Take the Challenge!

New Mexico has an abundance of small-game species to hunt, including squirrels. The hunting seasons for these species are long, and the bag limits are liberal. New Mexico hunters are lucky that four game species of squirrels can be hunted in our state. Squirrels make excellent table fare and provide a great opportunity for hunters of all ages.

Squirrels are also an excellent species for a new hunter to pursue. They can be hunted with different sporting arms and smaller calibers with less recoil. They can be fun to hunt in the fall and can increase your observation skills. Get out there and make some memories!

How to Enter

Harvest one of each of the four small-game squirrel species (Abert’s squirrel, fox squirrel, gray squirrel and red squirrel) within the state of New Mexico. Take a photo of each. Submit all four photographs to the Department. Hunters who complete the challenge in New Mexico will receive special awards, and their photographs will appear on this page.

Hunters submitting an entry for this challenge can do so by emailing it to dgf-huntingchallenges@dgf.nm.gov. After completing the challenge, hunters must submit photographs of all harvests in one email. All submissions must include the following information:

  1. Contact information of the applicant. This includes their full name, email address, and current mailing address.
  2. The hunter’s Customer Identification Number (CIN). All participants in the challenge are required to do this.
  3. The location where the squirrel was harvested. This can be very generalized, like “Gila National Forest.”
  4. The hunter’s current New Mexico game-hunting or game-hunting and fishing license number. If seventeen years of age or younger, they must also include their Hunter Education or Mentored Youth number.
  5. A photograph of each squirrel. Please submit clean photos that are free of blood and show the animal in a dignified pose. These photos will become the property of the New Mexico Department

of Game and Fish. They might be shared on social media, promoting hunting in the state of New Mexico, the New Mexico Squirrel Challenge webpage, and/or other agency publications.

Hunters who don’t have access to email can mail photos to DGF Hunting Challenges, 7816 Alamo Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120.

Hall of Fame

Be the first!!

Helpful Links

  1. Abert’s squirrel – also called tassel-eared squirrel, because of its long, furry tufted ears. Their bodies are gray to dark brown with a red streak down the back. They rely on ponderosa pines and can be found in the Manzano and Jemez Mountains.
  2. Fox squirrel – largest of the four; it has a golden-brown body. It can be found in pecan and walnut orchards near Roswell and Carlsbad. Additionally, it lives in riparian areas along the southern Pecos River.
  3. Gray squirrel – grayish-brown in color with a white underbelly. They live in mountain mid-elevations, in broad-leaf riparian habitat. Grays are found in the Gila National Forest in Catron, Grant and Luna counties.
  4. Red squirrel – also called Chickaree; it is the smallest of the four. Their predominant habitat are high-elevation spruce and fir trees. They can be found in the Sangre De Cristo, San Juan, Sacramento, Capitan and San Mateo Mountain Ranges.

  1. Squirrels may be legally hunted with a variety of arms, including: .177 caliber and larger pellet guns, shotguns, rim-fire firearms, muzzleloading firearms, bows and crossbows. Any of these could be used, although most hunters use a .22 caliber rifle or a shotgun firing #5 or #6 shot.
  2. A good, sharp knife or game shears are required to skin and quarter the squirrel.
  3. A game-hunting license or game hunting and fishing license and stamps are necessary to hunt squirrels.
  4. Here is some non-essential gear you may consider:
    1. Camouflage clothing including hat, pants, shirt and boots.
    2. Global Positioning System (GPS) unit or a good land-access application for your cell phone.
    3. Binoculars.
    4. Backpack.
    5. Food and water.
    6. Compass and map.

There are two main ways to hunt squirrels. The first is called still hunting. You locate the trees squirrels prefer, sit down, preferably behind some cover, and wait for them to move or make noise. You are looking for a moving brownish or gray main body attached to a bushy tail, a branch moving in a tree or for litter falling from a tree. The sounds you may hear include chatter, disturbed leaves on the forest floor or the grinding noise a squirrel makes with its teeth on a nut. Once you spot a squirrel, wait for it to quit moving before shooting.

The second way to hunt a squirrel is by stalking. Stalking involves moving quietly through the forest, a few steps at a time, while looking and listening. Pausing for ten seconds can be productive to conceal your outline and allow the squirrel to reveal its hiding place. Whether in a tree or on the forest floor, always attempt a head shot as this will preserve the most meat and is the most humane location to aim for.

