# Survival > Primitive Skills & Technology >  Squirrel Season

## your_comforting_company

It's that time of year. The little buggers have been eating up our pecan trees and now it's time for revenge! just kidding

aside from the normal .22 rimfire that everyone hunts with, I was wondering if anyone had any really neat primitive methods for harvesting squirrels. I was in the woods this past weekend and saw what looked like hundreds running around. 

Ideal methods will preserve the pelt for tanning (i.e. no skewering) and not waste any meat. Remember we need to use as much of an animal as possible and not be wasteful. As far as "humane", well... as long as the animal isnt' left to suffer for half a day, anything is fair game.

I've used slingshots and triplines as well as the trusty old "give em enough rope" lean up pole. sorry no pics at this time, but I will definately take some this season to post up for you guys.

So what do you guys do? Lets hear all about it and include pics if you can!

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

12 ga. number 6

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## crashdive123

Try a squirrel pole.  Should work.  I mean, think about it - rabbits have a stick, but no pole.  Musta got it's name for a reason.

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## oldsoldier

I've used ( when I squirrel hunted a couple hundred years ago it seems)  a full choke 410 shotgun.

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## crashdive123

I should add - attempst at humor aside - if you are going to use snares, or a squirrel pole check your local laws to make sure you are not the one getting snared.

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## Ole WV Coot

I like #5 shot myself. I don't like a 22 unless used by a person who checks the background first and can pass up a shot. That little slug will travel a long way and is much more dangerous. If they are thick the pole works best. Best to go for safety, then squirrels.

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## Rick

12 gauge #5 here as well. I've used .22 but like Coot says, they can travel. Only a few places I could use a .22.

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## your_comforting_company

I actually know 2 people who've been shot with a 22 totally unexpecting. One guy was riding his lawnmower and got shot in the side by folks hunting half a mile away. another was hunting with a friend on a leased property and just so happens another party was hunting on the other side of the woods unaware that anyone was in there.

Safety FIRST!!

any primitive takers?

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## Ken

This is, without a doubt, the sickest thread ever started in the Forums.   :Sneaky2:   Just sick, sick, sick.

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## your_comforting_company

> This is, without a doubt, the sickest thread ever started in the Forums.    Just sick, sick, sick.


I'm confused. I like to eat squirrels! I dunno what would be sick about this thread?

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## 2dumb2kwit

Snicker, Snicker! :Innocent:

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## 2dumb2kwit

> I'm confused. I like to eat squirrels! I dunno what would be sick about this thread?


 Kind of an inside joke.
Ken thinks of squirrels as pets. :Innocent:

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## Ken

> I'm confused. I like to eat squirrels! I dunno what would be sick about this thread?


 
Eat this instead.  It tastes exactly like squirrel.   :Sneaky2: 

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## 2dumb2kwit

Squirrel doesn't start around here, until Oct. 1st.
I sure hope it cools off a bunch, before then. :Innocent:

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## your_comforting_company

> Ken thinks of squirrels as pets.


lol. pets.

next thing you know people will have pet chickens, and birds, and fish, and pet pigs...

...oh wait...

i'm getting hungry :Chef:

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## Ken

> So what do you guys do? Lets hear all about it and include pics if you can!


 :Sneaky2:   I do this:


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## pocomoonskyeyes

Since you seem to prefer primitive you may want to try bow and arrow using blunt tips. That would save the hide if you are tanning them.

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## aflineman

> Eat this instead.  It tastes exactly like squirrel.  
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


MMMM, beer butt chicken.  :Big Grin: 

I normally use a .22 for squirrel. Where I hunt, I don't have to worry about neighbors (My friend owns the entire valley, and no one lives there). I have been known to use a box, stick, and string on occasion though.

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## Ken

> I normally use a .22 for squirrel.


Et tu, aflineman?   :Sneaky2:

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## aflineman

> Et tu, aflineman?


I normally don't shoot the Grays. The ones that live in the ground though, they are fair game. They mess up the cows and the equipment with all of their holes.

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## mccaw69

bow and arrow is a good idea,what about a high powered pellet rifle,or a 50 cal. blowgun?

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## NightShade

As for primitive... Slingshot!!!... my preference is a pump air rifle... not ideal if you're shootin 'em up in a tree.. actually not really a good idea at all.... but around me, they are jumping all over... I get like 3 or 4 running across my back deck at a time... I'll sneak out the front door, sit in the side yard, take careful aim, and WHAP, headshot.

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## Winnie

> lol. pets.
> 
> next thing you know people will have pet chickens, and birds, and fish, and pet pigs...
> 
> ...oh wait...
> 
> i'm getting hungry


And just what's wrong with pet chickens hmmmm??
Ken, I'm with you on this one! :Smash: 

Who has the ban button?

