Ah pliers!!! Yes please a video would be cool. I make the cuts down the back legs and tail then work the fur off in one piece. The gambrel is a great idea also.
Squirrel Doggin' 2015
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
I cut the feet off, split the belly, work my fingers under and through the fur above the spine. Then I pull the legs inside, cut the half inside out tail off, and pull remaining fur up over the head. It isn't the fastest, cleanest, and probably not the simplest either. Works for me.
was really hoping to get some rats to clean while I had a videographer with me to record my skinning routine. Nancy and I went to Hocking county and had what might be the worst day of squirrel hunting I've ever had. we did not see a single squirrel, dog did not make one tree. we covered pretty much all of the good timber on this 290 acre farm. I've been hunting this place since 1978, and I still bow hunt here, too. needless to say, I know the property quite well, and there are plenty of squirrels, mostly greys, but they were not moving at all yesterday, and probably moved very little on Friday. dog didn't even hardly cold trail anything. it is common for me to see 6 or more squirrels every time I sit in a tree stand on this place. grey squirrels rather peculiar and unpredictable in their habits sometimes. hoping to get in a couple of hunts between rain events before Christmas.
We've all been there no matter what we hunt.... I've had the same circumstances while rabbit hunting..... One day feast, the next famine.....
famine over. 
Nancy a bit under the weather with sinus infection, so I took the dog out solo after the rain moved out. after two solid days of rest, Lefty like a new dog. very sharp this morning. hunted fast and no dickin' around on cold tracks. found the meat and stayed put. he made 7 trees, two empty. got a double in the first tree he made. limit in the bag in less than two hours.
would have been a great time to make a squirrel skinning video, but got to have somebody there to hold the phone. hard to say how long it might take me to get a video made, so I took some still shots to get started.
this is the gambrel I made out of aluminum diamond plate. can hang it anywhere there is a stout enough branch, or on a nail, hook or wherever. it's small enough to put it in your pocket, 4" x 2 1/4". use it to hold squirrel by the back feet, then by the head.
the rest of the tools I use
these Fiskars shears are the best $15 scissors I've ever owned. I have a pair in my kitchen, in my shop, two for cleaning squirrels and three other spares in a box someplace. they are comfortable in the hand, sturdy, durable, easily sharpened and cleaned. they hold their edge well, even cutting bones. got them at Home Depot in the garden section where the pruners and stuff are. I use them to cut the feet and heads off, and to open them up to remove guts. indispensable for cleaning squirrels(and a boatload of other things), imo.
the fish skinning pliers came from Meijer or Wallyworld or something. there are better ones to be had, but these have held up to skinning over 300 squirrels. indispensable for cleaning squirrels, imo.
I just bought this small caping knife on the big auction site, and it was a good purchase. I love it. it's a good size and shape blade for the work, and it's D2 steel. I have several small knives that I use for cleaning squirrels, but the knife doesn't do much work, really. the work that it does, which is cutting through the tail and working the skin off a short way down the back from the base of the tail, requires shaving sharpness and it needs to stay that way. the blades I use most are made from D2 tool steel. extremely hard, but no other steel holds an edge like D2, in my experience. it's not easy to sharpen, but once you get it sharp, you have to work at it to make it dull. you really have to use diamonds to sharpen D2. since I don't much care for stopping after every other squirrel to touch up my blade, I really prefer D2.
Nancy a bit under the weather with sinus infection, so I took the dog out solo after the rain moved out. after two solid days of rest, Lefty like a new dog. very sharp this morning. hunted fast and no dickin' around on cold tracks. found the meat and stayed put. he made 7 trees, two empty. got a double in the first tree he made. limit in the bag in less than two hours.
would have been a great time to make a squirrel skinning video, but got to have somebody there to hold the phone. hard to say how long it might take me to get a video made, so I took some still shots to get started.
this is the gambrel I made out of aluminum diamond plate. can hang it anywhere there is a stout enough branch, or on a nail, hook or wherever. it's small enough to put it in your pocket, 4" x 2 1/4". use it to hold squirrel by the back feet, then by the head.
the rest of the tools I use
these Fiskars shears are the best $15 scissors I've ever owned. I have a pair in my kitchen, in my shop, two for cleaning squirrels and three other spares in a box someplace. they are comfortable in the hand, sturdy, durable, easily sharpened and cleaned. they hold their edge well, even cutting bones. got them at Home Depot in the garden section where the pruners and stuff are. I use them to cut the feet and heads off, and to open them up to remove guts. indispensable for cleaning squirrels(and a boatload of other things), imo.
the fish skinning pliers came from Meijer or Wallyworld or something. there are better ones to be had, but these have held up to skinning over 300 squirrels. indispensable for cleaning squirrels, imo.
I just bought this small caping knife on the big auction site, and it was a good purchase. I love it. it's a good size and shape blade for the work, and it's D2 steel. I have several small knives that I use for cleaning squirrels, but the knife doesn't do much work, really. the work that it does, which is cutting through the tail and working the skin off a short way down the back from the base of the tail, requires shaving sharpness and it needs to stay that way. the blades I use most are made from D2 tool steel. extremely hard, but no other steel holds an edge like D2, in my experience. it's not easy to sharpen, but once you get it sharp, you have to work at it to make it dull. you really have to use diamonds to sharpen D2. since I don't much care for stopping after every other squirrel to touch up my blade, I really prefer D2.
man that sounds like a lot of fun - I've never been hunting squirrel with a dog but I always thought thats gotta be about the some of the best fun you can have hunting small game. Enjoy reading about your hunts.
Yeah that gambrel is Awesome. I also have a D-2 steel knife and it can go a couple seasons before having to be resharpened. A guy I work with has a plasma table. I'm going to show him a pic of that gambrel and see if he can cut one out. We have some 1/8 inch stainless that would be great for that.
I can trace and scan it if you want actual pattern. the size of the leg and neck slots needs to be correct or it won't work so good.
I got a decent video of me cleaning a squirrel today, but cannot get it from my iphone to my laptop. I'm the poster child for hardtards. can one of you young guys help me?
pretty dang slow in the squirrel woods today. dog hunted his ass off, and we covered a lot of good ground, but only saw two squirrels. got them both.
I got a decent video of me cleaning a squirrel today, but cannot get it from my iphone to my laptop. I'm the poster child for hardtards. can one of you young guys help me?
pretty dang slow in the squirrel woods today. dog hunted his ass off, and we covered a lot of good ground, but only saw two squirrels. got them both.
Got a couple patterns printed out and the size is 4"by 2 1/4" so it must have printed the size right. Thanks again!!!
You are much cleaner and more efficient than I am. Looks like I need to build one. If you could PM the pattern that would be great.