It's on like Donkey Kong!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Granny (my wife) has been busy this summer, she's potted various tomato, pepper and other plants in the house as well as bringing home large plants from her nursery for early tomatoes, peppers, etc. She now has a fairly large garden growning on our patio at the back door. Her plan has been to grow enough tomatoes, etc to not only supply us until late fall, but all of our children/grandchildren living within reasonable distance.

But trouble has started. A tree rat aka a grey squirrel has managed to get into her tomato plants not once, but twice now. They first knocked over one of her larger plants, which she set back up. But the worst has now happened, they managed to kill one of the "baby" seedling plants that was healthy and vital, as she calls it. Granny is mad as fire and wants those "darn squirrels" eliminated now! It's on like Donkey Kong she says, they've violated some unwritten rule with her about not harming her plants. She wants to know what I'm going to do about it.

Luckily, a month or so back, I hired Mountain Air guns to fine tune a QB 78 Deluxe in .22 caliber for maximum performance. I received the air rifle, but due to some other demands at the house, haven't been able to get to it, scope it (Can't see the iron sights well enough any more, dang I hate getting old.) and zero it. I did manage to buy pellets/CO2 cartridges and try the rifle out and it smokes from a velocity standpoint from what I can tell, so I'm sure it'll be a great tree rat zapper.

My original plan was to use it to reduce the burgeoning and unhunted squirrel population in and around my house. There's a stream back of the house and lots of nuts for the squirrels to eat and they're out of control all over the place.

Things have come to a head this week, when they invaded Granny's space and killed one of her plants, so I have a scope on order, should be here day after tomorrow and I'll have to get busy and produce results quick before Granny gets out her CZ .22 bolt action rifle with scope and handles it herself.:2gunsfiring_v1:

[AlaskanGuy]

Lol... Nice... I will be watching for pics.....

:popcorn:

[starmac]

He He , even a squirrel should know better than mess with anybody called GRANNY. lol

[mikeym1a]

I get the picture of Jed's granny in mind!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I get the picture of Jed's granny in mind!

I hate to admit it, but my wife grew up in a very small mountain community in Western North Carolina called Smith's Cove, near Asheville, NC. Her mother actually looks and talks a lot like Jed's Granny.:)

[CastingFool]

While getting the tree rat with an air gun may be a lot more fun, I would set out a couple of live traps. they are on duty all the time, while you are getting other things done.

[PbHurler]

Mmmmmmmm, fried squirrel with biscuits & squirrel gravy!

[prsman23]

Setup a defensive perimeter. I'm thinking barbed wire, hedgehogs(not the animal) and possibly claymores. Shhhhhh is about to get real. Best of luck soldier.

[Smoke4320]

Setup a defensive perimeter. I'm thinking barbed wire, hedgehogs(not the animal) and possibly claymores. Shhhhhh is about to get real. Best of luck soldier.

Whirl a squirrel with Punji sticks underneath and punji stick tree swatters .. couple squirrel on a stick around their hangouts might help

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qIz-SCj0L._SX355_.jpg

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Mmmmmmmm, fried squirrel with biscuits & squirrel gravy! Man that sounds good. But I'm not sure if squirrel is a good idea this time of year in Northeast Georgia or not. We have to get rid of the pests and I was hating the idea of wasting the meat, but not sure if it's safe to eat or not.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

While getting the tree rat with an air gun may be a lot more fun, I would set out a couple of live traps. they are on duty all the time, while you are getting other things done.

Acquiring traps in this area is next to impossible. I'm not sure they are even available. But there's so many squirrels out there right now, lots of targets of opportunity, all of them fat and happy.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Whirl a squirrel with Punji sticks underneath and punji stick tree swatters .. couple squirrel on a stick around their hangouts might help

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qIz-SCj0L._SX355_.jpg

That thing has to be hilarious to watch in action.:)

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Setup a defensive perimeter. I'm thinking barbed wire, hedgehogs(not the animal) and possibly claymores. Shhhhhh is about to get real. Best of luck soldier.

We've already added mulch on the plant buckets to disguise the plants some. I am likely going to "snipe" out of one back window we have the screen has been lost from. Less likelihood of the "liberal, very heavy, very short haired female" couple living next door seeing me that way. The cop on the other side, I'm less worried about, even though she's female, she's very friendly and seems down to earth, plus the squirrels make her dog nuts.

