# Bagged a Squirrel



## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

Before anyone says anything about me mentioning that I didn't have the accuracy for ethical hunting yesterday, let me first mention that the squirrel was 7 ft away from me. It's pretty hard to miss from 7 ft. Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell the story. I was shooting into my catchbox in the woods, when I heard a chatter on my right. I looked over, and I saw what must have been the world's dumbest squirrel sitting on a stump 7 ft away from me. I hadn't had a good squirrel stew in 8 months and it was an easy shot, so I took it. The little tree rat dropped like a rock. I took a photo, skinned and cleaned it, covered the meat in snow, and went back to shooting. After a great shooting session, I went back to the house and made stew.

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Ours is the only sport other than archery that I can think of, where you can target practice, and game will not be scared off.


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

How does tree rat taste let me guess like chicken .not to many people hunt them around me most game taken is white tail moose goose and rabbit and good old road chicken .I like to bag some road chickens I had had them before and I like them


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## BushpotChef (Oct 7, 2017)

Very nice, always nice when you get a meal out of the deal. Just goes to show you should never miss a day of practice, if you hadn't been out there you never would have seen him! I have taken several rabbits that wandered around my property edge while I was practicnig for 20m air rifle. I was hitting 2" spinners off hand at that distance 10/10 so needless to say they were well within range at the 40-50" I took them.

Nice shooting, & a lovely looking stew. 

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

Port boy said:


> How does tree rat taste let me guess like chicken .not to many people hunt them around me most game taken is white tail moose goose and rabbit and good old road chicken .I like to bag some road chickens I had had them before and I like them


It is much more gamey than chicken, and it is a darker meat.


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## Jolly Roger (Aug 14, 2017)

I just sit and watch the tree squirrels and cotton tails as the romp and play. I'll shoot any ground squirrel I can take a shot at. They are a nuisance and certainly not fit to eat. But I long ago stopped eating tree squirrel and rabbits. They're just too much fun to sit, watch and enjoy. For me that is. Some get the thrill of the kill and their belly full.

I once read a quote that went something like "a man has reached his full measure of maturity when he begins to hunt with a camera instead of a rifle". I just googled it but came up with no results for that quote but I've always remembered it yet seldom grab my camera.


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Port boy said:
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> 
> > How does tree rat taste let me guess like chicken .not to many people hunt them around me most game taken is white tail moose goose and rabbit and good old road chicken .I like to bag some road chickens I had had them before and I like them
> ...


If you soak them for a few hours in some salt water then dump it and soak a few more hours in salt water they lose a good bit of the gamey flavor. I brown mine first in olive oil then debone and start the stew stock. Potatoes, carrots, onions, season with some some Butt Rub, Back Eddys, salt and pepper and its very good. Perfect for a slow cooker pot meal on a winter day.


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## The Norseman (Mar 5, 2018)

Butt rub is very good, it is my Granddad's secret ingredient. Have you ever tried South African Smoke seasoning from Trader Joes? That makes everything better!


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## BushpotChef (Oct 7, 2017)

Buckskin Dave said:


> The Norseman said:
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> > Port boy said:
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Thank you very much for sharing that I'll be sure to try that next, I love soups & stews. 

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## romanljc (May 26, 2014)

Port boy said:


> How does tree rat taste let me guess like chicken .not to many people hunt them around me most game taken is white tail moose goose and rabbit and good old road chicken .I like to bag some road chickens I had had them before and I like them


they taste like chicken with a chestnut flavoring


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Butt rub is very good, it is my Granddad's secret ingredient. Have you ever tried South African Smoke seasoning from Trader Joes? That makes everything better!


No I have not tried that. I like to use a lot of different seasonings so I wrote that down and Ill order some. I found butt Rub a couple years ago when I ordered some Back Eddy's and they tossed in some samples of Butt Rub along with it. Now I cant cook with out it.


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

romanljc said:


> Port boy said:
> 
> 
> > How does tree rat taste let me guess like chicken .not to many people hunt them around me most game taken is white tail moose goose and rabbit and good old road chicken .I like to bag some road chickens I had had them before and I like them
> ...


really I have 4 big black chestnut trees maybe have chestnut flavouring my back yard in the fall is a rodent haven black and grey and red squirrels chipmunks got them all.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Man you popped him right in the nogen. Nice shot


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## Buckskin Dave (Apr 4, 2018)

Port boy said:


> romanljc said:
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> > Port boy said:
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Don't eat the red squirrels. They are not tasty. No meat on them anyway.


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## 31610 (Aug 20, 2017)

The red squirrel is a piece of work he has balls the size of church bells he runs the black ones out of the trees sometimes I think he rides on there backs down the tree than sits on the fence and pipes them off .The black squirrel is 5 times the size of him and he don’t seem to care .Hes a trooper


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## Mooch - the anglophile (Oct 8, 2018)

The Norseman said:


> Ours is the only sport other than archery that I can think of, where you can target practice, and game will not be scared off.


This is one of the main draws for me, aside from being able to practice in the back yard with my daughter. I've been hunting several times (almost all were completely unsuccessful), and its fun to carry a gun and walk through the woods, but the noise if you shoot at something completely destroys the peaceful environment for a while. If I bag something with a slingshot, or if I miss (I haven't went hunting with a slingshot yet; I don't feel that I'm proficient enough yet), I haven't greatly disturbed the suroundings.

Your millage may vary.

Mooch


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Grays are trying to takeover here so they opened the season nearly year round. These guys don't want to just live in your trees, they find it much more comfy in the attic. Not on my watch. 
There's not much meat on these little suckers so I'm saving them up to make dumplings for the family. 
I've been hunting every day since it cooled down. My favorite time of year.


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