Anyone hunting yet in MA?

firtree

firtree

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I see that bushytail season in zones 1-9 has already started
(sept. 12). Has anyone been out yet this year? I was thinking about
hitting Douglas State Forest early this weekend. Does anyone have
any advice about the layout, mast trees, yuppies on mountain bikes?

As I read the regs, it looks like .22s and shotguns are both ok to use
in zones 1-9. I was thinking of taking the 12 or 20 guage because of
the bike trails and crowds. Does this make sense, or am I just being
paranoid? My previous hunting was all done in Maine where you can find
plenty of empty woods.

Thanks,
F
 
With almost 5,000 acres, I'm sure you can find off-trail places to hunt squirrel.
Most of the Forest is upland, mainly oak, so there should be plenty of mast. That's conjecture, since I've never hunted there.
There may be hunting restrictions, so I'd call them first.

107 Wallum Lake Rd.
Douglas, MA 01516
508 476-7872

Isn't 20 bore a little big for squirrel?
JT
 
Sounds like a place to check out. I also stopped by the Westboro
WMA and took a quick look around. Much smaller, but looks like
it has plenty of rabbit habitat for rabbit season.

20 Guage for squirrel is too big? Really? I've found them to be
pretty tenacious little buggers, especially the bigger greys. I
don't think that a .410 or a 28 has got the oomph to reliably
bring them down from a tall Oak. Even with a .22, if the shot is
not a headhsot it could very well mean a lost animal.

F
 
I'm probably going to be sorry I asked... but once you've got your tree-rat, what do you do with it? Is there really enough meat on one to make it worth while cooking it?
 
Actually, it's been some time since I have ate squirrel. In the
South it's usually pressure cooked, then fried and served with
biscuits and white gravy. In New England, squirrel is a key
ingredient in Brunswick Stew. But either way, yeah, a couple of
large squirrels is plenty to work with. The problem with shot is
dealing with any that stays in the meat. yuck. Squirrels can be
a lot of fun, though. They are very aware but have a short memory.
They will see you coming from far away, but sit still for 20 minutes
and they will forgot you're still there.

F
 
I don't partake myself, but a friend swears by fricaseed squirrel.
Handgun hunting of squirrel is allowed in this Zone, if you want a real challlenge.
JT
 
Cross-X said:
dwarven1 said:
jacobtowne said:
I don't partake myself, but a friend swears by fricaseed squirrel.
Click to expand...
OK... now, just how do you fricasee something?
Click to expand...


First you kill it...
Click to expand...

To fricassee you cut the meat into little pieces and then stew it in gravy. Or at least that's how we did it back home down south.
 
C-pher said:
Cross-X said:
dwarven1 said:
jacobtowne said:
I don't partake myself, but a friend swears by fricaseed squirrel.
Click to expand...
OK... now, just how do you fricasee something?
Click to expand...


First you kill it...
Click to expand...

To fricassee you cut the meat into little pieces and then stew it in gravy. Or at least that's how we did it back home down south.
Click to expand...

+1 for that one.
 
Cross-X said:
First you kill it...
Click to expand...

This was the post that drove my comment!

Posting one step at a time in each post drives up post count instead of posting all steps of the recipe at one time!

So, no I wasn't picking on Ross!

Guess who the culprit was? DA
 
dwarven1 said:
Darius! Put DOWN the 1911!!!
Click to expand...

laugh.gif
 
LenS said:
Cross-X said:
First you kill it...
Click to expand...

This was the post that drove my comment!

Posting one step at a time in each post drives up post count instead of posting all steps of the recipe at one time!

So, no I wasn't picking on Ross!

Guess who the culprit was? DA
Click to expand...

You're busted, Darius... better call Jesse if you need a good lawyer to get you out of this jam! [lol]

Ross
 
C-pher said:
To fricassee you cut the meat into little pieces and then stew it in gravy. Or at least that's how we did it back home down south.
Click to expand...

Oh. Interesting; I've never had anything prepared that way, I don't think.

got any good recipes for tree-rat? ('cause let's face it; a squirrel is nothing more than a cute rat with good PR. )

Ross
 
dwarven1 said:
LenS said:
Cross-X said:
First you kill it...
Click to expand...

This was the post that drove my comment!

Posting one step at a time in each post drives up post count instead of posting all steps of the recipe at one time!

So, no I wasn't picking on Ross!

Guess who the culprit was? DA
Click to expand...

You're busted, Darius... better call Jesse if you need a good lawyer to get you out of this jam! [lol]

Ross
Click to expand...


[lol] [lol] [lol]
 
dwarven1 said:
C-pher said:
To fricassee you cut the meat into little pieces and then stew it in gravy. Or at least that's how we did it back home down south.
Click to expand...

Oh. Interesting; I've never had anything prepared that way, I don't think.

got any good recipes for tree-rat? ('cause let's face it; a squirrel is nothing more than a cute rat with good PR. )

Ross
Click to expand...

Take about four to six squirrels cleaned and diced (or use like 12 chicken thighs)
2 (12 ounce) packages andouille sausage, sliced
5 green onions, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups water
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic


Saute chicken and sausage in a large skillet for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove meat from skillet, add green onions and onion and saute until soft. Set aside.

To Make Roux: In a small saucepan stir together oil and flour over low heat; cook until color is caramel and mixture is reduced to 1 cup of roux. Set aside.

Put water in a large pot. Add the chicken, sausage, onion mixture, celery, seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, ground black pepper and garlic. Bring all to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 cup roux and stir together; the mixture should have the consistency of chowder. If necessary, add the remaining 1/2 cup roux.

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve hot over rice, if desired
 
It is, the hardest part is making the Roux. It goes from that brown caramel color to coffee color in no time if you're not over it watching it.

And then it's ruined. But when you get it, it makes all the difference in the taste. I have a cream sauce that I make that uses a roux. But for that, I use butter and flour, not oil and flour.
 
So I went last week but due to circumstance I was stuck going right
around noon. It was in the mid 80's and not a critter in sight. It was
a nice afternoon, though. I went to Westboro WMA and marked up
my map with good looking squirrel and deer spots. Ran into a game
warden on the trails and we had a friendly discussion about pheasant
stocking in MA. I saw very little tailing on the ground. The squirrels
seem to be just starting to cut on the Hickory trees and are not into
the acorns yet. All in all a good day to get out in the woods and make
sure everything is ready for the season.

F
 
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