Is this a pecan?
It's a white ball point pen. Bic I believe?
Lol...
I have no clue, but I had to chime in
I'm not sure I could identify a pecan unless it's sitting atop a pie....not very common up here. Were there any other specimens growing on the trees where you found this one? The cavity in the hull section on the right has the appearance of what I imagine a pecan would look like....
It's a white ball point pen. Bic I believe?
Very good, now were is it from? Ewest will know and maybe Sunil might know...
It's a white ball point pen. Bic I believe?
Very good, now were is it from? Ewest will know and maybe Sunil might know...
Taking a shot in the dark here....
Richmond Mills.
If you roll it 1/4 turn towards those nuts that you found I can tell ya.
Looks a lot like a hickory hull to me, but it is hard to tell. It will be a lot easier to identify when green ones start to drop in the next several weeks.
I'm voting shagbark hickory.
Randy, I don't recall the pens being complimentary...shame on you.
Shagbark Hickory, just wasn't sure if they were that far south. Pignut and shagbark will cross winding up with some tough to identify nuts. Primarily a pignut has a *very thin* husk and a puny nut, where a good shagbark has a medium/thick husk and relatively large tasty nut. Takes a lot to crack them and make a tasty pie.
Like said it will be a lot easier to identify when they are fresh.
*Edited because I made a bunch of mistakes.*
*Additional:
A good hickory nut is light tan, woody, and round when fully matured with a sharp tip on the end away from the stem. Approximately 1" I have both on my land, but mostly the useless pignut (but very good burning). While the husk looks very hickory, the nut I think is immature or unfertilized making it look pignut-ish.
My thought is a hickory nut too.
They have a thick outer covering to get to the shell:
http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2013/01/seed-of-the-week-shagbark-hickory/We don't have pecans in this area, but I am under the impression that their shell is very fragil, paperlike:
http://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&...320.SiQxc9lok7M
More trivia: Not every Hickory will have nuts that are worth fooling with. Never collect nuts without cracking a few open first, just to check them out. Or, watch the squirrels....the hickories they are in FIRST, are usually good trees.
By the way...squirrel season opens this very morning for Hoosiers...
I fixed my post above, that will teach me to reply to forums before my eyes are opened all the way.
As sprkplug mentions, there are a few varieties of hickory, all nuts are not created equal. Pignut for example is very bitter and downright nasty. The squirrels will eat them though, so not the greatest indicator. Hickory are tough as hell to get into, but the sweet centers are worth the effort. A squirrel will work at them for quite some time since they are so tasty.
You have to be ever vigilant under a shagbark to get the nuts before the squirrels do, along with American Chestnuts (if you can find them).
AAAAAHHHHH, squirrel season. The smell of gunpowder in the morning.
AAAAAHHHHH, squirrel season. The smell of gunpowder in the morning.
Not when you use one of these!
FWB 124
I used to hunt with a .22 caliber break-barrel myself....lots of fun.
That one is .177. Head shots only or they run off and are hard to recover. It works exceptionally well!
Thanks for the replies. I don't think what I have is worth the effort it takes to bend over and pick up. Sure wish i could find some walnut trees...
That one is .177. Head shots only or they run off and are hard to recover. It works exceptionally well!
I grow pecans for a living and that is not a pecan but defiantly in the hickory family.
In my orchard we don't want to miss so we use a 12 gauge no choke, and 6 shot.
That way you can get the little thief on the run. We killed over 600 last fall, and will be dusting off the guns agin in two weeks.
Cray, 600 tree rats is insane. How many acres/trees do you have? Sparkplug, I appreciate your ol school attitude. I started huntin with a single shot 22 that my uncle gave me. I learned how to be patient and wait for a head shot, no wasted meat. Mom would give me "the look" if I brought home anything with muscle damage. No one likes ta pick out shattered bone, imbedded hair or small bb's while enjoying a nice meal any more than having a fishbone jammed between yer teeth.
I remember when these trees produced their first crop....the squirrels went wild for those thin shells. I killed five out of one tree in the space of 10 minutes. They simply could not leave the tree alone. I would drop one, the rest would scatter, but they would come right back. Every one I killed had its chin and chest soaked from the juice in the hulls.
English Walnuts.
I hear you Bob-O.....it was the same in my family. No shattered bone, and no picking fur. My youngest wants to go this year, and he's pretty tough with his .410, but his older brother, (and dad) prefer a .22....probably going to cause trouble.
