines, look for green pine-cones the squirrels have dropped and forgotten about. For fruit trees, you should find the pits of the fruits lying around under the tree. If there is scat also around the base of the tree, than larger animals -- rather than squirrels -- are browsing the tree and moving on. For corn, just about everything eats corn so camp out the field. Pay particular attention to the tops of stalks, you should easily be able to see the stalks dance as squirrels climb up them for the kernels. Have you found a viable food plot but you cannot find any squirrel-sign? Pay attention to what is near the food plot. Pepper-corns, skunk-cabbage and milkweed irritate squirrels and squirrels will avoid food plots in close proximity to these plants.

Once you find a source of food which has squirrel sign, the waiting begins. This is often the hardest part. Squirrels will have surely detected your scouting and gone to hide. If you have trained your eye to see them, sometimes this can be advantageous because the squirrels will be pressing themselves against branches and holding still. For most of us, there will be a 15 to 30 minute wait before squirrels start moving around again. The best position is one which allows you to see the complete food source, but allows you enough distance that the wind will not carry your scent across the path from the drey to the food and obscures you enough that the animals cannot see your face or outline. Be sure to use this time scouting and waiting to look for signs of other hunters which include flags and at very least orange clothes. Squirrels do not have particularly good eyesight, so use orange liberally. Hopefully in 15 to 30 minutes, you will see a squirrel crawling along the ground following the scent of food or leaping tree to tree in a hurry to eat and return to the young.

Taking the Shot
You should already know how to aim the rifle and be confident and comfortable with its operation. The trick to taking a shot is to get your body under control and remember to take a supported shot. Shots come in two types: unsupported and supported. Unsupported shots are generally OK in situations where the hunter kicks up large game (such as deer) which has a large target area. The vital organs on a deer occupy a space slightly smaller than volume of a basketball. Taking a shot from a stand with little prep can be done by the experienced shooter who has a steady hand, good aim and a decent gun. On the other hand, squirrel vitals are only in the upper half of the body and the top half of the head. The second type of shot is a supported shot. The hunter will take this type of shot when the rifle is supported by some means. The difference between the two on small game is the difference between getting the kill and a miss, or worse, wounded game. Some hunters prefer to bring along shooting sticks which can be crossed and held to the rifle with the forward hand. I personally prefer to just take hold of the nearest tree and rest the rifle on the flesh of my palm at my thumb. Do not rest the barrel of the rifle against your hand. This is a suggestion easy to forget in the heat of the moment, but you will be the coolest guy in the office come Monday with a burn across the back of your palm. Before you take any shot, consider where the bullet is going. Do not fire towards buildings or the sky. Do check for orange or the local hunter safety color before taking a shot.

Rest the rifle against a tree, across a log (if you are prone) or between the support sticks. Make smooth, slow movements so as to not alert game to your presence. If the squirrel is foraging along the ground, it will be making small hops from place to place, smelling the earth for small insects or buried food. When the squirrel finds something that might be food, the animal will pick it up and examine it. The squirrel may try to eat it. While the squirrel is examining its find, it will be standing still and usually upright. This is the moment to take the shot. If the squirrel is up in a tree, wait until the squirrel is climbing up or down the trunk. Squirrels typically follow a spiral pattern down the trunk and pause at branches. Take the shot when the squirrel pauses. If the squirrel does not immediately drop off the tree, wait a bit for the corpse to relax and it will come down soon enough. A hit to the head results in instant death and the squirrel should fall over dead. A hit to the neck usually results in the squirrel bleeding out and may require some fishing through the brush to find the animal. A hit to the upper portion of the chest results in massive damage to the heart and lungs which usually causes death within 15 seconds. Hitting the squirrel any lower then the upper third of its body results in an injured animal but the wound is far from terminal. It also generally causes separation of the bowel and damage to the liver which ruins the meat. The animal will usually crawl to where it feels hidden. Hopefully you can approach the animal and make a terminal shot. Not only does this waste ammo, but the meat may now be spoiled from the feces. Please do your best to make terminal shots in an effort to give the animals a good death and keep the meat in good condition. Do you want to eat meat filled with feces? Retrieve dead squirrels as soon as possible as other predators will collect the body if you wait too long. Dead squirrels also generally alert other squirrels in the area that there is something hunting them and will make other squirrels cautious or leave the area altogether. Bring a backpack filled with plastic bags and ice along. In another 15 minutes, the squirrels will be back out and you can shoot again!

