Squirrel problem

[llangatwgnedd]

.25 will make a better job of it. greys are tough animals, a 177 will only annoy it, a 22 will need to be a heart or eyeball shot. a 25 in the chest cavity will stop any future acrobatics.

With the UK airgun laws stand at 12ft ib, head shots only no matter what calibre.

.177 will drop a tree rat @25yds and is far more accurate than other airgun calibres (especially with a PCP air rifle)..

Disposed of eight tree rats back in February in the garden

 

[Mark A]

I like squirrels

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A friend of mine fitted his bird table with two copper plates which he connected to the mains via a switched plug. When he saw a squirrel on it he switched on and dispatched the little critter. He was reported to the RSPCA who paid him a visit and threatened to prosecute as he said it was inhumane. He did point out to the fellow that in America it was a humane way to dispatch people :shock: :shock:

Alan

I had a caravan on my mother's land years ago and there was scarely a week went by it didn't get broken into. I was speaking to one of the local plod one day and he asked me if it was still an ongoing problem as I hadn't reported anything for months. No, I told him, not since I put the feet of the 'van in tyres and wired the chassis to the mains. I was told in no uncertain terms not to do it in future. I did fall foul of it a couple of times after nights drinking for Cornwall and forgetting the thing was live. Good job it was only long grass I ended up in.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

When the house was eventually built, my mother went to NZ to visit my sister. We went to check the house every day for a week or so, then every third or fourth day (it had alarms connected to the police). One day we went and there had been a break in ... or so it looked at first - a squirrel had fallen down the chimney, and had jumped from a mantlepiece full of Limoges to a shelf full of Dresden, on to another shelf of Doulton then to a shelf of Meissen. Not content with breaking about fifteen pieces it proceeded to gnaw pieces out of the meeting rails of four iroko windows and the glazing bars of two iroko patio doors. It was nearly dead when we managed to get it out. It escaped the pressure mats, PIRs etc. for all that time.

 

[RogerS]

.25 will make a better job of it. greys are tough animals, a 177 will only annoy it, a 22 will need to be a heart or eyeball shot. a 25 in the chest cavity will stop any future acrobatics.

With the UK airgun laws stand at 12ft ib, head shots only no matter what calibre.

.177 will drop a tree rat @25yds and is far more accurate than other airgun calibres (especially with a PCP air rifle)..

Disposed of eight tree rats back in February in the garden

Winchester .22 rimshot works a treat

 

[HappyHacker]

I did an electrical inspection on a "scout hut", really more like a very large village hall. A squirrel had been in the roof space which is completely inaccessible and eaten the insulation from the PVC cables so the place needs virtually a complete rewire. It is being re-roofed at the moment which will allow access from above so I am awaiting the call to see if it can be fixed without rewiring.

I am in complete agreement with a quick lead injection as we have them in the garden but my wife won't even let me shoot the rats eating the chicken food.

 

[llangatwgnedd]

Winchester .22 rimshot works a treat

I Have three .22 Rimfires, but the back garden isn't on my ticket, I can only use them down the club.

 

[graduate_owner]

Just to repeat what was posted earlier - once caught, it is illegal to release a grey squirrel back into the wild. You must despatch it humanely, or get someone else to do it for you.
K

 

[adidat]

if you really want to do the job properly then a 12 gauge is what you need!

bye bye squirrel!

adidat

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Be very careful and aware of the law, especially if you plan to shoot squirrels that are sitting on a bird table. If the pellet or shot leaves the boundary of your land, you're potentially in big trouble and it's just not cricket anyway. Obviously you can set up a suitable backstop but even then, depending on proximity of neighbours etc, it may not be advisable to shoot at all.

I use .410 subsonic with a moderator for squirrels (pest control on private woodland), but that would probably destroy your bird table even if it was appropriate which unless your back garden is massive and rural, a shotgun isnt. In my opinion, if you have a good backstop, .177 air at 12 ft/lb is the way forward but if you don't have any experience you might be better off getting someone else to do it as you do need to be pretty accurate in your shooting to avoid making the animal suffer unnecessarily.