Save the coons the misery and just kill them
“Studies indicate that a significant percentage of relocated raccoons die, with mortality rates often exceeding 50% within the first two months of relocation. Some studies even suggest that mortality rates can be as high as 75% after one year. While it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact average, the general consensus is that relocation is not a successful long-term solution for raccoons”
It is also inhumane to the raccoon to relocate them.
Sure. But before humans domesticated plants and started to produce food by farming, we subsisted by hunting and gathering. So way back then we had two motives to kill animals: (1) to prevent them from eating the food that we were gathering to eat ourselves; or, more likely, (2) to eat them. Or both, of course.
Even after the agricultural revolution, plenty of the animal pests that we discuss have been killed for food. For example, I read a report that prior to roughly 1920, more squirrel was consumed than chicken.
That’s interesting. A woman I knew told me that as a child in Idaho supper often depended on whether her father could bring home a squirrel -they were subsistence farmers, and I imagine that prior to refrigerated shipping and factory farming there was a lot more of it than we appreciate.
The raccoons haven’t started to hit my pear trees yet because I know there would be nothing left. You guys have definitely convinced me to get paw traps and just kill them . I’m still losing a few pears that whatever is doing it. It’s just eating the outside and will not eat the seeds. I go back-and-forth one time thinking it’s crows the other squirrels. I know squirrels will try bite through the bags. I’ve had no bags attacked. The crows definitely do not like the fake dead crow . You can see my live trap with corn on the cob seems like to me a squirrel would try to eat it.
You make me wonder if the yellow-bellied marmots, native to eastern WA & likely to northern ID, would be at all tasty before summer gets hot, dry and the grasses die to the root. Simmered slowly with some winter savory & rosemary, maybe a bit of saffron…? Maybe the same treatment with raccoon?
I’m sure it could be done. It’s all meat, after all. No idea what the fat would be like, but rodents have been part of the human diet for eons. Ask @TNHunter -he’ll likely have a recipe and possibly personal experience.
The wild game that you can cook and eat just like you would chicken (fried or oven baked)… wild turkey, quail… and the young (half grown or so) of rabbit, squirrel, groundhog.
These are all quite delicious… very similar in taste to chicken… but better IMO.
I have never tried rodent… but squirrel is pretty close and has a mix of dark and light meat… I expect rodents are similar.
Again with critters like squirrel… the young are tender and can be fried or baked like chicken…
The adults (into reproducing age)… can be quite tuf… if fried or baked.
Best to slow cook them in a crock pot for a few hours… you can add a little chicken broth initally… until the meat starts to fall off the bone.
Then remove the critter from the crock pot to a platter and separate the meat from the bones. Put the meat back in the crockpot and continue cooking…
This is a good way to start a burnswick stew… with any kind of critter.
You have your meat… just add other stew or soup components… broth or canned tomatoes, onions garlic celery carrots… any veggies you like.
TNHunter
Squirrels and marmots are both rodents; so, they should have pretty similar meat. I’ve only tried squirrels (in Missouri) and found them to have too little meat to be worthwhile; but marmots should be meatier, possibly with a lot of fat, however.
@vitog … more fat is ideal. It normally makes the end product more moist and flavorful.
Most wild game has way to little fat. Needs to have fat added while cooking… bacon fat, tallow, butter.
Ps… I was not sure what a marmot was… looked up some images on google. Looks very similar to what we call a ground hog.
Found this too…
Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are a specific species of marmot. While all groundhogs are marmots, not all marmots are groundhogs.
TNHunter
TNHunter, thought you said earlier you ate muskrats. They are a rodent and a very close relative to the meadow voles that chew on our trees.
My grandfather said muskrat was the best meat he ever ate. During the depression whatever was caught on the trapline was also eaten. Except skunks.
Muskrat meat is really red and lean.
I also use 22 shorts for critters in traps. Not sure if you can find them anymore. Mine are from my 80’s trapline days.
They have a lower energy and wont even open a 22 auto loader rifle correctly. In a pistol they are quite and will very seldom have enough energy to exit a coon head shot. Not damaging a live trap or things beyond.
@JAF … back in my trapping years… I tried a little of about everything.
Muskrsts and beaver… coons and possum.
Even tried bobcat once.
I have had several rattlers and a few soft shell turtles.
I skinned and sold the pelt off of every skunk I ever caught… probably a dozen or more.
Skunks and possums were bad about getting in my sets for coon and fox.
I cant say I ever tried any of that and thought it was really really good… it will eat…and makes a decent meal… but it is all far from a good grilled ribeye steak… or my wifes fried chicken.
Young squirrel, rabbit, groundhog … keto fried… is right in there with fried chicken.
I will take a meal of that anytime.
I catch and eat a lot of bass, blackperch, catfish… i eat the fish livers and roe tooo.
I have a old high standard 22 pistol (semi auto) that my grandfather gave to me when I was in highschool. It has to have a hot load to work the action correctly and feed the ammo. CCI Stingers work great in it… most other regular 22 rounds … it jams on.
That old pistol harvested a lot of fur coats back in the day.
TNHunter
I am much more domesticated than I was back in the 70s 80s…
Making a big pot of chicken veggie soup for dinner. My wife made keto cornbread.
TNHunter
my buddy that used to trap had a 10 shot s + w .22 revolver with a 3in barrel he kept in a shoulder holster. he used .22 shorts as well. didnt tear up the pelts. most accurate pistol ive ever shot. could hit the brass of a empty shotshell at 5 paces no problem.
@steveb4 … My trapping partner had a 8 shot 22 revolver and he used shorts.
I could not with my semi auto.
But with coons… I always stunned them first… then shot them between the ears … with bullet exiting the mouth. Never got docked any on pelts like that.
I love to shoot 22s.
When I got my carry permit many years ago… I took my sons Herritage 22 revolver to range test part of the course.
Thats a 100 score… my wife was the only lady to score 100. 50 shots.
You had to get outside the 7 ring to get a deduction.
TNHunter
i share your love for the .22. i learned on a old marlin single shot bolt rifle with the ring cocker in the rear. my brother still has it. i own 3 pistols and 3 rifles in it. my son has the heritage also with the .22 and .22 mag cylinder he got from his grandfather on his moms side. fun pistol. my fav. is the browning buck mark i got on sale from cabelas. stainless with the grey laminate grip. reg was $549. got it for $299. very accurate and fun to shoot. taught my sons girlfriend to shoot for the 1st time with it. shes deadly accurate. cant wait to teach my grand daughter in a few years. my wife likes to shoot my scoped .22 mag marlin. she’s noise and recoil sensitive.
You guys talking about 22s is probably not good for my pocketbook. I love revolvers I have several however I just realized that all of mine are single action that has to change.
My first firearm - with microgrooves!
My wife and I made a venison roast after soaking the meet for I think it was 12 hours in buttermilk. The lactic acid tenderizes the meat. It was much more tender than a typical venison (hindquarter) roast.
@jrd… i have not tried that.
When I kill a deer to eat I select a 60-70 lb yearling doe.
The front and hind quarters make an excellent roast & BBQ.
I slow cook them in crockpot on low… 5 or 6 hours and the meat justfalls apart.
I sautee (in bacon fat) a chopped onion until browned… add a few cloves of garlic minced… and pour that over the meat in the crockpot.
Deer front quarter BBQ.
TNHunter
