

Preparing for the upcoming squirrel season, I purchased a Savage Mark II 22 rifle with a 2X7 Vortex scope and CCI subsonic rounds and spent an afternoon sighting it in and practicing shooting out to 50 yards. When you do succeed in killing a game animal, you are rewarded with the best quality meat you can get anywhere.

To be consistently successful requires great concentration, study, practice and hard-won skill. I see that hunters can, in many ways, be the most effective conservationists, and that hunting can renew your spirit and provide a direct and tangible connection to nature. Now I look for opportunities to be an ambassador for hunting and to model the best and most ethical behavior. I always had misgivings about hunting as I knew that I was in the minority and that people often equated hunting with killing and were not comfortable with the idea. My new outlook on hunting makes me proud to be a hunter. I also forced myself to drive 30 minutes to explore the nearest state conservation area, and I am glad that I did. This resulted in me getting access to a farm in Tazewell County 50 miles west of Normal. Navigating downed logs and the steep terrain at the Mackinaw River Conservation Area.īut then I got hooked on a few well-produced and thoughtful new hunting shows and podcasts, and I was motivated to reach out via social media and phone calls to find a place to go. Of course in the process of getting to know someone I’d invariably find out that either they or someone else is already hunting on their land. I always feel like I am imposing on people, so I wait until I get to know someone before asking for permission to hunt. Being an introverted Midwesterner doesn’t help with finding a place to go. Despite living in central Illinois for the past 20 years and working with farmers, I have struggled to gain consistent access to a place to hunt. One of my biggest challenges is finding a place to go. Now that I am in my mid-forties and my sons are 12 and 14, I have a strong desire to take up hunting again. Moving every couple of years, having two sons, and running a diversified organic vegetable farm meant that I was unable to hunt often in the past 20 years. Hunting, fishing and trapping set me on a career path that started with joining the Army to get out of my small town, followed by three different colleges and a career as a wildlife biologist, organic farmer and Extension agent. In addition to hunting I also fished and ran a trap line in the mid-1980s when fur prices were high and I could get $4 for a muskrat pelt and $20 for a raccoon pelt. My early experiences hunting were motivated by a desire to be outdoors in nature mixed with the practical need for meat and money. My friends and I baled hay on Louie’s dairy farm and had permission to hunt on the property. When I got a little older I would walk out my back door in northern Ohio and head to Louie Brown’s farm. The 40-acre beech-maple woodlot on a friend’s farm seemed like a vast wilderness to me at the time. The website may not be to everyone’s taste.My dad took me on my first squirrel hunt when I was 12 years old. Remove foil and cook 10 minutes to brown meat. Season squirrel(s) to taste inside and out with your favourite seasonings.Ĭover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Place onions evenly in a greased roasting pan. Here’s Simple Roast Squirrel, courtesy of the hunting website : They are strongly suspected of causing Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, the brain-destroying disease in humans best known from the “mad cow” epidemic. Article contentĪ word of warning: After 11 deaths in Kentucky in 1997, medical researchers warned people to stop eating squirrel brains, ever. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.National Capital Region's Top Employers.
