First Squirrel of 2020!

KrisB

Ten Pointer
I went to that WMA in Virginia this morning to try my luck, even though I only had about an hour and 15 minutes to hunt, since I was expecting company by 10:00 am. Left the house at 6:30, got to the WMA at 7:15 and went walking down a gravel road where I saw a lot of squirrels last time.

Wasn't having any luck (saw 3 squirrels, but I wasn't quick enough to get on them) and it was almost time to go and I was about to turn back, but I decided to see where the road went and see if there were any squirrels further down.

I came around a curve in the road and there was a big weedy field on my right and a small strip of woods on my left. I heard a squirrel moving and saw a branch move. So I got closer and saw where the squirrel was in a tree a little ways off and I took a shot, but I missed. Something heavy fell to the ground from a tree that was right near me though. It was really weird. I didn't have a chance to look, because I was reloading and looking for where the squirrel I'd shot at had gone.

Then I saw a branch move and I saw the squirrel. I don't know if it was the same one or another, but it was sitting on a branch eating. I took aim and fired. I hit it!!! The squirrel fell from the branch, but hung upside down for like 5 seconds, but was completely still. Then it fell to the ground. I fished it out of the brush beneath the trees.

I had to leave by 8:30 and I shot that squirrel at 8:27! I was so excited, but I had to leave, so the celebration was short and then I hurried back to my car with the first squirrel of 2020.

My company arrived a little late, but it was fine. It's my Dad visiting and he hasn't skinned a squirrel in 60 years, but I was having trouble skinning this one with the gambrel, so I asked him how he used to do it and he told me. He would cut a line up the belly and then peel the fur back, using the knife to separate the skin from the meat. Same thing for the arms and legs. So I finished skinning the squirrel that way and it was MUCH easier for me. Definitely going to skin all my squirrels like that from now on.

Now the squirrel meat is soaking in some water and I'm going to find a nice simple recipe for it. Baked some cornbread this morning. I think that will go good with whatever I end up doing with the squirrel. :D

EDITED: The WMA was in Virginia, where small game season opened Sept. 5. I have a Virginia hunting license.
 

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Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Sorry the gambrel didn't work out for you. :( Glad you got it all taken care of though.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
No worries! I could very well have been doing it wrong. Maybe I will try it again another time. More than one way to skin a squirrel.
I would try a couple of different methods several times before you settle in on your preference. Otherwise, you’ll spend 15 years doing it one way only to find out you could have been doing it twice as fast a different way.
 

Lee

Six Pointer
I thought about squirrel hunting a lot today. A squirrel was pulling hickory nuts off the tree above me. First time I have wanted a hard hat in a deer stand. I will be watching for him in October.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
I thought about squirrel hunting a lot today. A squirrel was pulling hickory nuts off the tree above me. First time I have wanted a hard hat in a deer stand. I will be watching for him in October.
Brain Bucket-Mossy Oak Edition. Let’s get it on the market
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
Way to go Kris. Nice rifle setup ya got there. Looks like you hit the vitals at/behind the shoulder. You sure you ain’t been killing deer and not tellin us???
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Way to go Kris. Nice rifle setup ya got there. Looks like you hit the vitals at/behind the shoulder. You sure you ain’t been killing deer and not tellin us???

LOL I'm reading The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark and it actually came from there. The boy mentioned aiming for the shoulder when he shot at squirrels. There are a lot of useful tips in that book for new and seasoned hunters and it covers many different kinds of hunting: Deer, waterfowl (mallard ducks, teal, etc), small game, doves, quail, etc. A great store of wisdom inside those pages. :D
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Kris the Squirrels right now in Raleigh are keying in hard on Dogwood berries. White oak should be the same or maybe a week behind so idf you hunt it this weekend find a dogwood tree loaded with berries. They dont last long.
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Kris the Squirrels right now in Raleigh are keying in hard on Dogwood berries. White oak should be the same or maybe a week behind so idf you hunt it this weekend find a dogwood tree loaded with berries. They dont last long.

Thanks, Mac! I'll be visiting family in Maryland this weekend and next. Will it be too late for the dogwood berries the first weekend in October when I'm back?
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Thanks, Mac! I'll be visiting family in Maryland this weekend and next. Will it be too late for the dogwood berries the first weekend in October when I'm back?
probably , robins, cardinals ,other birds and squirrels key in on them when ripe and they usually dont last long.
 

smith-n-stokes

Old Mossy Horns
LOL I'm reading The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark and it actually came from there. The boy mentioned aiming for the shoulder when he shot at squirrels. There are a lot of useful tips in that book for new and seasoned hunters and it covers many different kinds of hunting: Deer, waterfowl (mallard ducks, teal, etc), small game, doves, quail, etc. A great store of wisdom inside those pages. :D

I read that book every couple years. The “second part/book “ is a good read as well.


Sent from wherever I was at the time...
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
I’ve eat a truckload of squirrels in college just boiling them. Much better ways to eat them but boiling them and lettin’em cool off and just going all cave man on’em worked great for me as breakfast😂😂😂
 
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