When I was at the Bergton Fair back in August, I picked up a copy of the 2024-25 Virginia game laws. I noticed that squirrel season comes in on September 7 this year. That seemed awfully early to me. Back in the day when I did most of my squirrel hunting, I don’t remember hunting squirrels until around the first of October? I don’t know if the season came in later then or I just waited for cooler weather to hunt.
In a previous article I mentioned that I got my first .22 rifle for Christmas as a teenager. If you really want to hone your shooting skills, hunt squirrels with a .22 rifle, equipped with a good rifle scope, and go for head shots. Head shots make for a quick kill, doesn’t ruin the meat, and makes skinning a lot easier. It’s not easy to get an unobstructed head shot at a squirrel moving through leafy foliage on a windy day. You have to be patient! I always found it’s best to kneel beside a tree and use it to steady yourself for the shot. Even then you have to be able to control your excitement, breathing and trigger pull. This is very good training for deer hunting, or any other any other kind of hunting for that matter.
My favorite place to hunt squirrels was in a big patch of hickory trees at the foot of Fallbush mountain. Sometimes I would get up early when there was just enough light to see, and make the long walk to the mountain. I could take the direct route by way of the lane to the Moyers home place and then up the old logging road to the foot of the mountain. Or I could hunt the lower ridges along the way. That would mean climbing the steep hill behind the house, dropping down into the next hollow and then up the next steep ridge. From there an old grown-up road followed the top of the ridge and went through a patch of oaks that usually held a good population of squirrels. It wasn’t unusual to get my limit of 6 well before I got to the mountain.
As I grew more adept at hunting, I had to figure out how to comfortably carry the squirrels while moving through the woods. Carrying them in a bloody bag, pack or vest was very messy and it had to be cleaned out each time for future use. The best way I found to carry multiple squirrels is using a sharp stick. I don’t remember if someone told me about this method or if I figured it out myself. It works pretty well. Simply cut a green stick about 4” long with a sharp end. Cut a slit in the rear foot of the squirrel and run the stick through it. Keep adding squirrels as you get them. The stick keeps them together and the protruding ends give you a grip for carrying.
Of course, if you get’em you gotta skin’em! I only know of two ways to skin a squirrel. Either cut a slit in the middle of the back and pull both ways, or carefully cut through the bone at the base of the tail, put your foot on the tail and pull on the rear legs. I much prefer the latter. I learned pretty quickly to extend the cut on each side of the tail so the skin comes off and not the tail itself. Pull until you get to the head and front feet. If you do it right that leaves a triangle on the belly of the squirrel that can be used to pull the skin back over the rear legs. Then cut off the head and feet, remove the innards and you’re pretty much done. Some people skin out the head for the meat on the jaws, but I ever did. There isn’t much to eat on a squirrel except the legs and a section of meat under the backbone.
Cook until tender. That may take a while if you bagged an old fox squirrel. I swear, I think they are made of rubber. The younger the squirrel the more tender the meat. When finished cooking, coat with flour or your favorite batter, fry them up and make some gravy.
It has been a long time since I hunted squirrels. If I tried to cook some up today, “she who shall not be named,” would run me out of the house. It’s for the best I suppose!
R.D. Cullers
Graduate of Bergton Elementary (Class of ’65)
