Buddy the Squirrel

[Ruger Packer]

Went out a few days ago to fill my bird feeder and discovered the cylindrical mesh screen that holds the feed had been chewed on. I immediately knew the culprit was Buddy, our neighborhood tree rat.

I didn't mind it so much that he'd help himself to a few sunflower seeds. Squirrels gotta eat to ya know!! But I won't tolerate damaging my bird feeder!!

So, I hauled out my ole Blackhawk OM .357 and loaded two CCI shot shells into the chambers and laid it on the desk by the front door. I cracked the storm door open and placed a stick at the bottom so as to not spook him off unlatching the door. Then I cracked the inside door open so he wouldn't hear it unlatch as well. Then I waited, sitting in my favorite chair reading the Sunday paper funny pages.

Pretty soon I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and there was Buddy raiding the bird feeder and chewing on the mesh!! SomBeech!!!

I got up walked to the front door picked up the Blackhawk and carefully opened the front door, took aim with my off hand (left) and fired. BOOM! Ole Buddy jumped a mile high and landed on the porch. Apparently dazed and stunned for a moment. I cocked the .357 again... and just as he recovered and swapped ends to run off...... nailed him with a Texas heart shot and he jumped again and fell...... deader than a door nail on the porch.

Wife gave me a little bit of a hard time earlier about my plans to terminate Buddy. I told her... "Hell, Honey, just like a condemned man on death row, he'll die with a full stomach!!!" And, he did!!!

Rest in peace Buddy.

(Yes, this is a true event. The name has not been changed. This event occurred 8/2/20 at 0835.)

 

[Pat-inCO]

Had a similar problem in CO, but worse. I started using a live trap to catch them
and relocated (in two years) over seventy five of them. When I first started, I could
catch three or four . . . per day. As it progressed, the numbers went steadily down.
By the third Summer, the trap could sit out there for two or three days without
catching any.

My theory is that the density in my neighborhood was so high as I started that
catching one wasn't even a drop in the bucket, so to speak. Then as I continued,
the ones from more than a block away started migrating to my block, which had
a lower density, thus more food.

Those tree rats cost me over $2,000 in repairs. :shock:

 

[NikA]

My wife's garden was such a target for the ground squirrels we have living around here that we had a burrow within the garden fence. Like you, when I spot one, I can wait quietly for it to come back and pop it with the .22. I also live trap them and dispose of them over the fence (I work in town and the wife is unwilling to deal with anything dead).

I learned the hard way that they're not as tough as one might think. Shot one off the wood pile from about 40 yards, regular lead .22LR went through the squirrel's head and travelled another 25 yards or so to make a nice hole in the molding around the barn door after going through a protective piece of plywood. Luckily I missed the window and a bit of white caulk will cover up that mistake.

 

[blume357]

We had two bird feeders hanging from our over hang for years with no problem... then a big tree fell on the house and I had to move then down a ways and it seems our 'buddy' discovered them.... so I ran a cable out to a tree and hung them from this... buddy would run the 1/4" stainless steel cable and jump down to the feeders .... so I put a hat on the feeders and he figured out how to get around that... so, put two big metal plates like 2ftx2ft at both sides of the feeders on the cable and it took him about a week to figure that out.... he was emptying two bird feeders at day..... I actually thought it was multiple squirrels until I fixed the problem... I figured out he usually ate breakfast at 7:30 in the morning... so I loaded my 22 lever action with 22 shorts and went up on the roof... I need a safe area behind my target and because I'm in a neighborhood shooting down was the only safe direction... next day I go up on the roof at 7:15 and sure enough a little while later here comes 'buddy' tagged him with the first pop and he jumped around on the ground and I got him again and he tried to head for the bushes... another round took him out... took 3 22shorts to end the problem. Either buddy was the smart one of the pack or the others got the message...this was two years ago and have not had a squirrel try to eat from those feeders since.

 

[Ruger Packer]

We had two bird feeders hanging from our over hang for years with no problem... then a big tree fell on the house and I had to move then down a ways and it seems our 'buddy' discovered them.... so I ran a cable out to a tree and hung them from this... buddy would run the 1/4" stainless steel cable and jump down to the feeders .... so I put a hat on the feeders and he figured out how to get around that... so, put two big metal plates like 2ftx2ft at both sides of the feeders on the cable and it took him about a week to figure that out.... he was emptying two bird feeders at day..... I actually thought it was multiple squirrels until I fixed the problem... I figured out he usually ate breakfast at 7:30 in the morning... so I loaded my 22 lever action with 22 shorts and went up on the roof... I need a safe area behind my target and because I'm in a neighborhood shooting down was the only safe direction... next day I go up on the roof at 7:15 and sure enough a little while later here comes 'buddy' tagged him with the first pop and he jumped around on the ground and I got him again and he tried to head for the bushes... another round took him out... took 3 22shorts to end the problem. Either buddy was the smart one of the pack or the others got the message...this was two years ago and have not had a squirrel try to eat from those feeders since.