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## Rick

Baton?! Do Sarge, Crash and I look like baton kind of guys? We're routy touty. We use levers and gears and buttons and switches. It's all very mechanically and electrically complicated. Even some smoke and mirrors but I can assure you there are absolutely NO batons! Hmmmpf.

Oh, wait....you said button......uh, never mind.

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## Icemancometh

Some friends of ours have a pet squirrel, named of all things Nutty Buddy.  He sits on thier shoulders and eats out of thier hands.  They tried to set him free but he would sit in a tree outdise of thier door and jump on them whenever they left the house.  True story.

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## Rick

I had a neighbor that did the same thing until the squirrel bit her and she had to take rabies shots. True story.

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## aflineman

We have a Grey in the back yard which is safe (as long as he keeps minding his manners). The little diggers though, they just destroy to much stuff.

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## Rick

I've been hauling the diggers off all summer. All you have to do is set out an unbaited trap and you'll catch them. They are dumber than rocks.

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## wareagle69

we have several chipmonks , couple of red squirrells, and greys plus momma racoon and momma bear with her triplets that frequent my back porch, along with all my birds, nothing more funny than getting my butt chewed by a squrrell hanging off a feeder as i am trying to fill it, the other night we had to put a  3ft by 4ft pice of paneling in front of the bay window to stop little brown dog from barking all night and what do i see on the window in the morning? muddy bear paws trying to see over it, i think she was asking where the bucket of kfc was, man i love living here

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## your_comforting_company

> And just what's wrong with pet chickens hmmmm??
> Ken, I'm with you on this one!
> 
> Who has the ban button?


nothing wrong with pet chickens. but i did notice ken put up a picture of one of those "pets" on the grill with some foreign object up his  :Censored:  and noone got offended.. strange folk.

no need to ban me. If you dont want me here I can leave of my own accord.
sorry if I seem brash, but that pissed me off.

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## canid

it's a can of beer most likely.

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## crashdive123

> nothing wrong with pet chickens. but i did notice ken put up a picture of one of those "pets" on the grill with some foreign object up his  and noone got offended.. strange folk.
> 
> no need to ban me. If you dont want me here I can leave of my own accord.
> sorry if I seem brash, but that pissed me off.


Not quite sure what you are so upset about.  You start a thread about squirrel hunting.  Ken, who has many times (and obviously unknown to you) said that he treats squirrels as pets - hence the "sick" comment.  He also posts a picture of a chicken being roasted with a can of beer inserted (prompting the beer butt chicken comment)  BTW you can buy beer butt chicken kits in many places around here.  Then Winnie makes a comment about chickens - noting that she has posted many times about raising them and calling them "her girls" - another bit of personality quirk that was obviously not known to you.  (kind of happens on forums when folks get to know one another).  Then seemingly out of the blue - you take offense - get po'd and talk about being banned.  Honestly - lighten up a bit.

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## Winnie

> nothing wrong with pet chickens. but i did notice ken put up a picture of one of those "pets" on the grill with some foreign object up his  and noone got offended.. strange folk.
> 
> no need to ban me. If you dont want me here I can leave of my own accord.
> sorry if I seem brash, but that pissed me off.


It was a Joke! There's also been a bit of giggling going on about who actually has the ban button. If I take offence to a post, believe me you'll know about it.

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## Ken

> They are dumber than rocks.


Really?   :Sneaky2: 

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## trax

Alright people, I've made Nora aware of the content of this thread, brace yourselves for the wrath.

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## Winnie

> Alright people, I've made Nora aware of the content of this thread, brace yourselves for the wrath.


What's a Nora?I just know I'm going to regret this

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## crashdive123

> What's a Nora?I just know I'm going to regret this


shhhhhhh.....Nora is an Attack Ninja Squirrel.  She is probably behind you right now.  She is  .......  Oh goodness!  I've said too much already.

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## Rick

Nora and I are friends. She a bit of an elitist and normally hangs around moderators and administrators. But for some reason she's taken a liking the Trax. She is a full ninja warrior. She is a master of the following martial arts: 

   Aikido 
  Archery
  Boxing
  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  Capoeira
Danish The Pastry
  Eskrima
Exlax
  Fencing
  Hapkido
Hari Krishna
  Hybrid martial arts
  Jeet Kune Do
  Jojutsu
  Judo
  Jujutsu
  Karate
  Kickboxing
  Kobudo
  Krav Maga
Meta Tarsal
  Mixed martial arts
  Muay Thai
  Muslim martial arts
  Ninjutsu
Prime Ordial
  Sambo
  Silat
  Ssireum
  Systema
  Taekwondo
Twinkie Done Gone
  Wang Chung Tonight
  Wing Chun
  Wrestling
  Wushu

And no matter what you do, never, ever stare into her eyes. She can melt your soul.

