What do you do with the quarry you’ve taken down?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Moke said:
Shown here with my silver-handled, I don't touch Vermin, sling'em-back-upslopers,... for the Coyotes.
View attachment 502264
Click to expand...
I’m right there with you on not touching rats. They’re so foul that I don’t even want to give them as dinner to any living creature, pest or not. Just burn them afterward. Think i have some similar grill pliers around the bbq, you sparked an idea :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief
Upvote 0
bowwild said:
I won't kill a squirrel I don't intend to eat. I will shoot invasive European starlings and trash them.

I have eaten pigeons and doves. They taste the same. Don't have any ground squirrels.
Click to expand...
I respect that stance—it's great you prioritize using what you take.

Over here, we can’t shoot starlings since they’re not seen as pests. If we could, I’d love to keep their wings for fly-fishermen—those feathers are perfect for tying small wet flies and soft hackles.
 
Upvote 0
ZekeZX10 said:
Rabbit and squirrel go in the stew, smaller critters feed the kitties

Eat what you kill?

Probably odd, but I love chocolate covered ants and would have to take a pass on scorpion lollipops. The same with the other insects, also. The wife is Filipina, so I get to see some truly scary stuff come out of the kitchen. Most I won't touch, but anything pig related doesn't last long. What...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
Click to expand...
Squirrel stew? Ewww! 😂 Not for me, but rabbit stew? Now that's yummy!

Fun thread, thx for sharing.
 
Upvote 0
Paul Be Careful said:
Sounds like a great setup! I love eating doves too, but over here they’ve been taken off the general license, so sadly, no more dove dinners for us.

Leaving starlings and ground squirrels for the local critters seems like a practical way to handle things. Do you shoot on farmland? Are coyotes not considered pests?
Click to expand...
I’m glad I don’t have to handle the ground squirrels. Here in California they are known to carry the fleas that cause bubonic plague. I don’t get a where near them. I’m not shooting on a farm. The owner/foreman haven’t said the coyotes aren’t doing any damage other than critter clean up. There’s also lots of mourning doves and crows. Neither one can be hunted with N airgun so thy get a pass
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Be Careful
Upvote 0
I eat squirrels. I keep the 4 legs and the back part of the back. I cook them in an electric pressure cooker with steam for 1 hour. They come out very tender. Then I either dip them in bbq sauce as I eat the pieces or I wait for the meat to cool a little and strip it off the bones putting it in a tupperware container to eat over the next several days. Looks a bit like pulled pork. It's hard to get all the tiny bones, however. Tastes great. I like mac and cheese and broccoli to go with my squirrel bbq.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VVonton, Paul Be Careful and ZekeZX10
Upvote 0
PasadenaMike said:
Depends on the kill. Ground squirrels make coyotes happy and so do European starling and house sparrows. collared doves make great dove nuggets. when in season cottontails get taken and eaten As well.
Click to expand...
I use the Ground Squirrels for Buzzard, Raptor food with the occasional Coyote if it happens to find it. If I happen to seen the Coyote well it's going to become Buzzard food.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Paul Be Careful
Upvote 0
Calbarry said:
I’m glad I don’t have to handle the ground squirrels. Here in California they are known to carry the fleas that cause bubonic plague. I don’t get a where near them. I’m not shooting on a farm. The owner/foreman haven’t said the coyotes aren’t doing any damage other than critter clean up. There’s also lots of mourning doves and crows. Neither one can be hunted with N airgun so thy get a pass
Click to expand...
I use a grabber with some screws poking thought to grab the GS's, I'm not touching them either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Be Careful
Upvote 0
I mainly hunt gray squirrel. Some I eat myself. Some get swallowed whole by my exotic pets...yellow anacondas and a boa constrictor.
IMG_7295.jpeg
IMG_6878.jpeg
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: Paul Be Careful and JaceSpace1369
Upvote 0
Paul Be Careful said:
I’m curious about what happens to your kills once the dust settles. Do you burn it, bury it, or give it a new purpose?

Here in the UK, we enjoy rabbits and wood pigeons (and my personal favourite, collared doves, though they’re now off the legal menu). Some folks eat squirrels, but not me—I send corvid feathers and squirrel tails to a fly-fishing merchant.

Is it similar across the pond? You shoot a wide variety of quarry, and I’d love to know what you do with it. I’ve heard iguanas are often turned into leather goods or eaten, which I find quite fascinating.


View attachment 502224
View attachment 502225
View attachment 502226
View attachment 502227
View attachment 502228
Click to expand...
PBC, hello, most of the pigeons and sparrows that I recover are given to the farmers cats. One in particular follows me around as soon as I park near her barn !
Groundhogs get left in a couple spots to go for whomever gets there first. Same for crows , starlings & rats. The cats want nothing to do w/ dead rats , unless they catch them ! There is a compost pile if need be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Be Careful
Upvote 0
I eat squirrels harvested on public lands, but the ones caught on my property get left for the raccoon/ coyote cleanup crew.

Groundhogs get tossed in a garbage bag and disposed of. Occasionally if they get taken in a field with high grass, I'll leave them where they lay, and let the turkey vultures finish the job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Be Careful
Upvote 0
Contndr35BB said:
PBC, hello, most of the pigeons and sparrows that I recover are given to the farmers cats. One in particular follows me around as soon as I park near her barn !
Groundhogs get left in a couple spots to go for whomever gets there first. Same for crows , starlings & rats. The cats want nothing to do w/ dead rats , unless they catch them ! There is a compost pile if need be.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you've got quite the arrangement with the local feline patrol!
 
Upvote 0
N2 Shooter said:
I eat squirrels harvested on public lands, but the ones caught on my property get left for the raccoon/ coyote cleanup crew.

Groundhogs get tossed in a garbage bag and disposed of. Occasionally if they get taken in a field with high grass, I'll leave them where they lay, and let the turkey vultures finish the job.
Click to expand...
I’m sure you’ve got some tricks, but squirrel doesn’t have me rushing to the kitchen—a lot of effort for little, stringy meat. Prolly haven't tried the right recipe. For the groundhogs, do you think burying them might be an option? I can’t imagine the recycling plant is thrilled with them showing up from the bags?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: N2 Shooter
Upvote 0
Paul Be Careful said:
So, you sell them off to a company that processes the iguanas? Interesting. I’d love to know what happens next—how they handle them, what they’re used for, and what the whole process looks like. Must be quite the operation.
Click to expand...
We have several buyers throughout the states and locally. Some want them as feed for gator/hog farms, others for bait during stone crab season, hog hunting, and other for whatever personal reason. Some eat them, others make things out of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paul Be Careful and beerthief
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu