# Skinned my first squirrel!



## xoxoGOATSxoxo (Jul 29, 2006)

Well, I skinned my first squirrel! My first anything, actually. I usually get unscraped hides from my neighbors, just for the fun of tanning them. I snared the squirrel, but the snare did not break it's neck like it was supposed to, so I went and shot it. Oh well. It was a red squirrel, so it's hide is the size of a postage stamp, but I wanted to skin something and not be afraid of ruining the carcass. 

Just to let you know. I'm pretty proud of myself!


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## RoyalOaksRanch (Nov 14, 2003)

GRATS!!







Well how did it go?? Did you get the hide off intact? Did you skin the head as well or just the neck down? How did you manage with the feet? What you going to do with it? 
Come on SHARE


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2006)

Now you can have squirrel and noodles like we did yesterday. Just boil the squirrel till tender. Add a couple of beef boulion cubes for extra flavor. The debone the meat and place meat back into the stock. Add 1/2 onion, salt and pepper, and enough noodles to fill the pot. Then enjoy!


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## bgak47 (Sep 4, 2003)

r.h. in okla. said:


> Now you can have squirrel and noodles like we did yesterday. Just boil the squirrel till tender. Add a couple of beef boulion cubes for extra flavor. The debone the meat and place meat back into the stock. Add 1/2 onion, salt and pepper, and enough noodles to fill the pot. Then enjoy!


 That sounds like a tasty recipe r.h.,but I'd like to suggest Worcestershire sauce as an alternative to the beef bullion. I also like to add a little corn starch to thicken the broth. Congrats Goat! I started out skinning muskrats about 50yrs ago. The hides were worth 25 cents each then & a successful trapping season bought me a Sears bolt-action 12ga shotgun.


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## xoxoGOATSxoxo (Jul 29, 2006)

Can't eat it. I already burried it! 

I just skinned from the neck down, and cut off the feet at the hocks and at the ankles. I did have to cut off part off one side, because I accidently shredded part of it with the kinfe I was using.  Then, when I scraped it (not much to scrape!) I ripped out a chunk of hair so I decided to pluck the whole thing. (I wasn't originally I like the fur pattern on red squirrles. ) But it was kind of harder to pull out than a deer so I plonked the thing into a bucket of water to soften up the follicles. After that I'll make the egg tanning solution and put it in there, then work it to make it velvety. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, since it's so small. I might just take it to school anf gross put my friends! (they aren't the hunting/skinning type)


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## Jex99in00 (Apr 24, 2006)

It's an awsome thing to learn how to skin an animal. With practice it gets easier and the skins come out better. I actually skinned my fiance's first pheasant last year, so we can keep it as a momento. Gonna put it on the wall once we move.


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## AllWolf (Dec 27, 2005)

Isn't it fun learning how to skin squrriel. My first squrriel I skinned oh my was a hard thing to do. I done lots of my skinning a little wrong but at least didn't ruin the meat. Now I almost have the skinning down to a T. 

When I had to skin 4 squrriels it took me a bit but by the time I got done I knew more of how to skin, clean and butcher the little guys. 

Good Luck on yours.


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## alabamared (May 23, 2005)

My Grandma told me about how when she was a little girl he daddy would make shoe laces for them out of squirrel hides. If you want to learn about brain tanning hides let me know.
Red


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## jnap31 (Sep 16, 2005)

Hope you get many more, I think I have only skinned maybe 15 or so but I will be hunting a lot when I get back.


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## Va. goatman (May 12, 2006)

Back in the 80s I did a lot of squirrel hunting and I mean a lot I found if you skin them warm It's a lot easyer just take 4 or 5 quart size plastic bags in the woods with you When you shoot a squirrel ease up and pick it up and skin + gut it while you wait for another All you have to do at home is wash them off 
Belive me the skins come off way better while still warm


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## feralgun (Sep 15, 2006)

goat, Congrats. keep it up. Squirrel hunting is a blast. I find it more fun than big game hunting. I grew up in Michigan and as a very young boy my first hunting expieriences were for the big Fox Squirrels that were so abundant. I loved the meat and the challenge of hunting them. Your story reminds me of my first squirrel. My dad was not a hunter and was not around much, so all my outdoors knowledge came from what I read in books and most all of it by trial and error. And there was plenty of error to learn from. My first squirrel that I skinned and cleaned was a mess, I didn't know what to do once I shot it, but I shot it and would not waste it. Skinning it was the worst, I really butchered it, but over the years and many many many squirrels later, I learned how to do it, but I still remember that first one, and it is a good memory. Let us know more of your squirrel hunting adventures. Good Luck


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## Drowning Worms (Mar 4, 2006)

This is how I skin them.
http://squirrel_video.tripod.com/

Drowning Worms


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## LindaVistaFarm (Jul 22, 2006)

Back in the 60s, I took a single shot shotgun and hunted squirrels and sold them for 50 cent each. They had to be skinned but the head had to be still on them so the people buying them was certain it wasn't a cat they were getting. In 1967 I sold enough squirrels and rabits to buy myself a pump gun. I was a happy teen with that brand new Remington pump gun. Found out though, with that single shot H&R I shot more rabbits and squirrels than with the pump gun. With the pump gun I wasted more shells blasting away at everything. I learned a big lesson back then. Now I own several single shot rifles and shotguns.


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## HeatherDriskill (Jun 28, 2005)

Drowning Worms said:


> This is how I skin them.
> http://squirrel_video.tripod.com/
> 
> Drowning Worms


Good video! Thanks!


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## HeatherDriskill (Jun 28, 2005)

Here's a good recipe:

Skin and quarter the animals first. Discard the spine and ribs. There's no meat on them anyway. 

After that, brown them in a skillet with just a little breading. Low to moderate heat works best. Avoid high heat at all cost. It will make the meat tough and tasteless. 

After the squirrel parts are browned, place them in a crock pot. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup, an onion or two, several carrots and a few green beans with plenty of potatoes. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. (You might want to try some of the newer wild game spices on the market.) 

Let 'em cook all day on a low heat. The meat will fall off the bones.


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## xoxoGOATSxoxo (Jul 29, 2006)

Thank you! great recipes, videos, stories...

and thanks for offering the brain tanning solution, but I like the eggs better because the dye the hide a subtle warm yellow.


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