2024/2025 Squirrel Hunting Thread...........

[Eterry]

We have them here in Tennessee during the summer. Been a long time since I've seen one but, when you pull the skin off, looks kinda like an eyeball staring at you. I've always scrapped squirrels that had those because grandpappy told me to. But some folks say that doesn't bother the meat. Once it cools off the wolves are gone. Unless you were referring to real wolves. We have those too. Only red wolves though. Two walked right past me in the back yard one night a few weeks ago.

They are bot fly larvae, the same as cattle and other livestock get. My vet says it's ok to eat rabbits, Squirrels, etc with them... but I just can't do it. I toss them, everytime.

Dad and Grandpa called them wolves also.

 

[yellowhammer]

I’ve heard of the “wolves”. I’ve never seen them or heard of any here in PA. Are they a southern thing?

Like previously said, Bot Fly larvae. Yeah, might be a Southern thing. Look at my link in post #967. Pretty gross. If you have horses or cattle you often see Bot flys laying little yellow eggs on hairs down around the hooves. They lick the eggs and the larvae develop in the gut.

Nasty parasite...

 

[ETipp]

Like previously said, Bot Fly larvae. Yeah, might be a Southern thing. Look at my link in post #967. Pretty gross. If you have horses or cattle you often see Bot flys laying little yellow eggs on hairs down around the hooves. They lick the eggs and the larvae develop in the gut.

I kept the only squirrel I got last year that had a wolf in it. The only reason why is the wolf was barely under the skin. In fact, it fell out when I skinned the squirrel.

 

[TDM]

I kept the only squirrel I got last year that had a wolf in it. The only reason why is the wolf was barely under the skin. In fact, it fell out when I skinned the squirrel.

Thankfully it’s not a problem here at the camp.

 

[Eterry]

Thankfully it’s not a problem here at the camp.

Dad wouldn't hunt rabbit or squirrel until a good frost. I tend to do the same. We have red fox squirrels here, much easier to hunt than those dang East Texas grey cat squirrels...

 

[snakebit]

Squirrels like good food too!
About 10 years ago I was hunting public lands near me, very isolated. My friend and I were gathering fall down apples from an orchard and carrying feed sacks to our bow blinds.
First day of season I'm there before light. I Hear plenty of commotion in the trees, then finally light enough to see.
The Squirrels were racing to the apples, picking them up, examining them, then biting into it and running away. Most took a tree and stashed them.
I watched them steal almost every apple on the pile we'd placed there the day before, 2 feed sacks full!
I told George that's my last time I feed the squirrels apples.

I have 3 apple trees out back. 2 produce red, 1 green. I watch them eating the red ones, they never touch the green ones. Weird. Have 2 persimmon trees that produce, they won't eat them either.

 

[Hermit Tim]

I have 3 apple trees out back. 2 produce red, 1 green. I watch them eating the red ones, they never touch the green ones. Weird. Have 2 persimmon trees that produce, they won't eat them either.

Are those green ones extra tart? Bet they don't like that. We had a bunch of apple trees around the buildings at the farm where I grew up. They grew funny looking green apples that were very tart. Never once saw a squirrel eating those. Granny would cut them up and lay them out on the picnic table to dry and nothing bothered them. Then they would become the best fried pies I ever ate.

 

[longcruise]

I used those, or some just like them, back in the nineties. They surely do the job. I think there are still a few floating around in my gun tool box. Good stuff.

After I had a couple Grouse fly away after taking a field tip through the body I made a switch. Drilled 1/16" holes through the tips and inserted finishing nails then bent them back a bit so they wouldn't fall out. Squirrels, bunnies and Grouse are stopped real quick. Just pull the nails to get back to target shooting.

 

[snakebit]

Are those green ones extra tart? Bet they don't like that. We had a bunch of apple trees around the buildings at the farm where I grew up. They grew funny looking green apples that were very tart. Never once saw a squirrel eating those. Granny would cut them up and lay them out on the picnic table to dry and nothing bothered them. Then they would become the best fried pies I ever ate.

Not tart when they mature. They are sweet , but the peels are tough.

 

[snakebit]

Not tart when they mature. They are sweet , but the peels are tough.

I have seen a fox grab one a couple of times.

