squirrel control

[old man]

8 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Slugs?

Thanks, will investigate.

[Mice!]

7 minutes ago, old man said:

Thanks, will investigate.

I'm pretty sure @Longbower has used them in 22, not sure about @Ultrastu

[old man]

9 minutes ago, Mice! said:

I'm pretty sure @Longbower has used them in 22, not sure about @Ultrastu

👍

[Longbower]

Yep , still using H+N  21g Slugs in my FAC Scorpion , running at 21ft/lbs.

They have a totally different poi than a pellet . But , consistency is good and hitting power is exceptional.

[old man]

13 hours ago, Longbower said:

Yep , still using H+N  21g Slugs in my FAC Scorpion , running at 21ft/lbs.

They have a totally different poi than a pellet . But , consistency is good and hitting power is exceptional.

👍

[Sciurus]

I wanted to get out yesterday but the weather was dreadful, so this morning being a Bank Holiday, I was up and out to my local permission at 6.30 before the hikers and dog walkers invade this well known Beauty spot.

Normally I take the.410 hushpower, but today I decided to take the Daystate .177.  Halfway up the hill, I stopped the car and had a quick scan with the thermal. Blow me there was a grey and a rabbit feeding on the ground. After a bit of contortioning, I wrestled the air rifle out of its bag on the back seat and loaded the magazine. By that time, the grey was sitting nicely on a branch- game on! - except it wasn’t- by the time I had manoeuvred the gun out of the window, it had pushed off, never to be seen again. Oh well…..

I parked up and started walking down the path to the walled garden. A blackbird was making an alarm racket, I scanned with the thermal and picked out the ghostly outline of a tawny owl in a yew, further scanning picked up this ball of fluff on the ground below.

 

 

 

After a quick photo of mum and owlet, I quickly moved on and left them to it.

A hundred yards further on, I reached a viewing station overlooking a wood closed to the public and which I intended to shoot. Looking down there was a grey digging up its hidden breakfast, thwack, it was a solid hit but instead of doing the kickabout, this was ran up a tree. 
I climbed over the barricade designed to keep the public out and followed the zigzag path down the slope scanning all the time for the shot grey. Instead, I spot another grey close by, also digging up its breakfast. Thwack, this one somersaulted, did a double turn and a Fossbury flop and landed neatly on the path further below me. Walking towards the dead grey, I pick up a signal from the tree where the first grey disappeared. It was sitting quietly in a fork about 50 yds away. I started the stalk to the nearest tree and as I steadied the gun and took aim, the grey just fell out of the tree dead without a shot being fired. My original shot was in the shoulder but had obviously not hit a vital organ.

Two fatties- male and female 

Carrying on to the end of the wood (ignoring all the pigeons, roes and rabbits pretending to be squirrels), I spot another grey playing on a rotten stump. Just a little head was showing, thwack, straight down. Just as I was picking it up, I saw movement in the branches above me. A few minutes of scanning, I spotted it, lying flat on a branch, thwack- another straight down.

Two of the smallest squirrels I have shot.

By 9 am, I could hear shouts of children enjoying themselves so time to go home for breakfast. Passing by the walled garden, the blackbirds were still giving distress cries and mother tawny was sitting quite openly in a bare tree watching the owlet who had now taken up residence in a rhododendron.

An interesting morning.

 

 

[Mice!]

@Sciurus brilliant mate, especially the owlet,  and nice to see you giving the Daystate a walk out 👍

[old man]

On 29/04/2023 at 21:25, Longbower said:

Yep , still using H+N  21g Slugs in my FAC Scorpion , running at 21ft/lbs.

They have a totally different poi than a pellet . But , consistency is good and hitting power is exceptional.

Mm, thinking on? Doesn't seem that the S410 can be made to run at more than 30ftbs? Would like more if reliable?

My thoughts at present to suit the current tree rat scenario where they are seen fleetingly between 10yds and 100 is to be able, backstop permitting, to point and shoot with a 1" KZ?

If accuracy allows with the light weights? Still acquiring more testers.

Currently using 16grn AA field and Hades.

