Wayne

lol Well I often feel itchy but there are no big flea-type bites on me, jus very small red bumps - maybe its a mite of some sort.....or it could jus be psycolog...errrm all in my mind! :yp:

Well the yards about a quarter acre (its the old stable yard from when the park was an estate) but, ok, I'll go look for some better land. Thanks for your suggestions SquirrelHunter.

Columbus - unfortunately I dont know much more law than wot I jus posted! :yp: I cant find anything relevant other than 'baited boards' in the 1981 Act (which is the only Act I actually [excuse pun!] possess) so I wanted to know if its in that Act or another one? I'm not trying to be difficult or to catch you out or anything! Honest! Anyway, my main question was about decoys & such & why my freezers still empty!

lol Sounds like fun! I often feel abit itchy after preparin pigeons so I look forward to the squirrel fleas! Tomorrow might be my squirrel day so I'll let u know how I get on. Thanx, Wayne

Ok, thanks, so I'll leave out the grass seed (it wasn't working anyway! lol) But are 4 decoys enough? Is it crucial to face the pattern into the wind? Any tips? Cheers, Wayne PS: Purely out of interest, can any1 tell me which law relates to using bait for shooting birds? I looked in the WCA 1981 and Part 1 Sect. 5 lists prohibited methods for taking birds, but the closest I could find there was prohibition of 'baited boards' (pt. 1 Sect. 5, para 1b). Does that cover the use of any bait or is it written somewhere else? And how does it work with animals? Is it an offence to bait squirrels in order to shoot em? I know that animals listed on Sched. 6 can't be taken in certain ways, but that don't list (grey) squirrels. Hmmmm baffling thing English law! (Kinda interesting tho.) Thanx again. W

:yp: hmmmm u doin better than me! I'm tryin to lure em into my yard but theyre not havin any of it!! I jus asked advice here to see wot Im doin wrong! lol Well done tho! Enjoy ur huge pie while Im eating dry bread crusts & woodlice. (teehee! its ok - Im gonna try squirrels soon. ) Cheers, Wayne

:< I don't get it - I live in a park type thingy (well, in a house, in a park) and all round my yard theres loadsa woodies. (I can only really shoot in my yard coz outside that its public open space.) I put out 4 decoys in the yard & I was quite chuffed how realistic they looked & also put out some grass seed (is that illegal??....woteva! lol) - but nothing! Ok, I got one days ago (now in my freezer :yp: ), but since then not a single woody has entered the yard! Wots wrong with em? Like some1 here said once, it's almost as if they don't want to be shot! So is it just patience, or is there more I need to do decoy wise?? Thanks in advance folks, Wayne. PS: I think this is a great forum - thanx for all ur advice so far.

Well wot convinced me was looking on the net - eating squirrel seems to be very popular, especially in America. If u do a search for 'pigeon recipe, preparation', u won't get much, but the same search for squirrel turns up millions of different recipes from loadsa different sites. This made me think they gotta be worth a try! It beats going to Sainsburys anyway! :yp:

Got it! Thanks folks. I'll have a look at BASC website too. Hey Q - like ur style - Oaky nickname & LedZep quote in sig! Gud stuff! Anyway - gotta go - I've been workin from seven. :yp:

Ahhh, I see - hence the cut down the belly in ur photos! Doh! I'm so observant! lol Right, I reckon I've got enuff info to go try it now! I reckon I'll put the meat in boiling water & microwave it for a while b4 I do the proper cooking - that way it shud b less tough & it'll make sure any nasty bugs are proper dead. Thanks for ur help - if my next post smells of squirrel ****, u'll know I done it wrong! :yp: Cheers, Wayne

Sorry Col Pol, I'm bein thick here! This 'general license' - is that sthng I need to apply for myself or is it like an automatic thing as long as Im an 'authorised person? In other words, do I need to apply for & hold a piece of a paper b4 I can legally shoot woodies, squirrels etc etc? How about pheasants, geese, rabbits? Ohhhh Im confused! (as usual!) :yp: Thanx Wayne

K, I'm familiar with the WCA 1981, schedules, closed season etc, & I know that under the 1981 Act, I need to be an 'authorised person' to shoot stuff (so that means having permission from landowner etc). But is there some licence thing I need as well as adhering to all that?? Can some1 tell me of a web site or sthng dealing with this? (Is it DEFRA?) (I shoot with air rifle btw.) Wots next? Do I need a licence to make pies? Thanks folks, Wayne

Excellent! Thanks folks. Yup, I dare say my first couple wont be *quite* as proffessional a job as in the pictures! (Dont he make it look easy!?) lol But Im sure Ill get something worth eating into the pot. Sweet chicken? Sounds fantastic - my mouths watering already! Plus Ive had a family of grey-squirrel-b*stards living in my loft for ages - 'live & let live' I thought at first, as I didnt have any plans to eat them at the time....... then the little grey b*stards ate my lighting circuit! So its kinda personal now as well!! As for taking out the guts, do u do that after its skinned, by cutting round the ********, then jus scooping everything out? Thanx agen folks, Cheers, Wayne

Hmm, ur advice would be fine Red Stag.....if I'd eva skinned a rabbit! lol Well, we all gotta start sometime! (Tho many neva do of course!) Would you recommend the first cut to go longways (top to bottom) on the underside, or around the animal about half way along its body? And yep, I wouldn't fancy eating true town squirrels - the ones Ive got me eyes on seem to eat mainly 'natural' stuff - I dare say they will delve thru the occasional bin if natural food is scarce, but its probly best not to think bout that too much! Cheers, Wayne

Greetings every1 - I hope I'm posting this in the right section. K, well there seem to b loadsa really good recipes for squirrel & ppl say it's the tenderest small game meat ever - aaand I'm surrounded by the damn things aaand my freezer is empty. So? I thort I'd best start shooting & eating em! But - there seem to b so many different methods for skinning & preparing em & it all sounds really complicated & difficult. One method I read for skinning involved 2 ppl, one stood on its tail while the other held its feet and the first pulled this bit o skin one way & another bit another way and.. ..well it sounded more like a game of flamin Twister to me! So - how d'ya do it? I need a really nice quick simple method of getting the damn things into the pan! Many thanx in advance, Wayne