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Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:09 pm
by WildBill
HankB wrote:In terms of hunting with airguns, Beeman's published an article quite a few years back addressing this, with their recommendations of appropriate minimum power levels to hunt various critters - here's a link: http://beemans.net/field%20use.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to their chart, a squirrel requires about 3 ft. lbs, with an impact velocity of ~415 ft/sec for a 7.8 grain .177 pellet.

Probably a reasonable guideline, but IMHO it's like the 1000 ft. lb recommendation some gunwriters say is required for deer - there's an awful lot of "hand waving" in the numbers. (And since a .357 Mag handgun is a reasonable deer cartridge at close range, it's clear that 1000 ft. lbs. is not really needed.)
For dangerous game, like squirrels, the more kinetic energy the better. :smilelol5:

Beeman's is an excellent source of information for airguns.

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:48 pm
by big 54r
Been awhile since I've had some squirrel but I am hungry...umm ;-)

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 8:28 pm
by jmra
Squirrel and rabbit in my backyard a lot. If the wife sees me getting the pellet gun she runs outside a warns them. :banghead:

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:07 pm
by Deltaboy
jmra wrote:Squirrel and rabbit in my backyard a lot. If the wife sees me getting the pellet gun she runs outside a warns them. :banghead:
Your wife needs retraining.

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:18 pm
by jmra
Deltaboy wrote:
jmra wrote:Squirrel and rabbit in my backyard a lot. If the wife sees me getting the pellet gun she runs outside a warns them. :banghead:
Your wife needs retraining.
I'm sure she would claim the same about me. :mrgreen:

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 6:23 pm
by HankB
Deltaboy wrote:
jmra wrote:Squirrel and rabbit in my backyard a lot. If the wife sees me getting the pellet gun she runs outside a warns them. :banghead:
Your wife needs retraining.
Pellet guns are excessive for retraining, think about a paintball gun. :reddevil

(And keep a divorce lawyer on speed dial.)

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2014 10:23 pm
by Deltaboy
117 , 20, and 22 cal air rifles can take game out to at least 40 Yards.

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2014 10:40 pm
by Rex B
XinTX wrote:After the tree rats raided our tomatoes out of the garden, the MUCH better half will love this new 'hunting season'.
It's all fun and games until you start messing with my home-grown tomatoes! :fire

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 12:14 am
by Jim Beaux

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:33 am
by jmra
Jim Beaux wrote::mrgreen:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo[/video]
Part of me says this is horrible. The other part of me is "rlol"

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 6:34 am
by Jim Beaux
jmra wrote:
Jim Beaux wrote::mrgreen:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo[/video]
Part of me says this is horrible. The other part of me is "rlol"

Think of it this way; the squirrels deserved it cuz, well cuz theyre squirrels! :anamatedbanana

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 8:53 am
by MeMelYup
Question: what is a flying squirrel?

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 10:20 am
by Jim Beaux
MeMelYup wrote:Question: what is a flying squirrel?
Biden in Air Force 2... ;-)

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 1:06 pm
by RetNavy
Jim Beaux wrote:
MeMelYup wrote:Question: what is a flying squirrel?
Biden in Air Force 2... ;-)

:lol:: :thewave "rlol"


would be nice to try and get of some the ones in the backyard..... lost a good supply of pecans due to them..... but city ordinance prohibits the firing of any type of gun in the city limits.... including air guns, sling shots and such... cant even light fire crackers on the 4th... can carry them... cant shoot

Re: Squirrels fair game with air rifles of .177 or greater.

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 2:18 pm
by Jim Beaux
RetNavy wrote:
Jim Beaux wrote:
MeMelYup wrote:Question: what is a flying squirrel?
Biden in Air Force 2... ;-)

:lol:: :thewave "rlol"


would be nice to try and get of some the ones in the backyard..... lost a good supply of pecans due to them..... but city ordinance prohibits the firing of any type of gun in the city limits.... including air guns, sling shots and such... cant even light fire crackers on the 4th... can carry them... cant shoot
RetNavy
This PVC tube squirrel trap is useful for getting rid of pest squirrels and also for trapping wild squirrels for food. This trap is humane, in that it doesn’t kill or harm the squirrel once caught (providing you check it regularly). It’s up to you, if it is a pest squirrel, you can either re-home it somewhere else, or you can kill it. Obviously if you are using the trap for hunting, you’re going to kill it.

All you need for this trap is around a five foot length of 6 inch PVC tube. You also need an end-cap or something to securely plug one end of the tube.

Once you have your length of PVC tube with the end capped off, it’s time for bait. I think it is a given that peanut butter works best; smear a little around the open end of the tube and then keep adding a little more down to around an arms length down the tube. I also got a slice of bread (which I covered in peanut butter) and dropped it down to the bottom of the tube.

Ok, so now we have the baited tube/trap, it’s time to set it. Set the trap where you know there is squirrel activity. You want to set the plugged end on the ground and rest the open end against a branch etc. You don’t want the tube to be fully vertical, as the squirrel won’t go down the tube. You want to set it at around 60-70 degrees. This way the squirrel will go down after the food, but cannot escape due to the slippery surface of the inner tube.

A few tips -

You can spray or smear some cooking oil around the inside of the tube, around an arms length down. This will make it doubly difficult for the squirrel to escape.
If you are planing to dispatch the squirrel, the easiest way to do this is to hold a hessian/burlap bag over the open end of the tube and simply tip the squirrel out into the bag. A heavy whack with a piece of wood etc should kill the squirrel quickly and humanely.
If you are hunting squirrel for food, make several traps and set it in several locations
http://knowledgeweighsnothing.com/how-t ... rrel-trap/

My neighbors couldnt bring themselves to kill the squirrels so they would come get me. After a while I gave them a can of starting fluid (ether) and they put the squirrels to sleep for a looooong time.