squirrel control

[arjimlad]

On 08/09/2024 at 11:14, Fisheruk said:

One unlucky grey from yesterday. I was heading back to my car and I heard this female calling. I picked it up in the canopy with my thermal. It was lying flat on a branch near the top of a circa 200 year old oak tree. The thermal blanket was just picking its head up. Fortunately for me, but not the squirrel. There was a fallen tree I could sit on and position my Trigger sticks comfortably resting my 22 year old FAC Verminator Mk1 in .22.  Through my MTC Copperhead which I zero at 50m I could clearly see the head and two ears. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for the squirrel it was ranged at 50m! Exhale, wait two seconds, squeeze the trigger and down it came with a thump, landing at the base of the tree. A satisfying shot!

 

Very satisfying, that sort of shot. 

[Mice!]

Just been checking my notes, I've had sessions at the end of October and start of November,  but my shifts, the weather and DIY mean I've not been out as much as I'd like.

I've gone out when possible to top feeders up, but if I know I'm not shooting it's not that important.

I've shot two feeders today with my new gun, these feeders have been practically dead since possibly August/September with just nothing about so I've not been out to them.

Well I went and put feed out Wednesday,  expected it to be too soon to shoot today,  but the landowners said they'd been getting bulbs dug up, but didn't think to mention it 🤦

I checked last night and there was a few inches of feed gone, brolley up ready for morning,  but the forecast didn't look good, not at all.

Alarm went off and I thought no chance,  it sounded awful out, so instead of getting out before first light it was about 9am, the wind wasn't too bad at this point 😳

There were 5 Roe sheltering as I arrived,  a squirrel on the drive and I'm not in the wood yet.

My thinking was get in under the brolley and see what shows up.

Except it had blown over, and everything was soaked.

Bit moist 🤣🤣

And I couldn't right things because there were three squirrels up above the feeder tree, one on the ground, only the trees were swaying, and getting worse!

But for the wind and rain I'd have had three down in a minute,  but I'm leaning on a moving tree, aiming at a squirrel in a moving tree, with branches moving about, the squirrels tail was blowing back over its head, three to be seen with no clear shot.

Then the rain started blowing in sideways!! I don't think I've ever shot in such bad conditions, the trees looked like water features with the water cascading down them, so much so that there was foam at the bases!

First squirrel shot was on the ground which scattered the others,  next two were on the feeder, but now I can't see, some tissue out of a pocket to wipe the scope, but it's gone really dark, but the wind dropped. 

The next was up above the feeder and plummeted down.

I was thinking that would be it, but there was another above on the ground but I couldn't line it up, so moved left to where I would have been sat.

Tiny little thing scratching about,  final sat up and Whack, only it bounced out of sight, I gave it a couple of minutes then went to look as nothing else showed, just the fifth I couldn't find, but then one popped up in a Sycamore looking very muddy and wet, had to be the same one, but I've no idea how it got up there, gun up Whack and down it came,  I was almost stood on it but I couldn't see ìt!

With that I packed up and headed to the next wood, the wind had gone and the sun was out, perfect. 

Made my way in and a couple scattered from the feeder, this had been empty for at least two months I'd guess and they were on it in days, guessing the fat balls and Walnuts helped 😁

Nothing to hide me, I just sat still with my head net on. First one was quickly back in, on the feeder side on, and I missed it completely 😳😳 I'm zeroed at 25, feeder is 20 and I'm shooting slightly downwards 🤦

Next one was in, took something and ran! Another came in, sat up under the feeder , touch of hold under and Whack. 

Next one was off the feeder but it took ages getting there, I had it lined up a dozen times but it just wouldn't settle enough,  it finally went onto the feeder, held under again and off it fell 😁

Another came in, headed for the feeder but froze looking towards me, I had it lined up, it was between 25-30mtrs on the ground, it held still and I took the shot, just as it moved, nothing worse, instead of a Whack there was a thump, it had turned to its right so the pellet struck it below the ribs in the flank, I'd already reloaded, and this rifle is super smooth, with exactly the same positioning as the R10, the squirrel sort of bunny hopped up the tree, no time for the perfect shot, as soon as I had it clear of branches I hit it again and this time it just fell off the trunk like it had let go, never nice needing that follow up shot, but squirrels move.

