Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Best way to skin a squirrel

Tried it several ways..used to make a cut in the back and then grab both ends and pull. Sometimes you pull the squirrel in half though. Tried cutting just below the tail and standing on the back legs, works okay. Any other thoughts?

I used to make a cut in the nape of the neck for squirrels and cottontails and hook my fingers inside and pull towards the tail. usually get about a half at a time sometimes all at once if lucky. Or you could shoot em with a .223 or .22-250 which will skin and quarter all at once. Not a lot left to eat that way tho.

I like the root of the tail and down the back method. I use pruning shears (anvil type) to cut off the legs. miles

This is the way I do it, but big fox squirrels take a bit more time. Also, the sooner you skin em after you shoot em, the easier it will be.


maddog

Thanks, that looks alot like what I was trying to do, except i would cut all the way down the back legs. Believe me I know not to let them get cold. If not shot up, I have taken an air compressor and stuck it in a slit in their hide , they blow up like a football, and the hide seperates from the body. Works sometimes!

Hmmm...you carry a compressor to the woods?



maddog

One of my dad's friends always carries plastic bags with him
when squirrel hunting and cleans them in the woods after he
shoots them. Says he cant stand cleaning a cold stiff squirrel
at the end of the day.

You'll have an advantage when the squirrel is cleanly killed without excessive damage and you don't wait all day to skin. I always prefer the "stepping on the base of the tail" method on a good squirrel. You need a proper smallish knife, make sure you cut the tail bone at the base joint without going through the hide on the other side, make sure you cleanly nick the hide to go around each side to leave the pants, and make sure you firmly step on the base of the tail with the ball of your foot against a solid object. The hide comes off like a sock. It doesn't take too many squirrel under the belt before you'll get it down well enough to clean a mess of squirrel in short order.

Squirrel that are poorly shot with excessive damage and have sat around all day before skinning may prove tricky and could tear in half. You may need to extend your nicks further around by partially skinning the hide around the back and each side so the base of the tail has a flap which goes around the waist a bit. This will make the pull to start the pants a bit easier which may reduce the chance you tear the squirrel into pieces. If the squirrel is too shot up, you probably need to switch gears and use the method where you split the hide in the center and pull out from the middle with your hands in opposite directions.

The more squirrel you clean and cook, the more you strive to take them cleanly with minimal damage. Eventually you find the right combination and a difficult squirrel becomes the exception and not the rule.

Best

I do as you do. Pulling the squirrel in half isn't so bad. It's when you do it and they squirt poop all over you that kind of ruins your day.

I find shooting them first helps.. But that's just me