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## crashdive123

Wang Chung Tonight ---- deadly.

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## Rick

I was still editing when you posted.

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## hoosierarcher

I've hunted them with longbows and recurve bows. Far from a foolproof method and lots of arrows stay in the trees.

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## crashdive123

Well - the Twinkie Done Gone is certainly one better left to the professionals.

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## oly

Once I get the trajectory right and make the BBQ er something like a dead fall while lighting the burners at the same time, I'll have dinner when I get home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBb7KReY6Eg&NR=1

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## 2dumb2kwit

> Well - the Twinkie Done Gone is certainly one better left to the professionals.


 You mean....like Nora....and Rick?
(Rick, has got to be a master of "Twinkie Done Gone"!)

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## rwc1969

I'll be heading out tomorrow for opening day w' the .22, but since OP wanted primitive methods.... http://www.break.com/index/amazing-flying-squirrel.html

I was actually offended by a similar video, seemed cruel, but with a lil improvising I'm sure this could be adapted for humane primitive hunting. :Innocent:

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## Ken

> Once I get the trajectory right and make the BBQ er something like a dead fall while lighting the burners at the same time, I'll have dinner when I get home.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBb7KReY6Eg&NR=1





> I'll be heading out tomorrow for opening day w' the .22, but since OP wanted primitive methods.... http://www.break.com/index/amazing-flying-squirrel.html
> 
> I was actually offended by a similar video, seemed cruel, but with a lil improvising I'm sure this could be adapted for humane primitive hunting.


 
 :Nono:   :Cursing:  :Censored:  :angermanagement:  :Ban:

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## rwc1969

I didn't even notice the first post. But that was the original that kinda urked me. I don't agree with sendin squirrels flying for fun, but for survival it could be adapted. :sweatingbullets:

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## oly

Don't worry ken I wouldn't harm any animal or snake unless I was going to eat it.
exceptions are Mice, Rats, and insects

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## canid

i have a friend who invented a similar sport by accident.

she was camping, and saw a squirrel on a nearby sapling. as she approached, it ran up towards the top. she bent the sapling down towards her to get a better look as the squirrel panicked and tried to run down, which startled her and she let go of the sapling.

i'm assured the squirrel was fine, wherever it landed. i did not witness the event.

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## Rick

No sweat. Nora built those contraptions. She just likes a fling every now and then. (Now that's funny I don't care who you are).

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## Winnie

> Nora and I are friends. She a bit of an elitist and normally hangs around moderators and administrators. But for some reason she's taken a liking the Trax. She is a full ninja warrior. She is a master of the following martial arts: 
> 
>    Aikido 
>   Archery
>   Boxing
>   Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
>   Capoeira
> Danish The Pastry
>   Eskrima
> ...


You missed out Origami  :Innocent:

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## crashdive123

Nora only practice that in the privacy of her own home.

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## wilf123

im like ken on this i think squirrels are brill ,and i dont hunt them ,they make cracking pets and i love em.

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## RCKCRWLER

Rat traps and peanut butter.  Tie the trap to a tree so only squirrels get nabbed and you aren't leaving holes in the trees.  Hide's good and you won't be worrying about chomping down on a "bb" when you are eating it.   


Highjack:  Anyone know how to call squirrels with two quarters?  :phone:  I know, I know let the jokes begin but has anyone done this?
My buddy said his Grandpa used to do it but he never learned how.

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## Rick

I did learn that as a kid and used it for several years. Good ridge edged quarters. I can call them by mouth about as well now.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> I can call them by mouth about as well now.


*Rick....standing in his yard.* Here, squirrel! Heeeeerrre squirrel!

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## Ken

> Rat traps and peanut butter. Tie the trap to a tree so only squirrels get nabbed and you aren't leaving holes in the trees. Hide's good and you won't be worrying about chomping down on a "bb" when you are eating it. 
> 
> 
> Highjack: Anyone know how to call squirrels with two quarters?  I know, I know let the jokes begin but has anyone done this?
> My buddy said his Grandpa used to do it but he never learned how.





> I did learn that as a kid and used it for several years. Good ridge edged quarters. I can call them by mouth about as well now.


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## RCKCRWLER

> I did learn that as a kid and used it for several years. Good ridge edged quarters. I can call them by mouth about as well now.


Sounds like there might be some truth to this?  Do you rub the edges together or "tap" the edges together?

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## Rick

I actually raked one edge across the other edge. Sort of like striking a match. The ridges rubbing against each other sound like a squirrel barking.

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## Rick

I would usually find a tree or trees they had been working and sit some place where I had a good view and wait. If that didn't work then I'd call them...sparingly.