Cleaning and Skinning
Once you return home, you have several options for your squirrels. You can throw the squirrels out. There is nothing illegal about it, but I personally feel that this is a waste of the meat, pelt and the animal's life. You can taxidermy the pelt, but squirrels have small, pliable bones which make getting the pelt off the body in one piece a challenge. If you do go this route, you should be familiar with skinning the squirrel. Cut along the belly and remove the liver and bowels. Turn the squirrel inside-out, cut off the feet as low as you can peel the skin back, and then buy a mounting kit. I prefer "squirrel sitting". Leave the squirrel on top of your books at the office, bonus points for installing red-LEDs in the eyes and wiring it to your phone. The final option is to actually eat the squirrel. To skin the squirrel, bring the body up to room temperature and ensure that the body is pliable. Now is a good time to inspect the body for damage. Is the squirrel foaming at the mouth and eyes? Are the eyes clouded and grey? Does the pelt have spots of missing fur or an infestation of ticks? If any of these are true, the animal was diseased and not fit to eat. Wrap the animal in a plastic bag and dispose of the body in the trash. Wash thoroughly before touching anything else, including the next squirrel. I suggest using a razor-blade to skin the squirrel as a knife is generally too large.

To skin a squirrel with the intention of eating it, first get a pair of meat scissors or a sharp knife and also a razor blade. You will need a pot of water and a trashcan. Fill a second, larger pot with water and add a teaspoon of salt per cup of water. Both pots should be lukewarm. Lay down newspapers and plan to skin the animal outside. The smell is wholly unique, and having worked for an ambulance crew, I can safely say that the inside of all animals pretty much smells the same. The smell is terrible. Wash the squirrel in the unsalted water. This pot will wash off all the loose fur and miscellaneous dirt. The remaining fur will clump up and this serves to keep it on the outside of the skin, away from the meat. The fur should easily separate by rubbing the squirrel towards the head and tail leaving you a clear space to cut along. Using your razor, cut lightly along the squirrel as though you were separating the skin into "shirt" and "pants" sections. Try not to cut into the muscles or organs. If the corpse is warm and pliable, the skin should separate easily. Pull the front half over the head and down the arms. The wrists should be positioned in line with the neck, which allows you to cut along the wrists and lob the head (and fur) off in one clean cut with your large knife. The bottom half of the fur should pull over the anus of the squirrel and down to the feet. The intestines will pull with the anus and should have the trailing tissue pull the rest of the organs out. Some massaging of the connective tissue may be required to get the organs out. Cut the feet off at the ankles and throw the mass of pelt, organs and feet into the trash. If you have pets, these are safe to feed the pets who will usually eat everything except the intestines. If the intestines separate from the anus or stomach, try to minimize the amount of feces which gets onto the meat. The first squirrel anyone skins is always a mess, so bring along the soap and water to clean the meat if anything gets on it. Visually inspect the skinned squirrel for fur (which will not wash off) and place the skinned squirrel in the pot of salted water. Let this pot of squirrels sit for at least 8 hours in the fridge.

Cooking
After 8 hours or so in the fridge, or more like 24 if you work and wish to bring 'normal' food to the office, the water should be cloudy with blood and the squirrels should be significantly lighter. They should look like chicken but be firmer to the touch. Flesh which is black or abraded should be cut off at this time and discarded. Generally the entrance and exit wounds will be obviously bruised and the meat does not cook well. Squirrels are white meat so any recipe that you have enjoyed for chicken translates well into being a recipe for squirrel. Squirrel meat is similar to chicken although slightly less greasy (it is sweeter) and the mouthfeel is firmer. It should not have a 'gamey' taste, which usually means that some of the bowel spilled on the meat and was not properly cleaned. Squirrel goes well boiled and quartered and placed in salad and also is delicious fried in light oils and breaded.