Still walking around the yard with my phone.
Pignut:
Two kinds of hickory nuts, regular on the left, giant on the right:
It is amazing what you can learn in a forum about ponds. I'm so glad this question was asked, because I love to hunt squirrels, and I love to forage around for edible parts of God's creation (ramps, berries, etc). I tried pig nuts in the past thinking they were hickory nuts...and couldn't imagine why anyone would eat that thing. I can't wait to crack open some of the shagbark hickory nuts on our place and try them! And...they are the first trees the squirrels raid.
I'm going to have to look into planting some english walnuts for squirrels in the future...
I also saw that you can catch lots of worms by using crushed walnuts soaked in water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZutYfFwm8MDon't have any around here but looks fun.
Rob C
When I was a kid my dad would take us on Hickory huntin trips. He always knew where some good trees were. He'd make me and my brother stand back and then he'd throw a heafty stick up into the tree and knock down bunches of nuts. We would gather up many gunny sacks full, take em home, hull em and then LET THEM DRY for several weeks in the sun. We would spend all winter crackin em on the concrete floor of the basement and havin the best snacks and cakes you can imagine. Dang, talkin about it makes me hungry.
FT, thanks for the vid link about catchin worms. My granddaughter is spendin the night tomorrow and after we change wheat into gum you bet wer're gonna mix up some Black Walnut brew and catch some worms ta catch some YP and SMB on sat. This site is soooo cool!!!
My Grandson kills tree rats in my back yard with a 22. However, he uses Calibri's. No powder and fairly quiet.
A few years ago I cooked some squirrels in the crock pot, and they must have been only eating hickory nuts for a while. They tasted like I had put a dash of liquid smoke in with then while they were cooking.
A buddy is coming up from Alabama next week, and while I don't think he will be hunting, I'm sure he can show me an easier way to skin them. He like squirrel hunting so much he has a Feist.
I chiseled the green husks off those nuts from this afternoon:
Regular nut on the left, giant on the right. A quarter and a fifty cent piece for comparison.
If I were picking hickory nuts up for our own use, I wouldn't use either of these.
Scott, yrs ago an ol boy taught me how ta completely clean a squirrel in around 6 mins. It's too much for me ta type but if you'de like me ta call and walk ya through it I will be pleased to. Then you can post it and maybe get it officially recorded. Properly prepared, squirrel ranks right up there with venison, wild hog, Goose, Quail, rabbit, BG, WE, etc etc My mom fed 8 people on a poverty level budget but we all ate very well.
Bob:
Give me a week. He'll be up here then and I'll see if we can beat 6 minutes.
Now that is just too dang cool, and luckily I have walnut trees.
Although I'm still a little leery about cooking squirrel, between my .177/.22 cal pellet gun and walnuts, could be a fun weekend (once I see if I have any walnuts yet
).
And the best part is when people ask "where do you come up with all this?" My response? From Pond Boss, where else?
Keep your squirrel tails when you shoot them. If done properly, Mepp's will buy them from you or trade for spinners. They make the hook dressings from the tail fur for their spinners. I ate a lot of squirrel in college. They're great in a pressure cooker. 6 a day is the limit. I went through a lot of .22 lr shells. Loved the CCI Velocitors. Were fast and accurate out of my rifle.
A friend and I went squirrel hunting back in college, and I learned something important about fleas. I had no idea so many fleas could fit on one squirrel's hide! My dorm room became so infested I had to bomb it.
It did taste good though, made squirrel stew.
Young squirrels fry up pretty tender, but if it's old enough to have come over on the ark with Noah, then a pressure cooker is a near necessity.
Yep, squirrels have fleas....and ticks. And once in awhile, warbles.
Keep your squirrel tails when you shoot them. If done properly, Mepp's will buy them from you or trade for spinners. They make the hook dressings from the tail fur for their spinners. I ate a lot of squirrel in college. They're great in a pressure cooker. 6 a day is the limit. I went through a lot of .22 lr shells. Loved the CCI Velocitors. Were fast and accurate out of my rifle.
Travis - now you tell me - I could have been rich by now just from road kill..
Tied some fancy flies tho...
G/
I have 340 acres that comes out to about 7000 trees.
I will actually buy the bullets for friends if they promise to shoot squirrels and crows!
