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Airguns, AirSoft and MilSim Air rifles and pistols, AirSoft and Mil Sim Discussion |
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#1
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War on ground squirrels
So I'm getting a pretty bad ground squirrel problem. They tease my dog to no end. Getting to the point I was out side filling a hole with the water hose waiting with a 22 pistol 😅
Well I have 2 acres on property closest neighbor is a 1/4 mile away I'm zoned to use firearms for pest control but don't want to be shooting a 22lr towards the neighbors even if it's towards the ground so looking into a pellet gun any recommendations would a basics pellet gun from Walmart be good enough want to be humane about taking them out . Shots would be about 75 -100 ft |
#2
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I have a Benjamin .22 for ground squirrels in my yard. Works great. Got three last week with it.
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Cartridgecalls, Predator and Big game calls made from cartridges. www.cartridgecalls.com |
#3
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Is that just a pump or pcp didn't realize how advanced pellet guns are now |
#4
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consider different ammo
SSS by Aguila It's 22 short brass and a heavy bullet It will not run a semi auto... very quiet as well https://www.aguilaammo.com/products/...ad-solid-point FOR WHEN ACCURACY MATTERS MOST. Featuring a 60-grain lead bullet on a short case, the cartridge has the same overall dimensions and energy equivalent to a standard 22 long rifle round. The faster barrel twist of the projectile ensures accuracy for target shooting and small-game hunting without excessive noise. Recommended for use in barrels longer than 20″. LEAD SOLID POINT 60 GRAIN 30 yards with a walmart springer... not a clean kill I have a Sheridan blue streak that was Steroidal with Benjamin parts to get 1,000 FPS or 1,100 with standard 20 cal pellets The draw back is the Sheridan is almost as loud as a 22 LR so all other squirrels run off. the SSS is quieter than an CB cap from a 10/22 many of the springers now come with mufflers. If you are zapping squirrels, no need to chase them all into holes with one shot Have you looked at the next generation of "cheap" PCP rifles? example https://www.pyramydair.com/product/d...r-rifle?m=4449
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Rule 1- ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED Rule 2 -NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY (including your hands and legs) Rule 3 -KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET Rule 4 -BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT (thanks to Jeff Cooper) |
#5
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Rule 1- ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED Rule 2 -NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY (including your hands and legs) Rule 3 -KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET Rule 4 -BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEYOND IT (thanks to Jeff Cooper) |
#6
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My Grand Pa had the ultimate underground critter getter. He mounted a old Briggs& Stratton engine to an old wheel barrow frame. The motor had a six foot long flexible exhaust. He'd fire it up stick the exhaust pipe down the whole and pack some dirt around the pipe and let it run for a few hours. Nighty night critters
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#7
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Traps and poison will get them. Had this problem at my last house. Put on bird seed initially and then mixed with poison. Then all poison and no bird seed. .410 works well. Small pellets that don’t go far or do any significant damage down range.
I like the exhaust method. Thinking of hooking up an exhaust tube onto the riding lawnmower. |
#9
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I’m not either. Good news is I never saw any dead ones. Think they all went back down into their tunnels to die. It’s not possible to trap and/or shoot them all. Tried that first.
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#10
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So I was looking around cci has a cb short 29 grain 710 fps according to a chart at 100yard 300 feet will have 27 ft lbs of energy which from a old IV8888 vid it take 59 ft lbs to be lethal I wonder how far one would travel might consider trying that or just stick to a pellet gun
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#11
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I prefer to take ground squirrels out with CCI Stingers because it's more humane. They're dead before they hit the ground. However, I can do this where I live because the nearest neighbor to me is almost a mile away.
My Brother-in-law is pretty successful using an old Benjamin Franklin 342 22 caliber air rifle. It's effective up to about 60 yards. It's also good with cotton tails.
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#12
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You will never get them all. If you stay on it with trapping and shooting it will thin the herd and let the others know they area isn’t safe. Another trap that works is the squirrelinator.
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NRA LIFE ENDOWMENT |
#13
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Benjamin regal nitro piston, big 5 special on sale. It’s actually one of my favorite guns to shoot. Junk the scope and mounts and get better ones off pyramydair.com, they sometimes have better deals than big 5 on the gun also. Make sure your scope has a ballistic reticle. Get the Charlie Da Tuna trigger. There are two strength pistons, make sure you get the stronger one. Mine shoots crossman pellets great but they have a fair amount of arc.
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#14
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Yeah, you’re never going to get them all. Friend didn’t have good success with the squirrelinator. Neighbors and I managed to get rid of them - 4, 5 acre parcels with poison being the most effective method. There is an informative article written by UC Davis. I’ll see if I can find it.
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#15
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#16
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The problem with using poison is if you do have a dog and he does happen to dig up the carcasses it'll make him very sick if he chews on it. The carbon monoxide takes out the whole family if they're in the hole they're going to die.