Edited May 1, 2023 by old man

[ratchers]

Was up and out early myself and in position by 6.30 and had squirrel number one five minutes later, next customer up managed to duck and escape but the next two weren't so lucky, saw the lovely red squirrel again twice in different parts of the wood, hope it doesn't meet the six greys that I saw but didn't have chance to shoot.

[Mice!]

Well that was unexpected. 

[Sciurus]

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Well that was unexpected. 

Cracking job!👍

Meanwhile 12 miles upstream, my day was an unexpected zilch😡!

In 5 hrs, Saw 2 greys, one was above a tent, so couldn’t shoot it!  The other was too far away for my 410, although I am sure Mice could have sniped it with his Bsa.

I did however see another red and two more tawny owlets at a different site to monday.

The Raf were busy buzzing the lake with 4 fighters for an hour or two- absolutely deafening .

[Mice!]

As you all know I'm a man of few words 😳🤭 things just worked out nicely yesterday even though I was only expecting a couple, I'd shot that feeder to give these two another day as they were empty when I checked them Monday night. 

I also planned on an afternoon/evening session yesterday but after looking at another wood where we've had red sightings then dropping in on a couple of people it was 8pm!!

So I shot the nearest small feeder thus at Big wood,  I was in at 06:20 the first squirrel came over the top of me at 06:45, paused then made her way to the feeder, Pfft Whack hang and drop.

The second came from in front up the banking 15 mins later,  into a tree, paused again, came down and paused again on the banking, Pfft Whack and did what looked like a fake heart attack and fell down.

A mature male and female, after twenty minutes of watching the birds and voles I packed up and headed round the hill to feeder #2

[Mice!]

It was probably around 8am as I entered the wood again,  I watched a squirrel move up in front of me, and as I made my way in and up, another was coming down going towards the feeder, I thought that'll be it, I'll bump two and see no more. 

I was wrong,  within a few minutes of sitting down a squirrel was on the tree, and it kept happening,  no signs, bouncing branches, just where did that come from? Or I'd see one, it would vanish then reappear below the feeder. 

I've had to beef up the feeder, the quick repairs I did a while back weren't up to scratch and I've been feeding the birds, so Monday night I added the premade pieces.

The ledge is also too long, but that'll do for now, and the birds weren't happy getting the squirrels scraps, they kept going to the corners where they've been helping themselves!

I watched the first squirrel,  up into the feeder, can't get in the side, so lifted the lid, head a good way in, sit up Pfft Whack drop, lands under the feeder, the next four all stopped and sniffed,  one wasn't happy and left, but I'm pretty sure it came back.

I shot two off the tree, two off the feeder and one off the floor, the second I shot off the tree didn't drop, I didn't pull the shot, there was a good solid impact, but it just casually spun 180° and went off up the tree?? I was baffled,  it was actually dead below the banking,  it was facing down the tree, head up looking when I took the shot, it must have moved its head down and the pellet hit here.

How does a squirrel casually climb the tree after getting shot there?

So for an hour it seemed I had constant squirrel activity,  each time I relaxed there was another on the tree. 

This was the underside of the runner.

Lefthand side. 

This was probably the worse squirrel,  but they were all thick with ticks again,  be careful out there fellas.

then it was half an hour of bird watching,  and the star of the show, and resident vandals,  the woodpeckers!! It's down to them I had to do the bodged repair,  and they've found a gap!!

There's a couple of mm on this corner, but they were whacking it, I've done a quick fix with what I had, but that's getting sorted next week.

Then to top the day off as I was walking out the wood, the second jet of the day came over, really really low, I had a perfect view as it banked and turned following the valley,  awesome and then some.

With the final hurrah a note on my windscreen? I thought go on what's this, a little note from an old dog walker I've not seen for a while saying he's not seen me for a while, just the car, I'm out to early now.

Two good days 😁

[old man]

On 03/05/2023 at 11:58, Mice! said:

Well that was unexpected. 

Well done bud!

[ratchers]

Was out early at 6.30 this morning and after seeing a grey crossing the road in front of me was quite optimistic, especially when I saw the flip top had been emptied since my last visit six days ago. Four and a half hours later I was rather deflated as I never got a shot and the only grey I saw sneaked up behind me,gave me the finger and scarpered.

[Mice!]

