# Cleaning squirells



## BRIAN1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Alright, i have seen many methods and use my own, but what is the easiest/fastest to clean a tree rat?


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## mbentle2 (Dec 2, 2009)

Make a cut in the middle of the back, put my fingers in and pull towards the head and tail and that skins it pretty fast.


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## Stickbow (Dec 2, 2009)

mbentle2 said:


> Make a cut in the middle of the back, put my fingers in and pull towards the head and tail and that skins it pretty fast.



Yup...x2! Fastest way I've seen to date.


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## scoggins (Dec 2, 2009)

Stickbow said:


> Yup...x2! Fastest way I've seen to date.



"I'm with you fella'rs"
A buddy of mine that competition hunts had a special pair or vise grips that chained to a tree and held them by the tail base that was prtetty neet if you wanted to save the hide but if not the split the hide in the middle of the back deal works GREAT


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## BRIAN1 (Dec 2, 2009)

That is the way i do it now, but i saw somewhere about making a slit under the tail, stepping on the tail and pulling the squirrel up by the back legs. The whole skin came off in 3 seconds!


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## SGADawg (Dec 2, 2009)

BRIAN1 said:


> That is the way i do it now, but i saw somewhere about making a slit under the tail, stepping on the tail and pulling the squirrel up by the back legs. The whole skin came off in 3 seconds!




This is how I do it.  Much easier and quicker than the slit in the back, imho.

Just cut through the skin and bone from the bottom of the tail right next to the body.  Don't cut through the skin on top of the tail.  Step on the tail as close to the body as you can, grip the back legs and pull briskly.  This will leave skin on the back legs and part way up the belly.  Grip the skin under the belly with one hand, hold the front of the body with the other and strip the skin off the back legs.


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## Doyle (Dec 2, 2009)

BRIAN1 said:


> That is the way i do it now, but i saw somewhere about making a slit under the tail, stepping on the tail and pulling the squirrel up by the back legs. The whole skin came off in 3 seconds!



I tried doing that on a whole batch of squirrels I killed and the skin in front of the tail kept tearing off.  I talked to another hunter about it and he said that this method doesn't work on our "Florida" squirrels.  It seems that they just don't have enough fat under the skin and that makes the skin tear too easily.


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## jigman29 (Dec 4, 2009)

The main thing is to cut through the bone in the tail without cutting the back skin.This is the fastest way to skin the little buggers that I know.


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## The Original Rooster (Dec 4, 2009)

I think the old cut and pull method is the way to go. My grandfather taught me by using an old nail head that stuck up on the back porch.


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## Noble Savage (Dec 5, 2009)

I too cut the hide at the tail to skin a squirrel.  I step on the tail and pull up on the hind legs.  I stop when the hide gets to the head and front legs joints.  I have a pair of Fiskars game shears for cutting off the head and legs, but you can also use a sharp knife.  I've found that the sooner you skin them, the easier.  

Good hunting!

NS


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## bfriendly (Dec 6, 2009)

I tried to get the Youtube video of the guy who does the Cut under tail, step on it and pull up, but it had the embedding disabled, so I cant post it. 

ANyway, if you go to youtube, Search "Squirrel Skinning", look for the video that is only about 46 seconds long........very cool!

BTW- in case you have not noticed, Youtube has videos on cleaning/butchering almost EVERYTHING!!  Gotta love this Digital Age!!


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## BigCountry77 (Dec 10, 2009)

someone told me about using an air compressor. start by cutting a small hole in the neck and inserting the air blower fitting in the hole and injecting air, said it blows up like a balloon. after that just finish the cuts around neck amd feet. i have not had a chance to try this out yet, i dont know if it works or not.


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## dawg2 (Dec 10, 2009)

mbentle2 said:


> Make a cut in the middle of the back, put my fingers in and pull towards the head and tail and that skins it pretty fast.



Or the step on the tail and pull towards the head method.


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## Russ Toole (Dec 10, 2009)

Here is a video that shows you how to clean one in about 30 seconds. Its a funny video too.

Video link deleted by pbradley.  Per Forum Rules, all videos must be embedded.


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## state159 (Dec 10, 2009)

Another tip is to wet the squirrel before starting to skin it. Wetting keeps a lot of hair off the meat. All of the above ways are good. There is a device that has V notches which holds the squirrel while you skin it called Brown's Squirrel Skinner. It works good too.


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## LEON MANLEY (Dec 10, 2009)

I put mine in a bucket and hose them down really good, then I do the tail cut step and pull, but I think I like the idea with the vise grips. It also helps to have a container with water in it to rinse the hair or your hands before you grab the meat while cleaning. I generally pull the hide all the way off the head, my lab loves eating the head and feet.


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