[prsman23]

I've done the sniping out of the back window with much success.
Hippies have no idea. Squirrels suddenly get under control. A good plan. I don't have neighbors behind me so no worries about hitting anything other than trees with my pellets.

[MBTcustom]

Think about an over sized bug zapper with an ear of corn instead of a black light. When you see the lights go dim, grab a plate!

[Dan Cash]

Acquiring traps in this area is next to impossible. I'm not sure they are even available. But there's so many squirrels out there right now, lots of targets of opportunity, all of them fat and happy.

Sportsman's Guide has live traps amongst others. I am sure you have a Tractor Supply Company in your area; they too should have said instruments.

[aspangler]

When Momma's not happy, ain't NOBODY happy!

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Sportsman's Guide has live traps amongst others. I am sure you have a Tractor Supply Company in your area; they too should have said instruments.

Not interested in traps.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Think about an over sized bug zapper with an ear of corn instead of a black light. When you see the lights go dim, grab a plate!

Wow, instant fried squirrel. Only negative is no bacon grease or lard involved.:shock:

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Scope came in today and I put it on, tightened down the screws equally and started the process of sighting in the scope. I haven't shot in a long while and I could really tell it. My shooting muscles were not nearly as stable as they were a few years back before I started taking care of my Dad, but got better a little as the session wore on, though it slowed me down.

I got started late by the time I built a target box out of cardboard/magazines/etc and got it set up at 10 feet for the initial adjustment. So about the time I started holding good enough to finish the scope at ten feet and move to 30, I ran out of most of my light. So decided to throw up a quick group and see where I was at.

Group was 2" high, clustered together nicely and about half an inch left. I'm pleased with the group and feel comfortable I can improve that once I've shot a bit more to get the rust off.

Right now, I'm pretty pleased with this QB78 and the little bug buster scope I put on it. I'm glad I followed the recommendation of this scope from Pyramid Air.

Tomorrow, I'll finish sighting in at 30 feet and consider if I need to shoot out any further to get a feel for where the pellets arc is. It's obviously still rising at 30 feet, so I'd like to know where it starts to fall so I know where to put a point of aim up to 60 feet (30 yards) away. That's about the extent of coverage I need to have to defend Granny's garden from the evil attacking tree rat hordes.:Fire:

BTW, Granny kept a close eye on the proceedings, especially the final group. She is deadly serious I take down some of those squirrels. My fear is she'll get her CZ 452 with the monster scope on it and start taking the little dudes out. She's deadly with the rifle, but I think the noise will have the fat short haired liberal female couple up in arms for sure.

[PbHurler]

Man that sounds good. But I'm not sure if squirrel is a good idea this time of year in Northeast Georgia or not. We have to get rid of the pests and I was hating the idea of wasting the meat, but not sure if it's safe to eat or not.

I'd think you'd be ok with it, just clean 'em right away & get the carcasses cool. I've always waited until after the first hard freeze for rabbits, & checked their livers for spots, but I've taken squirrels in the summer & they fried up just fine. In fact, squirrel season is from May 15 to January 31 here in Oklahoma. And yeah it gets mighty hot here in the summer.

Good luck with the "Squirrel Armageddon" :drinks:

ETA:
Oh yeah, we'll need a picture of a dinner plate with the fruits of your success.....:kidding:

[grizzlyadams]

that little 78 is a great gun and will get er done for sure. also, you should have no problems eating those nutters, i have eaten them in the dead of summer. just gut right away,make sure no to nick the guts when cleaning, and get them in the cooler asap.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Refresh my memory:

Do I need to soak the meat in salt water to draw the blood out before cooking? It's been many years, but I seem to remember doing something like that in the past with squirrels or rabbits 30 years ago. (Yes, it's been that long since I hunted small game.)

I do know that if I've got to kill them, I feel obligated to cook, eat and enjoy them as the Good Lord intended we do with his bounty.

[richhodg66]

When I was 17, my folks moved us into a big old house that had a back yard that was almost an acre and held the remnants of an old pecan orchard, maybe two or three dozen mature trees. As luck would have it, despite being in the city, there were really no neighbors adjacent I had to worry about and a city ball park backed up to the property which was unused most of the time. dad bought me a basic RWS .177 air rifle and we scoped it. I did some of the best squirrel hunting of my life there in the back yard. It was no barn burner, even for an air rifle, but was usually accurate enough for me to make head shots if I did my part and it killed them quite well.