There's some good videos on skinning squirrels and with what you've all said about cooking 'em, I gotta give it a try. Seems like I've cooked everything except Opossum, Squirrel and Raccoon since I've lived here, but the Coons are on my list! After ridding my pond of over 1400 BCP so far, the Coons are well-fed and fat, as witnessed on my trail cams!
I didn't get a chance at the squirrels this weekend (but when I do I'll keep the tails) but I did try the walnuts-for-worms experiment and had a dozen in no time, and on very dry ground. That was one I had to try for myself and can say that it truly works!
I have 340 acres that comes out to about 7000 trees.
I will actually buy the bullets for friends if they promise to shoot squirrels and crows!
When I lived in So. Cal. a buddy had a friend that raised dairy cows and also had a veal operation going on. He was in a crow flight path, and they'd make a mess of his place eating the feed for the cows and pooping on what they didn't eat. He would furnish the decoys and electronic caller and we'd have a blast shooting crows. Best day was 120 of them. We'd put them in a pile in one of his fields, and at night he's shine 'yotes that came to eat the crows and take 'em out.
There's some good videos on skinning squirrels and with what you've all said about cooking 'em, I gotta give it a try. Seems like I've cooked everything except Opossum, Squirrel and Raccoon since I've lived here, but the Coons are on my list! After ridding my pond of over 1400 BCP so far, the Coons are well-fed and fat, as witnessed on my trail cams!
I didn't get a chance at the squirrels this weekend (but when I do I'll keep the tails) but I did try the walnuts-for-worms experiment and had a dozen in no time, and on very dry ground. That was one I had to try for myself and can say that it truly works!
Taste, is of course subjective and personal....some things are best left to be experienced, rather than wondered about.
But were I to offer my thoughts on this post, I might well start by recommending that you stick with a young coon for your first attempt. Think milk on it's lips. On the matter of cooking possum, I would simply advise you to cook it outside and downwind of the house, in a pan or dish that you don't mind relegating to "dog dish" duty forever thereafter. And preferably for a dog that you don't like.
Thanks Sprk!
When it comes to cooking Coons and Opossum I started losing interest pretty quickly after doing some research, so I think I'll leave those in the "things I've wondered about, but not for very long" column.
And for what you said about the possum, nuff said!
I have 340 acres that comes out to about 7000 trees.
I will actually buy the bullets for friends if they promise to shoot squirrels and crows!
Unless your trees are really sparse, you should have a heck of a lot more than 7000 trees. If you assume trees on a 10-foot spacing, that gives you over 400 trees per acres -- and that is on the low end for many unmanaged forests. So, further assuming that 300 of your 340 acres is wooded, that still gives you well over 100,000 trees. Then, let's assume you have 1 squirrel for every 100 trees, which is again probably very low. That is 1000 squirrels! That is a lot of squirrel dinners if you just take 10% per year.
When it comes to cooking Coons and Opossum I started losing interest pretty quickly after doing some research, so I think I'll leave those in the "things I've wondered about, but not for very long" column.
And for what you said about the possum, nuff said!
I'm kind of like Andrew Zimmern, and there isn't much I haven't eaten in my life. For about 35 years, my career took me to a lot of very off-beat places where I always sampled the local foods. I hit a million air miles way back in 1978. The only places I ever got food poisoning while traveling was in Dayton, Ohio, and at the USN Acey-Duecy Club in Sasebo Japan -- both times on American food.
I've had possum and coon. I wouldn't try possum again, at least not if I had to clean it. I've never cleaned anything worse than a possum (I've never cleaned a vulture, but it couldn't be much worse). Because rabies in coons has become so prevalent, I no longer touch coons. I still "take out" a number of them each year, but I don't touch them. I leave them for the scavengers. If I have to move them, it is with the tractor front-end loader, or a pole and pulley I have, much like what the professionals use to grab wild animals from a distance.
But squirrels -- I'm trying hard to propagate a lot more fox squirrels. We still have a lot of small grey squirrels, which are hardly worth the effort of cleaning. The fox squirrels are a lot bigger, and they sure are tasty.
I apparently don't clean squirrels or rabbits like most people. I don't care about the hide/fur. I use wire cutters to clip off the tail and the legs at the knees. I take out the scent glands. Using a sharp knife I start in the middle of the belly, and cut the skin perpendicular to the belly/spine, and go all the way around. So, I've basically cut the skin in half, from head to tail. I then just grab it and pull the skin apart towards the head and tail. I cut off the head with a hatchet. I rinse the carcass under a hose, and then gut it. I'd say it takes me longer to find the tools to do it, that it does to do it.
