levergun and sixgun limb bacon

[rjohns94]

I started the morning BP hunting for doe. Saw none through the first few hours of the am hunt. Saw more hunters than anything else on this very cool autmun day. before sunup, a red fox passed about 10 feet away from me, looking for a meal before heading back to his den. His lucky day as they are not legal until next week with the proper fur takers license. I shifted weapons, grabbing my Marlin 39 TDS and Colt new frontier .22s and proceeded to some low lying areas to keep out of the wind which was picking up. It was not long till I heard the rasping teeth on a walnut. I located the grey about 10 yards up and 15 yards away. One shot from the Marlin and I had a good start to a dinner. I picked him up, dropped him in my game bag and heard the limbs of a nearby tree move from a weight jumping in them. I spotted the grey stretched out on a thin limb, going for a seed pod, the wind and its weight had the limb bobbing up and down. I took aim and some how, I hit the limb and the grey plummeted the 20 feet to the ground, and then took off at full tilt for the next county! This kind of set the tone for the next 4 hours. I missed three in a row, then took one unsuspecting grey in crook of a tree. The wind really seemed to be giving me a fit. Then I figured out that as I twisted around trees to make a shot, I was actually twisting my sight picture. I was missing some really easy shots. #'s three and four came back to back on similar head on shots. #3 required an assist with the pistol. a few more misses and then back to back scores along the river. Head shot on #5 that was sitting on top of a dead tree barking at me, and #6 was a 40 yard shot and was finished off with the pistol.





Between 4 and 5, I crossed through a swamp, across two fields and jumped this guy at about 50 yards.

[Hobie]

Did you eat that bob-tailed squirrel?




I've been after "Mom's groundhog" for close to 1½ years now. The bugger seems to know when I'm there and can or can't shoot. He will get his shortly though. About to replace the back deck under which he lives and when I tear the old one out and can get to his hole he'll be done for.

[Blaine]

Dumb old Washington: I'd trade blacktail deer season for the 5-6 month fox squill season I had in the MidWest. I lived on squill and catfish most of the year, and whitetail. Possem, coon and groundhog, too.. You can't be broke and too proud to eat what the Lord makes available.....Around here is WA, I'm glad I have money, or I'd starve.

[Doc Hudson]

Hobie,

When you finally get your ground hog, you might want to try this recipe. I found it in an old Gun Digest many years ago.

Braised Groundhog in Spiced Red Wine Sauce
Larry “Doc” Hudson
1/2 lb. bacon; finely chopped
1 5-lb groundhog, cut into serving pieces; or use 2 or 3 3-lb groundhogs, cut into serving pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wild onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbs. brandy
1 tsp. red currant jelly
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. dried thyme.
In a heavy flame-proof 5-quart casserole, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Drain and set the casserole aside.
Wash the groundhog quickly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper and then dip them in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Heat the casserole until the fat sputters.
Add the floured groundhog pieces a few at a time and brown them evenly on all sides. As they are done, transfer the groundhog pieces to a plate. Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat from the casserole and in it cook the. onions and the garlic, stirring frequently for 6or 7 minutes. Pour in wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping off any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the casserole. Stir in the brandy, currant jelly, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Return the pieces of groundhog to the casserole, add the drained bacon, cover the casserole tightly and simmer over low heat for two hours or until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Pick out the bay leaf and taste for seasoning. The dish should be quite peppery.
Serve the groundhog directly from the casserole.

[Blaine]

Doc, was it you that were putting together that cookbood with different recepies that we sent in? Is it finished?

[Nath]

Well done and thanks for the good picys.
Me and my bride are just of out to do the same
Laters, Nath.

[Andrew]

Looks like you had a lot of fun.

I shot a colt like that awhile back and loved it.

[ceb]

When I was a kid, I couldn't wait for the August 1st opener for squirrel here in Illinois, heat skeeters and all. Still love it, though I wait for cooler mornings now. Sometimes interfers with my bowhunting, and then sometimes my deer hunts turn into squirrel hunts! Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

[RKrodle]

Good hunting Mike, what a great way to spend the day.

[BenT]

Don't have any squirrels around here much , because the fishers have eaten alot of them. The woods used to be full of them. Now when my kids are at an age to start hunting I'm lucky if I see one. Going to have to start trapping fishers.

[TedH]

I used to look forward to squirrel season for weeks ahead of time when I was a kid. I haven't had an outing just for squirrels for many years. Your post reminded me of what I was missing out on.

[Bill in Oregon]

Mike: How do you prepare your "limb bacon"? Thanks for sharing your hunt and photos.

[2ndovc]

Mike: How do you prepare your "limb bacon"? Thanks for sharing your hunt and photos.

I'd like to know too.

Never have quite figured out what to do with them.

About a month ago I spotted some public hunting land about half hour drve from where I live. Didn't look like much but I looked it up on the net and saw that it's aout 300 acres.
I didn't know how good I had it growing up. I had so many realitives with farms I always had my pick of hunting spots. They're all gone now so Ive been looking for other places to hunt.

Headed out there with my 39a this morning and when I got there realized I'd left my hunting license sitting on the kitchen table. What an idiot! And a
difinate No No aroud here. Lots of rangers.

Anyway. Now I know where it is I'll make more time to get out there. Can't wait for rabbit season next month!!

