.45 1, squirrel 0

[Airscrew]

Reminds me of a talk I had with my dad about 20 years ago.   When I was stationed in Idaho we used to go out to the desert and shoot whistle pigs (Thompson ground squirels, kinda like small pararie dogs)  there were hundreds of them everywhere during the spring and summer and I and my shootin buddies would take our guns (take my marlin .22 with 3x9 bushnell) and go shooting.   We'd kill about 20 or so at a time.   anyway my dad came for a visit and we were talking one day and one of the guys came by to see if I wanted to go shooting.  We were talking and he said something like
"so what do you do with these whistle pigs after you shoot them"  
"Huh, nothing, its just target practice really"  
"oh, so you dont eat them?"
"Huh, no they're to small"  
"so why do you need to kill these squirrels"  
"well, they make a lot of holes in the ground and the cows come along and step in the holes and they can break their legs"
"Hmmm, sounds like fun, very sporting   "  
(i think he may have actually rolled his eyes.)  well it made me think.  My dad knows I hunted, shot deer, duck, coyotes, grouse, and rabbits.  but in all those cases we ate what we shot.  I have a lot of respect for what my dad thinks and Lets just say that I decided not to use small animals I dont plan to eat as target practice, unless of course its a snake.  only recently have I stopped to identify the snake before I kill it, cotton mouth or rattlesnake its gonna die,  bull and garter snakes have free passage.

[lazs2]

so what part of "destructive pests" did your friend not get?

What we do here in kalifornia is mostly just use poison grain on em.   they eat it then wander off and die a horrible death...  I am not sure if this is any more "sporting" than shooting em but shooting em at least is good target practice for handguns.

as for eating em... the buzzards and other critters eat em.   They got to eat too.

lazs

[JimBeam]

we used to shoot the hell out of raccoons at my deer lease but we traded them to an old man down the road for moonshine;)

[47Hooker]

Squirrels are way over populated here.  They are destructive and will eat the wires out of your car.  They get in attics and tear up insulation and wiring.   If anyone here has a genuine problem with killing them, I will glady catch them live and send every one to you to release around your house and cars.   (come out N.I.M.B.Y.'s)

Yes, I kill every one I see.  If it is a clean kill, it can be eaten like rabbits, deer, wild hog, turkey, dove and even some snakes.   These are things every man should know how to do.  We are all hunter-gatherers.  The instinct is in you as well, that is why you play this here game and not online bingo.

[Airscrew]

Originally posted by lazs2
so what part of "destructive pests" did your friend not get?

What we do here in kalifornia is mostly just use poison grain on em.   they eat it then wander off and die a horrible death...  I am not sure if this is any more "sporting" than shooting em but shooting em at least is good target practice for handguns.

as for eating em... the buzzards and other critters eat em.   They got to eat too.

lazs

Not sure who you were talking to, but if it was me,  
1. it was my dad.
2. It was 1985 and I dont remember if in Idaho they were classified as a destructive pest.  I do remember lots of people complaining about them overrunning the golf course.

I dont have a problem with anyone shooting destructive pests.  If I owned or leased the land and had cattle on said land and I was worried about destructive pests or diseases those pests carry then I would either go shoot the small, defensless little pests myself or have someone do it for me.   I just decided that they didnt threaten me and I didnt need to kill them anymore.

[Yeager]

I have  adopted a "dont kill anything that doesnt need to be killed" attitude.  This includes insects and even individual blades of grass.  However, once I have determined that a need to kill does exist, I pursue the game with all possible enthusiasm and determination.

A few years back I was out target shooting in the nearby foothills and just as I was about ready to quit for the day I decided to take a long shot with my Glock19 (9mm) at a 5 gallon empty Jerry can on trail on a hill probably a good 250 yards away and maybe 50 feet above my elevation.  I took deliberate aim and fired off one round hitting the Jerry can and making it fall down a few feet from where it originally rested.  I took two more shots and each time I hit that silly jerry can.  Pistols, when aimed slowly and deliberately can reach out a good ways.

[Skuzzy]

I have the attitude, "If it ain't bothering me, I ain't gonna bother it".

We have a ton of squirrels in my neighborhood, but if you kill one, your likely to get strung up by the neighbors.

You see, the squirrels do us a service, in our neighborhood.  The area is loaded with pecan trees.  The squirrels haul off these pecans as fast as they ripen.  Everyone is grateful for it.  Keeps the neighborhood clear of dead pecans all over the place.

The cats have fun chasing them too.  Good exercise for the cat.

Never had a problem with car wiring or them getting into anyone's attic.  I suppose they like where they live as the neighborhood allows that area to remain natural.  Periodically, we clear it a bit, but they do not seem to mind.

I guess we have struck a symbiotic bargain with the little critters.  They keep the nuts off the streets and we keep their yard cleared.  NOw if we could train em to keep the real nuts off the streets, we would have it really good.  

[Ripsnort]

As a kid, I used to shoot red squirrels all the time, skin them, and tan the hides.  Had probably over 100 of these hides. Threw them all away when we moved. (shrugs)

Red squirrels are pests in Minnesota.

[RAIDER14]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
I have the attitude, "If it ain't bothering me, I ain't gonna bother it".

We have a ton of squirrels in my neighborhood, but if you kill one, your likely to get strung up by the neighbors.

You see, the squirrels do us a service, in our neighborhood.  The area is loaded with pecan trees.  The squirrels haul off these pecans as fast as they ripen.  Everyone is grateful for it.  Keeps the neighborhood clear of dead pecans all over the place.

The cats have fun chasing them too.  Good exercise for the cat.

Never had a problem with car wiring or them getting into anyone's attic.  I suppose they like where they live as the neighborhood allows that area to remain natural.  Periodically, we clear it a bit, but they do not seem to mind.

I guess we have struck a symbiotic bargain with the little critters.  They keep the nuts off the streets and we keep their yard cleared.  NOw if we could train em to keep the real nuts off the streets, we would have it really good.  

Squirrels get run over in my neighborhood usually takes the city a day or 2 to come get the pancake off the road

[Skuzzy]

Happens here as well.  Grapevine is pretty good about getting it picked up though.

[Eagler]

The wife and I rescue squirrels. we have raised 5 so far from babies - feeding them every 4 hours when they are young to releasing them in the backyard where they come back with the neighborhood squirrels which we enjoy hand feeding also ..

after I shot and killed a red-headed wooddonut with a pellet gun at the age of about 14 which made me sick to my stomach right after I did it, I swore I’d never kill uselessly again..

here's rocko - we released him 3 years ago:


the grandbaby and the cage I built:


rocko and squirrel crack: peanut

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Eagler
[/IMG]

Awww! So cute!  I'd never shoot a grey squirrel. They don't do the damage that a red squirrel will do to a cabin when unoccupied.

[Ripsnort]

Oh, and a present for 47hooker.

[Mark Luper]

I like squirrel fried like southern fried chicken. Tastes great. I have never shot one though. I have shot Jack rabbits in New Mexico where they are a serious pest. I felt bad afterward. It was just killing. Havn't done that since.  I have always had a problem pulling the trigger on deer. I quit hunting deer.

I can enjoy hunting and eating birds. I enjoy fishing and eating what I catch. I could probably enjoy hunting and eating squirrel, just never have but I don't think I will ever kill something just for target practice again. There would have to be a really good reason before I did.

[Maverick]

Rip,

You want to move that target up north to the head. That's when you have something left to eat.