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Wow the squirrels are trying to decimate the hickory nuts here in Southeast Missouri. 4 of us bagged 35 this morning. The hunting is hot, both figuratively and literally.

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They are tearing up the hickories in my back yard but this heat wave keeps me pretty uninterested. I hate summer...


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Originally Posted by skinner
Wow the squirrels are trying to decimate the hickory nuts here in Southeast Missouri. 4 of us bagged 35 this morning. The hunting is hot, both figuratively and literally.


skinner, over here in southern illinois they are doing the same. I've only been out 3 times this year on my small 5 acre wooded lot, but have 16 in the freezer so far. it's a small area, but it is loaded with hickory, pecan and some oaks.

Sometimes, it only takes one large tree to bring home your daily limit! wink

I need to give it a rest here close for a while and go to my other hunting spots. Kinda hard to give it a rest though, when you go out to get your mail and squirrels are barking at ya as soon as you step outside!!
dave

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here in PA it starts mid-october. i'll be scouting my woodlots this weekend to see what the mast looks like. hickories around here have been real weak the past few years. when you can find them, you'll find the squirrels.


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Found cuttings all around the hickories I saw this week. Only bad thing is I was working and not hunting...

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The gray squirrels are still hitting the pines heavily in this area, but the hickories aren't far behind. Season opens on August 23rd, this Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting after them.


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I'd rather spend a week in jail than skin 35 squirrels.... wink

Glad you're having fun.


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Skinning squirrels isn't that bad given the right technique.


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Very few hickory in my area but they hit those they find. They're hitting the pines pretty heavy.

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35 is a big pot of stew. For a bowl, I'd volunteer.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

Ella

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Amen, Brother. Time served would be about the same.

That's one of the funniest things I've ever read on here.


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As MOGC said,it's all about the method you use to skin.I was timed the other day on three grays-skinning,feet&heads cut off.All were done in under 40 seconds each,and there wasn't any hair on the meat.


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Jim can you explain how you do it?

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There are video's on youtube,mainly the one by squacks,that do basically the same as I do,cut thru the tailbone & a bit down the sides,step on the flap of skin above the tail & pull up on the back legs.(don't just step on the tail-it will probably break off).To make the initial cut I cross the back feet,step on them with my right foot and push,not slice thru the tailbone.After you pull the front half off grab the "v"of skin at the belly and "pull the pants"off.I gut them different than most.I lay the skinned carcass belly up across my left leg and pinch the meat at the brisket and cut the belly meat off without getting inside the guts.The rest is done with game shears.Keep a razor sharp knife and don't let it get dull-avoid slicing against bone.I can skin,gut and butcher faster with just a knife,but use shears to save the knife edge.The knife is only used on the initial cut and to open the belly.

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Here is a cut-n-paste from a post i replied to when asked the same question. I do basically the same as Jim.

The very first thing you do and it is MANDATORY to avoid getting hair on the meat - DIP THE SQUIRREL COMPLETELY IN CLEAN WATER. I take my squirrels to a creek, river, lake, or pond to clean them. I especially like a flowing creek or clear river, the clean fast moving water is nice to wash your knife occasionally and tidy things up. I PROMISE you that if you will submerge the squirrel completely before you begin to clean and use the following method your messed up hairy meat days are over. Dipping the squirrel and using this cleaning method solves the hair problem completely and speeds things up a bunch. A video clip a feller made to look over...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AVwthXgMA&feature=fvw

I do things a little different than the video, DIP THE SQUIRREL! Then I cut through the bone on the underside base of the tail. Just about through the anus is the place. Carefully find the joint in the tailbone and slip the knife blade easily all the way through the bone and cartilage of the tail - but be careful not to cut through the skin and don't slice the tail off. Widen the cut left and right a little bit across the top back of the legs. Doesn't take much, a cut through the tailbone and about 1 1/2" wide is fine. I then step on the underside of the tail up tight against the body and pull the back legs straight upward until the front half is nearly off. Just clear the hide past where you want to cut off the feet and head - it isn't necessary to completely remove the hide and then cut off the head, ect. Then while still stepping on the tail grab that little sliver of hide left on the squirrels belly from the first operation and pull upward on that and you can skin the rear half upward and off in a nano-second. I don't pull the hide completely off the squirrel, I just clear where I need to snip the feet and the head off, then I use game shears to quickly snip the head and front feet off, reverse the squirrel and snip off the hind feet. Using game shears saves the knife edge and keeps it sharp.