54 minutes ago, ratchers said:

the only grey I saw sneaked up behind me,gave me the finger and scarpered

I'm sorry but that did make me laugh 😃 

[Longbower]

1 today , but all the big shot counts seem to have  disappeared this year ?  
its literally sit all day to see maybe one or two .

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Longbower

[Mice!]

10 hours ago, Longbower said:

1 today , but all the big shot counts seem to have  disappeared this year ?  
its literally sit all day to see maybe one or two .

 

Are they not coming in at regular times then? I've got cameras out just to see what times they are arriving in the morning as I've not got the time to sit all day normally,  most of my feeders are getting emptied regularly now, so it's a matter of choosing where I'm better off being, filling up and checking a few nights before and going from there.

[Longbower]

I dont have cameras out , but i have  taken seven over the past  three  weeks. from two feeders.

Ive just not seen as many about,

[Sciurus]

A week ago, I started prebating in two different woods and yesterday I finally set the 8 traps in pairs.

Today, I only got a disappointing two ( one in each wood), but I did get a bonus rat!

[ratchers]

Back out ever the optimist where I spent 4 and half hours without a shot last sunday,got off to a good start walking down to the flip top when I heard a cuckoo,the first of the year for me. When I got there I could see that the peanut level was way down again and would you believe it after five minutes the first customer rolled up,where were you last sunday?? One down and he wasn't on his own as one somewhere started barking at me but never showed up. After a good half an hour out the corner of my eye spotted movement, at first I thought is was a rat but no it was a grey and it had brought his or her mate,they then continued to run up and down and around the tree which the feeder was on,finally one went to ground and started digging for its lost nuts,it never quite gave the chance of a shot due to the rapid growth of bracken thats happened in the last week,meanwhile squirrel number two was about to become victim no. 2 and that was it before the rain came down.

PS Need to hack down that bracken!

[Mice!]

3 hours ago, ratchers said:

when I heard a cuckoo

Same here, heard my first Wednesday. 

As for squirrels,,, 

[Mice!]

Two very contrasting days, yesterday I shot in the morning then the afternoon into the evening, shot the first squirrel at 8am and the last was 19:20, 6 squirrels with 3 at the feeders and 3 out the trees, first young kits as well eating new oak leaves, I needed two change of clothes, two showers and 2 beers 😁🍻 plus a chippy tea. 

They look so far away!

And it's amazing how much the different woods have changed in the last few weeks.

I also found this, which shouldn't be in here?

Onto today, different area, one feeder was empty Sunday the other was almost empty, shot the first early and took 5 females in an hour!!

I'd put the camera out Sunday and they were straight onto it all day.

Then I went to the next feeder because it was still early and shot another 3, despite having taken 14 over the last month , really didn't expect 8 this morning. 

And how nice are the woods this time of the year, everything changes in just a few weeks, from nothing much to full leaf.

Two busy days 👍

[Sciurus]

2 hours ago, Mice! said:

And how nice are the woods this time of the year, everything changes in just a few weeks, from nothing much to full leaf.

Two busy days 👍

A cracking couple of days!👍

Meanwhile, 8 miles upstream, it all went t*ts up for me. Yesterday, I caught 2 greys, unfortunately there was a school visit to the woods and there was kids everywhere so I couldn’t use the airpistol, which is noisy, so I went ‘old school’ and used the sack and cranial dispatch method and somehow I managed to let one escape! 😡No idea how it happened, it has never happened before.

Today, the pair of traps I posted a photo yesterday were trashed. It’s wasn’t kids. The traps were held down by 2 heavy logs, which had been pushed to one side, I can only think it was that well known vandal Brock after a peanut breakfast . I have reset the traps and Let see what happens over night .

[Mice!]

42 minutes ago, Sciurus said:

Today, the pair of traps I posted a photo yesterday were trashed. It’s wasn’t kids. The traps were held down by 2 heavy logs, which had been pushed to one side, I can only think it was that well known vandal Brock after a peanut breakfast . I have reset the traps and Let see what happens over night .

Do you think a badger could trash the traps mate? I'd expect them to roll them about if they were fixed down. 

44 minutes ago, Sciurus said:

cracking couple of days!

It was mate, shift change coming up so I had to get stuck into them.