I am PO'd off, big time! Racoons tore apart my bird house!
- Thread starter Quadman2
- Start date
usedto
Lunatic Member
No braggado - simple fact. I live in the country. If the local pests leave me alone, I reciprocate. If they become destructive, so do I.
mfrench
Addicted Member
OK,... fun with guns.
My right eye has had a beating over the years, for some reason, in different accidents. So, its now a little rugged at distance.
My problem here: A severe overpopulation of Ground Squirrels. Erosion, and Bubonic Plague vector.
My solution: Air Rifle, pellet gun. But, its an old shooting iron, with open iron sights.
I've spent considerable time sighting it, and getting used to the sighting, and have drastically reduced the population. Now, they have been staying further away, and really jumpy.
Because my right eye is sort of tweaky, and the squirrels staying further away, I've been practicing the pointing and aiming with my left side, which is totally against the grain for me. Not actually shooting, just aiming, and steadying.
Well there is this 'fork" in the garden row that the squirrels take, and that forces me to look towards my left. I swore that the next time I saw one take that left fork, that I was going to aim and fire lefty style.
Yesterday, it happened, and, I cracked the walnut at 65', measured. Head shot, clean kill, and from the awkward side.
Air guns are fairly quiet, some with "silencers". A Nitrogen Piston air rifle, or even a pistol, in .22cal, would make fairly short work of the issue.
You ought to see what a .50cal air rifle can do.
post-post disclaimer,... I'm not really a gun guy; just a guy with a severe varmint and disease vector overpopulation, and, this makes more sense than the way my neighbors deal with it,.. toxic smoke bombs (yep, in SoCal, w/ brown bone dry grass, and ever present fire danger, they're out there essentially with road flares stuffing them into holes).
My right eye has had a beating over the years, for some reason, in different accidents. So, its now a little rugged at distance.
My problem here: A severe overpopulation of Ground Squirrels. Erosion, and Bubonic Plague vector.
My solution: Air Rifle, pellet gun. But, its an old shooting iron, with open iron sights.
I've spent considerable time sighting it, and getting used to the sighting, and have drastically reduced the population. Now, they have been staying further away, and really jumpy.
Because my right eye is sort of tweaky, and the squirrels staying further away, I've been practicing the pointing and aiming with my left side, which is totally against the grain for me. Not actually shooting, just aiming, and steadying.
Well there is this 'fork" in the garden row that the squirrels take, and that forces me to look towards my left. I swore that the next time I saw one take that left fork, that I was going to aim and fire lefty style.
Yesterday, it happened, and, I cracked the walnut at 65', measured. Head shot, clean kill, and from the awkward side.
Air guns are fairly quiet, some with "silencers". A Nitrogen Piston air rifle, or even a pistol, in .22cal, would make fairly short work of the issue.
You ought to see what a .50cal air rifle can do.
post-post disclaimer,... I'm not really a gun guy; just a guy with a severe varmint and disease vector overpopulation, and, this makes more sense than the way my neighbors deal with it,.. toxic smoke bombs (yep, in SoCal, w/ brown bone dry grass, and ever present fire danger, they're out there essentially with road flares stuffing them into holes).
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usedto
Lunatic Member
Wrong. The worst thing you can do for birds is make them dependent on humans for food.
dosmalo
T-Totaled
Mike, I bought that Targus 22cal Rugur break barrel that I linked to in another thread and I'm very happy with it. I wish the trigger was just a little crisper but I'll get used to that.
Fires 22s @1000 fps and IS ACCURATE!
It dropped from $179 to $141 and change so I grabbed it up.
I've spent several days dailing in the scope and now what's in the cross hairs is what it hits.
I highly recommend it for your ground squirrel pest prob.
22cal at 1000fps absolutely ain't bad at all.
Fires 22s @1000 fps and IS ACCURATE!
It dropped from $179 to $141 and change so I grabbed it up.
I've spent several days dailing in the scope and now what's in the cross hairs is what it hits.
I highly recommend it for your ground squirrel pest prob.
22cal at 1000fps absolutely ain't bad at all.
Cadillac Kid
Addicted Member
I am PO'd off, big time! Racoons tore apart my bird house!
This would be a great hip hop song title. Maybe eminem will spit a rhyme.
This would be a great hip hop song title. Maybe eminem will spit a rhyme.
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I've had to shoot a racoon before. I had called animal control and they say if it showed NO fear, and was acting errating (trying to get inside the house, I **** you not) that it was likely rabid.
I put one in the back of its head. Didn't enjoy that at all, but had to be done.
Hope you find a solution to this, Quadman.
I put one in the back of its head. Didn't enjoy that at all, but had to be done.
