“You eat squirrels?” I’ve been asked that question many times, usually from someone with a funny look on their face. It often comes up during discussions on cooking and eating wild game. Many people, even non-hunters, seem to have no trouble with eating deer and turkeys, but when you bring up squirrels sometimes you get the look. I think it mostly has to do with what you are familiar with. If you come from a part of the country where squirrel is not a traditional wild game dish, dining on these tasty little rodents may seem a little too exotic, that is before you try them.
I put hunting with squirrel dogs in much the same boat. I’ve had hunters that are familiar with still hunting for squirrels ask me “Why do you need a dog to hunt squirrels?” Well, I would say you don’t specifically need a dog to collect a bag squirrels, but if you have never hunted with a good squirrel dog, it is something you definitely need to try.
Squirrel dogs and squirrel recipes are a tradition in the Southeast. The first settlers to go west of the Alleghenies often had a tough and adaptable mixed breed dog that did everything from tree and catch game to guarding the hen house and the homestead. These pioneer canines were no doubt the ancestors of today’s Cur and Fiest dogs, the breeds most often employed as squirrel dogs. Squirrels were often utilized as food by the early settlers and could usually be found when larger game might be scarce. The folks in the southeast have had a lot of years to develop recipes for this flavorful wild game.
I recently embarked on a road trip to pursue bushytails in a couple of different states. First stop was at the Squirrel Master Classic in Alabama, a two day squirrel hunting event that is the brain child of the founder of the deer hunting entity Buckmasters, Jackie Bushman. Along with the event’s sponsor, Gamo air rifles, Jackie was looking for a way to bring more attention back to small game hunting and thus bring more new hunters, young and old into the fold. “We really need to get small game hunting going again,” Bushman said, “I think this is the best way right now to add more hunters.” “Finding somewhere to deer or turkey hunt may be a problem, but most people don’t care if you want to squirrel hunt.” “Squirrel hunting takes you back to where many of us started, it’s just fun, especially with these squirrel dogs.” Each team at this event is comprised of an outdoor TV personality such as Jackie Bushman or Michael Waddell, a young shooter from the 4-H Shooting Sports Program, an outdoor writer, a guide for the area, and a squirrel dog handler. The team with the most squirrels and the most points earned in the air rifle shooting competition wins the coveted Squirrel Master Trophy, and the competition is fierce.
On the Squirrel Master Classic hunt we carried the new Gamo pellet rifle the Swarm Magnum, a .22 caliber break action air gun which features a ten shot magazine so the rifle does not have to be reloaded after each shot. This proved to be invaluable when trying to take shots at speedster gray squirrels leaping through the treetops. Once a gray squirrel decides to leave a tree the action is usually fast and furious and a hunter has to be on his game to connect with a shot.
My next stop on that particular adventure was with my old western Kentucky squirrel dog buddy Kevin Murphy. I began hunting with Kevin several years ago and have enjoyed every minute of tromping the LBL (the Land between the Lakes) and other areas near his home in Paducah, Kentucky. Kevin is a fountain of knowledge on squirrel dogs, hunting swamp rabbits, and many other topics in the hunting world. He is also one of the best squirrel chefs I have ever seen! Kevin always has a string of squirrel dog dynamos and up coming prospects as well as a few beagles and a bird dog or two. You can keep up with Kevin on his social media at www.smallgamenation.com.
I can whip up a batch of fried squirrel and it is good, not as good as Kevin Murphy’s entrees, but good. The squirrel banquet that I cannot come within ten miles of duplicating is the culinarydelights my Mom used to make. I have asked her about it, she has told how she used to cook them, but I cannot do it the way Mom used to. Why is that? Do we just remember things a certain way and it can never duplicated? I don’t know, you tell me. Get back to your roots this fall and back in the squirrel woods. Think squirrel gravy and biscuits.
Larry Case