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Great story and amazing pictures. Thanks for posting.
BFJ
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A Kentucky Squirrel Hunt
- Thread starter ghostdncr
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Nice hunt thanks for sharing!
frontierman01
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Nice scenery and harvest. Over here in NY, The NYS DEC warns people that raccoons are carriers of Rabies. do you have that issue in Ohio? I was under the impression that raccoons are nocturnal. Never had raccoon, what does it taste like? I've eaten squirrel.
I'm in Kentucky and yes, rabies is something to be concerned with here. My family has periodically eaten raccoons as far back as anyone can remember and along with being taught how to find them, I was also taught how to identify rabid behavior in the various woodland animals. I'm not even certain these teachings are accurate, but can say I've never heard of anyone contracting rabies from eating a rabid animal. Whether a result of this type of training (very common knowledge when I was I kid) or if thoroughly cooking the meat destroys the virus, I cannot say.
Raccoons are nocturnal, and seeing one out and about during daylight hours is supposedly a strong indicator to suggest rabies. This applies to skunks, too. In that case, I was told to shoot them and either bury the carcass deep or turn it in to a veterinarian or Fish and Wildlife for testing. The one seen in my original post was sound asleep, and it took much ruckus on the ground to get it roused. I've always heard that once the disease manifests itself, the animal will never sleep again anyway. They just go until they die. This raccoon exhibited none of the behavioral signs commonly displayed by infected animals once awake, so I decided to take the shot. I saw a late-stage rabid dog once and have never forgotten it. The stuff of nightmares, right there!
Properly prepared, raccoon tastes a lot like beef. Especially so when prepared as barbecue. Most raccoon is ruined in the preparation phase, and likely why they generally get a bad reputation as table fare. Town raccoons that regularly dine on garbage are not something I'd consider eating, little different than a possum or rat. There probably wasn't a garbage can within several miles of where this raccoon was found, so I felt pretty good about labeling her a true "woodland" coon.
I think squirrel has a very distinct flavor and it's one of my very favorites. Squirrel hunting with a flintlock is about the high water mark for me. If forced to give up all other hunting except for one type, flintlock squirrels would be my choice without hesitation.
Raccoons are nocturnal, and seeing one out and about during daylight hours is supposedly a strong indicator to suggest rabies. This applies to skunks, too. In that case, I was told to shoot them and either bury the carcass deep or turn it in to a veterinarian or Fish and Wildlife for testing. The one seen in my original post was sound asleep, and it took much ruckus on the ground to get it roused. I've always heard that once the disease manifests itself, the animal will never sleep again anyway. They just go until they die. This raccoon exhibited none of the behavioral signs commonly displayed by infected animals once awake, so I decided to take the shot. I saw a late-stage rabid dog once and have never forgotten it. The stuff of nightmares, right there!
Properly prepared, raccoon tastes a lot like beef. Especially so when prepared as barbecue. Most raccoon is ruined in the preparation phase, and likely why they generally get a bad reputation as table fare. Town raccoons that regularly dine on garbage are not something I'd consider eating, little different than a possum or rat. There probably wasn't a garbage can within several miles of where this raccoon was found, so I felt pretty good about labeling her a true "woodland" coon.
I think squirrel has a very distinct flavor and it's one of my very favorites. Squirrel hunting with a flintlock is about the high water mark for me. If forced to give up all other hunting except for one type, flintlock squirrels would be my choice without hesitation.
frontierman01
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Thanks for enlightening me on this subject. I'm originally from the city. The first time I had squirrel, it took me a few minutes to overcome my prejudice. I was use to seeing them in the parks and feeding them. In fact I still feed them in my yard. But I hunt the ones I eat in the woodlands in the state park near me. If I get the chance, I'll give raccoons a go. Just can't let the wife and kids see it.
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