Tuesday morning.......

[wabi]

And I'll be in the woods stalking the wary Sciurus niger and Sciurus carolinensis - aka tree rats.

I know, it's not as much of a thrill as deer hunting to most, but they're edible and still fun to hunt - even after more than 50 years of chasing the little critters every fall. Plus it helps me tune up my hunting skills a little after a long summer of fishing as the primary outdoor activity.

I'll probably take the .22 cal Benjamin Discovery air rifle the first day.

I even bought a new pressure cooker last week so I could try a few new recipes with what I bring home.

[Waif]

Tree rats are fun hunting.
A friend used to say he could eat three smoked ones watching t.v..
I never had one smoked but sounds good.
Have fun.

[dfwpi]

Wish I still lived in Louisiana, as I would be doing a bunch of squirrel hunting.

[hankenhunter]

Whatchyagot stew just isn't the same without a few reds thrown in the pot. Have fun.
Hank

[xcaliber]

It is a lot of fun most times. Enjoy!

[GrassyKnoll]

It sounds like fun.. I've never eaten a squirrel... Might give them a try this season... Are they good fried? Or any suggestions on how to cook them?

[Waif]

A couple great recipes/ideas if you use "cooking squirrels" in the advanced search box.

Young ones,with their still quite pliable ribs can be fried .
Take the yellowish mini kidney bean glands out from under their armpits and remove excess fat if squirrel has any first if you are picky.
Older ones benefit from par boiling first.
Well worth eating though.

[GrassyKnoll]

Sounds good...Gonna put a few on the hit list..

[one shot scott]

Good luck wabi.

[vixenmaster]

Ah yes the fine dining of the tree rats, we mostly have the grays here wid a few Fox thrown in the mix. I eat the grays my furbabies eat the fox ones

[TheBig1]

I really like to make squirrel and dumplings with them. Or, I'll save the legs and freeze them and then make a big mess of homemade chicken wings.

[wabi]

Got a couple this morning, so it was a fun outing.
What got me most excited was finding a patch of these plants, though.
(Ginseng)

Didn't dig any roots, but I did plant some ripe berries.

[Waif]

Sang! You lucky dog Wabi...
I'll trade you some Virginia creeper for a couple two prongers to plant.
Congrats on the squirrels.
A couple more weeks here for the opener.
Been watching the ones around the house but they get left to entertain the dogs.
My squirrel dog is gettin old, but still willing.

[DaveShooter]

And I'll be in the woods stalking the wary Sciurus niger and Sciurus carolinensis - aka tree rats.

I know, it's not as much of a thrill as deer hunting to most, but they're edible and still fun to hunt - even after more than 50 years of chasing the little critters every fall. Plus it helps me tune up my hunting skills a little after a long summer of fishing as the primary outdoor activity.

I'll probably take the .22 cal Benjamin Discovery air rifle the first day.

I even bought a new pressure cooker last week so I could try a few new recipes with what I bring home.

Hey Wabi have fun as those Benji Disco's sure are a hoot to shoot. I use to hunt them tree rats with the Benji Disco and Marauder in 177 all the way up tp 25 cal.
Never did hunt them with my Big Bore .50 cal Pcp rifle called The Dragon Slayer
As way to much gun and power

[wabi]

Hey Wabi have fun as those Benji Disco's sure are a hoot to shoot. I use to hunt them tree rats with the Benji Disco and Marauder in 177 all the way up tp 25 cal.
Never did hunt them with my Big Bore .50 cal Pcp rifle called The Dragon Slayer
As way to much gun and power

You should try the .50 cal.
I used to hunt them with a .54 muzzleloader. A well placed shot and I didn't have to cut the head off when I cleaned them.