Neighborhood Pest Control

[petroid]

We recently moved back into a rural area after living in the city for nine years. The house next to me is vacant but I work with the owner. After noticing a groundhog in his yard I reconned the area and found the whistlepig had gnawed through the hatch to the crawlspace and entrenched itself under the house. After several days of waiting for an opportunity to dispatch the critter, I got my chance today. I heard a loud scratching from the general area of his back porch and after sneaking down the hill in my back yard and cutting through the woods behind my garage I was able to hide behind a tree in his back yard well below him. Standing up and peering out from behind the oak, I spied the varmint. Luckily he was right in front of the block foundation of the house and I knew that a miss or through and through shot would only impact the block wall and not harm anything. I had turned my 3-9 scope down to its lowest setting in anticipation of a close range shot and at 25 yards 3x was more than enough magnification. Settling the cross hairs on the center of his skull, I slowly squeezed the trigger of my Marlin model 60. The noise of the bolt cycling was louder than the shot through my Liberty Mystic suppressor. The satisfying thwack of the bullet impact was louder still. The bugger was flopping on the ground and even trying to crawl back under the house although he had been shot straight through the brain pan. The projectile exited but barely made a mark on the block wall. Now to wait and see if there's any more.

[4719dave]

cans are a sweet thing to own

[TXGunNut]

Good job! When I bought my house ten years ago I heard gunshots the first day, felt right at home. Function testing or pest control is no big deal around here. I don't think recreational shooting is a good idea in my backyard but a carefully planned shot is no problem...and I'll try not to touch one off under the carport without hearing protection again, lol.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

that just made me remember about a Raccoon i shot on my deck a few years ago he would come by just about 11 o'clock at night
so i opened the window up stairs so i would have a good shot at him never again will i do that that SOB flopped like a fish out of water
i had blood all over the the deck the side of the house what a mess

[CLAYPOOL]

Boy Scout Moto: Be Prepared.. not bad to live by still yet... All thought I hate it that they have went after and ruined another thing from my childhood....! What is wrong with these people..?

[LAKEMASTER]

sadly, i cant shoot a rimfire without a suppressor around here, and i dont own either.

but i have slaughtered countless pigeons with my compound bow at my parents house... some laugh but small game are hard to hit your mark.

[Pakprotector]

and that is why I deal with pneumatics... they are quite effective at stuff up to Coyote and my .22 pellet shooter makes short work of red squirrels... the .25 does an even better job, and as soon as I can the .30 I will test it as well. Long Live the Benjamin Marauder.
cheers,
Douglas

[petroid]

I can't condone shooting where is not legal or safe but pest control or plinking can be done quietly using 22 shorts or if your gun needs LR rounds CCI Quiet 22 is hardly louder than an airgun.

And ditto on the archery. I have taken to squirrel hunting with my bow in the yard to hone my skills for deer season

[TXGunNut]

A little secret, no one hears the first round go off in the wee hours. Make it safe and make it count. Try not to touch it off under a carport or between two buildings closer than about ten feet.

[root]

SWR Specre owner here.
It's amazing how loud target strike or bolt clack is compared to rifle report with a can.
And you can hear every ricochet too.

Good job on the dispatch just be careful.
Rich

[Clark]

CCI CB shorts with a 24" barrel sound like a BB gun if they hit soft target, but a brain shot will make a coon break dance for his last minute.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

whistle pigs are some tough buggers , anything less than a head shot and they make it back to their hole , last one I got was 50 yards grandmas deck to her garden it rolled about 4 times with a spray of blood that looked like a spray can of red paint was ruptured and rolled down the hill what a mess

[olafhardt]

Petroid, I really enjoyed your post because it demonstrated that hunting is hunting. Shooting a mirauding groundhog can be every bit as thrilling as shooting mirauding tigers. One of my favorite hunting memories was figuring where where a very wiley rat would land when it jumped and then catching it with an UNBAITED trap. I remember when my father showed me how to analize a coons movement on a trail. How it jumped off a log and landed at a particular spot, "Now you put your trap right there!" In this I saw how humans had used analytic thinking to live not only as scientists but also as primitive hunters. Also this entire thread, without agenda or intentio, refutes the often stated idea that a shot to the CNS causes instant disability.