Air Gun Home :: View topic - My can of worms- why kill squirrels anyway?

naynay · Member

In a lot of the air gun reviews and such that i read, people talk with glee about how many squirels they have managed to get rid of- since i have always thought they were a pleasant addition to our yard, i wondered about the desire to kill them- am I missing something? I thought raccoons were cute too- until they started raiding our chicken coop, and ripping our birds to shreds. and last winter if i had had my air gun, i would have had no problem shooting the rats that were sneaking in for the grain- no different than nailing 'em with that trap i had to spend 5 bucks for. so please enlighten me about squirrel hunting- are they vermin, food, or both? my gun isn't powerful enough to take on a raccoon, but if they come back around, i might have to sting them in the a$$ with a wadcutter to let them know they are not welcome!

Slavia · Moderator

It's not just blood lust.

They are food, for one. They also mess up the garden. They seem to like our onions - they dig them up and then remember that they have a squirrel date that night, and don't eat them. I've heard of them chewing electrical wiring.

This is how it starts - now you need a "magnum" to protect the chickens. Then you'll find that great deal at a flea market. Pretty soon you'll have enough air guns to arm each chicken.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

When you look out in your yard the only thing you can normally shoot if your an airgunner is squirrels. Although the same hunting regulations apply to squirrels as do any other animal, airgunners often shoot them whenever they please. I know in some regions the season is only from October to January. But a lot of people feel that if they become a pest then they can shoot them for that reason. I've never observed them being destructive, normally they just keep to themselves and eat nuts up in the trees, but sometimes they sneak close to the houses and can become a nuissance.

Some folks eat them, but truth be told, they are not very tasty. I used to keep their hides and dry them, really just for decoration. They are also a perfect animal to hunt with an airgun since they are small and fast and cunning.

Slavia · Moderator

Squirrels do cause damage in a variety of ways -
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uh096.pdf
http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/TreeSquirrels.asp

In Minnesota if it's on your property, and the squirrels are causing damage, they can be taken at any time without a license -
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=97B.655

In Washington it depends upon the species of squirrel. Scroll down to "Legal Status" on this link -
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/tree_squirrels.htm#legal

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I thought it was funny that it said you have to contact a conservation officer within 24 hours after shooting the animals. What possible purpose could that serve? What is the obligatory response or action the conservation officer must ask or do at that point? Does he just ask why you shot it? What if you admitted that you shot it for no reason at all, even just to be mean? If it was 24 hours ago you could've already gotten rid of the carcass. Would he just tell you not to do it agian over the phone or come out there and investigate? I dunno, silly stuff.

My dad and I trapped some beavers that had cut down some really nice trees along the shore of his property (on a river). This was a case where the beaver was causing damage and needed to be eliminated.

naynay · Member

interesting stuff- i appreciate the link to WA state laws- you'd have to be a squirrel biologist to legally kill one here- Way too many complex situations, native species vs imports, etc. Well, I don't see a need to blast any of ours- they basicly behave themselves- eat all our hazel nuts, but we enjoy the show- they hang upside down by their back legs to reach the ones at the very end of the branch that is all bent over from the weight of them climbing out there in the first place. then they have the fence top scamper to the front yard to bury 'em. We had one that had lost half his tail who was around for a few years, and we liked him for overcoming the odds, being a survivor....haven't seen him yet this year- his luck may have run out. anyway, thanks to all for the info- and you are right slav- I'll probably end up with an arsenal. Laughing

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

In the UK we can shoot the US grey Squirrel which we have in large numbers here, because it carries a virus the kills our smaller red Squirrel and takes over, now the red Squirrel as disappeared from the south of the country, apart from the virus they are not a problem.

Al

naynay · Member

hey, it's like a squirrel war- death to the US invaders! long live the Queen- and the native red squirrel! Smile

ours is an east-west problem- i can kill as many eastern squirrels as i want... but i have to know how to identify them- and have a desire to kill 'em. The US is plauged by gypsy moths- the caterpillars defoliate entire forests, and it all started back in 18hundred and something because some guy in massachusetts wanted to do some breeding experiments on some moths he brought back from France. Some escaped, and 3 years later all the trees on his block were Dead- and the rest is history. incompatable non native species wreck havoc.

23ib0d0n · Moderator

I've eaten eastern grays in stew or fried, but I've also taken out quite a few in the attic of an old house in upstate SC that the starlings stay clear of, even to this day . . .

cw · Banned

They are good with onions. I take quite a few squirrels
and chipmunks and sell the pelts to guys that tie their
own fishing flys.

They also buy certain feathers.

Slavia · Moderator

thepaladin · Senior Member

Joining in!
Squirrels are good, with gravey, onions, in stew (Brunswic stew is traditionally made with squirrel) and so on. They are game animals in TN and therefore subject to hunting seasons, there is a spring and a fall season.
However they can also be shot in some cases due to garden damage or raids on bird feeders, that sort of thing. Check on local laws.
Here during hunting season there is a ten per day limit.

naynay · Member

[quote-You can tell by the accent. Plus eastern squirrels have the latest fashion trends about a year before we do.] Well, I was going to say something like that, but after going out on the limb (just like those squirrels that eat my hazelnuts, dangling in the breeze, all helpless, an easy shot for sure..) of potentially offending others with the bit about the Yankee squirrels taking over the UK, i decided to restrain myself- good thing you were here to follow through on that one slav. Laughing

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Yeah, they are innocent and helpless dangling there until you start shooting at them. I remember when I was a kid and I'd shoot at the tree rats at my dads place on the weekends. As soon as they saw me the scramble was on. They'd take off for their holes as fast as they could. I'd usually get one or two of them though before they could make it to safety.

naynay · Member

well they are quick, for sure... i bet it is Really hard to nail one on the move....