Squirrel tails..............

[Bob Wright]

Over on the Ruger Revolver Facebook page a gent has displayed a photo of a Three Screw Single Six with a couple of recently bagged gray squirrels taken with it.

My brother-in-law, now long since dead, was an avid squirrel hunter, providing table fare that my sister cooked up in the most delicous way. And each year at Christmas he gave my nephew a box full of squirrel tails.

And my nephew was proud to get them! He was a fly fisherman, and the hair from squirrel tails went into making his own homemade flys. (Flies? Or flys?)

Bob Wright

 

[gunzo]

Memory thinks that years ago Mepps, maker of an effective fishing spinner would buy squirrel tales from mail order customers.
Pretty popular till synthetics came along I guess.

 

[daveag.]

Memory thinks that years ago Mepps, maker of an effective fishing spinner would buy squirrel tales from mail order customers.
Pretty popular till synthetics came along I guess.

Mepp's #2 is my favorite bass lure. I had a #2 that had been hammered so many times, broken hook, the squirrel tail hairs were chewed on, looked bad. But, I was catching a bass on every cast! I put on a new one and nothing. Put the old one on and they hit it. Go figure. I mean as soon as lure hit the water, I had a fish. What a day.

 

[T.A. WORKMAN]

Mepp's still buys squirrel tails or will trade lures for them. I saved all my tails over the years and always traded for their spinner baits.
Terry

 

[GypsmJim]

The large lures we use for muskie trolling are adorned with Buck Tails. A thicker strand of hair. I have one of my Dad's that he used to catch his once-in-a-lifetime prize back in 1941. It still is usable.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

A friend and I, when in our early teen years, saved up a box full of squirrel tails from our frequent hunts and sent them to Mepps. I don't recall what the payoff was, so it apparently wasn't a life-changing amount of money..

 

[t-reg]

I've sold tails to Mepps since I was a kid.
Was doing a job in Antigo, WI last summer, saw their sign and stopped in. They do factory tours, but it was too late in the day. They did take the time to chat, show me their showroom and talk about product lines.
Very good people

 

[eveled]

Lol. I don't know how I never heard of this before.

Their website says up to .25 per tail, or twice the amount if you trade for lures.

They reimburse shipping if you send 50 tails at a time.

 

[Chief 101]

I have used squirrel tails in the past to quiet bow strings for my longbows...and recurves...

 

[T.A. WORKMAN]

Bob,
They send out cards every fall, I dug out mine.
As a side note, it's not the size of the tail that determines the value its how you take care of them.
I would brush them out real good then salt the butt well and place flat in a baggie and freeze.
Before shipping I take them out of the freezer and take them outside in the sun to thaw & dry re-brush & ship.
I sent in 105 tails last time and 100 were graded premium.
Terry

 

[eveled]

Seems like a lot of work for not much cash. Plus the cost of the salt freezer space trip to the post office etc. It is cool that they don't go to waste. I always gave my tails to fly tiers.

Did you take the cash or lures?

 

[T.A. WORKMAN]

Always the lures !

 

[JackpineWillie]

My wife's brothers always sold tails to Mepps. Eight kids in the family. Money for ammo and tackle was kind of tight!

 

[FFguide]

As a kid growing up in Maine with a new Remington 514 single shot 22 (that I still have). I used to hunt my Grandfathers farm along the river that had giant red oak trees. Lots of good size gray squirrels. It didn't take long for the local wildlife to notice the air was now filled with lead. Lots of fried squirrel, squirrel pie and squirrel stew and a bounty of skins and tails. I had bought a subscription to Fur, Fish and Game magazine with my haying money which Mepps had an ad wanting squirrel tails. I do not remember what they paid me, but I sold plenty to them. Good memories for me with my lab-mix best buddy, Bobo. Thanks to all for regerentating those memories..I think my glasses are fogging.

 

[KIR]

Oh dum me. I think sometimes I read too fast. When I first saw the title of this thread I thought it said "square" tails.

 

[WendyZXZ]

What you mean you aren't supposed to eat the tails also?

 

[warren5421]

Where I grew up in southern Ohio they got tied to the radio arial. If you had a red one everyone would comment on it at the local country grocery store.We had gray's and just a very few reds. Here in the Indianapolis area there was only grays when I moved here in 1986 now I never see a gray just reds.

 

[KIR]

What you mean you aren't supposed to eat the tails also?

Silly Wendy...Make coonskin caps out of them!

 

[ole442]

What you mean you aren't supposed to eat the tails also?

Floss

 

[ole442]

Where I grew up in southern Ohio they got tied to the radio arial. If you had a red one everyone would comment on it at the local country grocery store.We had gray's and just a very few reds. Here in the Indianapolis area there was only grays when I moved here in 1986 now I never see a gray just reds.

I live in SW Ohio and we always had greys here, then in the early 1990's red squirrels started showing up. They were about half size of the greys and were rocket fast. I always heard they would kill greys and did see a couple dead greys after the reds moved in. The reds and greys both ran my back yard until 2015 or so....then they just disappeared. We have greys only now except for what I assume is an albino grey. It is pure white with no yellowing of color seen in other albinos.

I would hope that people taking 100 plus squirrel tails are actually eating the critters. Seems like such a waste for tails only. But then, unless the SHTF, there'll be no squirrel in my pot! LOL!!