REAL MEN HUNT SQUIRRELS

Jim Stephens' Organic Chicken

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Stephens is the president of EBSCO, which owns the PRADCO line of fishing lures, Knight Rifles, Knight and Hale Game Calls, Code Blue and Carry-Lite Decoys. Stevens is an avid squirrel hunter and owns two squirrel dogs that he hunts as often as time will permit.

QUESTION: What do you like about squirrel hunting, Jim?
ANSWER: I have a few fancy friends who insist on eating food only from specialized grocery stores. These individuals will eat only organic vegetables and meats. They go to a fair amount of trouble and expense to get what they believe to be the very-best natural, herbicide-free, steroid-free meats and produce.

The squirrel is my organic chicken. The squirrel is white meat. It lives in the woods and eats only acorns, seeds and other natural foods in a natural environment free from herbicides, steroids and growth hormones. The squirrel lives in a pure environment and produces the purest, lowest-cholesterol meat that I believe you can eat. I cook my squirrel in a skillet with water and olive oil. I sauté it on top of the stove for 25 or 30 minutes, and I only add salt or pepper when I'm ready to eat it. Squirrels taste very delicious.

Also, I enjoy hunting and watching my dogs work. I don't like to sit still. If I'm going to be in the woods, I want to move in the woods. I don't want to sit still and be static. Squirrel hunting requires that I move quite a bit. I like that aspect of the sport. I also like to hunt with my friends. I can talk if I want to, or I don't have to talk if I don't prefer. I like to also be able to socialize while I am hunting.

Along the Warrior River swamp where I hunt, the trees are tall, and the squirrels have plenty of predators trying to catch them, kill them and eat them. On the ground, they have to watch for foxes, bobcats, coyotes and other ground predators, and from the air they have to watch out for hawks and owls. They have very keen eyesight, and they know how to lay flat on a limb and almost become invisible. I face a challenge every time I try and spot a squirrel in a tree. If that squirrel starts to run, you can have some really sporting shooting.

I like to hunt with a Knight black-powder shotgun or with a .22 rifle. Both guns give the squirrels a sporting chance. I think that muzzleloading for squirrels adds a whole other challenge to the sport and gives me a way to step back into history like the early pioneers did. They had to be able to load quickly, shoot accurately or go home hungry. I don't guess there is any aspect of hunting with a squirrel dog that I don't enjoy. I have hunted squirrels without a dog before, and I don't find it nearly as much fun as hunting with a dog.

TOMORROW: A CHANGED MAN