Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Cleaning Squirrels

SQUACKS - Thanks for that video, I always had a hard time showing them the importance of the flap. Your demo makes it easy for them to see how you position it to pull from. Great job!

Grays rule!!! LOL!!!

Blammer, Nice picture!!
I have found if you twist the tail 180 deg. after the cut it pulls the skin apart more reliably without tearing the tail off.

Yea I drew it, pretty sad eh?

IT does look a bit comical. ya think?

Just needs some ears, claws, a bit of fuzz for the tail, and ya got it!

SQUACKS,

I'm kinda late getting to the subject matter here, but that's the way my Dad taught me how about 45 years ago. Very similar to how we did cotton tails, too. I haven't hunted squirrels for a while but have a hankerin to get out there again. Glad to see the old methods still work on modern squirrels. Good video . . .

Is it just me or are rabbits much more willing to shed their pelts than squirrels are? In my experience, rabbit skins just slide right off whereas squirrels need a good constant tug.

Rabbits are a cinch, no problems at all. Squirrel hide is tough and they don't give up their skin easily. The method shown is without doubt the easiest way I've ever used. Been doing it that way for many years now.

It looks like the drawing of an engineer. All factual, no fluff.

But, yes, a bit comical. Even funny when I went back and saw it again.

Mr. SQUACKS, excellent video, sir. I look forward to trying it.

When I read the title of this topic, I thot someone needed help giving his pet squirrels a good cleaning( like they can't do that themselves other than occasional fleas..:)

Was gonna tell about my experiences with a pair of orphan baby squirrels I once adopted when a young lad and raised to where they could care for themselves in the wild.
Hardest part was getting a good grip on the scruff of their neck like momma mighta done to carry them if she had to.

( Do squirrels do that or just cats, racoons, possums?..:)

Once that was done then came the water and dog flea soap.Mom told me water should feel just barely warm on the wrist..not hot.
They still squeeked and struggled alot but soon were clean and wrapped in an old towel to get dry..but I guess the "cleaning squirrels topic" here ain't what that was about..:) jim

At least you didn't think it was something about their rear and toilet paper.

I saw Squak's method illustrated in a Sports Afield Hunting Annual back in the '60s, but the illustrations did not stress the importance of the "flap"...I tried it a few times, with limited success, and went back to my old method of ringing them and pulling the skin both ways... Now that I've seen the video and learned how to REALLY do it, I can't wait to try it on my next mess of squirrels..

It is one of those things best seen, rather than looking over illustrations. I've explained it a dozen times to a fellow from Ohio on another forum and he can't for the life of him get the knack of it. I've given him a link to the video, written magazine article length descriptions of the process, and he still pulls the tail off! He's going to come here this fall deer hunting and we'll kill a mess of squirrels, I plan on showing him by cleaning a few myself, then coaching him through it until he figures this out. Once you've done it, no biggie. However, some have real trouble getting started.

Does it work that well after the tree rats get cold????? Cold squirrels are a pain in the butt to skin

It works for me warm or cold. I just work the legs a bit before doing and it works fine.

blammer, agreed! I can pull them out of the game bag on my vest stiff as tree limb, work the legs a time or two to straighten them out, dunk in water, and go to it with no problems!

limber them up ehhhhh,,will give it a try this year

You all plesantly remind me of one of the supposedly drop-dead funny bits I missed out on-- the day the squirrel hunter showed up at the gunstore with a dead squirrel. My one buddy owned the store, and my other was a gun writer. Hewas hanging out the store on a Saturday morning. This completely clueless fellow came in with a dead squirrel and asked for lessons on how to clean it properly.

My two buddies discussed the fine points of squirrel cleaning for the better part of an hour, while the fellow took notes. Included in the discussion was a side argument on which X-Acto knife blade was appropriate. One buddy argued a #12, while the other was fonder of a #20. You could have described how to do an appendectomy with less detail.

This all occurred a year or so before I joined the group, but folks were still doubling over whenever the subject of squirrel hunting came up.

I saw a similar situation a few years ago over on the AllOutdoors.com site. I fellow with under 25 posts started a thread asking opinions on camo patterns for squirrel hunting. He'd been invited to hunt squirrels for the first time, and he didn't want to look out of place to the other hunters.

Should have referred him to the magazine..., "GQ for Hunters!"