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## RCKCRWLER

Thank you sir!  I've been wondering how to do this for years.  Now I'm off to find some quarters under the couch cushions.

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## Rick

I really think squirrels are just naturally curious and they show up to investigate the sound. I don't think it sounds like a squirrel to them any more than I do but they do come in to check it out.

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## Ken

> I actually raked one edge across the other edge. Sort of like striking a match. The ridges rubbing against each other sound like a squirrel barking.





> I would usually find a tree or trees they had been working and sit some place where I had a good view and wait. If that didn't work then I'd call them...sparingly.


I'm surprised they'd even come around.  Them little fellas have an acute sense of smell.   :Sneaky2:

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## Rick

Of course. It's probably my peanut butter flavored deoderant that I use in the woods.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> Of course. It's probably my peanut butter flavored deoderant that I use in the woods.


 Does that work better than tuna melt?

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## Rick

I thought Ken was the one with the tuna melt deoderant.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> I thought Ken was the one with the tuna melt deoderant.


 He is. I was just trying to make the case, that you're smarter than him. :Innocent:

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## Rick

Well, he does live near the ocean so I'm sure with that deoderant he'll attract sharks.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> Well, he does live near the ocean so I'm sure with that deoderant he'll attract sharks.


  Pfft! He turned into one! Lawyer....shark...aaaahahaha!

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## Icemancometh

> Some friends of ours have a pet squirrel, named of all things Nutty Buddy.  He sits on thier shoulders and eats out of thier hands.  They tried to set him free but he would sit in a tree outdise of thier door and jump on them whenever they left the house.  True story.


Sad to say, Nutty Buddy was flatened by ye' old garbage truck.  To make matters worse his remains were devoured by a turkey vulture.  Dust to dust.

RIP Nutty Buddy. :Taz:

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## Rick

That would be just my luck. Live out my whole life only to be turned into turkey vulture poop. That ain't right.

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## your_comforting_company

you can't get this at mickey dees...

dah dah dah dah daaaah. I'm lovin' it!

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## Rick

Grilled. Fried. Baked. Mess of potatoes with gravy and biscuits. MMMmmmmmmmmm.

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## Ole WV Coot

They are so darn thick even us hillbillies don't bother to hunt them. My "attack" beagle even gives them a little dog food. I think he baits them in, he's gaining weight and squirrel tails are all over the yard.

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## Ken

> you can't get this at mickey dees...
> 
> dah dah dah dah daaaah. I'm lovin' it!


Please tell me that's NOT what I think it is.   :Sneaky2:

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## your_comforting_company

> Please tell me that's NOT what I think it is.


yep, thats bacon! oh, you meant...

well if you're thinking it's a burger, it's definately NOT what you think it is! :Innocent:

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## Rick

Oh, man. You left the rat tail on. Now that AIN'T right.

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## your_comforting_company

think of it like a popsicle stick.. something to hold on to while you eat! everybody likes finger foods right? hehe.

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## Bladen

theres a guy on youtube
his screen name is johnjayrambo11111

he has videosof many simple traps
i think like 150 or so

even alot of his crush traps can be adapted to snare and save the fur.

most of them are just branches and cord type of stuff.

ive tried a couple and they work great.
its also sorta fun to widdle away at some branches and make these things.

hope that helps.

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## your_comforting_company

thanks bladen. I'll look into that as soon as I get time. I got half a dozen projects going on after work this week and it's hunting season so that kills my weekends, I get some research done late-nite and will watch some vids before bed. Thanks!
I also love making things with my hands. especially things that get me food!

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## whitewater4x4

I read you guys saying 12 ga and such things . I hate biting down on lead pellets that have been cooked into my food so I use a 22 mostly . Have some small game points for my archery gear . Have only killed a bothersome groundhog with that . I managed once to injure a squirrel bad enough once with a wrist rocket (bean flip) that I was able to run it down and stomp it to death . I don't recommend that approach though . I was lucky the thing didn't turn on    me . My brother has harvested squirrel with a blowgun . I've been wanting to try an old style sling (like David used ) . Also have a 800 or 900 ft per second air rifle that I have been thinking about using . Don't know if it is legal here in Arkansas .  When my kids were little we had some lighter than legal for deer hunting bows . I asked a  warden about using them on rabbits . He said it is ok . I figure it probably the same for squirrel .

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## RandyRhoads

I'd try small traps, or for more fun a big bore blow gun with blunt darts, to save the fur. What's a good way to harvest squirrel without having to worry about the risk of plague from the fleas?


I could never shoot a squirrel with a shotgun. So many bbs. So much damage. So many holes. So little skill, how can you miss? A .22, blowgun, or traps would be it for me.