I live in a small town (pop. 2500). So I have to becareful when I shoot and in which direction I shoot. The feeder is on the front porch hanging from the porch overhang. Porch is 2 feet up from the ground. So can't use solid projectiles, I wouldn't even chance a .22 short round and .22 bird shot at 10 feet does nothing as bird shot is just dust. Even the .22 CCI shot shells are ineffective. But the .38 Special CCI's with the larger shot are good. It did take two shots (using my off hand) but I nailed the little varmint.

I live on a corner lot, luckily for me, there is a church kitty corner from me but they have their services on Saturday. So today (Sunday) no one over there. I can actually stand inside and with the outside door cracked a couple of inches can aim and touch off a shot without going outside. I discreetly look around and make sure no one is around. Being inside... 1) no one can witness me shooting and 2) the report isn't as loud. Folks would likely think its just kids shooting off fireworks left over from the 4th. Its also only 2 blocks from the city limits and kids shoot out there at a safe improvised range anyway.

 

[DHD]

I had so many eating and chewing on everything that I had to buy a nice air rifle (absolutely necessary I explained to my bride). Between my son and I, before he grew up, must have whacked 30 of the things. That was a couple years back and now the rascals are making a comeback. My wife doesn't want me to kill them in the summer as she feels the little squirrel terrorists will die. Explaining that I'm going to do it in the fall anyway doesn't make her feel any different.

Oh, and my bride did name one squirrel Bob as his tail got nipped short at some point. Bob is a 232 lb male that I'll need to shoot with my 454 Casull.

 

[toysoldier]

What--no one eats them?!

 

[Ruger Packer]

What--no one eats them?!

Our squirrel season started in May... runs thru end of Jan. We eat them, but we don't start hunting them until we've had a couple of hard frosts in the fall. Same with rabbits. Its usually first part of November some time before we hunt 'em for the pot.

 

[tinman]

My last house was in a neighborhood that had more tree rats than I had ever seen. Once they began getting into my feeders I took to culling the herd. Just slid the patio door open about 6 inches and sitting at the dining room table gave me a really good hidey hole for sniping them outta the feeders. I would estimate a number in the mid hundreds over the course of 5 years.

 

[contender]

Bird feeders & squirrels,,,,,,,,,,, love it!
One of my bread & butter money makers. I get lots of squirrel jobs,, where they have decided to move into a home.

 

[bogus bill]

Thats lite stuff. A couple years ago a squirrel ate some wiring under the hood of my truck. That cost me a lot.
Someone told me to put pieces of Irish Spring soap under the hood. We did that on our vehicles and that has worked up to now.

 

[Pat-inCO]

So I have to be careful when I shoot and in which direction I shoot.

Have you given thought to an RWS side cock in .177 cal?
(a.k.a. Pellet gun)

I got a three shot, dime sized group, at 45 feet. The back stop was a Sunday Rocky
Mountain News, folded in half and in front of a 1/4" piece of plywood. That's over
an inch of tightly packed news paper in front of the plywood. The third shot was
embedded in a 2x4 frame behind all that. - - - The 7.4Gr pill does wonders on
unwanted critters.

 

[Cholo]

LOL I've shot birds with rat shot out of my Single Six and NAA shortie .22 mag that were pecking holes in my once cedar sided house. There is a certain satisfaction in using shot to rid yourself of pests.

I lived in relative peace with squirrels for the 1st 36 years I lived here even with some living in my roof. The got so brazen they'd just look at me out of the holes they chewed in my eaves then just slowly climb down and walk away. War was declared in Oct. of 2017. An old Rem 581 shooting CB Longs run thru a die to put a flat meplat on the bullet is potent squirrel medicine.

