Stalking Sus scrofa: A Tale of My First Successful Wild Pig Hunt

August 14, 2016 by Robert McConnell in Game

In the predawn darkness, the headlights of the Tacoma revealed a substantially washed-out section of dirt road. I switched the truck over to 4-wheel drive, and began driving forward over the unconsolidated sand and washed-out road. I continued on, carefully navigating around large logs and debris that had been deposited onto the road from the periodic flooding. In the past year, the Neches River had flooded much of the low-lying ground around Davy Crockett National Forest. The road abruptly came to a dead end and the headlights from the truck illuminated the moist green leaves of the forest.

Muskrat Recipe: Muskrat Wings

March 05, 2014 by Robert McConnell in Game

Muskrats make a great meal. The meat is soft and dark. The taste is very mild. There isn’t really a gamey taste to the meat. The muskrat rear-legs resemble that of buffalo chicken wings and can be prepared to resemble such. The following quick recipe is the way that Ellen and I have prepared our Muskrat Wings.

Cleaning and Preserving a Skull

March 01, 2014 by Robert McConnell in Game

Game animals not only provide pelts and meat, but they can also provide great home decoration. Recently I decided to clean and preserve a beaver skull from a 51 pounder that was caught this year. Cleaning skulls for presentation is really pretty easy. You just need to set aside some time to do it. The next time you have a memorable catch or hunt, consider preserving the animal’s skull for a great looking decorative piece.

Big Water Muskrats: Island Trapping the Allegheny River

February 25, 2014 by Robert McConnell in Game

When I was about 12 years old I had the opportunity to talk to an old-timer who everyone called Rabbit. Rabbit and I started talking one afternoon because I brought in a couple of muskrats that I was going to sell to my local fur buyer. Rabbit told me, in his raspy voice, “Use your boot and make a shelf for your trap on the side of the bank. Take an apple and pin it to the bank just above the trap. An apple’s like candy to dem muskrats.”