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#17
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NRA LIFE ENDOWMENT |
#18
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I fenced off an area so the dogs couldn’t get into it. Friend owns a pest control business and said the stuff they sell in CA will not kill your dog. I used Wilcox Ground Squirrel poison. Like I said - never saw a dead one and I would look daily before letting the dogs out. Still don’t like the idea of using it though. If a hawk ate an a poisoned squirrel, not sure what it would do. But, the squirrels carry all sorts of dieseases and did a lot of damage, mainly to cement pads. |
#19
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#20
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Buy an old Benjiman or Sheridan pump-up rifle. It's good for the ranges stated and has plenty of lethality....though not 59 FPE, that's way more then needed. Shot placement is king. Killed many squirrels and rabbits with my Sheridan using open sights over the years.
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#21
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Worried about shots going 'down range' toward neighbors? Go vertical,
Chum around the play structure. Squirrels come within desirable range and angle to shoot into the ground. Your hunting platform attracts no attention. Win-win.
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Sometimes a gun is just a gun. |
#22
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Cheap 177 won't be good enough past about 20 yards. I just got one of these for $259 out the door.
https://gamousa.com/product/hunter-e...rel-air-rifle/ |
#23
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I bought one of these. It works amazingly well for rats and squirrels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-DNvpINn7w |
#24
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I have a new problem, the crows are coming into my yard bringing their kills and making a mess.
Thought about my pump bb gun or .177 but I still worry about all the brick walls and downstream neighbors. Was looking into an airsoft or some kind of remote explosive device. I read that they are smart and will not return. I told my wife I will hang the dead crow from the tree so his buddy's know not to come around, she wasn't happy |
#25
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#26
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Are you certain that they are crows? Ravens are more prevalent around here and are much larger than crows, which are just larger than a pigeon. Plus, in Komifornia, there is a season for crows and I believe that the regulations state take with shotgun only, not any other method. You would need to confirm crow and manner of take.
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#28
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Benjamin Marauder .22 PCP. Supressed and hits them hard. The sound of the pellet hitting the squirrel is louder than the report.
30+ yard shot for this one.
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"Common sense is not so common" - Voltaire "Freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream; we have to fight for it and protect it, and then hand it to them so that they shall do the same, or we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years telling our children and our children's children about a time in America, back in the day, when men and women were free." - Ronald Reagan, 1961 |
#30
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I bought my wife a .22 Crosman from their custom shop a few years ago, it’s deadly on the ground squirrels out to about 70’-80’ (length of our yard). The pistol was preferable over a rifle so she doesn’t freak out the neighbors.
This would work pretty well too. https://www.crosman.com/product/cros...can-classic-22 We also bought a “squirrelinator”, I’ve caught as many as a dozen squirrels at a time. There is a vacant lot across the street from our house and I pretty much eliminate the neighborhood population of squirrels every spring. https://youtu.be/InlFM1_hf80 |
#31
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If not in California - Colibri ammo. Far better than airguns as you can use it in your 22s although they won't cycle semi-autos. Colibri ammo is very quiet and because of it's heavier projectile it doesn't need the high velocity of some airguns to do the job. Many airguns are as loud as some 22s if that is a concern.
Otherwise - Cats and Owls. Had a gopher problem. A cat and some owl boxes and gopher problem while not eliminated, ceased to be a major problem. Add some King Snakes to the mix and that should do it. If you have lots of ground squirrels and gophers and no predators taking care of them then something might be wrong with the local ecosystem. Those critters should be attracting foxes, racoons, owls and hawks, snakes etc. If squirrels are teasing your dog and the dog isn't taking care of business then too bad for the dog. Dogs can and will catch squirrels, gophers, if they don't then maybe it's time for a different dog. Seriously though, a cat and or some owl boxes. I clean out the owl boxes each fall and they are filled with the skulls of gophers and squirrels. The owls return every year. While there are still some gophers it's manageable. With a couple acres, put up maybe 4-6 owl boxes. Some areas have organizations that will put them up for you and even come by to clean them out once a year. They usually charge a donation fee but they get put in right and they also know where to locate them for the best benefit. If you put them up yourself remember that owls hunt looking east so put owl boxes on the west side of your property. Eradicate all the ground squirrels and gophers and you also destroy the benefits having some around provide. They aerate the ground and allow rain water to go deep instead of running off. Last edited by SharedShots; 05-13-2022 at 6:21 AM.. |
#33
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Dog is just fine just not allowed in the front yard if I'm not out there but has full range of the back 1.5 acres not issues back there Over the last 4 years we have had a healthy population of cotton tails, Jack rabbits,quail, and squirrels, crows, hawks,road runners, with the occasional gopher snake . So far this year quail seem low along with jack rabbits. Everything else seems to be normal except squirrels. |
#35
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Great choice. I would try some JSB Hades, HN Crow Magnums, and JSB Diabolo. Don't expect much expansion so accuracy will be your goal. The Crow Magnums make a nice thwop noise when hitting rats and don't go through in my Crosman.
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#36
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you need this guy
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#37
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#38
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Find a lead pellet that works in your rifle and stick with it. That pellet won’t even come close to the 1300 fps advertised, but that’s actually a good thing. If your pellet came screaming out at 1300 fps, you’d hear an irritatingly loud crack every time you shot your rifle. |
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