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squirrel control


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5 hours ago, sam triple said:

Yes virtually the same as the one I’m using now 

Ok then, I just expect the feed tray to get soaked when I see them like this.

10 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

The Boxer has spoken.

 

One to the Boxer and one to the trusty old AA S200.  Thos little short 177 Mosquitos do the job in spades, just need to load one at a time in the magazine which not a problem for me as I will either be in the Land Rover or in one of the cabins/blinds.

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Nicely done, have you tried loading the pellets backwards from the front of the magazine?

If your going to have to load one pellet at a time you might as well get a single shot adapter,  it would be easier. 

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1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Ok then, I just expect the feed tray to get soaked when I see them like this.

Nicely done, have you tried loading the pellets backwards from the front of the magazine?

If your going to have to load one pellet at a time you might as well get a single shot adapter,  it would be easier. 

All trial and error , as the trees are in leaf nothing has got wet even though we’ve had some pretty heavy storms ,this well may change come winter though , any other ideas are welcome though 

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2 hours ago, Mice! said:

Ok then, I just expect the feed tray to get soaked when I see them like this.

Nicely done, have you tried loading the pellets backwards from the front of the magazine?

If your going to have to load one pellet at a time you might as well get a single shot adapter,  it would be easier. 

It is not difficult under controlled conditions. In the Landie, pellets sit on the dash...fire shot....pull back action...remove mag....insert pellet and put mag back...close action.  IF another tree rat decideds to come sit on the flip top bench, then by the time it has selected a peanut or maize grain, the cross hairs will already be waiting.    The bullpup is real handy in the Landy, just lays across my lap waiting for next customer. A full length rifle takes a bit of organising..

I will try loading a few from the other side, although to be honest I am more than satisfied the way these little Mossies group and they hit hard. This first one just went down and stayed down, didn't flip flop about like a normal head shot.

See how we go tomorrow morning at the golf club...new flip top position...been there for a week, so hope they have found it. Great spot as I can drive within 15yrds and park under some trees, although my Landy blends pretty well. 

 

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2 hours ago, sam triple said:

All trial and error , as the trees are in leaf nothing has got wet even though we’ve had some pretty heavy storms ,this well may change come winter though , any other ideas are welcome though 

I would just put something like a canopy half way up, so it covers the feed area, strong enough so the squirrels can sit on it though.

1 hour ago, Walker570 said:

will try loading a few from the other side

This gets suggested for short pellets on BSA mags, personally I'm just avoiding them, there are plenty of 177 pellets to choose from.

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1 hour ago, Mice! said:
2 hours ago, Walker570 said:Great spot as I can drive within 15yrds and park under some trees, although my Landy blends pretty well. 

 

I have just put up another feeder on a golf course where I’ve been doing grey control for 5 years or so.

Called in on Friday morning and saw two young greys running on the fairway by 3 mature Horse Chestnut trees, I fixed a lift lid feeder to the trunk of one of the trees.

These are on the 17th so I have until about 8.00am to shoot there from the luxury of my pickup, before the golfers arrive. 
 

I use the 22lr there and park under some trees, using the driver’s door mirror as support. About 50m away. Flask in the dash holder, very sophisticated. 

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Did the very same this morning but 15 ms away Landy tucked under a laurel bush. The only tree rat to show between 6am and 8am walked down the track and under the Landy and disappeared. Checked the flip top and it had hardly been touched so they had not found it in the last week. Checked the other, original flip top and it was almost empty so still a few there.   Drove back to the exit gate adjacent to the 18th green and in a small mountain ash tree 12-15ft high there were five one hanging out on a branch and it just managed to scarmble back before the corner of the Landy hit it. The place is crawling with 'em and not sure why they have not found the new place. Left the lid open a bit and tipped a couple of handfuls of mixture on the floor at the base of the tree.   Try it again in about ten days.  Will have a look at the original feeder Thursday or Friday but the Landy is in for major surgery on Wednesday...........

