Squirrel? hunting.

[Old Savage]

Seems Indianagirl has gotten into squirrel hunting with her trusty 410. Maybe more properly control lest they take the place over.



Here is the current body count

[FatJackDurham]

Strange looking squirrels....... Look more like the love child of a Toad and and a Chipmonk.... How do you even see'em with all that camoflage? Those must be the Western States Tactical Squirrel...

How'd they taste?

[gamekeeper]

Heck, they're small targets how many do you need to make squirrel stew?..

[RIHMFIRE]

Alvin!

[ollogger]

I shot one with a 375 H&H one time
You could really see that it was dead
I would call them a stripped gopher, other locals may differ
they dig the heck out of every thing

Dang it !!!!! forgot to say nice shot gun
ollogger

[Blaine]

Nice shotgun for chippies.....

[Tycer]

Alvin!

+1

[Old Savage]

You know what they say logger - use enough gun.

[Mike Armstrong]

Shotgun massacree! Good on her!

Probably "Richardson's Ground Squirrels" or a close relative. Most of the Western part of the country calls this kind of critter a "gopher," a "squeak," or a "picket pin." Generically they are called "Spermophiles" meaning (not quite what you think) "seed lovers." Great targets.

Before anybody gets out the Fry Baby, tho, first google "California ground squirrel diseases"! (Or does "Black Death" get your attention?).

My first ground squirrel control was also with a .410 when I was a shaky pre-teen. My only .22, a Remington 514 single shot had such a lousy trigger that I couldn't hit a barn from the inside at first; later I mastered it. My Dad gave me a dime for each squeak I blasted, so it was a winning proposition at 1940's .410 prices!

[Old Savage]

These creatures are in Indiana where Indianagirl is with her 410.

[Blaine]

This particular chippy is a "Least Chipmunk"

[Old Savage]

That looks like the creature.

[piller]

When I was a kid, we had a few of those move into the backyard. My older brother cleaned them out with his Crossman 760 and a few pellets. I spotted for him and he did the shooting since he had a pellet gun that would do the job. When hit in the ribs, those ground squirrels would jump about 2 to 3 feet straight up. Hits were easy to see. I watched whether they ran off and hid or died in place as he reloaded. It was a lot of fun for as long as it lasted.

[MrMurphy]

I was going to say chipmunk.


If you want a real case of 'used more than enough gun', while not quite in the .375-vs-squirrel range....

Years back, around 20 now, friend of my dad's was shooting in the CA desert. Mojave, visibility of 10-15 miles and effectively, the entire place was his backstop, nothing around.

He was a ham radio guy and had a mag mount (antenna on a magnetic roof mount), a brand new one. About $150 i think.

Well they've been shooting on their informal little range they had set up, everything from .22 through .458 and 10 ga.

One guy looks over and there's a pair of dragonflies mating attached to his antenna. So the guy in question jokingly says "I'm going to save her!", checks his backstop, and fires at the male dragonfly with a scoped .30-06.

Except he'd forgotten that rifle was shooting a little to the left and he hadn't corrected the zero.

He blew a corkscrew into the (straight) antenna, ripped it off the roof and the cable going to the radio's the only thing that saved it from heading into Arizona......

Nobody ever saw where the dragonflies went.

[Pete44ru]

Seems Indianagirl has gotten into squirrel hunting with her trusty 410.
Maybe more properly control lest they take the place over

Here is the current body count

Yep - Alvin, Theodore, Simon, Brittany & Eleanor. Where's Jeanette ? .


.

[Old Savage]

She got her too - just not in the picture. She sent me a message Crista - 6, Chipmunks - 0

[Mike Armstrong]

Oh yeah, those are what makes the "Gopher" in "Gopher State"!

[gamekeeper]

I hope Indianagirl is keeping that .410 barrel clean, did she ever get that Bore Snake

[Indianagirl]

You guys are just too funny! Gamekeeper, I didn't think about stew, but I did wonder how many it would take to make a coat.