Use your knife to gut, a swish or two in the creek helps clean things out. I then use the game shears to snip and separate the four legs and back from the rib section and pitch the ribs. The legs and back go on ice and it is on to the next squirrel. With a little practice you can skin, gut and separate a squirrel completely into cooking/serving size pieces in a couple minutes per squirrel. That cut across the back method just doesn't hold a candle to what I described, not even close.



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Thanks.

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I just checked a couple of small hickory groves on the farm yesterday morning. Our season comes in Sept.first. They are just starting to hit the hickories. I also saw a few acorns that they had cut. I am ready to ambush a few of the little bucktoothed nut monkeys.
Bill


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We never hunt them here until after the first hard frost.

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Originally Posted by MOGC
Here is a cut-n-paste from a post i replied to when asked the same question. I do basically the same as Jim.

The very first thing you do and it is MANDATORY to avoid getting hair on the meat - DIP THE SQUIRREL COMPLETELY IN CLEAN WATER. I take my squirrels to a creek, river, lake, or pond to clean them. I especially like a flowing creek or clear river, the clean fast moving water is nice to wash your knife occasionally and tidy things up. I PROMISE you that if you will submerge the squirrel completely before you begin to clean and use the following method your messed up hairy meat days are over. Dipping the squirrel and using this cleaning method solves the hair problem completely and speeds things up a bunch. A video clip a feller made to look over...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AVwthXgMA&feature=fvw

I do things a little different than the video, DIP THE SQUIRREL! Then I cut through the bone on the underside base of the tail. Just about through the anus is the place. Carefully find the joint in the tailbone and slip the knife blade easily all the way through the bone and cartilage of the tail - but be careful not to cut through the skin and don't slice the tail off. Widen the cut left and right a little bit across the top back of the legs. Doesn't take much, a cut through the tailbone and about 1 1/2" wide is fine. I then step on the underside of the tail up tight against the body and pull the back legs straight upward until the front half is nearly off. Just clear the hide past where you want to cut off the feet and head - it isn't necessary to completely remove the hide and then cut off the head, ect. Then while still stepping on the tail grab that little sliver of hide left on the squirrels belly from the first operation and pull upward on that and you can skin the rear half upward and off in a nano-second. I don't pull the hide completely off the squirrel, I just clear where I need to snip the feet and the head off, then I use game shears to quickly snip the head and front feet off, reverse the squirrel and snip off the hind feet. Using game shears saves the knife edge and keeps it sharp.

Use your knife to gut, a swish or two in the creek helps clean things out. I then use the game shears to snip and separate the four legs and back from the rib section and pitch the ribs. The legs and back go on ice and it is on to the next squirrel. With a little practice you can skin, gut and separate a squirrel completely into cooking/serving size pieces in a couple minutes per squirrel. That cut across the back method just doesn't hold a candle to what I described, not even close.



I have been skinnin' these dudes for years this same exact way.. Works better than any other method known to me.

Every once in a while, when you get an old buzzard that has nuggets the size of Neptune and a cigar in his mouth, you have to struggle a bit more to "undress" him on both ends.. but it usually still works using this method.

dave

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It has been terribly hot here in SEMO the last few days but we haven't let that stop us from experiencing some of the best hunting of the year. We have been limiting out sometimes out of just one hickory! They are also starting on the red oaks. Now if could just find some anti-fog for my glasses that actually works.

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