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## jake abraham

bow & arrow for me

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## Wildthang

Once upon a time, Ricks brother was out in a grove of trees hunting squirrels. A game ranger spotted him and caught up with him to check his hunting license. After checking his game bag and license, the ranger asked Ricks brother, where is your gun son? Ricks brother said, Sir I dont use a gun, I just ugly them to death.
The ranger laughed and said, I gota see this! So the ranger followed Ricks brother for a while to see exactly how this works. Soon enough, Rickes brother came to a tree with a squirrel sitting on a fairly low hanging limb. Even though Ricks brother was already ugly, he made a horrible face that even scared the ranger, but the squirrel dropped out of the tree dead as a door nail.
The ranger caught up to him and said, son that is the most amazing thing I have ever seen! Do you know anybody else that can do that? Ricks brother said, " my brother Rick can ugly squirrels to death too ".
So the ranger asked, why isn't he out here hunting with you? And Ricks brother said, nawwwwwwww he tears the meat up too bad!

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## Skinner

> I do this:
> 
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


Yep Keep Doing this and you'll Be Doing this
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## Rick

Wildthang - Two words. Ban Button. 'nuff said.

I was duck hunting in the bottoms once when a game warden appeared on a point of land across a slew from me. He asked me if I had my hunting license. I told him I did. He said bring it over. I said nothing doin'. I'm not wading that water so I held it up so he could see it. Then he wanted to know if I had a duck stamp. I said sure but I'm not bringing it over either. So I held it up and nodded his approval. Then he asked if I had a plug in my gun. I said, "no, I don't." When I said that the officer trudged off into the water that turned about to be about waist deep. He waded his way over, climbed up on the spot of land I was on and said, "Let me see that gun." I said, "Okay, but it's just a single shot."

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## RandyRhoads

Hahahaha...

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## Wildthang

> Wildthang - Two words. Ban Button. 'nuff said.
> 
> I was duck hunting in the bottoms once when a game warden appeared on a point of land across a slew from me. He asked me if I had my hunting license. I told him I did. He said bring it over. I said nothing doin'. I'm not wading that water so I held it up so he could see it. Then he wanted to know if I had a duck stamp. I said sure but I'm not bringing it over either. So I held it up and nodded his approval. Then he asked if I had a plug in my gun. I said, "no, I don't." When I said that the officer trudged off into the water that turned about to be about waist deep. He waded his way over, climbed up on the spot of land I was on and said, "Let me see that gun." I said, "Okay, but it's just a single shot."


But But Rick, if you banned me, who would tell jokes about you! :sweatingbullets:

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## Wildthang

Did you guys know that in the great depression of the 30's, squirrels were almost killed into extinction in areas of the United States?

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## RandyRhoads

I had no idea. Do you know if it was mostly from individuals trying to feed themselves and family, or a "group" of people harvesting them to feed large amounts of people?

Growing up here I never saw any squirrels, but the last 2 years there have been a  bunch. Wonder why that is.

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## Wildthang

> I had no idea. Do you know if it was mostly from individuals trying to feed themselves and family, or a "group" of people harvesting them to feed large amounts of people?
> 
> Growing up here I never saw any squirrels, but the last 2 years there have been a  bunch. Wonder why that is.


Randy from what I have heard, it was just individuals that were trying to feed their familys. There were many hungry people in those times, and anything that could be eaten was hunted. My dads family in Arkansas was poorer than dirt, and they ate possum, racoon, and pretty much anything that had hair on it! Squirrels were a delicacy compared to possums!

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## RandyRhoads

Hey, I eat those things and i'm not poor.

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## Wildthang

Yeah but you dont have to do you? Deer was also hunted almost to extinction in that era. The only thing that saved them was the remote areas of the US where most people wouldn't go!

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## LowKey

And there were less people during that Depression...

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## jerry

> I was wondering if anyone had any really neat primitive methods for harvesting squirrels. 
> !


Primitive,,,, old fashion sling shot, hand made or store bought, either way cheap and lotsa fun.  A bag of marbles for ammo also cheap.
Doesn't tear the meat up and no shot to bite into.
A few weeks before season opens, set up a card board box in the back yard, draw a target on it, set up good back stop and practice, practice, practice.

Most fun for me growing up was Marlin 22 Lever Action Golden Mountie with 4x Weaver Scope and shooting hard nose LR.  
Some folks like hollow points but hard nose leaves such small hole, just as lethal, and doesn't tear the meat up.


I still have the old Marlin and same scope that I bought when I was in the 8th Grade, about 1960.  But have since gotten soft hearted and quit hunting about 25 years ago.  
Still don't mind killing a mess of fish though.  Or at least it doesn't bother me as bad as killing the warm and fuzzy critters.