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Slid down the wood at 12 noon not expecting to see much.  Sudenly two tree rats came chasing through the trees and eventually went behind me back into the bottom of the wood.  Thirty minutes later one returned and went into a small patch of hazels split from the main hazel plantation by a ride. Didn't give me a chance of a shot.  Now I know from experience that the dinner bell rings about 3pm and stuff happens so I went back down and at 3.20pm precisely a tree rat emerges from this same patch of hazels and suddenly fell over with a .22 inch hole in it's head. Then I got to thinking. I assumed the initial chase was sex based but on checking this one it was a big strong buck and I then came to the conclusion this was a territorial chase. Be interesting to see if the chased tree rat comes back and takes residence.

The photo from my cabin shows the small patch of hazels and if you look carefully you just see said tree rat lying on it's back in the track alongside the log pile.

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10 hours ago, sam triple said:

Only if you have hazel nuts in your wood 🤔

I can't imagine most woods don't have some, I'm seeing road kill which hasn't been around over the last few months, and I'm guessing its squirrels travelling for ripening food.

Two bucks for me this morning,  I was in the wood by 6:35, probably shot the first at 6:45, as soon as I'd shot it another started barking and a woman started calling her dog! I was expecting the dog to appear but it didn't, they moved off and the squirrel made it's way across to the feeder, nervous about it's dead mate, couple of mouthfuls of food settled it and number two hit the floor at 7am.

I gave it an hour but nothing else showed.

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Checked another feeder and put up a camera to see if it's worth shooting Thursday.

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They will travel and in numbers.  I am on almost the same number I shot last year for September in our wood which has 400 hazrls and a couple of walnut trees. Shot two more this afternoon and saw a third.  I have diaries for the last four years which shows an influx just at this time and this started once the hazels grew old enough to produce nuts.

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4 hours ago, Mice! said:

I can't imagine most woods don't have some, I'm seeing road kill which hasn't been around over the last few months, and I'm guessing its squirrels travelling for ripening food.

Two bucks for me this morning,  I was in the wood by 6:35, probably shot the first at 6:45, as soon as I'd shot it another started barking and a woman started calling her dog! I was expecting the dog to appear but it didn't, they moved off and the squirrel made it's way across to the feeder, nervous about it's dead mate, couple of mouthfuls of food settled it and number two hit the floor at 7am.

I gave it an hour but nothing else showed.

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Checked another feeder and put up a camera to see if it's worth shooting Thursday.

Tbh there’s a handful of hazelnuts in amongst the wood , but mainly old ash , beech, holly and yews , took a trip out this evening nothing for almost 2 hours then I had 2 as dusk fell it seem to come alive with them but it was getting to dark to take well aimed shots , then in a matter of minutes they’d gone , 

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14 minutes ago, sam triple said:

Tbh there’s a handful of hazelnuts in amongst the wood , but mainly old ash , beech, holly and yews , took a trip out this evening nothing for almost 2 hours then I had 2 as dusk fell it seem to come alive with them but it was getting to dark to take well aimed shots , then in a matter of minutes they’d gone , 

Well it was worthwhile getting out then 👍and I like being in the woods in the evening. 

I went out about 7pm for a quick look,  the feeder is being well used.

There were two roe near the feeder which is the first time I've seen them on this side of the fence.

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Every sunflower case I picked up had been opened and I know it's not mice voles or birds because they grab and run.

So that's where I'll be tomorrow morning 😁

And I saw a Barn owl as I was setting off for work.😁😁

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The Side Show..the joys of squirrel control. My wife said I don't think the tables need feeding in the wood until I explained that what appeared to be sunflower seeds where just the husks. I have to brush them off every time I do a feed round.

It is fun watching a bull finch youngster shelling one compated with the old cock bird. He can split them as fast ou blink but the youngster juggles them around in it's beak before managing to extract the centre.

Reports that there are still a couple in my wood need dealing with.   11 in September so far.

