THE FLIP SIDE

Device makes game cleaning chore a snap

Lucky Key uses a plastic squirrel to show how his product, The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy, holds the legs of a squirrel for easy skinning.
Lucky Key uses a plastic squirrel to show how his product, The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy, holds the legs of a squirrel for easy skinning.

A plate of delicious pan-fried squirrel takes extra effort from a backwoods chef.

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The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy holds a squirrel’s legs in place for easier cleaning.

Squirrels don't come in neat packages like chicken. They're wrapped in hide and hair. Skinning a squirrel can be a two-person job depending on the technique. A clever device that Lucky Key sells out of his fishing camp at Lake Elmdale makes the chore easy and quick. One squirrel hunter can do it on his own.

It's a galvanized metal plate called The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy. There's more than one way to skin a squirrel. One way is for one person to hold the squirrel by the hind legs while another removes the skin and fur. The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy holds the squirrel while the skinning is done.

Key got tired of holding squirrels for his friend, Jeff Cingaloni of Springdale, who is nuts about squirrel hunting.

"Jeff would come in front hunting and say, 'Here, hold these squirrels for me' and I didn't want to. I was sitting by the fire and it was cold outside," said Key, owner of Duck Camp Fishing Retreat at Lake Elmdale. The lake is two miles west of Springdale in Elm Springs.

Key remembered another friend who had a crude hand-cut metal bracket that held a squirrel's legs. "It was a jagged mess, but it worked," Key said.

That was the prototype of The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy. The ones Key sells have two slits in the plate that hold each of the squirrel's legs at the ankle. That gives the hunter two free hands to skin and clean the squirrel. The plate doesn't have any sharp edges, and it's strong to boot.

"You could park your old truck and pop the clutch and use it to chock the wheel," Key testified.

It's made in the USA. A company in Rogers makes the plate, and an Iowa firm custom-makes the belt so The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy can be attached to a tree or post. There are holes for screws so the plate can be attached permanently.

Key has a plastic squirrel he uses to show how the device works. To see video demonstrations of the squirrel-cleaning process, go to You Tube and type in The Squirrel Cleaning Buddy.

In one video, Cingaloni artfully cleans a mess of squirrels. It only takes him 90 seconds per squirrel. A hunter can have a daily limit of 12 squirrels ready for the pot in short order. Squirrel season is open most of the year in Arkansas, from May 5 through Feb. 29.

Key isn't getting rich selling his product, but he's received orders from several states. The $27 cost includes shipping. To order, call Key at 479-871-6305 or email [email protected].

"The first ones we sold were about three years ago at the Arkansas Big Buck Contest in Little Rock," Key said. "We sold 32 that day."

Christmas isn't far off. What what squirrel hunter wouldn't swoon opening such a gift?

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 11/17/2015

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