Once you have harvested a squirrel, they are easy to clean. Cut off the squirrel tail at the base. Make sure the cut is straight down and then liberally salt the base of the tail and lay it flat to dry. Squirrel tails can be sold or traded for lures to the Mepps fishing lure company. They make in-line spinners out of the hair. Remove the head and all four feet just above the joints. Make a circular incision around the mid-torso, belly area, being careful not to puncture the internal cavity. Work your fingers under the cut skin along the backbone, to loosen and then pull skin up and down from the belly. It should come right off. Make a straight cut from the anus through the pelvis, all the way to the neck. Insert one or two fingers into the chest cavity and pull out the entrails. Both hind legs can be removed from the torso at the hip joint and stored in a freezer bag. The front legs stay attached to the torso and go into a different freezer bag.

More information about the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off. 

Butter Baked Squirrel

Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Non-salted butter
Paprika
Four cleaned and quartered squirrels

Method:
Parboil the squirrel pieces till tender, about an hour. This is done in a large pot, covering the pieces with water mixed with two tablespoons of salt. Simmer on low heat. This will ensure even meat from an older squirrel is tenderized. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels. Liberally shake pepper, salt and paprika on both sides of the dried squirrel pieces. Cut 10 butter squares and scatter on individual pieces. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and put inside a 350-degree, preheated oven. Cook until golden brown, about one hour.

*This recipe serves four people.

Official Rules

The New Mexico Squirrel Challenge. Harvest all four species of game squirrels found in New Mexico. New Mexico game squirrels include Abert’s squirrel, Fox squirrel, Gray squirrel, and Red squirrel.
Hunters who complete the challenge in New Mexico will be eligible to receive a special challenge coin and sticker and be included in the Squirrel Challenge Hall of Fame on the Department’s website along with all of the other successful New Mexico Squirrel Challenge participants.

  1. There is no fee or pre-registration required for this challenge.
  2. There is no time limit for completing this.
  3. The challenge is open to everyone, including residents and non-residents.
  4. No squirrels harvested before September 1, 2024, the start date of this challenge, can be used as an entry.
  5. Participants can only enter the challenge once per year. New challenge entries must include photographs of harvested squirrels that are different from those originally submitted.
  6. All New Mexico Squirrel Challenge hunters must have a valid New Mexico game-hunting license or game-hunting and fishing combination license.
  7. All hunters must purchase appropriate stamps such as a mandatory Habitat Management & Access Validation (hunters eighteen years old and older) and Habitat Stamp, which is mandatory when hunting on Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands.
  8. Hunters must abide by all the rules and regulations for small game hunting in New Mexico.
  9. All hunters seventeen years of age and younger must carry a Hunter Education number or a mentor-youth number while hunting.
  10. Hunters submitting an entry for this challenge can do so by emailing them to:
    dgf-huntingchallenges@dgf.nm.gov.
  11. Hunters must submit all four photographs at once when entering the challenge.
  12. Submissions must include the following information:
    1. Contact information of applicant. This includes their full name, email address, and current mailing address.
    2. For hunters, their current New Mexico game-hunting or game-hunting and fishing combination license number. If seventeen years of age or younger, also include their Hunter Education or Mentored Youth number.
    3. A Customer Identification Number (CIN). All participants in the challenge are required to do this. To create one, visit this site: https://onlinesales.wildlife.state.nm.us/register
    4. The location in which each squirrel was harvested. This can be a general location, like “Gila National Forest.”
    5. A photograph of each squirrel. Please submit photos free of blood or gore and with a dignified pose. These photos will become the property of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. They might be shared on social media, promoting hunting in the state of New Mexico, the New Mexico Squirrel Challenge webpage, and any other agency publications and digital media.
  13. Hunters who don’t have access to email can mail entries to DGF Hunting Challenges, 7816 Alamo Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120.
  14. Upon verification of achievement of the New Mexico Squirrel Challenge by Department staff, the hunter will be provided with:
    1. A certificate of achievement.
    2.  A New Mexico Squirrel Challenge coin to advertise their brag-worthy achievement.
    3. A New Mexico Squirrel Challenge sticker.
    4. Their photographs added to the New Mexico Squirrel Challenge Hall of Fame.

Head over and check out our New Mexico Photography Squirrel Challenge

Click Here