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Out at 7 this morning and it went to plan, saw a grey 50 yards away making its way to the feeder, a couple of minutes later it was sat taking its last bite.....and that was it for two hours till I got bored and went to the other feeder where nothing stirred for an hour. So thought I would go for a wander around the wood to see what I could find,a grey saw me before I saw it so it was off,came round in a circle back to my last feeder and there was a squirrel on it but I couldn't sneek up without being spotted so they will have to wait for another time. By then it was 12 and getting very hot.

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Yesterday morning, misty for the first time this year.

On arrival I bumped a fox from the feeder tree and sat down at 07.15 in a not hopeful mood after seeing the amount of game bird food around.

Proven wrong half an hour later one approached the bird feeder close to my seat from the roadway, pausing to nose in a  tussock it received one in the cranium . One down, 5 cartwheels later it went into the bramble patch. Over to the night shift for recovery.

15 minutes later 1 came from the right along a fence top freezing for some reason to give an easy shot, a sow kitt.  An hour later 1 appeared from behind the feeder tree and went 30 yds into the Beech canopy ignoring the feeder completely. It's big mistake was returning and looking around the trunk towards my seat, an old sow fat as butter.

No food taken from feeders, no surprise, all seemed just passing through on a mission?

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Four more today, I think Old Man is shipping them into our village:lol: I am already past every years September numbers since I have been concentrating on them.  A whole mix of ages from senior bucks and does to strippling youngsters about as far through as my thumb.  I'll just have to keep whacking and stacking.

I picked a dozen walnuts off the deck which they had biten off.  Going to be a lean walnut year I can see.

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33 minutes ago, old man said:

No food taken from feeders, no surprise, all seemed just passing through on a mission?

That's how my morning went, I was in the wood for 6:30 first squirrel slid through the canopy at 6:45  and vanished,  15 minutes later another came down a trunk behind the feeder and vanished.

One came across the floor, and kept going,  didn't even look at the feeder?

Then two roe popped up about 8mtrs to my left, how do they move so quietly,  they were just suddenly there!

About 8am another came across the ground, it did pause on the patch of sunflower casings under the feeder,  but then kept going?

I went for a look to the right and spotted one in an oak high up on the acorns but it was bouncing around all over the place. 

I new it was going to be a scorcher today so headed for home, squirrels seen but none shot.

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42 minutes ago, Mice! said:

That's how my morning went, I was in the wood for 6:30 first squirrel slid through the canopy at 6:45  and vanished,  15 minutes later another came down a trunk behind the feeder and vanished.

One came across the floor, and kept going,  didn't even look at the feeder?

Then two roe popped up about 8mtrs to my left, how do they move so quietly,  they were just suddenly there!

About 8am another came across the ground, it did pause on the patch of sunflower casings under the feeder,  but then kept going?

I went for a look to the right and spotted one in an oak high up on the acorns but it was bouncing around all over the place. 

I new it was going to be a scorcher today so headed for home, squirrels seen but none shot.

 A bit trying sometimes bud?

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Forest Ranger just returned to base with report that two more seen in our wood. Our neighbours must have had one hell of a breeding year so far and I have killed over a dozen on the other side of the village. I hate to think just how many are on the top of this hill.  They do not live long if they venture on to this patch.  That is 16 in 8 days in 10 acres.

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They are on the buzz at the moment and the last half dozen I have had I had to take body shots but fortunately at 10-15yrds so job done.  They just wouldnot pause forlong enough to be certain of a head shot.  A couple of weeks and they will be back to looking for food and any of you who have access to game shoots then they will be hitting the pheasant feeders.  How close can we get to 4000 before Jan 1st ???????????????

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Normal service has resumed. 

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Ok it's a different area but two shot with a third in a tree somewhere barking. 

It had forecast rain and was really muggy so I wanted a short walk, so strip wood it was. It was nearly 7am before it was light enough to see what was what.

The funny thing is this feeder only has cheap B&M bird seed in it, but I'd added some good stuff to the log of doom.

That only makes 13 from here but its gently ticking over.

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