Guns n Stuff

[pnuts]

today i shot and killed huge fat rat with a pellet rifle my dad gave me from when he was a little kid.

i never shot anything before so i feel pretty cool. i didn't want to do it but that rat had been digging up my coop, eating all the feed and he was always looking out his holes at me. snap traps weren't working so i figured why not

 

[bluehenluvr]

I use a 22 mag with a Loupold scope. It will drop anything dead, and is accurate and easy to use. As a matter of fact, I used mine tonight!

 

[chickortreat]

In reply to the original query....I think a .22 magnum is UNBEATABLE for a pest/varmint rifle if you only want one rifle to do it all. Yes, a .22 LR will do the job MOST of the time, but there are occasions when you need more stopping power. The .22 magnum has no perceivable recoil, and is great for fox/groundhog/possom/etc class pests, though in my opinion it's a bit light for coyotes. However, if only one rifle is to "do it all", it would be my first choice.

As to shooting a deer with a .22 LR....uh, yes, I suppose it would kill it, but would it do it humanely? If your home were invaded by a crazed lunatic, would you grab your trusty .22 or a larger weapon? I apply the same token to game animals. Caliber should match need at hand......I shot a coyote in my yard a few weeks ago with a .22 magnum because it's all that was within reach. Shot clean through the ribs, and she ran about 100 yards, leaving precious little blood trail. I would rather have had my .223.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Pretty much says it all, right there.

 

[woodmort]

Your basic consideration when arming someone.

There is a huge difference between predator shooting and predator hunting. In the latter you are set up, have some sort of a gun rest and are, probably, calling them within range. There is lots of time to focus on the target and squeeze off a shot, probably at a long, predetermined range at a fairly stationary target. When there is a predator attack: it is an emergency which consists of grabbing the nearest gun, running out, adrenalin pumping, and trying to get off a shot before a moving animal disappears with one of your chickens. Under these conditions you need something you can throw up and shoot as quickly as possible, at short range, without taking a lot of time to aim. In this case a scatter gun would probably be the best although there is a chance of collateral damage--you'd probably take out the chicken as well--and the injury might not be immediately fatal. A small bore rifle will work as well if the shooter has had enough practice to be reasonably accurate and aim it quickly which makes something that uses fairly cheap ammo to facilitate practice a good idea. (Keep in mind one of the things that makes the biathlon so tough is not the cross-country skiing or the shooting, it is the slowing down of the skier's heart rate to allow him/her to shoot accurately--if a trained athlete has a problem with this imagine what your average BYCer is going to go through.) Either way I would be more concerned about stopping the predator than killing it immediately--at close range it would not suffer very long before it would be dispatched. (Probably less time than it would take to reach an animal after a 200 yd. nonkilling shot.) That being the case a .410 or .20 gauge shotgun with #4 shot would be the best choice for a small person or a rim fire rifle with open sights. Anything bigger, i.e. .12 gauge or larger bore rifle, would probably kick a little to much and/or take expensive ammo both limiting the amount of time one would spend learning to use it. A handgun might work as well but they are notoriously inaccurate for most people and their ownership is more tightly regulated.

Couple of other thoughts:

I too would prefer to live-trap any predator. The problem with this is either you have to keep the traps going 24/7/365 which means constant monitoring or you have to lose a few birds before you set the thing up. In my case, most of the predator losses have been sudden, one shot things where the animal shows up, kills a few birds and then either disappears or is eliminated. While we have a lot of candidates for the role of predator living in this area, few seem to need to fill the position unless driven to it. I prefer live and let live until the animal becomes a problem then eliminate that individual by either trapping or shooting.

Also, I read some of these posts with my hip boots on in re to shooting prowess. 200 to, especially, 500-yd shots are sniper distances and, while I don't doubt they can be made, they do take a lot of practice and very calm nerves to pull off. As a teenager--many years ago--I was a good marksman at 100 yds with open sights and had a bunch of trophies to prove it but I was putting a lot of lead through the barrel to get there. I don't think it is something an average Joe or Jane is going to pick up by shooting up a box of cartridges over a weekend or two.

 

[chickortreat]

I hear you about the hip boots Woodmort. A lot of hoo-ey is told concerning long ranges. However, I set up permanent targets long ago at 100, 250 and 400 yards from my front porch. By shooting at these distances, I not only hone my shooting skills, I also learn to sort through the hoo-ey told by others. I have had folks tell me that they shot a deer at "over 400 yards". When I asked them how they held...."right on 'im".....I then asked how far they were zeroed for......" 'bout a hunnert yards".........HOO-EY flag went up! I shot an 8-point at 385 yards a few weeks ago. I held about 16 inches above where I wished the bullet to hit, and I'm sighted dead-on at 250 yards. Tried and true......

 

[Wild Trapper]

Woodmort, I can certainly agree to caliber you suggest, (.22 mag), as I've thought about getting one for just that purpose. However, where I live I could easily get in trouble fast trying to shoot anything with a .223. While it is dead flat out my front yard 300 yds to the road and a half mile beyond, I really don't dare shoot in that direction because it is so flat and opened. Frangible - bullets http://frangiblebullets.com/xcart/223-42gr.-RTP-100-count.html might be safe as long as they didn't hit something other than the intended object, but the risk is not worth the possible penalty. Out the back I have about 100 yds that is safer, but not without risks So my firearm of choice is a 10/22 that has a bi-pod and scope. I have it sighted so that I am dead on at 100 yards and can hit pretty near perfect at 25yds. Of course ammo is a factor in accuracy, but I have shoot raccoons and woodchucks out there at that 100 yard distance. Coyotes are a different story and I have seen them in the daylight, usually passing through, no reason to even bother trying to shoot at those. If I even wanted to nail a coyote to my wall, I would set a few traps especially for them, as I know their travel patterns and how to trap them. I do have the hardware required to take care of the job.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
This is worth bearing in mind for those who would plunk down chickens out in the country, especially where they were not common before. We all have the "dream" of idyllic country living, but there is a price to pay for everything.
No matter how you arrange the meeting - trap or gun - the predator needs to be dispatched once he tips his hand. If he never shows his face and stays away, then someone is probably already doing this work. But you can bet Mr. Predator is there with fang and claw, waiting.

Out in the world, it is you or them. They know nothing of "niceness" or "live and let live." It is survival for them.
If they are driven to it by conditions or convenience, they will show up. They will then decimate your livestock, raising their young at your expense. Unless, of course, you stop them.

Non-lethal control methods, as opposed to true deterrents, tend to delay the inevitable. It is known that once they are purposely killed, the rest of the predators will avoid the killing grounds... and they will teach their young to do the same. Avoiding this fact as "mean," places you at risk for an entire population of predators that not only lacks a fear of human activity - - but also possesses a taste for their livestock.

 

[chickortreat]

I agree wholeheartedly. I don't have time to re-locate, re-educate, or any of that with predators threatening my livestock. I'll just re-locate them to some out-of-the-way place so the resident buzzards can feast on them in peace. I've killed several rattlesnakes right here in the yard, while I've heard other folks say they ought to be left alone, or at the most, re-located. I suppose I inadvertantly did. A load of .22 ratshot sent them on to their happy hunting grounds....

I didn't acquire my chickens or dairy goats to feed the resident wildlife. I have too much time and money invested in them to sit by and watch any predator hurt/kill them.

 

[chickortreat]

My internet connection is lacking today, so this post showed twice. Anybody know how to delete? Most forums have a delete option, but I can't find one here....