BB Guns

[Appleseed]

I have a squirrel problem and don't want to kill them, and it's not in season. Those varmints steal the bird feeders. I can shoot a pistol or rifle, need a BB rifle or pistol that is accurate to 25ft or so and don't have to pump a handle.

Live in the country and can shoot out the back rooms at the pests. They also get in the house garden in spring and summer.
I think they can be "trained." 22 rat shot would kill them so that's out.

[Stumpkiller]

I have an "Adult" sized Daisy Red Ryder ("you'll shoot yer eye out") that I picked up recently. Use it for plinking when I take the dog for a walk in our back woods before work. 280 fps (chronographed by me) and not squirrel medicine for killing but it sure would annoy them. Certainly accurate enough and likely lethal up close. A lot of fun. I put a "red dot" front sight from a Daisy 105 on it.

Never really a good idea to shoot anything you don't intend to kill. There is a reason it is #2 in "The Rules". Even from that Red Ryder the BBs will penetrate squirrel hide. Better to kill them than have them crawl off and die of infection.

I also have a Benjamin break-barrel w/Mantis AO air-rifle scope and that shoots .177 pellets to 1,100 fps (a hair shy of the "1,250fps" claimed).

If a squirrel was bothering me that's where I'd go.

[celltech]

Just trap them and haul them off far away...although more will likely move in.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

If you don't want to kill them, just put out more bird food.;)
Talked to a guy that pruned/trimmed my trees. He grows LOTS of flowers for the Farmers Market. I asked him what he does about the bugs getting after his flowers?? He said "I grow enough for both of us".:cool::cool:

[big honkin jeep]

If you speak to your local Department of Natural Resources/ Department of Wildlife Management you may be able to get a depredation/nuisance/pest permit. It may be easier to just kill them as a nuisance or pest.
I had some that were causing prroperty damage and wanted to trap them, but "doing it right by involving the authorities (Ga. DNR) was a big hassle. In order to get a permit trap squirrels "out of season" and release them I had to have written permission of a landowner with certain acreage requirements and they had to call the DNR office to confirm I had an appropriate area with permission to release them. That or "kill them humanely in the trap" were the options offered to me.
Training them with a "stinging reminder" will only make them smarter about avoiding you, and will most likely only result in your frustration and make it difficult to "remove" them later.
A Benjamin 392 .22cal pellet rifle is a good one (my favorite for pests) but very effectively lethal on squirrels.
And just something to note about "pellet/BB guns" dont be fooled by the velocity hype around high powered spring piston rifles their reverse recoil can make them hard to shoot accurately and many of the velocity claims are based on dieseling. (oil compressing and combusting under pressure in the compression chamber like a diesel engine) I have a a small collection of air rifles (15 or so) and much prefer "pump" pnumatic rifles for their accuracy and variable power.
Good luck

[NicfromAlabama]

I agree with the above. Don't shoot them unless you intend to kill them. Like already said, no matter what you do, others will move in whatever you decide to do.

[ninner]

Kill them and eat em.


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[Bill2905]

You may have to learn to co-exist with the squirrels if you don't want to harm them. Give them their own feeder at ground level and see how that works. You may enjoy watching them once they are not emptying the bird feeders.

The squirrels that kept raiding my garden didn't fare as well.

[kohler]

Flashback! Between fourth and fifth grade I snapped the cheap plastic stock off my Crosman 760 which meant I got to shoot it like the tv show Rifleman. Plus a real bonus was living in W TN along the blackbird flyway where there literally were millions of histoplasmosis pooping screaming birds in the woods behind the house. Doubling my chances of impact I would load two BB’s at a time. Of course being a numbers game it was just a matter of time before I mishandled the shortened gun. My hand moved in front of the barrel which resulted in a hospital visit.

Now my mom being a fan of Western’s too during the ER visit said in the movies when guys get shot they cry out for their mom. I thought ya, if mom is a four letter word you were on my mind.

Now living in WI my backyard drops into a river, golf course, and preserve. I’ve made my peace with the daily and nightly wildlife that visit the food I put out. Plus I can watch western’s without the interruption of running to slide open a window for occasional pot shots.

Lesson learned. All the Savage plastic stocks have been replaced with SSS laminate.

[Fuj']

Mix hot pepper seeds and some powder into your feed.

[Appleseed]

I tried all these suggestions except the BB rifle. I'ts out of season and they have nested. I tried a corn feeder off from the bird feeder, they prefer sunflower seeds to corn...the little rat bastards. This week got a HUGE feeder. They are brutes towards the poor birds. Guess the pepper powder worked best, but some of these guys must have no taste. There is no accounting for taste...or lack thereof.

"mom is a four letter word" ...haha.

[GaCop]

They're a PIA here in middle Georgia tearing up the yard and digging up my wife's plants in the garden. I use a piston powered 22 air rifle with a Nikon scope and dispatch the little tree rats whenever I see them. I use a 14.3 grain pellet and can take them out to 35 yards without any difficulty.

[ninner]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200627/4bc372b519070d44a9c5031550c0bb0e.jpg
Full auto and uses paintball co2. Squirrels worst nightmare.


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[Robinhood]

I killed a urban squirrel that had 4 pellets inbedded in him. He was infected badly and would have died a long painful death if I had not put him out of his misery.

[J.Baker]

Just need one of these Droll Yankees Flipper. The entertainment you'll get watching them get flung off is worth the cost of the feeder. Most get flung off when it starts spinning, but now and then you'll get a determined little cuss like in the video below.


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

[bassJAM]

Old thread, but .22 shotshells use 12 shot and lose their energy extremely fast. They won't kill a squirrel past 5 or so feet, and past 12-15 ft you will probably just leave a mark. At 20 feet, if you even hit him, it'd be about perfect to scare him off. That might be the easiest option.

[godale]

I wanted a BB gun ad a kid the death of John Lennon stopped that with mom being anti gun anyway


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[JeepsAndGuns]

What about a slingshot and a handful of pebbles out of the driveway?
Would be fun to practice and see how good you could get, while also scaring off the tree rats. You can adjust how powerful your shots are by how far back you pull it. So it would be easy to keep from killing them.

[Appleseed]

I sponsor kids fishing days at the farm pond, they get grilled dogs and grandpa and grandma watch over the four, all I do is mow close on Saturday and set up the grill.

Twice this past weekend several folks on the front porch commented on my "cute pet baby squirrel" hiding in the ancient box-woods about three feet away.

Ya'll quit feeding him crackers. Besides, he's a midget, not a baby, and he's a pest! And he's making a mess in the reloading room attic. Have a small coon taking up residence nearby, he was out in daylight in the big yard maple tree Saturday morning. Maybe I could trap both and turn them loose at a neighbor's farm I don't like.

Since the old black crippled arithmetic dog has passed on, seems every wayward varmint looking for a free garbage can handout is staking a claim here. We called him arithmetic dog because he put three feet down and carried his right front one.

[dye7barrel]

Mix hot pepper seeds and some powder into your feed.

A couple trips to the bird feeder filled with pepper will solve the problem.