My Father's Favorite Squirrel Recipe

  • 3 squirrels, quartered
  • Creole seasoning
  • 2 strips bacon, cut up
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 potatoes, cubed
  • 5 cups water
  • 1/4 cup burgundy wine
  1. Rub the creole seasoning liberally over the squirrels.
  2. In a dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the bacon.
  3. Add the squirrel to the dutch oven and brown evenly. Remove.
  4. To the dutch oven, add the onion, garlic, peppers and celery. Saute until the veggies are soft.
  5. Add the meat back to the pot along with the water and potatoes. Stir together.
  6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally.
  7. Remove the squirrel pieces. Cool and debone.
  8. Return meat to the pot. Stir in the wine. Heat to boiling again then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
  9. Serve over biscuits or toast.

Recipe provided by Backwoods Bound

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Poll
Squirrels are...
o delicious! 45%
o animals, and should respected, not be killed! 25%
o disgusting vermin! 3%
o Kosher. 25%

Votes: 31
Results | Other Polls

Related Links
o sciuridae
o mounting kit
o Backwoods Bound
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Display: Sort:
Hunting Squirrel: The Other White Meat | 295 comments (227 topical, 68 editorial, 0 hidden)
What does squirrel taste like? (2.50 / 2) (#3)
by IceTitan on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 12:31:10 AM EST


Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Hey! let's go squirrel hunting.... (2.75 / 4) (#4)
by terryfunk on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 12:39:27 AM EST

I haven't been in a long time. I miss it too. My courtyard is full of FAT doves too. I have been eyeing them for 10 years. I have them real fattened up too. It would be sportin'. +1 FP when it gets to voting.

I like you, I'll kill you last. - Killer Clown
The ScuttledMonkey: A Story Collection

huh (2.87 / 8) (#8)
by loteck on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 01:46:41 AM EST

you're kinda weird
--
"You're in tune to the musical sound of loteck hi-fi, the musical sound that moves right round. Keep on moving ya'll." -Mylakovich
"WHAT AN ETERNAL MOBIUS STRIP OF FELLATIATIC BANALITY THIS IS." -Harry B Otch

Don't eat the brains (none / 1) (#10)
by alphaxer0 on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 04:41:11 AM EST

They've been linked to the same disease caused by mad cow.

How could you submit a story about squirrels to k5 (2.50 / 2) (#14)
by wiredog on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 07:49:17 AM EST

and not include this vital information!

Wilford Brimley scares my chickens.
Phil the Canuck

Hmmm... (2.50 / 2) (#17)
by Sairon on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 08:59:29 AM EST

I haven't been squirrel hunting in a long time. I've been more focused on big game. Your article has me a bit motivated now. However, I usually hunt them with 20 gauge shotgun. My father hunts them with a .22 because he likes it to be more challenging. Perhaps I should get such a rifle. I've found that in the past few years I've become quite skilled at hunting and need to do different things to make it more exciting.


Yeah (2.66 / 3) (#21)
by psychologist on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 10:11:42 AM EST

I remember the kids used to do this back when I was a child -- but with cats.

come to new york city's central park (2.45 / 11) (#22)
by circletimessquare on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 10:13:40 AM EST

the squirrels here are practically tame, they come up to you waiting to be fed

you don't even need a gun, you can just grab them with your hands and wring their necks

although, of course, you would have to deal with the city idiots who don't even know what the relationship between their hamburger and their critter is

my favorite scene in central park was watching one of our red tail hawks (there are a number of them in the city, one of which has a feverish cult following) launch upon a hapless squirrel, and watching the surprised shock of bystanders

as if being introduced to the concept that some animals eat other animals for the first time in their sheltered coddled ignorant lives

ps, we caught a coyote here yesterday, and it apparently made international headlines

how the HELL that coyote got into central park is anyone's guess. he would have to swim through the hudson river/ east river (salt water, swiftly flowing) or take a BRIDGE, then skip a number of other parks skirting the island's perimeter, and travel a mile or two of densely populated/ car traffiked city blocks at all hours, to the center of the island

i think he was dropped there, had to be

then again, they once caught a deer on a subway platform here in the city once (did it take the train from the boroughs?) and another coyote was caught in central park in 1999, so perhaps the lesson is for me: nature conquers all


