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There’s something about small game hunting that makes me especially happy. Some of it is the knowledge that with even a little luck, you will be coming home with meat for the table. Part of it is the homeyness of hunting in little woodlots, farm fields or even old barns. A bit of the appeal is the do-it-yourself nature of small game hunting – no spendy guides or fancy equipment here. There is also an element of surprise: What tasty critter will appear around the next bend? But most of all, it’s because I absolutely love eating small game.
Yesterday morning I went to Amador County with my friend Evan to see what we could find. Our prize was to be some giant Canada geese that hang out in a pond up there, but we failed to bring one down when we jumped them. We’d killed a few ducks over at the Yolo Bypass the day before – I got myself a nice little green-winged teal and a scaup – so we didn’t hang out at the pond all day.
The day’s journey took us to some ground where Evan knew quail would be, but as we were going there, we spotted a quartet of Western gray squirrels. I love hunting and eating squirrels, but almost no one does it around here. I guess it’s an East Coast thing. I managed to get one of the four, and we moved on to the quail. We tromped around a while and flushed a couple coveys, but they wily little birds eluded us. On to rabbits! Cottontails are fantastic eating, and tend to loiter around old farm equipment, abandoned buildings or randon piles of crap. And Evan knew of a particularly excellent collection of all three at his ranch, and reckoned we’d find rabbits there: His guess was on target, and we bagged three in short order.
On the way home, we spotted a flock of barnyard pigeons! I know, I know. You’re saying, “Eeeew!” But these are not the trash-eating city pigeons you’re thinking of. Yes, they are the same species, but remember the axiom: You are what you eat. And barnyard pigeons eat seeds from haystacks or farm fields, sometimes even fallen corn. They will be as delicious as the doves the rest of the hunting world so adores, only twice the size. Cleaned and dressed, the trio of pigeons we shot each weighed a half-pound, about the weight of the teal I’d shot the day before.
Done by noon, we stopped for lunch with what would prove, cleaned and dressed, to be 3 pounds of rabbit, a squirrel that weighed almost a full pound, and the three pigeons. Five and 1/2 pounds of tasty meat is not a bad result for some good times, easy walking and soaking up the scenery on a bright winter’s morning.
Now to the cooking! First up will be a Greek rabbit stew with some artichoke hearts I froze from last season, fennel from the garden and a few of the Meyer lemons from the tree in my back yard. I know just the wine to go with it…
I’m a Sacramento native now living in the NW. I really enjoy your posts. And I’m trying to pass them on to my brother and nephew in the hopes that they could acquire the joy of cooking what they harvest (instead of the women in their lives). Thanks!
You’re most welcome! Hopefully I can provide on this site enough recipes, stories and techniques to get them hooked!
Dang that Greek Rabbit stew sounds good! I’ll have to get the bow out soon and see if I can knock over a couple conies to try that one. I haven’t done any tree squirrel hunting since I came out to CA, but I do love to eat those suckers.
I have often wondered about some of these farmyard pigeons, but haven’t had the cojones to try one yet. Around the horses they tend to eat a lot of fly larvae from the piles of manure, which sorta turns me off to the idea of shooting and eating them.
Great post!
Very cool. A very underrated hunt indeed. And as for those fatty geese you keep talking about….still never seen one myself.
That stew sounds amazing!!! I heart both artichoke hearts and rabbits. By the by, I have the dinner post up. =)
Very interesting articles on doves… (I read both yours and Holly’s) and I learned some things too… must be time for a nap… I don’t want to strain my brain or something by learning too much…
1) I was going to correct you on your comment about the doves “crop” as I’d always heard it referred to as a “craw”… but I’ve leaned over the years that I embarrass myself less often if I do a little research first, so I did. Where better to find a factual piece if information than Midland, TX, right (?) You might like the info on this site: http://www.sibleynaturecenter.org/essays/merritt/094_dovescraw.html You appear to be correct!
2) I did a little more research on eating jack rabbit, since I’ve heard since childhood (being raised in Tulare County, CA) that “don’t eat jack rabbits, they carry Tularamia”. The jury is still out on my limited research on this, but you might like to check this out more if you’re eating jack rabbits and educate me if you will?
My luck with doves this year is a little better than yours… I’ve bagged 7 so far… shoulda had a couple of limits probably… but it’s not as easy as it looks is it?
My family has traditionally had dove feeds following the opener and we typically fried they till they were browned and then simmered them in a gravey to tenderize them… the meat nearly falls off the bone. I especially like the white inner layer of meat next to the breast bone.
I enjoyed my first visit to your website. We had another good Sportsman’s Meeting on Thursday night with an interesting talk on Deer Herd managment from a specialist at California Dept. of Fish and Game. Hope to see you at our December 3rd “Annual Membership Meeting”. Holly spoke at our June meeting and she was very well received!
Bill
Awesome pic reminds me of the dutch old masters paintings. Do all those come under the small game permit? Also what is the season barnyard pigeon?
James: Pigeons are always in season in California. And yes, all the other species come under the regular hunting license. No additional permits needed.