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## lefties

squirrel gravy over biscuits,,yumm,,heads and brains included

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## postman

I only hunt squirrels with a bow. I make my own blunts using old shell casings I find at the rifle range. i can't think of anything more fun than a day of stump shooting/squirrel hunting with a primitive bow in my hand.

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## john4899

squirrel's ok, but a lot of work. rabbitts have more meat and skinning them is like taking a jacket off a baby

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## Rick

Skinning a squirrel is no more work than a rabbit. Their skin comes right off and you don't have to worry about loose hair from the coat like you do rabbit.

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## kyratshooter

> Skinning a squirrel is no more work than a rabbit. Their skin comes right off and you don't have to worry about loose hair from the coat like you do rabbit.


Not the ones south of the Ohio River!  Down here you have to peel them like a stuborn orange and the hair gets everywhere.  Much of the hair is clear and you can not see it.  Then when you cook the meat it has a fuzzy texture that feels like you are eating a tennis ball.

I try to be very careful when dressing out squirrels, touch the meat as little as possible and keep the skins well away from the meat.  I have often been tempted to singe all the hair off the squirrel before gutting them.

I am sure that in a survival situation I would be less picky about a little hair,  but eating fuzzy squirrel dumplings in modern "real time" just irritates me to no end.

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## socom2173

> Did you guys know that in the great depression of the 30's, squirrels were almost killed into extinction in areas of the United States?


Deer also, so what are we gonna eat if this SHTF thing happens?.. I guess we'll be hunting Ramen :chair:

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## Rick

You must be holding your mouth wrong.

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## kyratshooter

> Deer also, so what are we gonna eat if this SHTF thing happens?.. I guess we'll be hunting Ramen


The deer were hunted out long before the depression!  Unrestricted hunting led to the elimination of most of the deer population before 1800.  I know that in my old hometown in TN they had a historic marker on the spot where the last elk was killed in 1803.  Boone and most of the old hunters lerft KY by the 1790 time frame due to lack of game.  

After 1800 the caliber of the kentucky rifles went down from average of .55-58 caliber to .26-.35, because there was only small game to hunt.  One of the benchmarks of the Hawkin rifles was that they increased the bore of the KY for sure kills on elk and the plains game at .50-55 caliber. 

It was not until even the small game was nearly shot to extinction that the states formed "game and fish comissions" and started liscensing hunters and setting seasons and limits.  That happened in most states around 1900. 

As soon as the population density goes over one person per sq/mi you leave the realm of living off the land.  Best to get started on the chicken coops and rabbit pens now before the rush.

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## A Curious Scout

If your thinking REALLY primitive, there are two things I think you could try: One, a trowing stick with a sharpened edge. Two, a rock, thrown and/or as a hammer. Me, personally, I'd go with a bow and arrow, but that might hurt the hide and/or meat (but probably not too much, now that I think about it. Whatever you use, Good Hunting!

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## Rick

I've heard the old timers say the easiest primitive method is to sneak up behind them and sprinkle some salt on their tail. You can pick them right up if you do that. Works every time, too.

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## wildlearner

> I'm confused. I like to eat squirrels! I dunno what would be sick about this thread?


I agree with him there good eat'n.

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## wildlearner

Anthor way is to have a sapling or pole bent down with a noose on the end and have it standing up so there head is pushing through it and it trips the pole to yank up and noose the squirrel. Or just use a rat trap works every time.

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## waukasha

use a blow gun.  they are cheap to buy and with practice they are pretty accurate.  I use one to control the woodpeckers around my house in town.

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## Lamewolf

Picture a rat trap (old style with wooden base) baited with peanut butter hanging by a wire flat against the side of a tree.  Squirrel comes down tree, smells peanut butter, takes a bite and wham - you have yourself a squirrel !

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## aktrekker

Blowguns are not acceptable hunting weapons.
I've seen too many videos of animals being tortured by multiple darts, even being chased and clubbed, because it is rare that a dart kills. Many animals get away and are never found, obviously dying horribly, probably from infection.
There's a reason primitive peoples tipped their darts with poison. It was the only way to ensure a kill.

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## RandyRhoads

Anything that gets food in a survival situation is an acceptable weapon. I don't care if I have to chew on its throat for 15 minutes while it screams in pain before dying.

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## Ken

I will never understand the cold hostility toward squirrels so shamelessly displayed here.   :Confused1:

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## aktrekker

If you're close enough to use the blowgun you can probably just use the blowgun to club it.
A throwing stick would be better than a blowgun.
A snare would be more productive.

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## Wildthang

A trained bobcat?

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## alexpeacock200

I use a cold steel big bore blowgun.

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## Wise Old Owl

> This is, without a doubt, the sickest thread ever started in the Forums.    Just sick, sick, sick.