Love those .22s by the way!

jb

[scr83jp]

I prepared squirrels by quartering them sprinkling them with Johnnys Lamb & Game Seasoning(google search it) then browning them in a pressure cooker,next add some liquid and follow directions to pressure cook the squirrels makes for tasty dinner.I've given grouse the same treatment and introduced some hunting friends to the tasty results.Years ago when our group met each year for deer season at the Indian Scotty Campground in the Klamath NF we all shot squirrels and I prepared them using our Mirror Pressure Cooker feeding 12 friends.I introduced all of my hunting friends to Johnny's Lamb & Game Seasoning.

[rjohns94]

I usually just quarter them, flour and spice and fry till done. This particular batch was deboned, and put in stew, which I happened to have had this evening with biscuits.
tomato sauce made from my garden tomatos
potatos
peas
Asparagus,
mushrooms
carrots
bay leaves
seasoning
Brazed deboned limb bacon

Cooked for about four hours yesterday on low heat, then another 2 today.

Bisquits and stew, can't ask for more on a cold clear night.

[Ysabel Kid]

Mike -

Sounds like a glorious day! If one didn't miss a few every now and again it would be no fun hunting.

[Doc Hudson]

Doc, was it you that were putting together that cookbood with different recepies that we sent in? Is it finished?

Yep, that was me.

I have 203 recipes and things have petered out. I'd really like to get at least 500 recipes before I try publishing it. Only two categories have as many as 30 entries, Desserts with 39 and Meats - Beef and Pork with 45. I guess that shows where our preferences run.

As of now, the recipe count stands at:
Appetizers -- 4
Beverages -- 2
Breads -- 10
Desserts -- 39
Fish & Seafood -- 9
Game -- 18
Beef & OPork -- 45
Miscellanneous -- 29
Poultry -- 18
Veggies & Fixins -- 19

Total submitted -- 203

We've lots of new folks here, so if y'all want to start another round of submissions and try to fill out the 500, I'm willing to make a shot at compiling the thing.

[slimster]

R.J.94, looks like you had a swell time. Here's a recipe for squirrel or rabbit that is both easy and tasty. (PM'd it to Doc too for the cookbook). Add some fried corn and cat head biscuits...um-mmm. A cuppa joe with the meal and a shot (or 2...) of Jack Daniels old no. 7 afterwards...'nuff said. Fried Rabbit:
2 young rabbits, washed and dressed
2 beaten egg yokes
3 cups of milk
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup of shortening
Wash and dry the rabbits and cut into serving sized pieces. Mix the egg yolks with 1 cup of the milk and
gradually add 1 cup of the flour, then add the salt and pepper and beat until smooth. Dip rabbit pieces into
the batter and fry in hot fat until brown, or about 15 minutes. Move to low heat and continue
cooking until tender, about 30 to 45 minutes, turning frequently. Remove to platter. To make gravy add the remaining
flour to fat in pan, gradually add the remaining milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly,
then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour over the pieces of rabbit. Best when cooked in a good old cast iron skillet over a campfire. Works well with squirrel also.

[Paladin]

Thanks for the recipes my nephew and I got four Saturday (1st day of Bow season for deer in WV) and he wanted some recipes to take back to College to cook them.
I decided to squirrel hunt instead of bow due to not practicing for 1 ½ years and ended up with 3 squirrels and a trespassing bow hunter.

[cshold]

I started the morning BP hunting for doe. Saw none through the first few hours of the am hunt. Saw more hunters than anything else on this very cool autmun day. before sunup, a red fox passed about 10 feet away from me, looking for a meal before heading back to his den. His lucky day as they are not legal until next week with the proper fur takers license. I shifted weapons, grabbing my Marlin 39 TDS and Colt new frontier .22s and proceeded to some low lying areas to keep out of the wind which was picking up. It was not long till I heard the rasping teeth on a walnut. I located the grey about 10 yards up and 15 yards away. One shot from the Marlin and I had a good start to a dinner. I picked him up, dropped him in my game bag and heard the limbs of a nearby tree move from a weight jumping in them. I spotted the grey stretched out on a thin limb, going for a seed pod, the wind and its weight had the limb bobbing up and down. I took aim and some how, I hit the limb and the grey plummeted the 20 feet to the ground, and then took off at full tilt for the next county! This kind of set the tone for the next 4 hours. I missed three in a row, then took one unsuspecting grey in crook of a tree. The wind really seemed to be giving me a fit. Then I figured out that as I twisted around trees to make a shot, I was actually twisting my sight picture. I was missing some really easy shots. #'s three and four came back to back on similar head on shots. #3 required an assist with the pistol. a few more misses and then back to back scores along the river. Head shot on #5 that was sitting on top of a dead tree barking at me, and #6 was a 40 yard shot and was finished off with the pistol.





Between 4 and 5, I crossed through a swamp, across two fields and jumped this guy at about 50 yards.

Mike I didn’t realize you had a Colt NF.
How long have you had it?
Do you have the mag. cylinder?
What ammo. does it like the best?

[rjohns94]

It likes everything I have put through it, I'm currently using CCI mini mags, and Blazer solids. I don't have the .22 mag cyl for it. It is up in the classified section for sale.

[hfcable]

Did you eat that bob-tailed squirrel?




I've been after "Mom's groundhog" for close to 1½ years now. The bugger seems to know when I'm there and can or can't shoot. He will get his shortly though. About to replace the back deck under which he lives and when I tear the old one out and can get to his hole he'll be done for.

when i was a kid, i hunted one in an orchard next to my home for years, and would only see him when i was unarmed; i set with my 22 hidden near his hole for hours at a time, no luck!
i figure he is still there and probably over 50 years old now!