Last fall, I drove up to the family property in East Texas to meet my sisters and parents for a weekend together. I knew that my sisters would be leaving on my next-to-last day there, my mother would be working a late shift, and my dad would be getting in late from an appointment in Austin. Since I didn't want to bother anyone with my wild game concoctions, I figured that day would be perfect for catching and cooking a dinner of the squirrel variety.

I set my alarm for 6am, but I didn't get up until 6:30, which was fine since it was still rather dark outside. I let the dog out briefly and then brought him back inside so he wouldn't get in the way. I put on my jeans and hunting boots, loaded my grandfather's Winchester 9422 in .22LR with a 2.5x Tasco scope, and set off into the trees.

I moved slowly, scanning the canopy. With it being winter, the tree limbs were bare which made it a lot easier to spot squirrels in the tree tops than in May, the last time I had been hunting squirrels out there. It wasn't long before I spotted one and began making my way towards it. I picked my way through the fallen leaves, periodically looking up to keep tabs on the squirrel jumping from tree to tree, trying not to lose sight of it. I would occasionally raise the rifle to my shoulder and get it in the scope, seeing if I could get a shot. With it moving as much as it was, I kept passing on taking a shot, each time trying to get closer.

Finally, I made it within perhaps 15-20 yards of the tree it was in, confident this distance would be sufficient to get a solid sight picture without scaring it off. I raised the rifle and watched it work its way lower on the tree, hanging off the side perhaps nine or ten feet in the air. It stopped briefly and I decided to take my chance. I pulled the hammer back, put the crosshair squarely on its neck and let off a round of .22LR. The squirrel dropped to the ground and expired quickly. It was a decent sized fox squirrel, which was great. I was glad it wasn't one of the smaller gray squirrels around the property which were barely worth hunting due to their size. I threw a loop from my small game carrier around it and began heading back to the house.

While I walked I began thinking about the shot - was the squirrel too high on the tree? Had it been an unsafe shot and had the bullet kept going to land on someone else's property? I turned around and walked back to the spot where I had shot the squirrel. I analyzed the angles and positions, realizing that after hitting the squirrel, the round would have had to make it through the branches of another tree, across a small field, and then through another 50 yards of dense tree canopy. Even then, the field on the other side of the property line was massive and empty. In all the years I had been coming out here, I had never seen a single soul or livestock animal in that field. While my good sense told me it was probably fine, the what-ifs kept coming and I decided I was going to pay even closer attention to shot angles.

The problem, though, was that the squirrel and dumplings recipe I had looked up called for two squirrels, and I only had one. So I decided to take the squirrel back to the house and clean it while I thought about what to do next. I quartered it and tried to get as much meat off of it as I could. I was almost done when the solution to my shot angle problem suddenly hit me. I remembered that my dad also kept a .410 shotgun in the house as well and I knew there were shells for it because I had bought them the last time I had been there. Using a shotgun instead, I realized, was the better option - not because it was somehow inherently better or safer for hunting squirrels, but because I knew that for me it would quiet the what-ifs and allow me to focus on and enjoy the hunt instead of having to work a geometry problem every time I set up for a shot.

By the time I was done with the squirrel, though, the house was waking up. Instead of immediately heading back out, I decided to have breakfast and spend time with my sisters since they were leaving later that morning. Once everyone had left, I pulled out the .410, an old single shot Stevens 940E with a frame mounted side lever. It had actually belonged to my late uncle and we have a neat action shot of him hunting quail at the family property in Brewster County with it. The photo was taken right after he fired and you can see the ejected shell frozen in mid-air. Anyway, I located the .410 shells (7-1/2 lead game shot) and neatly stacked six or seven side by side in the little coin pouch of my jeans pocket, put one in the chamber, and headed back into the woods.

As I moved through the trees, I felt more confident this time, knowing I didn't have to think about shot angles as much. Before long, I spotted another squirrel up in the trees and altered my heading to intercept. As I got closer, it actually came down out of the tree and onto the ground - I have no idea why, perhaps it was just scrounging for acorns and legitimately didn't see me. Either way, I brought the .410 to my shoulder as the squirrel turned to run away, and I fired. The squirrel rolled on the ground, obviously injured, but managed to get up and head off to the left. As I moved towards where it had turned left, I ejected the shell, pulled another from the coin pocket of my jeans, and slid it into the action. Looking up, I thought maybe I had lost the squirrel until I saw it pop up just on the other side of a log. I shouldered and fired again. This time the squirrel went down and didn't get back up.

I took it back to the house, quartered it just like the other one, and put it in the fridge until dinner time. That evening I pulled it out of the fridge and made a squirrel and dumplings soup - the same recipe my mother uses to make chicken and dumplings, just substituting squirrel for chicken. If you are interested in that recipe, you can find it below. As I ate squirrel soup that evening and reflected on the day, I realized that at least for me, removing mental clutter and doing things in a way that makes you feel good about how you did them can be the difference between second guessing and having a helping of squirrel and dumplings soup.

Squirrel and Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 large squirrels (fox, or 3-4 gray squirrels), quartered

• 3 32oz containers of chicken broth

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2-3 cloves minced garlic or garlic powder to taste (optional)

For the dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons melted butter

• ~3/4 cup milk

Final Gravy Base

• 2-3 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 2-3 tablespoons melted butter

• 1-2 cups hot broth from pot

Instructions

1. Place the squirrel quarters in a large pot and cover with broth. Add salt, pepper, onion, garlic.

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and can be pulled from the bone. Keep an eye on the broth and don't let it cook down too far or it may get concentrated. Dilute with water or additional broth as needed.

3. Remove the squirrel quarters from the pot, let it cool slightly, then pick the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the pot and discard the bones.

4. For the dumplings, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

5. Stir in milk and melted butter until the dough just comes together into a thick, scoopable batter, do not overmix.

6. Bring the pot back to a moderate simmer. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the surface of the simmering liquid.

7. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through.

8. While the dumplings are cooking melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1-2 minutes until flour smell disappears but roux is still light colored. Whisk in 1-2 cups of broth from the pot until smooth and then stir the mixture back into the stew. Continue simmering until the broth thickens to a light, creamy consistency.

9. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed - the more ground pepper, the better. Serve hot.