One little fella gets a break. I 1st saw him last Sept. and he has no tail. Most every squirrel learns quickly that if there's seed under my bird feeders there's more above and end up in them. Not this little guy. He just gets his fill on the ground

I have no problem with rabbits, but I used to when I was married in the early 80's and had a big garden. I hated putting all that work into it only to have rabbits eat it down. I told my then wife that I was going to shoot those bassturds. She said you'd better not. Riiight. I'm looking out the window and there were 2 little ones munching away. The wife said you'd better not. I waited a little while and grabbed that 581 and went outside. As luck would have it they were both lined up perfectly when I pulled the trigger--SNAP. I SAW THAT! Got both of them with one shot :mrgreen:

 

[Heavy Barrel]

Hey,everyone as to eat ! :mrgreen:

shell fuel station locator

 

[contender]

bogus bill, Quite often,, folks blame squirrels for vehicle wire chewing. Yet, in fact,, 99% of the time it's not squirrels,, it's rats or mice. Mostly rats.

Vehicle & some house wiring,, the insulation over the wire itself is made with stuff that smells like food to vermin. So,, they start chewing,, to eat the insulation. Eventually, they cut through some,, or ground themselves out & get fried.
Now,, apparently,, many cars have wiring,, that the insulation is made with a SOY based material. MORE problems with critters chewing the wiring. Enough so,, that they have aftermarket stuff you can buy to coat or cover the wires with. Make it cheaper, charge you more for the vehicle, then sell you stuff after the fact.

Squirrels can do it inside homes.

Squirrels & other unwanted critters in birdfeeders are like democrat voters. They find free stuff, and are hard to get rid of once they discover it. Then they move into the area to be closer to the free stuff. If they move into your home,, they don't pay rent or taxes & do not like it when they get evicted.
BEFORE THIS GETS ALL POLITICAL, IT'S A JOKE!!!!!!!!! I even told it to my Congressman before. He laughed.

 

[trebor44]

I grew up squirrel hunting. They are tasty!
Bird feeders are like crack to a squirrel! One or two are somewhat ok, but then the squirrel population multiplies as the 'word' gets out. Multiple 'solutions' did not work and had to 'discourage' their presence with some projectiles. SWIMBO is not a fan of demising tree rats so peanuts in a havahart, catch and release when the SWIMBO is in residence.
With the temps over the century mark, the havahart is closed for business, BUT the tree rats spend a lot of time trying to get into it despite the lack of 'food' inside it. Go figure!

 

[toysoldier]

I throw a cup of seed on my patio almost every morning. I had a problem for awhile with a squirrel showing up to help himself. I finally got my two dogs trained to dash out the doggie door without barking when I alerted them, so they gave the squirrel a real run for his life. I don't think they ever caught it, but I haven't seen it for a couple of months.

 

[BearBio]

Damn red squirrels are taking over the neighborhood (They are an "undocumented carpetbagger immigrants). Can't do anything because we are in a residential area of the city=not even a pellet gun. They tease my pointers incessantly! Unlice the rats and mice, they ignore the poison I set out!

 

[Ruger Packer]

Bird feeders & squirrels,,,,,,,,,,, love it!
One of my bread & butter money makers. I get lots of squirrel jobs,, where they have decided to move into a home.

I would have called you... but I thought 800+ miles might be more than you'd want to handle.... and I'd want to pay!!!! :wink: 8)

 

[Colonialgirl]

Damn red squirrels are taking over the neighborhood (They are an "undocumented carpetbagger immigrants). Can't do anything because we are in a residential area of the city=not even a pellet gun. They tease my pointers incessantly! Unlice the rats and mice, they ignore the poison I set out!

Be stealthy !!! Pellet rifles MAKE NO NOISE !!

 

[Pat-inCO]

Be stealthy !!! Pellet rifles MAKE NO NOISE !!

Well . . . . some make very little noise, but my RWS model 48 gets 1100fps from
the pellet, so it does make a bit of noise. Maybe 20-25% if a .22short, but some.

However, iffin you have a garage, a piece of plywood on the floor and some roll
roofing to catch liquid, does an excellent job. :wink:

 

[bogus bill]

How about a blow gun with darts? I had one once and they are surprisingly accurate.

 

[WendyZXZ]

Fried squirrel...chicken of the trees!

 

[contender]

Gee Ruger Packer,, 800 miles isn't much,, especially when I take OM Rugers for payment!

 

[Ruger Packer]

Gee Ruger Packer,, 800 miles isn't much,, especially when I take OM Rugers for payment!

I only have 2 OM's. And I ain't parting with 'em!!! But I do have an old rusty barrel cocker pellet rifle..... 8)

 

[contender]