Ya know, I felt awful, just awful at first, and had to keep reminding myself that they make such a mess of dog food, and chix food as well as tearing up my yard, and the garage.
But on the other hand....who knew it would be such fun!

[Blaine]

You guys are just too funny! Gamekeeper, I didn't think about stew, but I did wonder how many it would take to make a coat.

Ya know, I felt awful, just awful at first, and had to keep reminding myself that they make such a mess of dog food, and chix food as well as tearing up my yard, and the garage.
But on the other hand....who knew it would be such fun!

It's too bad they became destructive.....I really like seeing them scamper about. But, they will chew the wiring in your vehicle, too

[Indianagirl]

oh my gosh yes...they are a hoot to watch chasing
each other around out in the yard....away from the house.

[Indianagirl]

I hope Indianagirl is keeping that .410 barrel clean, did she ever get that Bore Snake

Yes, I do have a Bore Snake, Gamekeeper, tho I can admit with some chagrin, that early on, when I joined the forum, I had
no idea what a Bore Snake was, when you asked if I used one.

[gamekeeper]

I hope Indianagirl is keeping that .410 barrel clean, did she ever get that Bore Snake

Yes, I do have a Bore Snake, Gamekeeper, tho I can admit with some chagrin, that early on, when I joined the forum, I had
no idea what a Bore Snake was, when you asked if I used one.

I'm glad to hear you're looking after that new pump action do you still have the old single shot?

[Batman1939]

Actually, those are thirteen-lined (I didn't count the stripes myself) ground squirrels. They are NOT chipmunks-which have stripes on the sides of the face.

Both ground squirrels and chipmunks are members of the squirrel family- Order-Rodentia; Family Sciuridae.

Hope that clears it up.

[Old Savage]

Thanks Batman - I will now remove the question mark and lighten up on Ig for shooting Alvin.

[FatJackDurham]

Actually, those are thirteen-lined (I didn't count the stripes myself) ground squirrels. They are NOT chipmunks-which have stripes on the sides of the face.

Both ground squirrels and chipmunks are members of the squirrel family- Order-Rodentia; Family Sciuridae.

Hope that clears it up.

How do we know you are really Batman?

[Old Savage]

Could be the Joker???? !!!

[Old Savage]

Whether he is Batman or the Joker - pics on searches do confirm he is correct about the 13 stripe ground squirrel vs the chipmunk.

[gamekeeper]

Actually, those are thirteen-lined (I didn't count the stripes myself) ground squirrels. They are NOT chipmunks-which have stripes on the sides of the face.

Both ground squirrels and chipmunks are members of the squirrel family- Order-Rodentia; Family Sciuridae.

Hope that clears it up.

How do we know you are really Batman?

That remark really cracked me up.... of course he's the REAL Batman, what other forum would a super hero join
Thanks Batman for the information.

[3leggedturtle]

Lil bassturds, only show up around places you cant pop'em.

[Indianagirl]

I'm glad to hear you're looking after that new pump action do you still have the old single shot?[/quote]

I do still have it. It was my dad's and my brother has had it in safe keeping. My bro remembers shooting with my dad, and tho I have no
such memories, I do have an appreciation for it. So it is on loan to me as long as I want to have it, or till he asks for it back.

And Batman, thankyou for clarifiying chipmunks versus ground squirrels. Somehow I feel better knowing they were none of Alvins close relatives.

[Mokwaw]

Batman1939 has it right....13 lined ground squirrels....when I was still working the tank yard was infested with them....they riddled the tank dikes really bad....it became part of my duty to shoot them with my scoped air rifle...since it was not a firearm and used .17 soft lead pellets the company deemed it safe for use as was no fire/explosion hazard and the pellets could not damage the tank shells and pipe connections. They have since started using professional pest controller that uses poison......and you no longer see many red tail hawks and owls around there anymore.

[Pete44ru]

I did wonder how many it would take to make a coat.

Exactly 1,732-1/2........





.

[Old Savage]

Mokwaw - that happened at the golf course where I play.

[Indianagirl]

I did wonder how many it would take to make a coat.

Exactly 1,732-1/2........





.

Was that horizontally or longitudinally?