Squirrel Hunting Advice...

[zload]

So apparently I can kill all the pesky tree rats I want any time of the year if they are doing damage to my property but I can only "Hunt" them in the fall... good info to know I was always more worried about the FWC so I waited until hunting season to lower the population... break out the shotguns maybe my neighbors won't call the Po Po on me...

[SHOWBOAT]

it is illegal. When I had a tree rat problem at my old house I was told to hire a nuisance animal contractor...yea right; I'll pay to trap every squirrel near campus.

[lonesouth]

I cull squirrels year round and I use a suppressed .22 to do it. Were I hunting them, it would be rather illegal on both counts, however, because I am eliminating a nuisance population, it is legal. That's not boasting, I don't keep the tails, or otherwise dispose of them as hunting spoils, it is simply reducing the local population. I've read too many horror stories about boats, trucks, barns, house wiring and insulation being destroyed. Squirrels are a problem, not a trophy.

And it does work, I don't have near as many squirrels now as I used to.

[big bend gyrene]

Not saying I don't sympathize with Silverking on any neighbor issues he has, BUT...

Nor am I against killing squirrels year round because of LEGITIMATE nuisance. Have had them chew through my boat trailer wiring, lawn mower wiring, trash can lids, and even HEAVILY shielded pool wiring. To Silverking's point (in the article) the neighbor might not be able to kill them all, but I dayum sure bet you he has them a bit more skittish! Before I let them go unchallenged at my place, I had 3 or 4 raiding my garage by the hour to eat dog food. Little gun fire and the surviving boogers watching their brethren die sure has been effective in slowing the brazen garage raids!

"God, family, country" and in that order... any pest causing serious cost to me (i.e. wiring damage in/around my home) has got to go, consequences with "country" be what they may( IF'N I get caught!). Like I told someone yesterday, our Founding Forefathers were treason-charged men, and many were also smugglers by necessity, before they rebooted the legal system of their day. A man's got to do what a man's got to do.

[wevans]

While I can understand both sides of this I have to lean more towards the other fellas side SK Since the gentleman states that he don't see well enuff ta shoot them with a pellet rifle, maybe you should be a good neighbor and volunteer for the job maybe use it as a learning tool for the kids in the neighborhood on the safe use of a firearm and get em some live target practice ta boot

[J Holden]

I wouldn't be particularly worried about him using a shotgun, way safer than using a .22. Pellets aren't stabilized like bullets are and lose energy like mad. Anyone who's spent time on a dove field has been hit by shot from other shooters some distance away, doesn't even hurt most of the time. If he uses some discretion about where he shoots them (preferably shooting them on the ground where the shot just goes in the ground ..) I've got zero problem with it.

I can sympathize, I've got a **** neighbor that whines to the Sheriff's Office any time I check my pistol sights or shoot an armadillo, despite the fact I'm shooting back into an area with no houses for miles...

[tallykenj]

Let's all go to Dave's and get rid of the neighbor's squirrels with some paint ball guns. Although it would be unfortunate, I suspect the neighbor won't mind if we miss and get paint on his house.

[rockyg]

It seems like there is a thread here of common sense.

If you have acreage then fire away in a safe manner.

However, if you live in a dense neighborhood of back to back houses and very small yards........don't blast away with a 12 gauge. There are other options to deal with pest.

Capt. Dave is far from an anti-gun nut.......he is well armed, knows how to use them, and respects and defends our constitutional rights to bear arms. Sitting in your living room with your wife while a guy randomly and unpredictably fires a very loud and dangerous weapon right in your back yard is not a situation that any family should have to put up with.

[tallykenj]

I can sympathize, I've got a **** neighbor that whines to the Sheriff's Office any time I check my pistol sights or shoot an armadillo, despite the fact I'm shooting back into an area with no houses for miles...

J, is your characterization of your neighbor meant to imply Dave is the same type of neighbor? This type of description isn't necessary. Regardless, in Dave's neighborhood homes are very close to each other. This is a public safety issue and a matter of common decency that people should be able to expect in a neighborhood. Although the homes are in the unincorporated area of the county, it's a dense neighborhood where this type of activity shouldn't be permitted. There are other more appropriate ways to deal with nuisance wildlife.

I enjoy reading this site. My wife and I check it multiple times a day. They're some great posts and some nice people that contribute. It's disappointing, however, when some posts unnecessarily involve inappropriate and offensive comments.

[J Holden]

Nope.

What type of description is necessary is a matter of opinion and both the subject being described. In this case, it is a 100% true and accurate description. To use any other would not do them justice. "Pantywaist" might come close. In general, the most common type of decency I expect from my neighbors is to mind their own business, something all but the previously referred to do a fine job of.

[bman]

Nope.

What type of description is necessary is a matter of opinion and both the subject being described. In this case, it is a 100% true and accurate description. To use any other would not do them justice. "Pantywaist" might come close. In general, the most common type of decency I expect from my neighbors is to mind their own business, something all but the previously referred to do a fine job of.

The language is uncalled for Holden.... We are trying to run a family friendly site.

If you knew how close their yards were you would not say that.
Those lots are small and there is no way I'd want someone shooting my direction.

[SHOWBOAT]

I wouldn't be particularly worried about him using a shotgun, way safer than using a .22. Pellets aren't stabilized like bullets are and lose energy like mad. Anyone who's spent time on a dove field has been hit by shot from other shooters some distance away, doesn't even hurt most of the time. If he uses some discretion about where he shoots them (preferably shooting them on the ground where the shot just goes in the ground ..) I've got zero problem with it.

I can sympathize, I've got a **** neighbor that whines to the Sheriff's Office any time I check my pistol sights or shoot an armadillo, despite the fact I'm shooting back into an area with no houses for miles...

Yea, you make some great posts on this forum Holden, but I'm not following your thoughts on this thread. Big difference between getting rained on in a dove field and actually peppered. Most dove fields if you shoot at low flying birds or on the ground you're gone, for that very reason, and especially if there are dogs on the field. I've been known to fire a round or two, and I live in fairly tight quarters, but this guys approach to his squirrel issue is not reasonable or safe.

[RodBow]

ok, so what about the little sapsucker that pecked a whole in my (wooden) mailbox? We've been here going on 4 years and I noticed that my mailbox continually was getting what I thought was mailman rash.. Came home at dark and stopped to get the mail and found that the little booger had punched a hole through and was sitting inside looking eye to eye with me... little suckerpucker!

Was it a place to live or just being pesky that made him 'eat' my pretty mailbox?? (I also live in the county)

[lonesouth]

That's a federal offense RodBow. You ought to see if the USPS will want to press charges against woody.

[charlie tuna]

Rod -- You need to get a mailbox that is "approved" by THE POSTMASTER GENERAL. I have most(?) of my squirrels trained, and i have at least a dozen hanging around the back yard because of my wife's bird feeders. They are not allowed on the bird feeders and not allowed to come even close to the house or work shop!! My house is raised three feet above the surrounding woods, so when i shoot, i am actually shooting into the ground. I have ten acres, and i am in the middle of the lot. I shoot "the violators" with 22 shorts. At first i was killing them at a pretty good rate, but after a while they learnt the rules. About once a month i have to re-educate the pack. My closest neighbor is about 600 feet away and the noise from a shotgun would startle them, i think the 22 short is the way to go. Now i live in the woods and hear all kinds of shooting going on, all the way to automatic weapons, and as long as i don't hear any bullets zinging thru the trees, i'm good to go. But if that happens, i'll call the law....