Dumb small game hunting questions

[BigFatGuy]

1: Let's say I get lucky and actually get a rabbit or a squirrel. What do people carry the body in? I've seen some kind of "dump pouch" that hangs off a belt on TV, but I can't find it for sale... my google-fu is failing me.

2: how long do I have to get the animal skinned and on ice?

3: Let's imagine I have a great stroke of luck, and bring a sack full of rabbits and squirrels back to the trailhead. Once they are cleaned, what does one do with the guts?

[God Bless America]

3: Let's imagine I have a great stroke of luck, and bring a sack full of rabbits and squirrels back to the trailhead. Once they are cleaned, what does one do with the guts?

Toss them in the bushes for the coyotes. Just not within a specified distance of water, I forget the distance.

[deckhandmike]

I got a bird shooting vest. They hold game, shells and water easily. The vest holds weight way more comfortably than any pouch.

[HighWildFree]

Remember to Let the rabbit sit for a few minutes after it’s dispatched and most of the fleas will jump off.

[edgerly779]

Compton is a long way from place to hunt squirrels. Rabbits should be gutted quickly. They get ripe in a hurry. Game belts online olr at sporing goods sometimes big 5.

[Thefeeder]

1: Let's say I get lucky and actually get a rabbit or a squirrel. What do people carry the body in? I've seen some kind of "dump pouch" that hangs off a belt on TV, but I can't find it for sale... my google-fu is failing me.

2: how long do I have to get the animal skinned and on ice?

3: Let's imagine I have a great stroke of luck, and bring a sack full of rabbits and squirrels back to the trailhead. Once they are cleaned, what does one do with the guts?

1) Upland hunt vest
2) After the hunt ....skin, gut, place in plastic bag, place on ice...keep meat from soaking in water
3) Toss in brush (it will be gone by next morning)....toss in trash

[BillyGoatCrawler]

Answers above covered it pretty well.

I’d add that you need to gut them sooner if you’re using a shotgun than a rifle or bow. With a shotgun you get a lot more punctured guts and that can get real nasty quickly.

Rifle or bow and you can judge easily if it was gut shot. Shotguns you can miss the fact that a pellet or two went into the gut.

[tony270]

He can be hunting rabbits in under an hour.

Compton Hunting and Fishing Club, almost 5 stars. I think that they still hunt ducks on their Dominguez land.

1625 Sportsman Dr
Compton, CA 90221

[bchains]

I toss the dead rabbits into a backpack and within an hour skin and gut and get the bodies on ice in a cooler. I like rabbit de-skinning usign the "sweater and pants" method (youtube it - Steve Rinella has a nice vid). Be sure to check the liver for white spots indicative of tularemia which is a nasty bacterial infection you can easily catch (wear gloves when dealing with the carcass), but is easily dealt with if you miss it by cooking the rabbit properly.

With a shotgun I seem to open the gut in about 1/2 my rabbits.. not a big deal if you quickly clean and rinse out the yuck stuff.

Hasenpfeffer for dinner, rabbit foot keychains for the kids

[bigbossman]

1) Upland hunt vest
2) After the hunt ....skin, gut, place in plastic bag, place on ice...keep meat from soaking in water
3) Toss in brush (it will be gone by next morning)....toss in trash

This is what I do...... except I graduated from the vest to a backpack. I found that after I had 2-3 rabbits in the vest, the load would pull uncomfortably on my neck. With 5 in the vest, the hike back to the car was more unpleasant than it had to be. A small pack solved that problem, and allowed me to carry lunch, a water bladder, more shells, etc.

[BigFatGuy]

I toss the dead rabbits into a backpack and within an hour skin and gut and get the bodies on ice in a cooler.

What would you do if you were more than an hour from your cooler? Better to gut in the field and bag the meat?

Compton is a long way from place to hunt squirrels.

Compton Hunting and Fishing Club

CHFC is a nice place, but I'm not into the "men only" membership thing... Otherwise I would have been looking to join quite a while ago.

[deckhandmike]

If I was more than an hour from the cooler in high temps I’d get a lightweight soft cooler bag and some reusable ice packs (frozen water bottles) and put it in a backpack. This is what I do when I do long hikes. Plus it keeps your beer, water and sandwich cold for the hike in.

And yes, gut the animals immediately using disposable latex gloves for convenience, grip and sanitary reasons. Then place animals in large ziploc bags to keep fleas and ticks off you and your bag nice and clean.

[NapalmCheese]

What would you do if you were more than an hour from your cooler? Better to gut in the field and bag the meat?

If it's cool out (50's or below) I don't stress it too much. If it's much warmer than that (or if they are particularly gut shot) I'll gut them in the field and skin them when I get back. I carry gloves and hand sanitizer. If I need to field dress them I slip on a glove, make a small incision, and shove two or three fingers into the cavity and through the diaphragm. I scoop out as much as I can, disconnect anything that's connected by tearing/pulling, and plop the bunny back into my sack. The glove gets inverted and stored in a pocket.

[BigFatGuy]

Thank you, all, for the fantastic advice!

[RandyCat]

1. Backpack is the best choice, especially if you encounter a jack rabbit. they can get heavy with 5 cottontails together.
2. My backpack has a water bladder. I fill it with 90% of ice. I have cold water all the time and when i put rabbits there, they stay safe in cold for up to 3 hours.
3. Coyotes and bobcats need eat too, just don’t leave it on the trail.