How to squirrel hunt in the rain and keep dry

[BilletHead]

    

  Choot em out the family room window while sitting next to the pellet stove,

BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

I could do that as well, but the neighbors behind our house would get a bit concerned. Just need to convince my better half to get a pelletgun for the yard 'tails. Is that a .17 or .22? Magazine looks like it might be a 22. Braising those squirrels will also warm up the house for a couple of hours as well to get them to fall off the bone tender.

I have hung up my bow without filling my tag. did have 5 bucks walk by my stand last weekend. They took the secondary trail below the primary trail covered in snow. Too much brush between them and myself. Yesterday did not see any and today too icy to venture out to the blind.

[BilletHead]

     Yes john you gave it a good try this season. I am sure you will be ready for the next one. I could of taken a doe the last three weeks. They are out back every afternoon/evening behind the house. Five to eight of them. Just this evening Pat was saying there they are, this is your last chance. Could of done what I did to this mornings tree rats. Just did not have the drive to get another. I too will be ready for next season. Hopefully it will not be as hot as it was early archery season 2016.

   Yes to looking forward to Aurora squirrel again. The braising process in that dish is the bomb and very tasty. That is the first thing I thought of when the Mrs. said hey why don't you shoot them out the window this morning. She the Mrs. got one of her spring gobblers out that same window several years back . Yes really she did !

 My rifle is a .17 HMR Quite a neat little round. I prefer using FMJ for hunting the tree rats but sometimes after being hit they would go a ways before expiring if you missed the head. So it is back to soft tips. With those if you happen to hit as far back as the neck it will blow out bot front legs but they will not go anywhere when hit. My buddy from up by St. Louis has a .25 cal pellet rifle. You can pump it up with a bicycle tire pump but it takes some time. It has an air cylinder that holds enough air for quite a few rounds. He now has a SCUBA tank he gets charged to fill the rifle. He is heck on squirrel and anything else he can get a shot at. I shot it and it is really neat. One thing that is on my wish list.

BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

Well I am looking forward to temps in the mid 40- 50s to get a couple more squirrels for the pot. I only have three in the freezer. With my brother-in law and a 16 year old boy to feed, I figure at least three or four more will be the minimum we need to make a great meal. I wouldn't mind a couple of rabbits. I just can't bring myself to shoot the rabbit in our yard with my bow. I'm thinking about making squirrel and mushrooms like I did back when the chanterelles were in full force. I'll see what wild mushrooms I can get at our store once we get enough squirrels. Still have some of the pickled chanterelles. So I might add some of them into the mix.

[BilletHead]

  John did you dehydrate any from last season? You can grind them up very fine or to a powder and thicken up broth from braising your rodents. Making a gravy. Get the mushroom flavor with out the leathery texture from dehydrated ones in case you don't find fresh ones. My buddy I mentioned above that has the air rifle brought me a jar of black trumpets when he and his Mrs. came to goose hunt he dehydrated.  Trying to figure what to use them in ?

BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

Dried black trumpets are great in venison stews. I know that they would work well in a braising liquid for some tree rats. The dried chanterelles from the summer were done in the oven and browned a bit. I may have to try to powder them and see what the flavor is like before committing them to a braising on those rodents.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I use a Benjamin 22 caliber pump air gun.  Model 392.  They are very reasonable and they pack a punch.  My daughter is a stone cold killer on rabbits here in the burbs of St Louis.  Our best day together on ⅓ acre is 11.  Flower fed rabbits.

I know they have those fancy new ones like Gammo but this thing is deadly.