Dude, I had never even heard of a nutria before this thread... So, they look like gineau(sp) pigs with tails or what?

We have fishers here, but I haven't had any run-ins with them...

So far as the terriers go, they are great dogs for the right owners. I fostered a JRT last year and while it took me a while to figure out how to live with the monster, I missed him squeaking that damn squeaky toy to sleep everynight...

Just when you would think he was finally asleep... squeak squeak squeak... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Cute little sh!t but he had to either be in the kennel or crated so I could study... 17 lbs of ricocheting fur....

VanCamp, check PM

Found a deceant site with hunting stories. Probably more but there are over 6000 JRT sites. An't gonna look at them all. dirt-dog.com
JRTCA is hunting
JRTTA is AKC

Nutria look like big brown rats with thicker tails. If you saw one swimming you would think, "hey look at that huge sewer rat!"

I tried to get to the site I posted. Didn't work. When I typed in Jack Russell hunting stories, I got through.
VanCamp
Have you ever eaten a nutria? Racoon, Ground hog aren't bad if fixed right. Even though I'm a city boy I came from a big hunting family and ate some wierd "stuff". If you think about it, there's no chemicals, no preservatives, just good old natural "vittils". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I've come to the conclusion that meat is meat. Goose, dove, boar, deer, it's all the same to me. The ONLY thing to worry about with wild game is getting the excess fat off (if any). That's what's responsible for the gameyness. The best thing to do would be to take it to a butcher, and have it ground up into sausage and have it mixed with pork and seasoning to give it some fatty flair.

So how often do y'all make it out to hunt with your dogs? Can you count on a kill each time?

Up untill this year, we hunted 2-3 times a month. My knees are getting to bad for some of the steep areas we hunt, so I've slowed down lots this year. We only dispatch the quarry when it presents a problem for farmers. Lots of times we just turn it(racoon, ground hog, possum, etc) loose. We hunt more for the thrill of seening/hearing the dogs work and we always rebuild the holes instead of just filling them in unless the area is heavily farmed. The ground hog holes can play hell on farm equiptment and livestock legs. I've hunted with people that just hunt for the kill. Thats pretty senseless to me. I enjoy wildlife to much. Even the pesky "varmits"

It's way late here(2am) gotta hit the sack. I'm getting addicted to this damn "typewriter".

One thing to remember about getting the "gamey" taste out of wild game is to soak it thoroughly. The reason is to get the blood out of the meat, which is what causes the gamey taste. (along with the fat)I usually soak any wild game I'm going to cook in cold water. I'll let it set for a couple of hours, then change the water and do it again. Keep repeating until the water is clear. A very effective way to do this is to freeze the meat and then thaw it out. Let it thaw completely and you'll see a lot of blood in the bag. Then soak it. Sometimes soaking meat like duck or goose in salt water will pull the blood out better.

oldearthdog
Speaking as a Conservation Officer I would suggest you consider killing more of the coons, possums and the like. With the price of fur so low nobody is trapping much anymore. In many areas that means natural predators can't keep up with the population. It takes a pretty mean coyote to kill a full grown boar coon. It's getting to the point, especially here in Alabama, that hunters and automobiles are the only population control there are for these types of animals.

Chris

P.S. If you run out of animals that burrow to hunt with your terriers we'll ship ya some armadillos. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Chris
Because most of our hunting is on farm land, we do a lot of "pest control" I just don't like to get into that aspect of it on the board.
Conservation agents have told us the lack of trapping(fur trade) is one of the major causes in the decline of gound nesting birds such as quail and turkey. Turkeys seem to be ok, but I haven't seen an abundance of quail in a number of years. I know a few people that have came across those "armor plated" possums, and they say it's like watching their dogs play with a little bowling ball.