Gray squirrels were eaten in earlier times by Native Americans and their meat is still popular with hunters across most of their range in North America. Today, it is still available for human consumption and is occasionally sold in the United Kingdom.

[QUOTE=RCKCRWLER;160623]Rat traps and peanut butter.  Tie the trap to a tree so only squirrels get nabbed and you aren't leaving holes in the trees.  Hide's good and you won't be worrying about chomping down on a "bb" when you are eating it.   

I disagree somewhat - Peanut butter attracts more mice and will lick the trap clean... I use two havaheart's with a squirrel proof bird feeder in a pole above... I set the E-Z sets with lots of human consumption peanuts - Spanish reds if you can find them and put black sunflower in the feeder above the quick set havahearts. The combination is devastating to the greys.. They watch the birds for sign and cannot help themselves - I can wipe out the customers issue and all the neighbors with this set up. 

besides you can save the pelts and drown them live. Or wrap the trap in a clear garbage back and pump in carbon dioxide., the gas place will sell you a cylinder and add a 1/2 tube on the connection.  I just release them about five miles in a park.

No PM's from Peta's please.. I know the rules and the laws,,, seriously.

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## Wise Old Owl

> I will never understand the cold hostility toward squirrels so shamelessly displayed here.


Squirrels demolish attics, electric wires, cause fires and when they die a month or two later you have so many flies in your house you can't keep up. The can chew so many holes in the soffits your house will look like swiss cheese. The urine will break thru you attic into the bedroom.  They will eat insulation and when they cannot digest anything they die in the attic.... suddenly you have so many insects you would not ever think of looking up there for the cause.

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## amateur survivalist

> lol. pets.
> 
> next thing you know people will have pet chickens, and birds, and fish, and pet pigs...
> 
> ...oh wait...
> 
> i'm getting hungry


Very comical... I got a couple pet chickens in my flock. And my sis-in-law has a pet pig. Lol. But with me.... I ain't afraid to kill off a pet chicken for food...

Back to the thread topic. I used to use shotguns but since I put a scope on my .22 I won't switch back.. and it's only family here so I know where everyone is at when I hunt :-)

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## your_comforting_company

The new place is riddled with the things. Been using a pellet gun, but now the weather is getting cool, I want to try a bunch of the trapping techniques. might even lob a stabbie stick at them to see how bad it tears them up. with some rice and gravy... mmmmmm.

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## MrFixIt

> I've heard the old timers say the easiest primitive method is to sneak up behind them and sprinkle some salt on their tail. You can pick them right up if you do that. Works every time, too.


I know this was back in March of 2012, but what in the world are you talkin' 'bout Rick?
Or maybe a better question would be what in the world were you on/drinking? :Devil2:

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## hunter63

I can't believe I haven't been involved with this thread.
Don't hunt squirrels unless they are eating something I don't want eaten.

Used hunt and eat them...but reminds me of rats.

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## Rick

> a better question would be what in the world were you on/drinking?




You've never heard that? Tell me you've never heard an adult tell a youngster that the easiest way to catch X was to sprinkle salt on their tails. I've had uncles pull that on me when I was a punkin' and I've seen guys do it to little kids. Of course, the first thing they do is run in the house and grab the salt shaker. Then they proceed to chase X all over the yard trying to sprinkle salt.

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## hunter63

> You've never heard that? Tell me you've never heard an adult tell a youngster that the easiest way to catch X was to sprinkle salt on their tails. I've had uncles pull that on me when I was a punkin' and I've seen guys do it to little kids. Of course, the first thing they do is run in the house and grab the salt shaker. Then they proceed to chase X all over the yard trying to sprinkle salt. [/COLOR]



Bhohahahaha.....and here all this time I thought it only worked on birds........

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## Eastree

Oh, lord, I had almost forgotten about that. I remember when my grandmother used to tell me that about squirrels and birds!

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## MrFixIt

> You've never heard that? Tell me you've never heard an adult tell a youngster that the easiest way to catch X was to sprinkle salt on their tails. I've had uncles pull that on me when I was a punkin' and I've seen guys do it to little kids. Of course, the first thing they do is run in the house and grab the salt shaker. Then they proceed to chase X all over the yard trying to sprinkle salt. [/COLOR]


Kinda like huntin' snipes...I got it now.
Thinking back, I do sort of remember someone saying something like this, but it wasn't directed at me.

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## wildlearner

Just use a rattrap where they are getting into your food.

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## Awanita

chuck.jpgWe have squirrels with attitudes up here LOL.

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## Adventure Wolf

SLINGSHOT! Seriously some of these slingshots are powerful enough to fire a projectile over 200 yards. I've seen a good slingshooter take down squirrels, small birds and the same slingshooter told me he could kill a rabbit with one. I always wanted to build a powerful slingshot, but have never found the time.