Hope you find a solution to this, Quadman.
Lo-Fidelity
Super Member
Shooting them takes too much effort for our local raccoons as they come out too late at night and are really difficult to get a clean shot. It's better to trap them.
Rat poison.
Gun. Point, aim and shoot. Problem solved.
olson_jr
Lunatic Member
Frowned upon as it gets into the food chain. We have had several owls die in the area recently and the raptor rescue folks say it is because they are eating rodents that have eaten Rat Poison and become easy marks for the Raptors.
Quadman2
Lunatic Member
I appreciate you're wanting to lighten up this rather dismal thread...guess I just ended up ranting when I started this thread. I see this now, eh?
Living in a sub div, you forget the "Law of The Jungle"...and it's just a predator. But those little defenceless guys, with mom/dad bringing food to them by the min...then to find the blood/feathers along with the broken torn up bird house. I gut reacted!
I did try to sell the idea of getting the house off the deck railing in the early Spring, where we used to enjoy the comings and the goings of these dedicated parents...then the abrupt ending of these chicks. But, I lost this argument, and I guess the wifey feels more guilt than even I do.
So, thought to see if any member had any success in building a pole structure that would offer some protection when/if another habitat is made for next year.
Q
mfrench
Addicted Member
My shooting gallery is so silly that I took some pictures the other day.
I've been doing a ton of stone work here (yes, a pun). I use the tools during the day, and then efficiently store them in the afternoon, for their other assignment; sniper blind.
The work tool blind; Wheelbarrow, hand truck/rockcart, saw horse/plywood.
I sit on the footstool, behind the wall of junk, and, that gives me a scope of something to the effect of 180º of view.
The handcart with the basket on it,.. that looks straight north. The plywood looks north by east, and the wheel barrow looks east.
The gloves over the wheelbarrow and plywood, and the sloppy t-shirt,.. to baffle them, and allow the air rifle to move silently.
Wheelbarrow range, looking east. The squirrels emerge from under the green fence, along the long run. They seem to like to eat that ground cover, and will stop there to graze.
The plywood covers the concrete pathway that they use frequently. My measured 65' shot came at the end of the concrete pathway.
Sarge feeds her birds at this spot. This is the north gallery. I built the firewood backstop to stop errant shots, as these go out onto my neighbors front property (he is aware and fine with this arrangement). It is two courses of stacked firewood, and impossible to get through with a pellet.
The milk crate is unsightly; I can see through it; they can't see me through it.
This is -25' away, and a scope is an impedance. I steady on the corner of the rock cart, and fire from there. The dirty work t-shirt keeps the gun quiet during aiming.
My blind from the north gallery:
east gallery blind view:
I can reach this one from my blind as well; the 160º view to the far right, where they run along the property line.
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mkane
Lunatic Member
22 shorts are darn near silent. We have just 1 raccoon around her these days and he's friend with the cat. He likes the garbage but that's easily taken care of. I do shoot the digger squirrels though. More destructive than 10 raccoons. I use a .17 rimfire off the deck. Got to get a bit closer with the other 2
Savage .17
CZ 453 .22
1989 Beeman R1 .20 springer
Savage .17
CZ 453 .22
1989 Beeman R1 .20 springer
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Be careful with your guard dogs with coons. They can fight, and unless your dog is prepped for hunting and fighting, your pet could get hurt tackling a racoon. There wer dogs known in the woods called "coon dogs" that were used to hunt racoons. Some owners used coon dogs in teams to take down some critters.
Red pepper powder is an effective deterrent in areas where you store garbage. If you have a problem with racoons then I'd advise against storing food outside. Good luck.
Red pepper powder is an effective deterrent in areas where you store garbage. If you have a problem with racoons then I'd advise against storing food outside. Good luck.
Sharpstik
Stuck in the 70's
Ridiculous comments here proposing guns. For Christ sake, I have raccoons coming up to my backdoor at night looking for handouts. And guess what? They get em. If the birds were taken at night, the racoons are healthy. . I'd feel bad for the birds too, I get it because I put up houses also. But they're high enough. Although I've seen racoons on top of my wooden porch roof. Everyone is welcome. I couldn't read some of the comments here.
Final observation. I buried one of my cats in December. Two weeks ago, she was dug up, laying over there about 10 feet from the grave. Buried her again. Dug up again. Now I placed slate stone over it. Raccoons. Oh well. I'm not gonna blaze away at em.
Final observation. I buried one of my cats in December. Two weeks ago, she was dug up, laying over there about 10 feet from the grave. Buried her again. Dug up again. Now I placed slate stone over it. Raccoons. Oh well. I'm not gonna blaze away at em.
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