Three down, I cleared up, very little feed gone but I topped up, I was going to head up into the wood, but the rain started coming in again and I just thought nope!

Three skinny youngsters. 

Gun performed perfectly,  it seems quieter than the R10, could be the longer barrel,  could be the different pellets, these Barracuda Match shot really well with good clean kills, the Thwack on impact didn't seem as loud.

I did go to another feeder,  I has plenty of options but it just wasn't a day for going in the big woods, not with the wind the way it was. I didn't see anything else,  but 8 on the rifles first outing will do very nicely 👌 

[arjimlad]

@Mice! great  work - well done going out in such awful conditions!

 

[Mice!]

18 minutes ago, arjimlad said:

@Mice! great  work - well done going out in such awful conditions!

 

Cheers fella 👍 

[Fisheruk]

Last week I asked around our local group to see who would be interested in making up a trapping team over Christmas and New Year on a young people’s activity ground, which was going to be free from young folk until 4th January.

To my surprise 10 folk answered the call.

10 days ago we met and put down 12 traps and started pre-baiting. 
 

We were planning to set the traps live last Sunday but we decided better delay because of the storm. 
 

So now we are checking, dispatching and re baiting morning and afternoon until 3rd January when we will do the final dispatch and remove the traps.

We will then revert to shooting to feeders, between the young folks activities, which is not ideal. 
 

This Christmas Day two of the team without family commitments are doing morning and evening checks. 
In the first two days we’ve had 14 squirrels.

This wood is within 500 metres of a Red Squirrel Wood.

[Fisheruk]

We are running a small trap line and have been wondering what has been emptying the bait from the traps, the answer came when I found this Jay in one of the traps this afternoon.

 

[Mice!]

Well I'm going to keep it short 😳😳

I needed three squirrels today to take me to 100 off this plot, the feed was well down last week and the weather looked better today than the forecast for tomorrow so it was an early start and off up the M6.

At least when it's dark and miserable this time of year it means you don't need to start silly early. 

I was set up for around 8 then the wait began, first squirrel slid down a tree at my 11 o'clock,  moved in and stopped on a log, as several before have, I was on it, waiting,  waiting,  Pfft Whack and it's down. 0850

The second came down the feeder tree, round the back of the tree, then poked it's head out under the left feeder, it sat there for a while, but the Nuthatch's zipping in and out where covering it, then it popped up onto the feeder roof looking my way,, very still,,, Pfft Whack and down it goes.

0910, no head movement just lay there but it's front legs seemed to be twitching occasionally so I hit it again making it roll over.

(Big male weighed 775 & female 600)

Then it was just the birds, Nuthatch's,  Robin's,  Blue, Great, Coal and Willow tits, a pair of Stock doves, Tree Creepers, female Chaffinch. 

The wind was picking up and it wasn't warm, I had a bit of a look around but saw nothing else, packed up and looked down the lane hoping for another one, but there was nothing,  so 99 it was.

I went off to Micks wood, cars and walkers, then Big wood,  filled up but walkers again so called it a day at that.

I've just had a quick add up and I've taken 215 greys this year, 3 places were well down on last year, but one was up plus the new patch.

cheers chaps, hope Xmas was good and enjoy the New year 👍

[Fisheruk]

4 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Well I'm going to keep it short 😳😳

I needed three squirrels today to take me to 100 off this plot, the feed was well down last week and the weather looked better today than the forecast for tomorrow so it was an early start and off up the M6.

At least when it's dark and miserable this time of year it means you don't need to start silly early. 

I was set up for around 8 then the wait began, first squirrel slid down a tree at my 11 o'clock,  moved in and stopped on a log, as several before have, I was on it, waiting,  waiting,  Pfft Whack and it's down. 0850

The second came down the feeder tree, round the back of the tree, then poked it's head out under the left feeder, it sat there for a while, but the Nuthatch's zipping in and out where covering it, then it popped up onto the feeder roof looking my way,, very still,,, Pfft Whack and down it goes.

