Save or toss?

[GoodOlBoy]

What do you save and or toss on squirrels?

Myself I keep the meat and the tail, but have been considering keeping the hides as well as of late.

GoodOlBoy

[wrenchman]

why the hide i can under stand the tail for spinners and flys

[DogYeller]

Dyed skins for fly tying.
http://www.netway.com/~flyshop/catalog/images/hair-squirrel-skins.jpg

[tooldummy]

How do you go about drying the hides? Do you use some sort of preservatives?

[DogYeller]

Tooldummy, try this link.
http://www.lemoucheux.ca/dye.htm

[PaulinKansas]

it's been at least 20 years since i shot a squirrel. but i've shot alot of other things in the meantime to make up for it. :D

[tooldummy]

Thanks DogYeller. I checked out the sight, and it is pretty interesting. I'll give it a try this year. I sort of try fly tieing also (just getting started).

[wrenchman]

hey we have lots of black squirrels here would that make it easyer to to use then trying to dye we have greys and foxs also
but as you get more north its grey and black

[GoodOlBoy]

Buddy of mine shot a BIG albino a few years back. Had him mounted but his fur has yellowed with age.

GoodOlBoy

[Alex M]

I've been toying with the idea of saving the hide and tail for an experiment to make a decoy for red fox. I just need time to tan the hide, something to attatch the skin to, and of course...a squirrel to make a sacrifice for science :D

[mazter]

Alex M -Welcome to Huntchat

I save & Eat the meat, and have save the tail's too. The Cats love playing with a Dryed up tail.

Speaking of Decoy's- I took 8 Tail's and used superglue and attached them too a little stuffed bear. Put it on a Stick with a String on it. I can move it with the twitch of my finger. Works good.:D Lastyear a Red Tailed Hawk almost took off with it, That was a sight to see.

[gregarat]

Most of them I toss. I have in the passed saved meat, but rarely and when I get several at once.
Giving tails to the cat is fun too, especaly if you dont have to clean the mess hehehe :D .

[Lilred]

Always save everything!!
Hides fer knife holsters, tails fer fly-tyin, meat & gravy...yum yum!

My Pop used to eat squirrel brains fer breakfast every mornin like clockwork. Boil em, pop em open w/ a spoon..and mix em in with yer eggs..yum yum :p :D

[gspsonny03]

Lilred, are you being serious? I've always thought that I could eat just about anything, but I think that would make me lose my breakfast.

[Lilred]

I'm as serious as the day is long...he ate them things all the time. And yeah, fore I knew what they were, I was eatin em too..and while I eat/have ate coon stew, frog legs, snake, eel, hearts, livers, pig ears and even mountain oysters...I think that knowin yer eatin just a spoonful of squirrel brains..will make ya sick. Although, they dont taste that bad that I can recall..but there aint no way I would eat em now.
Pop used to say that they was like genseng, and that his pappy would eat em durin the war to keep up his strength. Must be alot of protein in em er sumthin, them ole timers lived offa the land, like their pappys did fore them..and they wont stupid by no means. But I dont need whatever they got in em that bad lol

[gspsonny03]

The only thing on that list that I'd have questions about would be the eel. Never tried that, so I don't know anything about it, but I think I'll pass on the brains, maybe I shouldn't say that. Some people may say I already passed on the brains. :D :D