One of my best friends bow hunts for small game. It's usually great fun, even though I'm still practicing and learning.

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## your_comforting_company

Missed a couple yesterday with the blowgun. I was giggling like a little girl. Was pretty fun until I had to climb a couple trees to get my darts back! (I think the squirrels were laughing, too)

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## crashdive123

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## TXyakr

If someone is a true vegan I respect that. But as a kid I raised and slaughtered my own pigs for personal income and helped out with the cattle dairy farm. Cows a little but especially pigs are very intelligent and capable of emotions far more than squirrels (friends had as pets, I had monkey pets). Some pigs are about as intelligence and emotional as most pet dogs and horses but make up a huge % of the American diet.
I mostly use high velocity air gun and high velocity (60 -100mph) blowpipe to control squirrel and cotton tail population.  Once I placed a sticky glue trap at a tight corner under the eves of my house where the squirrels were repeatedly chewing thru and causing $600+ damage to wires etc. A squirrel's tail got stuck, it chewed it off. I never could find that tasty protein meal. Does NOT taste like chicken or pork, but a little like spider monkey only less gamey.

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## TXyakr

PVC squirrel trap, and some silly comments mostly just the same old Blah Blah.

http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014...squirrel-trap/

I would be curious to know how fast an average squirrel can chew its way out of this thing.
Probably a good feature, it is cruel to not check your traps frequently, a very minimum of every 24 hours but every 6 is more reasonable. I have used "have a heart" traps but mostly just caught opossums. Either animal is not easy to release safely they can both bite you very seriously. Even rabbits can make a deep bite, I use thick leather gloves and am very cautious, pin with a pole if possible. Domestic animals I feel confident grabbing behind the neck but wounded or trapped wild animals are more dangerous.

As far as cruelty goes I have had mice die from fire ants in small plastic live traps. I was taught as a child not to allow ANY animal to suffer unnecessarily. When I use these "live" plastic tube traps for mice I check them often and verify that there are not fire ants near by. Then remove mice with gloves and crush their heads quickly with thumb or heal, just like my father taught me decades ago. Same with squirrels, it is faster than with a gun and less painful. But I would prefer steel/aluminum for squirrels they can chew thru almost anything soft like wood or plastic. My difficulty was that squirrels seem to be smarter than mice and opossum, not as easy to trap.

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## scumbucket

I use a .50 caliber muzzle loader. Ever hear of barking a squirrel? You shoot the bark under his chin when he's laying on a limb. the concussion kills him without leaving a mark on him. Took me a while to be able to do it, but with a little practice, it works.

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## canid

Sounds more like a desperate bid to make the wrong tool do a job right than a sound hunting tactic, but I'll take that under consideration.

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## kyratshooter

Only reason they developed the "barking" technique was because after they shot all the large game out of the eastern states they still had all those big bore rifles they had to use up.  If they shot the squirrels with them directly there was nothing left to eat.  That and the limb was a bigger target then the squirrel.

It is also the reason most of the old original Kentucky rifles were bored out to .54-.58 caliber smooth bore.  Load them with shot and hunt squirrels and use them for another 75 years.

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## canid

Understood. Don't get me wrong; whatever works in a real pinch.

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## richbat

The only primitive weapon I hunt with and that includes small and large game is a recurve bow or long bow with blunt tips.

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## hunter63

1000 years from now, if some one is gonna be digging around central Wisconsin......discover many, many arrows scattered  about, and declare, "There must have been a heck of a battle here....and they were all using Gamegetter 2117 alum arrows with Astro points......

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## Rick

...and no plastic will have degraded.

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## hunter63

> ...and no plastic will have degraded.


Garbage/supermarket bags are the new fossils....

"Oh, Lookie here, Pick and Save had a sale on beer.......What is beer?"

That alone shows the demise of civilization as we knew it.....

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## Rick

Yeah, a million years from now they will be teaching that ooze was created through heat and compression of garbage dumps. Assuming, of course, anything they contain will actually degrade over a million years. Men will be buying their love a diamic ring created from the compaction of plastic. Ever so rare.

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## kyratshooter

> Garbage/supermarket bags are the new fossils....
> 
> "Oh, Lookie here, Pick and Save had a sale on beer.......What is beer?"
> 
> That alone shows the demise of civilization as we knew it.....


There will always be beer!  

Beer is the defining feature of and reason for all civilizations.

Writing was invented to preserve the beer recipe.

Counting was invented to keep up with the bar tab.

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## Rick

That boy is danged perceptive. Very good observation. Beer was obviously invented to improve the appearance of both sexes. So yeah, it will still be needed.

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## hunter63

....and help white people dance.....

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