The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction.

yeah right, t-1ber (2.83 / 6) (#24)
by creativedissonance on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 11:17:04 AM EST

"At 10 ... finding the subtle nuances of my own body was far from my mind.  "

Bullshit.  I bet you masturbated like a fiend.


ay yo i run linux and word on the street
is that this is where i need to be to get my butt stuffed like a turkey - br14n

Isn't a gun a little overkill for squirrels? (2.80 / 5) (#25)
by LilDebbie on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 12:16:11 PM EST

Aren't traps more appropriate? I imagine a body shot would wreck most of the meat, even with a .22.

My name is LilDebbie and I have a garden.
- hugin -

I think you're full of crap. (none / 1) (#50)
by Ignore Amos on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 03:30:02 PM EST

Green-yellow colorblind? Quite the physiological anomaly you are ...

And that explains why airplanes carry cargo on small boats floating in their cargo aquarium. - jmzero

only in america (2.27 / 11) (#52)
by tkatchevzz on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 04:19:55 PM EST

'squirrel' is not a game animal, dude.

tell me, do you 'hunt' for field mice with a shotgun, too?


I hope you realize... (2.50 / 2) (#80)
by hyperbolic pants explosion on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 07:11:15 PM EST

that squirrels are bubonic plague disease vectors.

shhhh! (none / 1) (#90)
by CAIMLAS on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 07:36:41 PM EST

Shhh! Don't let the secret out! Then there'll be less squirrels for us!
--

Socialism and communism better explained by a psychologist than a political theorist.

btw, thanks... (2.50 / 2) (#98)
by CAIMLAS on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 08:22:00 PM EST

this is one of the first things I've enjoyed reading on k5 for a couple months now.

I grew up trapping squerrels (say, from around 7 until 13), never went squerrel hunting. We'd just use a simple 3-stick 4-brace deadfall in conjunction with a flat-bottomed rock on one of the many stone walls in the area (NY state).

Another thing about squerrels: they have favorite paths of transit. If you live in the NE US, or one of the other localities which has old stone fences, you could probably camp out by a wooded intersection and get a couple squerrels an hour.

Another thing about squerrels: they love bird eggs. If you're a bird watcher, thinning the squerrel population will likely increase the bird population significantly within a year. In an "urban" environment, headshots with a 1,000fps .17 cal air rifle from a window is a wonderful method for both providing meat for the pot and alieviating the over-population of squerrels and their potential disease vector.
--

Socialism and communism better explained by a psychologist than a political theorist.

Also highly recommended: (none / 1) (#118)
by Enlarged to Show Texture on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 10:10:39 PM EST

Shooting prairie dogs at long range with an AR-15 or AK-47. It might be one of the few sporting uses for these particular guns...

+1 FP, shotgun/rifle/4WD/country boy can survive.


"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -- Isaac Asimov
Gamey. (2.50 / 2) (#120)
by Back Spaced on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 11:01:11 PM EST

I have to disagree with the "should not have a gamey taste" part. The squirrels I've had were all pretty gamey.

Bluto: My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.
Otter: Better listen to him, Flounder. He's pre-med.

-1, promotes terrorism (1.42 / 7) (#124)
by United Fools on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 11:27:45 PM EST


We are united, we are fools, and we are America!
Topical link (3.00 / 10) (#125)
by The Diary Section on Thu Mar 23, 2006 at 11:34:19 PM EST

You'll be fascinated (I'm sure) to learn that by coincidence the House of Lords today spent its painfully expensive time discussing just how to cook squirrel ending in an invitation to a party at a restraunt owned by Lord Inglewood to sample the delicacy.

Linky here

But Lord Inglewood had other ideas about the grey. "Would they be good to eat?" he demanded. He thought so. Indeed the L.L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook said as much: "Squirrel meat is the most delicious of all small games. Young squirrel is better than rabbit or chicken."