Squirrel and rabbit are both extremely sweet meat. Sometimes I cook the whole cleaned carcass in a pressure cooker and pick the meat from the bones for stew or soup.
Other times I will quarter them, but throw away the ribs since they are so small. In this case, the quarters get battered and fried like chicken.
Good eatn'
I tend to start under the tail when I clean a squirrel. I do the step and pull method.
I have 340 acres that comes out to about 7000 trees.
I will actually buy the bullets for friends if they promise to shoot squirrels and crows!
Unless your trees are really sparse, you should have a heck of a lot more than 7000 trees. If you assume trees on a 10-foot spacing, that gives you over 400 trees per acres -- and that is on the low end for many unmanaged forests. So, further assuming that 300 of your 340 acres is wooded, that still gives you well over 100,000 trees. Then, let's assume you have 1 squirrel for every 100 trees, which is again probably very low. That is 1000 squirrels! That is a lot of squirrel dinners if you just take 10% per year.
When it comes to cooking Coons and Opossum I started losing interest pretty quickly after doing some research, so I think I'll leave those in the "things I've wondered about, but not for very long" column.
And for what you said about the possum, nuff said!
I'm kind of like Andrew Zimmern, and there isn't much I haven't eaten in my life. For about 35 years, my career took me to a lot of very off-beat places where I always sampled the local foods. I hit a million air miles way back in 1978. The only places I ever got food poisoning while traveling was in Dayton, Ohio, and at the USN Acey-Duecy Club in Sasebo Japan -- both times on American food.
I've had possum and coon. I wouldn't try possum again, at least not if I had to clean it. I've never cleaned anything worse than a possum (I've never cleaned a vulture, but it couldn't be much worse). Because rabies in coons has become so prevalent, I no longer touch coons. I still "take out" a number of them each year, but I don't touch them. I leave them for the scavengers. If I have to move them, it is with the tractor front-end loader, or a pole and pulley I have, much like what the professionals use to grab wild animals from a distance.
But squirrels -- I'm trying hard to propagate a lot more fox squirrels. We still have a lot of small grey squirrels, which are hardly worth the effort of cleaning. The fox squirrels are a lot bigger, and they sure are tasty.
I apparently don't clean squirrels or rabbits like most people. I don't care about the hide/fur. I use wire cutters to clip off the tail and the legs at the knees. I take out the scent glands. Using a sharp knife I start in the middle of the belly, and cut the skin perpendicular to the belly/spine, and go all the way around. So, I've basically cut the skin in half, from head to tail. I then just grab it and pull the skin apart towards the head and tail. I cut off the head with a hatchet. I rinse the carcass under a hose, and then gut it. I'd say it takes me longer to find the tools to do it, that it does to do it.
Squirrel and rabbit are both extremely sweet meat. Sometimes I cook the whole cleaned carcass in a pressure cooker and pick the meat from the bones for stew or soup.
Other times I will quarter them, but throw away the ribs since they are so small. In this case, the quarters get battered and fried like chicken.
Good eatn'
Those numbers you have are for pine. The recommended spacing for an irrigated pecan orchard in Georgia is 34 trees per acre. That is a 50' row with the trees 25' in the row, but even with this spacing if you do not intend to hedge the trees you will end up thinning down to 17 trees by15 years. Then down to 9 trees per acre by age 30. This is done in order to maximize the trees canopy exposure to the sun. With pecan trees nut production is at it's best when the trees are not crowded.
Those numbers you have are for pine. The recommended spacing for an irrigated pecan orchard in Georgia is 34 trees per acre. That is a 50' row with the trees 25' in the row, but even with this spacing if you do not intend to hedge the trees you will end up thinning down to 17 trees by15 years. Then down to 9 trees per acre by age 30. This is done in order to maximize the trees canopy exposure to the sun. With pecan trees nut production is at it's best when the trees are not crowded.
Cray -- sorry about that. I somehow missed the post where you are a pecan farmer. And yes, that sure would make a difference.
