OT- Varmint Removal - (Sorry Nick M)

A CO2 pellet pistol doesn't have enough punch unless you can hit them in the eye with it. A decent air rifle will dispatch them reliably at over 100 feet.

Bloodless is preferable until creatures become varmints by causing damage or by hostile and aggressive behavior. Then they gotta go.

A .177 or .22 hole doesn't leak much at all.

Ole and Lena had a skunk family living under the porch, called the U of M extension to ask what to do. The guy said to put a plate of lutefisk under the porch. So they did.

In a couple of days the guy from the U called back to see how things were going. Ole reported that the skunks were gone, but now they had a family of Norwegians living under the porch.

>

Ever hear of this little thing called an M-80 ?

You don't happen to be related to the suicide bombers in Iraq, do you?

Harold

Ok--so you go get a radical squirrel, promise him 72 virgins, strap a M-80 to him, and send him under the BBQ tarp to self-destruct and take all the infidel squirrels with him? Sounds like a plan!

Another plan might be to stick one end of a garden hose under the tarp, hook the other end to the exhaust of an engine, and fire it up.

Actually, this reply struck a cord.

A squirrel (female) came into our house via a woobly hot water tank vent. She pushed it free in the middle of winter, and came inside. And then began a journey of destruction.

I, too, heard about opening a window so the squirrel could flee, so I opened one.

Much to my amazement, a male squirrel came in to rescue the damsel in distress!!!

I put out several humane live traps baited with peanut butter in the basement, but they ignore them completely. But not the house. That, they continued to destroy.

So in any act of desperation I put out a dish of squirrel killer. The female died quickly, but the male remained elusive, and I grew increasingly concerned over the possible odor of his hidden decaying body.

But much to my amazement, he crawled into one of the humane traps I'd set earlier, and died...

It was a very strange experience for me. I wanted both of them to have their freedom, but my house was being destroyed.

Would that they would have entered the humane traps 72-hours earlier...

Chet

The root of all your problems is the squirrels hate you for your freedom.

Dixon

Mothballs?

Hornet spray?

22 shorts?

The HavaHart traps work pretty good too if you are humane minded. (like me)

Gunner

"Deep in her heart, every moslem woman yearns to show us her t*ts" John Griffin

Man, you have some really weird varmints. I won't call them squirrels, although they may be. I have owned this house 33 years (in MA also) and have always been surrounded by squirrels (red and grey). They have always nested high (in trees or once in house eaves) & alone (maybe a pair, but not in anything like a pack). The tree nests are usually well separated and there always seems to be a squabble when 2 or more squirrels are even near each other. I also have never heard a squirrel hiss - when irritated, they chatter. Maybe you have mutant ninja squirrels 8-) Do you have a camcorder and do you know about America's Funniest?

Bob

Interesting. When I moved here 33 years ago there were only grey squirrels. Since then the reds have moved in and grown in population while the greys have declined. While the year-to-year fluctuation is too great to be sure how much the greys have declined, the change in reds from zero to parity with the greys is conclusive.

Bob

On Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:46:54 GMT, Gunner scribed:

Hey Gunner:

I have a pristine 1912 Stevens bolt action .22 with field sights and a

5 round clip. It also has a retrofitted 20x scope. It is heavy as hell, but accurate as the day is long...Drilled it in...

How would the .22 shorts work in the clip? Never tried them before, always used .22 LR shot.

Just wondering?

Fred

OBTW: Maybe to shoot some targets with...

Okay, so I'm late and catching up, but Gunner wrote on Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:46:54 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :

Or just remove the tarp? Might seem heartless, making them "homeless", but ... we can debate who has the property rights another time.

tschus pyotr

Hiss? Are you sure they're squirrels? ;-P

And you really don't want to know what happens if one gets loose inside a packed Church during Sunday Services.

"Mississippi Squirrel Revival" comes to mind...

I would build them a nest box first, stock it with some goodies like a few dried corncobs with corn, and see if they'll move out from under the BBQ.

Or just get the Propane tank out from under there so they can't blow the BBQ up, and let them finish out the winter in there. In the spring, you can take more proactive measures.

(Reminds me I have to go out and disassemble our BBQ again, get a new burner installed [ObMWC] and get it ready for the summer.)

Havahart trap and a long drive out into the country. Don't try releasing them anywhere close, they might learn how to get food out of there without tripping the trap. Squirrels love a challenge like that

- the documentary was titled "Daylight Robbery"...

I don't think you can use Shorts in something chambered for Long Rifle, then again IANA Gunsmith. But they do make .22 CB Long that's a subsonic round at around 727 FPS.

-->--

Bruce L. Bergman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The problem with firing BB-Caps, CB-Caps, Shorts, and Longs in a .22 LR is in feeding them out of a box magazine or (some) tubular magazines.

Single-loading presents no problem at all if you remember to properly clean the piece when you get done.

I'v loaded som of those. The shot, about #12, came in a thin plastic tube closed on both ends. I was using 357 cases and it worked fairly well. I was carring it for snakes. Paterning left something to be desired. ...lew...

Why do you hate to kill them? Do you not kill virii nor swat flies or skeeters? Ever used a mouse trap, or mouse poison? Varmints causing damage or presenting nuisance or threat to people are noxious lifeforms, not pets and not sentient beings.

Poison is far less humane than a quick shot. It's primary value is that it can work unattended, and that it provides the killer distance from her sometimes rather cruel act.

A pesky rabbit or squirrel hit by a well-placed hollowpoint round (including pellet rifle) does not experience a conscious final event beyond a flash as near as I can tell. It is a bloodless event because if they are killed instantly then there is no BP to cause exsanguination. The most I ever see is a bit of stain on the fur if I hunt for the small hole, rarely more than a drop or two on the ground.

They should work pretty good. Stick in some and find out. Some magazines (not clips) work well with shorts..others stovepipe badly.

You need a 20x scope when you shoot shot? Blink blink...

btw..that shot is a bit rough on the rifling over time.

Gunner

Political Correctness

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

That white stripe running down their backs is the sure sign of a Hissing Squirrel, a rather rare breed in those parts.

Bolt actions Generally will chamber shorts from the magazine. Self loaders..not a chance in hell. So you have to single load em.

Gunner

Political Correctness

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.