I need to get a good air rifle.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I need to get a good air rifle.

Rich,

I've been reading extensively about air rifles the last couple months and there are only a couple I would spend money on right now. One is the Benjamin Marauder and I'd get it from Pyramid Air as a package with one of the pumps. I'd go for the .25 caliber model as it has the Green Mountain barrels on it. It's a PCP gun, is very powerful and is not cheap.

The other two guns are the QB78 Deluxe I just bought and had tuned by Mountain Air I'm using now. It's a copy of a Crosman 160 with improvements and can be tuned to be pretty potent. Uses Crosman CO2 cartridges. I paid $200.00 for mine with a full tune.

Finally, look at the XISICO XS60C tuned by Flying Dragon air rifles. This may be the most economical and effective way to go. Call and talk to Mike, I think it is. the XS60C is a product improved QB78 with greater long term potential. I think if I had known more about this rifle, I might have bought this rifle instead of the QB78 Deluxe, as I bought it strictly as a squirrel zapper.

scopes for these air rifles:

If my eyes were good, I wouldn't bother with a scope for the bottom two air rifles, as they have a fiber optic iron sights that are pretty good. I just can't see them. I had to get a scope to see and I bought what Pyramid Air recommended for my air rifle. I'm very happy with the purchase so far.

I'm not sure what the expected accuracy is for these air rifles yet, but when the cartridges are fresh, I was able to get a final group at 30 feet (15 yards) of about 3/8ths of an inch today. I haven't shot any firearms in a couple years due to taking care of my Dad, was sore as the dickens from being up all night last night tearing down, cleaning and repairing my 15 year old GE dishwasher. I must have gotten up and down off the floor 50 times working on that thing. It's a bear to get something that old apart that's as dirty as that one was.

As it is, I still have to replace the impeller portion of the motor assembly with a fresh kit (seals are shot) and I have that on order, but it's up and running so the wife can wash the dishes even though the thing is dripping a little water right now. I'll be glad when the kit comes in next week so I can be done with this thing. Lotsa sharp edges on it to scratch yourself up. Mechanically, both simple and complicated at the same time. Lasted an amazingly long time considering the nature of the design of the parts.

[PbHurler]

Refresh my memory:

Do I need to soak the meat in salt water to draw the blood out before cooking? It's been many years, but I seem to remember doing something like that in the past with squirrels or rabbits 30 years ago. (Yes, it's been that long since I hunted small game.)

I do know that if I've got to kill them, I feel obligated to cook, eat and enjoy them as the Good Lord intended we do with his bounty.

I've done that (salt water soak), when I've made a solid hit on both rabbits & squirrels with a shotgun & found a lot of holes in the meat, and wanted to save as much bloodshot meat as I could.
A single well placed .22 or pellet shouldn't require the soak. A good going-over to rinse them off after butchering is all you really need to do in my opinion. A salt water soak may permeate the meat & season it, but I never noticed any real flavor differences with or without the soak. I season 'em when I fry 'em. ;)

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Bob,

Thanks for the information on the squirrels. It's not going to be long until I've picked off a few. It's been raining the last couple of days, but next few are going to be pretty nice and spring time cool, so chances are, the squirrels will be out in force soon.

I've did some reading on .22 CO2 airgun ballistics and I think I'm ready to start hunting, with a guess that about 35-40 yards (beyond any reasonable range in my yard) is where the pellet will start to fall based on where I've sighted the scope in at. It'll be flat enough between 15-35 yards I should shoot just slightly low for a kill shot where I want it.

[762 shooter]

Last time I pressure cooked the tree rats, picked the meat off and made a squirrel pot pie. Goooood.

240 degrees for 40 minutes will run off any bad bugs.

762

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Man, I love pot pies too. Always have.

Darn squirrels are hiding on the side of the house where I can't shoot at them. Anybody know of some cheap bait I can use to lure them into an area I can shoot them?

[mj2evans]

I never had luck trapping squirrels (in Dallas damn rats are too smart I guess). But an RWS 34 or 54 really knocks 'em out.

[762 shooter]

Peanut butter

762

[WILCO]

That thing has to be hilarious to watch in action.:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9PObi8UNzo

[grizzlyadams]

plus 1 on the peanut butter. or just cheap a$$ boiled/roasted peanuts

[tommag]

Not as much fun a shooting, but the ramp snare looks effective, as well as cheap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhLBXC4pz-c