Ken
[/quote]
Because rabies in coons has become so prevalent, I no longer touch coons. I still "take out" a number of them each year, but I don't touch them. I leave them for the scavengers. If I have to move them, it is with the tractor front-end loader, or a pole and pulley I have, much like what the( professionals use to grab wild animals from a distance.)
besides farming I also am a licensed nuisance wildlife control professional, and state certified predator control hunter/trapper, then during winter I am a fur trapper. It is not unusual for me to take over 5,000 raccoons, 11,000 opossums, 2,300 fox, 7,800 coyotes, etc.. per year, I give these numbers, (have to report them to State wildlife Officials) to show the extent at which I handle these creatures,first I only use a catch pole when handling live animals that bite, including dogs, second some live animals like opossums, I don't use a pole, nudge them with your foot they play dead, pick them up by the back of their head and toss them in a sack (now you Georgia boys should know all about possum in a sack) I assure you that at least in the state of Indiana the cases of wildlife rabies is way over exaggerated, there are I am afraid to say others in my wildlife control profession who purposely exaggerate these facts for their own financial interest. I do not condone this practice, and in fact it angers me, spreading fear through lies to enrich ones self to me is no more than a form of terrorism. Now that said it is good practice to wear gloves when handling these animals, but don't be afraid of them, and don't waste a resource, even Georgia coat coons are going for ten bucks apiece this year. And if one enjoys a coon dinner, rabies is only in the blood and brain, and coons are no more of a carrier than squirrels, same percentage, so, clean your coon, cook it thoroughly and enjoy.
Thanks for the replies. I don't think what I have is worth the effort it takes to bend over and pick up. Sure wish i could find some walnut trees...
Come north, I have so many black walnut they are a nuisance, and the buyers pay so little its not worth harvesting them, 47 dollars for a pick up truck load, geesh
Hey DF, I forgot that I started this thread talking about nuts. And now we're talking about cooking 'coons etc. That's why I read as many thread as possible, because just because we start talking about HBG doesn't mean that we won't wander into discussions about guns, beer, and chain saws. I love this place!!!
Hey DF, I forgot that I started this thread talking about nuts. And now we're talking about cooking 'coons etc. That's why I read as many thread as possible, because just because we start talking about HBG doesn't mean that we won't wander into discussions about guns, beer, and chain saws. I love this place!!!
And how to blow up toilets with sparklers
Alright Im game whats next
I went squirrel hunting with my new .17 HMR this Saturday. I thought it would be a sweet little rifle for small game, but I was wrong. If you do not hit the head, it is a squirrel wrecking ball. Really fun to shoot and the ammunition is pretty cheap, but way to much gun for tree rat.
Thats what I heard, wouldnt think a projectile that small could cause so much damage, hmm Einstein, what was that something squared, oh well, never got past pre-algebra, Im to redneck I guess LOL
Very fast flat shooting round.
I heard they came out with a .17 Winchester Super Magnum round now. I have yet to see one, but it seems a little ridiculous in a great way to me.
I went squirrel hunting with my new .17 HMR this Saturday. I thought it would be a sweet little rifle for small game, but I was wrong. If you do not hit the head, it is a squirrel wrecking ball. Really fun to shoot and the ammunition is pretty cheap, but way to much gun for tree rat.
DairyFarmer is right..the .17 HMR may be smaller but you'll hit WAY harder than a .22 LR because of the increase in muzzle velocity and the kinetic energy is proportional to the velocity squared.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.17_HMR#Comparison_with_.22_LR_Ammunition esp. "overly destructive to small game at close range" lol
I've hunted squirrel with air rifles, shotguns, handguns, and .32 caliber black powder....but it's pretty hard to beat a scoped .22 for all around use.
DairyFarmer is right..the .17 HMR may be smaller but you'll hit WAY harder than a .22 LR because of the increase in muzzle velocity and the kinetic energy is proportional to the velocity squared.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.17_HMR#Comparison_with_.22_LR_Ammunition esp. "overly destructive to small game at close range" lol [/quote]
see I knew it was math stuff
Dang, I just spent about 45 minutes digging around in Wiki. Pretty interesting stuff.
.17 Mach II is what I'm using now. Shot one on Sunday @ 7 yds horizontal distance, about 50' vertical. Entered between the front legs, out the top of the shoulders. No bloodshot meat, no reminants of the bullet in the meat. Outside of the shoulderblades was fine, just a 50 cent piece exit wound.
I'd hate to see what a .17 HMR would do.
I too have used a lot of different things to take squirrels, but I think I'll be sticking with the .17 Mach II for a while.