He announced that, in the national interest, he was prepared to "give it a go". But then Lord Inglewood had an even better idea. Why stop at a random menu item? Why not an entire dinner party? "What I would like to do is to invite each and every one of the front bench Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department team to the hotel in the Lake District where I am a director, and also has one AA rosette for fine food, to dine on grey squirrels to launch an `Eat a Grey and Save a Red' campaign!"

I'm afraid that eagle-eyed Kurons will note this is yet another incidence in the sweeping trend towards rampant anti-Americanism...
Spend 10 minutes in the company of an American and you end up feeling like a Keats or a Shelley: Thin, brilliant, suave, and desperate for industrial-scale quantities of opium.

Strange coincidence, this. (2.40 / 5) (#132)
by Kasreyn on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 03:06:10 AM EST

I just watched "Roger & Me" for the first time last night. Michael Moore's first (iirc) documentary, about Flint, MI being impoverished by the closing of its GM plants. In it, there's a rather disturbing scene with a woman who's selling "rabbits or bunnies" as "pets or meat (dressed)".

Woman in question is this creepy-looking person who holds a huge beautiful rabbit and pets it lovingly while talking to Moore for about five minutes, then proceeds to beat its brains in with a length of pipe, strings it up, skins, guts, and dresses it while still talking to him. Never once does she even bat an eye. O.o


"Extenuating circumstance to be mentioned on Judgement Day:
We never asked to be born in the first place."

R.I.P. Kurt. You will be missed.
Guns are for girls. (3.00 / 2) (#133)
by stuaart on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 04:12:45 AM EST

What you really want to prove your manliness is a big, fat, machete*.

---
* Woman not included.

Linkwhore: [Hidden stories.] Baldrtainment: Corporate concubines and Baldrson: An Introspective


Sorry... (2.66 / 3) (#135)
by mirleid on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 07:23:15 AM EST

Your article is well written, clear, and it apparently appeals to a certain K5 demographic. Unfortunatelly, I am not part of that group, and I can't bring myself to vote positively on an article about shooting animals for no discernible relevant purpose.

On the other hand, and given the fact that the form is pretty good (if not the content, at least as far as I am concerned),
I can't -1t either. Ergo, abstain it is...

Chickens don't give milk
Huh (2.50 / 2) (#143)
by eavier on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 10:00:28 AM EST

I never knew that you USians hunted squirrel let alone ate them.

In NZ, we don't have squirrels and I often treat them like a pet when I see them in London's Hyde Park, feeding the little fuckers chicken flavoured crisps which I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to do. They like them though.

The only NZ comparable `target' we have in size is the rabbit or a hare although those don't live in trees so a different story altogether.

We do have goats that cause a fuck load of damage to our native fauna so I occasionally go on hunting trips with my brothers when I'm home. I only have a Mini 14 which can be a bit inaccurate for a long shot so a good bolt action is on the shopping list.

Good article +1FP from me.


Whatever you do, don't take it into your house. It's probably full of Greeks. - Vampire Zombie Abu Musab al Zarqawi

Ufology Doktor in da house

Oddly enough (none / 1) (#145)
by rusty on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 10:02:38 AM EST

There are no squirrels at all on my island. Most people take some years to notice this, or are surprised to have it pointed out, but I have never yet seen a squirrel here or found anyone who claims to have seen one.

We have skunks, raccoons, lots of deer, a few chipmunks (I have seen one personally), tons of mice, muskrats, moles, and presumably a range of other normal woodland type creatures. But not a single squirrel.

I do not have any plausible explanation for this, except to conclude perhaps that squirrels must be really terrible swimmers.

____
Not the real rusty

You PETA hater!... (none / 1) (#152)
by terryfunk on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 10:23:52 AM EST

or is it Pita hater, you left pita bread outta your recipie. +1 FP... excellent.

I like you, I'll kill you last. - Killer Clown
The ScuttledMonkey: A Story Collection

Squirrel is obviously *not* Kosher, btw (2.50 / 2) (#158)
by nidarus on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 10:53:24 AM EST



+1, Shooting Stuff. (1.00 / 3) (#177)
by Egil Skallagrimson on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 11:54:54 AM EST

I didn't even read it. But, did I really need to?

Shooting stuff!!!

It's a Penis with Metal Seed!!!!

