mowermech wrote: Ah, the joys of living on a small rural acreage with few CC&Rs!
But, VERY definitely, check local and state laws before blazing away with ANY "projectile weapon"!
Especially in the East and the West Coast.
Only concern I have with CO2 rifles or pistols is leakage of the gas. Always seemed to me to be worth the cost in the long run to buy a pump pellet gun. Have a Sheridan Blue Streak 5mm that is pretty accurate.
I still have my old Daisy ten pumper; I got it instead of a CO2 gun because of concerns of CO2 leakage. One or two pumps with BBs was plenty to sting cats to scare them off (it didn't break the skin). Five to seven pumps with pellets would take out a problem bird, depending on range. The only time I used ten pumps for anything other than target practice was when shooting a big grackle at the top of a tall palm tree that had been dive bombing my kids.
It has a 10X scope and I used to be deadly with it but it's so long since I used it, I doubt I could hit the broad side of a barn anymore; assuming the leathers aren't dried out.
IT's not trapping or hunting. It's extermenating. I follow the don't ask/don't tell policy on this, and an air gun with enough terminal velocity to get the job done is fine if it's accurate enough. Aim small, miss small. Watch your backstop. Discretion and common sense are your friends. I have been a licensed hunter for almost 40 years and IMHO, thinning the herd of these filthy, destructive little tree rats must be done. Law or no law. It doesn't exactly make you John Dillinger.
"It`s not important that you know all the answers, it`s only important to know where to get all the answers" Arone Kleamyck
"...An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
Sunset Creek 298 BH
DKean wrote: I checked with a friend who is a local LEO and he said the .177 is still a fire arm.
He is correct, in most locales and in many, it is a criminal act to discharge a firearm inside the city or town limits. Don't earn yourself a day in court, check the local laws first.
Curious. I had one of Tempe, AZ's finest actually suggest I use a pellet gun for varmint control since they aren't considered to be a firearm. The advice to check local laws is excellent but don't just ask a LEO (they can be wrong; I've had it happen). Check with the city attorney's office, etc. Not all jurisdictions considered air or CO2 guns to be firearms.
This.
I'm glad I live in a state where I live a firearm is defined by a weapon that fires using a metallic cartridge.
BTW, your tree rats (squirrells? I presume?) will only return unless you remove their food source.
I don't know why you would want to get rid of them. I enjoy watching the ones around here. My cats are really annoyed that they have to watch them through the screen door, and can't chase them lol.
I wouldn't consider killing my squirrells......unless I get hungry.
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JIMNLIN wrote: I have a .177 cal Gammo air rifle that shoots a 10.5 grain match grade lead pellet at 1400 FPS. And yes with a scope its deadly on squirrels/ferrel cats and other pests.
I would suggest a steel live box trap like the Havahart. I have a old one that opens both ends and I believe is 13" x 13" x 30". I trap red squirrels and move them across my 40 acre hay meadow to the backside of my place.
I bait with black oil sunflower seeds. Trap them and enjoy stewed squirrel or take them to a area and release them unseen.
I trap and remove coons with the Havahart box trap. Its also effective at controlling feral cats/skunks and armadillos although a big dillo can bend the trap and escape.
Before you trap and eat or trap and release any wild animal, I would check your state's hunting regulations. We, er, someone we knew was trapping the overpopulated tree rodents in our, er, their yard many years ago and then taking the trapped critters over to the abandoned mink farm to let go. It was then discovered that, in Illinois, trapping (or taking) a wild animal without a permit or license was punishable by a fine of up to $400.00 per incident, and then relocating and/or releasing a wild animal was also punishable by the same. Trapping (or taking) an animal out of season without a hunting license is also a fine of up to $1000.00.
I carry a trappers permit so I'm aware of my state trapping requirments. Trapping a animal out of season alone doesn't mean a code has been violated. Its what is done with the animal after trapping it matters im my state anyway.
I would advise anyone to forget about trying to interpret state(s) codes and go straight to your local wildlife officer for any up to date info on getting rid of any wild or feral nuisance animals.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
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I use .177 and .22 caliber air rifles to kill squirrels. IMO do yourself a favor and buy the RWS model 34 air rifle in .22. Its a springer, and finely made and IMO the RWS makes the best airguns on the market. Plus no C02 to fuss with and the larher caliber puts 'em down good. The only time they are not dead when they hit the ground with mine is if I miss the head/vitals.
Don't waste your money on any C02 pellet gun. You will be buying lots of C02 and not getting all that much muzzle velocity for you $. I have a 177 caliber, one pump/one shot pellet pistol made by Browning. It puts them down the barrel at 800+ FPS and is very accurate out to about 30 yards. I have never shot at any creature, I use it strictly for entertainment target shooting, but at 25 yards a pellet will go completely through a beer can stacked on top on another without knocking them over. It is reported to be very effective on varmints such as rats, squirrels etc at that range.
JIMNLIN wrote: I would advise anyone to forget about trying to interpret state(s) codes and go straight to your local wildlife officer for any up to date info on getting rid of any wild or feral nuisance animals.
Well, yeah, that was kind of my advice. I know that a lot of people look at varmints as "just" varmints, but one's local wildlife law enforcement sometimes take things very seriously, and some state's laws are more involved than others. The act of trapping and moving squirrels probably wont get someone in trouble, but one should know before they do such a thing what the consequences could be. Not that I have any knowledge or experience with doing anything of the sort, first-hand. Or anything like that.
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