OT what is this strange animal in our backyard

That's legal, as far as I know, under some circumstances. Illinois is not rabidly anti gun, only moderately anti gun.

What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right size kills them quick.

Really nasty on cats and dogs.

What's that Lassie? You say that dan fell down the old rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:26:59 GMT:

Forgot to include a link:

When I grew up and had a thicker wallet I wanted a Boyes rifle:

It wouldn't even have been the biggest gun on the street, someone had one of these:

And you think .380 ammo is expensive and hard to find.

jsw

Yup, Gamo makes a number of powerful air rifles. I used to like squirrels until I saw how much damage they do. Now I call them tree rats and deal with accordingly.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

and kids.

My grandpa commanded something like this (if I remember his WWII photographs correctly).

I've seen one ground hog living at my place. Damn those things are big and damn, my .22 was in the safe and since my employer isn't progun I didn't even have a .380 on me. I live in a low crime area or I'd carry anyway.

That thing was standing up and had to be 16" tall. I was a bit impressed.

I like your way of dealing with things. I got rid of moles with lime and grubex. That groundhog must have moved on since I didn't see his handy work. If he stayed, I'd have walked out each morning with a real gun and left it in my detached garage until I got back home in the evening.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

When we trapped muskrat and beaver with them the vee fence of upright sticks leading in was an obvious warning to keep your boots away. They don't squeeze too hard if you let them close slowly but when they snap on an animal they crush the neck bones.

The instructions brought back the muscle memory of how to set them. I could do it without looking but not describe how.

At home I'd use the Havahart type, covered with clear plastic if you worry about skunks. You do want to see what's inside.

jsw

That's a REAL gun!

Russians don't think small:

jsw

They cause damage by digging, otherwise they run at first sight of me.

I get them under my detached shed occasionally & annoy them by distributing a 1/2 gallon of clear ammonia as deep as I can down all the holes using a 5'long PVC conduit scrap & they go away. Then I fill the holes with big rocks, logs, etc.

MikeB

Pour some Chlorox down as well if you want to terminate them with extreme prejudice:

Just a little update guys, I set up a havahart trap for it, baited with apples.

Or it may have been this:

Scary stuff. Digging seems to be the essential war skill.

I was reading about tanks, when a tank company arrived to a new place they had to dig out (usually by hand in those times) tank emplacements. That was appx. 40 cubic yards of soil to move.

They dig holes in the ground, typically about 6 inch diameter hole. This is dangerous to animals, or anything that walks.

I've heard they make good eating, though I've not tried.

If you can get longs, or subsonics in flat point or hollow point, that should work. I havn't tried this, but consider shooting from indoors, a foot or so in from the window. Might contain the sound. I don't know, but it's an idea.

So, try it and let us know how it works. The air rifle vs. the woodchuck. Might work, never know.

Aparently the rimfires are popular now days. People stocking up.