 

[Jim K]

Like previously said, Bot Fly larvae. Yeah, might be a Southern thing. Look at my link in post #967. Pretty gross. If you have horses or cattle you often see Bot flys laying little yellow eggs on hairs down around the hooves. They lick the eggs and the larvae develop in the gut.

Nasty parasite...

Yikes!! I looked at that link! They’re nasty. I don’t think I could eat them!

 

[Eterry]

Yikes!! I looked at that link! They’re nasty. I don’t think I could eat them!

They typically fall off the flesh, or are lightly attached, sometimes fall off the skin as you dress them. But, just the sight of that nasty thing on something I'm about to eat just turns my stomach. Maybe in a starvation situation I'd feel different. But I have never cooked an animal knowingly with bots on them.

 

[ETipp]

They typically fall off the flesh, or are lightly attached, sometimes fall off the skin as you dress them. But, just the sight of that nasty thing on something I'm about to eat just turns my stomach. Maybe in a starvation situation I'd feel different. But I have never cooked an animal knowingly with bots on them.

There wasn’t even a mark on the meat on the one I kept. It was all on the hide and actually fell off while cleaning. It was small.

 

[ETipp]

Yikes!! I looked at that link! They’re nasty. I don’t think I could eat them!

I wouldn’t either if it looked anything like in that link. Now that I think about and viewed that link, I now recall shooting one squirrel for sure, maybe two, years ago in TN that had large bumps like that on them. I remember throwing them away. That was over 40 years ago when I first moved to TN.

So far, I’ve yet to see anything like that here in KY. One thing is for certain, if I ever do kill a squirrel that has big, nasty looking things like that on them, they will become buzzard bait.

 

[ETipp]

Not tart when they mature. They are sweet , but the peels are tough.

Interesting, Tom.

 

[ETipp]

Squirrel report from Kentucky. Despite all the fresh foliage, I’m still seeing a fair amount of squirrels carrying walnuts they’ve scrounged from the ground. Always neat to see a squirrel with a big old walnut in its mouth trying to hop or run at the same time.

Also, and unfortunately, still seeing a lot of dead squirrels on the roads. Very common this year to have to swerve or hit the brakes in order to prevent running over the little buggers.

 

[ETipp]

After I had a couple Grouse fly away after taking a field tip through the body I made a switch. Drilled 1/16" holes through the tips and inserted finishing nails then bent them back a bit so they wouldn't fall out. Squirrels, bunnies and Grouse are stopped real quick. Just pull the nails to get back to target shooting.

Some bow hunters I used to hunt with when I lived in Colorado used to slide a .38 casing the end of the arrow shaft. Then put 2 finishing nails crossways through that. I was foolish enough to go out there with just a field tip. Every rabbit I shot I had to literally chase down. Whereas every time they shot a rabbit, it made a definite “thud” sound. No chasing was necessary.

Very effective.

 

[ETipp]

Pilot, you have a beautiful state. We were in the north east not far from Iowa. I could live there!!

We had our clothes sprayed. Didn’t see a tick!!

Did see some fox squirrels though. That always winds me up. View attachment 317130

Nice bird, Jim. You scored what you went after.

 

[Gum Slough Muzzleloader]

We talked about Nightmares of Demon Squirrels and Flying Monkeys, but some of them pictures.... I don't know...

 

[ETipp]

Yep, same here Ed, Gotta admit temptation when I saw a hawk in my pellet gun crosshairs, sitting on our fence with a little blue bird in his claws writhing in agony, after I had done so much to try to get the little fellers established here. But I won't kill them; I'm a good little boy. My old Dad used to say "Ye cain't have NUTHIN!'" - i.e. you cant raise or cultivate ANYTHING without some dang varmint trying to kill or tear up everything.

In terms of what your dad used to say. I’ve said the same thing here many times. Hawks kill my chicken's, deer, squirrels and crows eat every apple off my apple tree and pear trees.

About 4 years ago I would walk past my front window and look down the hill at my garden. Corn stalks were tall and all I could see was the tops of them swaying back and forth. One day I noted the time. Within 15 minutes a squirrel had destroyed 3 corn stalks. Sometimes they would eat the corn off of the upper half of the ear of corn and move on to the next one. I finally shot 12 squirrels out of my corn patch alone. I don’t recall but it was most likely a year with scarce food for them in the woods. My corn usually gets ripe around July 4th so it was early part of summer.