----------------

Enterobacteria phage T2 is a virulent bacteriophage of the T4-like viruses genus, in the family Myoviridae. It infects E. coli and is the best known of the T-even phages. Its virion contains linear double-stranded DNA, terminally redundant and circularly permuted.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease anyone? (none / 1) (#193)
by SaintPort on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 01:18:42 PM EST

Kosher has reasons.

linkies (I'm sure there are better, but these'll do):

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/sqbrain.html.  

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9500E0D91231F93AA1 575BC0A961958260.  

<Kosher><

--
Search the Scriptures
Start with some cheap grace...Got Life?

Using a rat trap for squirrel hunting ... (none / 1) (#224)
by hulkster on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 09:37:50 PM EST

While perhaps not as sporting as shooting 'em, here's evidence that a victor rat trap can be used to hunt squirrels

White meat? (2.50 / 2) (#225)
by 3vi1 on Fri Mar 24, 2006 at 11:06:30 PM EST

You and your dad must be shooting park squirrels in a cage?  Every squirrel I ever shot in the wild (down south) was dark meat.

living off the land (3.00 / 2) (#237)
by Ragica on Sat Mar 25, 2006 at 08:36:00 PM EST

In the intro to the article the author makes reference to the colapse of civilization and fending for oneself and living off the land. Regardless of how jokingly this was meant (it could go either way, you never know), there was at least one comment that followed that also made the point of putting hunting in the context of "survival".

This perspective, for the majority of human-inhabitable geography is not true. A man (or woman) could sustain himself quite well, and thrive without having to shoot anything. I know it is hard, because of the ingrained nature of meat consumption (and the comradery with one's father, and all), but it is really possible to think differently.

I keep wondering where these brave hunter types are going to be getting their ammo after "the collapse of civilisation".

Personally, my advice to these people, would be to study up on indigenous plant-based nutrition, and, when the time comes, save the precious ammunition for other humans...

FP and over 200 comments? (2.20 / 5) (#238)
by balsamic vinigga on Sun Mar 26, 2006 at 12:49:31 PM EST

christ, the rednecks are taking over this site.

---
Please help fund a Filipino Horror Movie. It's been in limbo since 2007 due to lack of funding. Please donate today!
Just a little over the top (none / 1) (#243)
by itsbruce on Sun Mar 26, 2006 at 06:57:29 PM EST

When the collapse of civilization comes, the only people left are going to be those willing to fend for themselves and live off the land.

I have nothing against you killing to eat, but that's just a little bit self-congratulatory, if not masturbatory.

  1. Living off the land involves more than hunting
  2. Even the simplest communities contain people who have no role in hunting and killing.

It doesn't really make any difference if, when you have a squirrel in your sights, you get all hot about some imagined spiritual connection with your "less civilised" ancestors, but it's a little sad.


--It is impolite to tell a man who is carrying you on his shoulders that his head smells.

Hunting (none / 1) (#248)
by twohalfs on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 04:32:24 AM EST

Ok, a question for the submitter and other hunters around here. Surprised to see so many on kuro5hin. Why do you do it? I've seen that question asked before but somehow I was never convinced by the answers. Is it the thrill of the chase, does it make you feel powerful? What exactly is the pleasure of it? Please don't say you do it for food, unless they don't have grocery stores where you live.

The only clue that the article gives is:

"Hunting is a good skill to have and fun to cultivate and it is a good way to explore some different cuisine."

Is that it?

I am not saying that hunting is necessarilly wrong. I eat hamburgers and I know where they come from. I am not against gun ownership either. Still, but I couldn't get myself to look at a living creature and deliberately cause it suffering and/or death, at least without a good reason.

I'm confused... (1.50 / 4) (#279)
by sirclive on Mon Apr 03, 2006 at 04:48:27 PM EST

What is it exactly, that makes *you* so thrive over the subject of shooting squirrels? I mean, I know (now) what's in it for *me*, but from the article, I can't really get your motivation:
It is the end of hunting season in my corner of the world and I have hung up my rifle but I would love to get more people interested in the sport. When the collapse of civilization comes, the only people left are going to be those willing to fend for themselves and live off the land. Hunting is a good skill to have and fun to cultivate and it is a good way to explore some different cuisine. Hunting is also a good way to spend time with my father, the original gun-geek in the family.
Now, which one is it:
1. A sport?
2. A wise preparation for the civilization collapse?
3. Fun?
4. A means to get to taste some different cuisine? Or maybe
5. A way to get through to ones daddy?