0910, no head movement just lay there but it's front legs seemed to be twitching occasionally so I hit it again making it roll over.

(Big male weighed 775 & female 600)

Then it was just the birds, Nuthatch's,  Robin's,  Blue, Great, Coal and Willow tits, a pair of Stock doves, Tree Creepers, female Chaffinch. 

The wind was picking up and it wasn't warm, I had a bit of a look around but saw nothing else, packed up and looked down the lane hoping for another one, but there was nothing,  so 99 it was.

I went off to Micks wood, cars and walkers, then Big wood,  filled up but walkers again so called it a day at that.

I've just had a quick add up and I've taken 215 greys this year, 3 places were well down on last year, but one was up plus the new patch.

cheers chaps, hope Xmas was good and enjoy the New year 👍

Well done, you’ve had a good year. Yes, there are some whoppers about this year.

[Morkin]

Well done to you all for a very successful year on the squirrels, it make my 57 a small amount, but they all count, I just want to get 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣in a year, That’s my aim. Can I take this opportunity to wish you All a Happy New Year 🍷🍷🍷👍, And to break this number we have achieved this year, Take care🥂🥂🥂

[Fisheruk]

Well, I was out this morning and took a 740 grams male from a feeder in a private garden (a mere 12.5 acres) and this afternoon checked the traps in a young people’s Activity Ground (35 acres) where we removed another 475 grams female. We’ve had 64 greys out of the private garden since we started in September and 92 from the Activity Ground this year (34 trapped in the last week whilst it’s been closed.)

That has brought our local group total to 1000 for the year.

I’ve just had a message from the lady who owns the wood with a Red Squirrel colony in it to say she saw a grey squirrel this afternoon. I’ll be out at crack of dawn to see if I can remove it and keep the Reds protected. We just have to keep at em.

[Mice!]

17 hours ago, Fisheruk said:

I’ve just had a message from the lady who owns the wood with a Red Squirrel colony in it to say she saw a grey squirrel this afternoon. I’ll be out at crack of dawn to see if I can remove it and keep the Reds protected. We just have to keep at em.

Let's hope it's sorted,  where are they moving in from?

[Fisheruk]

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Let's hope it's sorted,  where are they moving in from?

I’ve removed the 500 grams female from the wood this morning. You know the area well and there are still too many folk who will not allow us to deal with the greys on their land. However the message is getting about and another woodland owner asked me if I could remove the greys from his woodland on the other side of the village. I popped in to check the feeder in that wood this morning and found that the feeder has not been used at all. That tells me that we’ve removed most of the greys from that patch, having had 27 greys out of the wood starting in April this year, the last grey removed from this wood was 21st October. That’s over 2 months free of significant greys.

We are just coming to the end of a trapping program in another wood 500 metres away. We started to shooting to feeders in February this year and removed 56 squirrels up to the start of the trapping session. We have removed 34 greys in the last week and the owner had a two hour walk through the wood, without seeing a squirrel!

This morning after removing the grey which was reported seen yesterday in the Red Squirrel wood I had the pleasure of watching this bright Red on one of our feeders.

 

[Mice!]

14 minutes ago, Fisheruk said:

I’ve removed the 500 grams female from the wood this morning. You know the area well and there are still too many folk who will not allow us to deal with the greys on their land. However the message is getting about and another woodland owner asked me if I could remove the greys from his woodland on the other side of the village. I popped in to check the feeder in that wood this morning and found that the feeder has not been used at all. That tells me that we’ve removed most of the greys from that patch, having had 27 greys out of the wood starting in April this year, the last grey removed from this wood was 21st October. That’s over 2 months free of significant greys.

We are just coming to the end of a trapping program in another wood 500 metres away. We started to shooting to feeders in February this year and removed 56 squirrels up to the start of the trapping session. We have removed 34 greys in the last week and the owner had a two hour walk through the wood, without seeing a squirrel!

This morning after removing the grey which was reported seen yesterday in the Red Squirrel wood I had the pleasure of watching this bright Red on one of our feeders.

