Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Skinning Squirrels

Mostly Grays where I hunt. Normally I'm only out for squirrels for an hour or two and skin when I get back to the truck. A slit across the back and pull the skin off in opposite directions stopping at head, tail and feet, cut or snip these parts off. Skin everything I shot first. Sometimes I need to use my knife to free up hide that doesn't want to cooperate. Then I gut them. Rinse them with fresh water and store in gallon zip lock and in the cooler they go. During warm weather Hornets incent me to speed up this process.

I like to dunk them in water first. I then use a hatchet to cut the legs off then make a slice in the middle of the back and peel the hide off each end. then cut the tail off and same with the head. Then gut. You need a nice stump or log as your skinning station.

Goes much faster when you aint trying to video it.

https://youtu.be/QlGs9dBnoaI

You don't need the fish skinning pliers. The pliers are unnecessary in the skinning process. It's a simple thing to grab that bottom half skin on the belly with your fingers and pull the hide off.

This has been a very helpful thread, as I struggle with squirrels.

When I was a kid I would wrestle, tug, pull yank, jerk, beat them on tree trunks and come away exhausted with a hairy mess. Cleaning them was the one thing I disliked about squirrel hunting. Once I discovered the best method, it's an easy peasy couple minutes per squirrel and nothing but clean hairless meat. I do the chore at a creek or lake nearby and only take home the processed meat so there isn't any mess to throw away and deal with at home. Nothing to it!

Maybe on a perfect skin, but I've had it rip in half there and by the time you get both legs pulled out one at a time you have hair everywhere, the pliers just make it easier.

squirrels shin better when they are still warm period,as do all animals.

I use my hatchet and chop off the feet, head, and tail. Slit across the back and pull their pants and shirt off. Takes less than a minute each. Gut them and rinse them off.

I skin them both ways, whatever I feel like at the time. I don't see any difference in work involved but these old boys here in southeast Missouri defend their method like it was their sisters virtue, or breed of dog. The rimfire/shotgun debate is another topic around here I shy away from.

I have a little insulated nylon fanny pack cooler that I stick an ice pack and some ziploc bags in when I go squirrelin'. Skin and quarter and put them on ice as soon as they hit the ground. They shuck right out of their hide lickety split when freshly killed and I don't have to deal with skinning/dressing nasty stiff squirrels when I get home.

I've skinned a plenty both ways since the late 60's. I prefer to keep a pair side cutters, cut off the feet and tail. Cut across the back and pull apart, ring around the neck, pull head off, and dry. They are a little easier fresh killed, and blackhearts idea is a good one. I've used a hatchet also, but I've used the same side cutters since my dad used them when I was a boy. You pull as far apart as possible first pull, then work on each end separately, and with tail and feet gone, the hides gone in a jiffy. And what hair does get on dry meat, comes off much easier. Get it wet, lot harder get hair off.

I saw this on Meateater’s YouTube page, and it’s worked well for me:
https://youtu.be/FtspCxIfWuI

You haven't read through this thread, have you?

I had, just didn’t click on your link to the same video.