I never tried hunting, but now that I read your article, I could even come up with some more great reasons to support this gorgeous way of killing time (hehe - killing, get it?):

6. I get great sattisfaction in turning alive things into dead ones. Where I live, though, it's not allowed to kill people, not even their dogs and cats, so I mostly settle for flies. Oh, and rats, too. Flies and rats. And cockroaches. I'll have to ask whether squirrels are OK.

7. It's a brilliant way to support the ammo industry - way to get out of depression!

8. By hounting squirrels, one can always accidentially shoot another person. Hehe, "accidentially". That would be fun!

9. Shooting squirrels would be a great way to improve my aiming abilities. What for? For those pesky dolphins, that's what! I can hardly wait to get them in front of my muzzle! Hounting them with dynamite gets boring with the time.

To summarize: taking a gun and shooting some squirrels in the wood is fun, furthers family ties (does it also work with daddys who are not ex-marines?), a sport, a great skill, a tremendous preparation for the civilization breakdown, a way to finally get something tasty on the table, it supports industry, gives one the opportunity to kill beings larger than flies, and is a great training if you're into putting the secret dolphin world domination to an end!

Thanks for opening my eyes, man!

squirrel was a major part of early American diet (none / 0) (#292)
by cryon on Wed Apr 05, 2006 at 09:43:18 PM EST

both amerind and europeans ate them voraciously. Here is a quote from an old public domain book. Google for the book itself: The shooting of the back settlers is rather _business_ than _sport_. When they are inclined for a frolic of the latter sort, they meet in large parties to shoot the gray squirrel: the devastation made on these occasions is incredible; the following is from the Kentucky Gazette; and I have no doubt, that it is strictly true:-- "_Lexington, July 13th._ "At a squirrel-hunt in Madison county, on the 29th and 30th ult., the hunters rendezvoused at captain Archibald Wood's, and upon counting the _scalps_[Footnote: By scalp is here meant skin, which is an excellent fur.] taken, it was found they amounted to 5589!" This sport is not confined to the back woods, but is in such general estimation, as to be preferred to all other shooting. They find this game by means of a mongrel breed of dogs, trained for that purpose; the squirrel, on being pursued, immediately ascends one of the most lofty trees he can find; the dog follows, and makes a point under the tree, looking up for his game. The squirrel hides himself behind the branches, and practises a thousand manoeuvres to avoid the shot; sometimes springing from one tree to another, with astonishing agility. Nature has given him a thick fur; this circumstance, and the height of the trees, make a long barrel, and large shot, indispensable in this kind of shooting. The best method of cooking the squirrel is in a ragout; this I learnt of a french epicure, who always speaks with rapture of this _bonne bouche_: it has a high game flavour, and is justly thought by the Americans to be an excellent dish; but we have many English, who, through mere prejudice, never tasted this animal; their antipathy also extends to bear, opossum, racoon, and cat-fish:--"Oh!" say the english ladies, "the _sight_ of such frightful creatures is quite enough for me!"' ... Yours, &c. _Philadelphia, May 7th, 1795._ ////////end quote I have trapped and eaten squirrel myself--GROUND squirrel, out in west texas. They are smaller than tree squirrels... but quite tasty!
HTGS75OBEY21IRTYG54564ACCEPT64AUTHORITY41V KKJWQKHD23CONSUME78GJHGYTMNQYRTY74SLEEP38H TYTR32CONFORM12GNIYIPWG64VOTER4APATHY42JLQ TYFGB64MONEY3IS4YOUR7GOD62MGTSB21CONFORM34 SDF53MARRY6AND2REPRODUCE534TYWHJZKJ34OBEY6

Hunting Squirrel: The Other White Meat | 295 comments (227 topical, 68 editorial, 0 hidden)
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