 

Great results 👏 

[Fisheruk]

Just now, Mice! said:

Great results 👏 

It’s all down to teamwork. We have a great group of dedicated folk and we share the places where we can deal with the greys. I went into the wood where we were tipped off about the grey yesterday, but another three of the team went into another wood this morning, where we have four feeders and had removed 200 squirrels so far this year. They removed another 4 squirrels this morning. I just wouldn’t be able to cover the grounds enough and keep up the action to this extent without the work of the team. We are a mixture of folk, some like me who are retired and then the energetic folk who still have a day job. We work well as a team and with the use of WhatsApp groups we know where and when folk can get out and which grounds needs extra attention. I’m out again this afternoon to check the traps in another wood, which will complete an eventful year, where I have also been full time caring for my wife, such is life.

[dogger]

Out today still a bit rough from new year 🥳but managed one 😊

[Fisheruk]

We have just concluded a two week trapping session in a Young People’s activity camp site. We have restricted access, as we are not allowed on site when there are young folk using the facilities. We get a weekly update of activity and have to work in between. Most weekends are normally fully booked and so there is typically only one free day per week. In the summer we can come in at crack of dawn and be away by 8.30am, unless there are overnight camping groups.

We had ten members in the team and were able to cover through Christmas and New Year.

We removed 43 greys in the trapping session and that brought our total for 2025 to 93.

We will start shooting to feeders again next week and our trapping today starts us on four for this site. We are only talking about an area of woodland of 3 hectares margins around camping fields.

 

 

[Dougy]

Just knocked up 3 of these so i can fatten up the grey's, putting up in the morning and will take the 22lr while im out. 3mm SS plate should hopefully withstand the shots, Jar of nuts inside. 

[Mice!]

47 minutes ago, Dougy said:

Just knocked up 3 of these so i can fatten up the grey's, putting up in the morning and will take the 22lr while im out. 3mm SS plate should hopefully withstand the shots, Jar of nuts inside. 

Not sure if 3mm will stop the 22LR, but the squirrel will slow it down 👍

[Dougy]

44 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Not sure if 3mm will stop the 22LR, but the squirrel will slow it down 👍

It does make a bit of an impact, they will be positioned so majority of the shots will be side on. But i bet the little swines wont chew through it 😃

[Fisheruk]

2 hours ago, Dougy said:

Just knocked up 3 of these so i can fatten up the grey's, putting up in the morning and will take the 22lr while im out. 3mm SS plate should hopefully withstand the shots, Jar of nuts inside. 

The 22lr will make a hell of a clang with a 22lr and you will end up with a mega ding. I back up 3mm steel onto 22mm timber which absorbs the energy but you can still see the impact. A 17 HMR will go straight through.

[Dougy]

28 minutes ago, Fisheruk said:

The 22lr will make a hell of a clang with a 22lr and you will end up with a mega ding. I back up 3mm steel onto 22mm timber which absorbs the energy but you can still see the impact. A 17 HMR will go straight through.

I'm sure you remember the holes I've accidentally put in the targets with all different calibres.. it's only 10mm ply but cheap and replaceable. 

 

[Fisheruk]

1 hour ago, Dougy said:

I'm sure you remember the holes I've accidentally put in the targets with all different calibres.. it's only 10mm ply but cheap and replaceable. 

 

You and me too!

 

[Dougy]

32 minutes ago, Fisheruk said:

You and me too!

 

The good old days. 👍I remember it well.  I will Start and add to the tally on here from tomorrow. I doubt we will see any Reds this far down but we will help the other wildlife in the wood. 

We make a very small impact on the population in the area, in a few months last year we shot around 100. We will spend a bit more time this year and jeep a tally. 

will see you on the range or shooting show 👍

[Mice!]

12 hours ago, Dougy said:

We make a very small impact on the population in the area, in a few months last year we shot around 100. We will spend a bit more time this year and jeep a tally. 

Most folk aren't near reds unfortunately but you'll be helping the birds 👍

[Fisheruk]

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Most folk aren't near reds unfortunately but you'll be helping the birds 👍

But there have been recent verified sightings in Cheshire and North Staffordshire, some around Keele services. It is thought some may drop off there having hopped off at the truckstop when a truck from Scotland or Cumbria has a break.