This weekend I tried to thin the house sparrow population at my house and I won't say I failed, but I didn't get as many as I would have liked to. The other pests decided to come out in abundance, so I had to do something about it so I can later on try for the sparrows.
House sparrows and friends
- Thread starter Helimech
- Start date
That is cool you have a population of black squirrels in your area. Those are pretty rare in my area only seen a few. Good shooting
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Those black squirrels are really cool looking. We have black fox squirrels that are much bigger, but I've never seen a black one the size of a gray squirrel. Great shooting and thanks for sharing. Good idea on the shed protector board.
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Speaks very well to your shooting skills. I like the squirrel that didn't move but a few feet when you missed on the first shot. Speaks well as to how silent the Marauder is at 30 yards. Good shooting and good video shooting as well! What part of the country are you in that you have black squirrels?
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I live in Michigan and from what I've read, the black squirrels are grey squirrels in a black phase. They are all over my area. Thousands of them. I'm not exaggerating that number one bit. I killed over 100 of them last year and over 80 this summer and as you can see, I haven't put a single dent in the population. They continually tear up my yard, my shed, and my house. Anything we put up in the yard gets destroyed. I want to thin down the house sparrow population, but it's difficult with all of the squirrels coming in to get fed as well. Oh well. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world to have this many targets running around my yard 
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Oh by the way, the Marauder is very quiet, but it also helps that I'm shooting from inside of my house. The kids have no idea what I'm doing when I "hunt". I just hand over Netflix and they are good to go. I also have the Marmot Militia hammer forged barrel shooting 18 grain JSB's. If anything comes within 100 yards with that combo, it's lights out.
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The squirrel season in Michigan Is Sept 15 to March 1st. Just posting the video late eh?
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You are correct about me shooting squirrels out of season. If you read up on the rules and regulations the DNR put out, you will find that you can legally take grey squirrels, black phase included, out of season if they are doing damage to your property. Check out some of my other posts and you will clearly see they are doing extensive damage to my property and belongings and I am legally taking care of these pests. I would never shoot anything illegally let alone post it for the world to see. I love my right to bear arms and I would never do anything to jeopardize that right.
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I should have put a smiley emoticon after my post as I was just pulling your leg. All isgood. The little bastards chewed holes in my soffits and I legally dispatched them. Now to get the fox that is messing with my chickens even though the fox season doesn't start till fall.
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No worries. I may be wound a little to tight lately. I'm sort of new to posting these kind of videos and may have let my cleft A hole get the best of me
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lol, Helimech had too much coffee...I was reading and seeing you type as fast as you could talk saying "I know but LEGALLY they are damaging MY property..." all the while Bleem ment no harm. Actually I am glad you ranted, I didnt know a loophole like that floated out there.
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That's the problem with text. It's really hard decipher exactly how the person is intending his text to be perceived. Bleemus didn't want me to take his comment as an insult, but as a joke. I didn't want people to perceive my response as defensive, but informative. Oh well. There's more innocent woodland creatures to give a lead headache to and that makes everything better
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So true. Here in Vermont if a predator is attempting to kill your livestock you are allowed to dispatch it legally despite the hunting season. With a large flock of chickens that means I can hunt fox all year. Charlie has gotten seven chickens so far this year but he doesn't know that I have a .25 cal due to arrive any day now and the game is on.
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Professionally I'm am glad to see this post.
Too many don't realize that just because they see a YouTube video of squirrels or rabbits being shot or on the box it says that the air rifle can be used for pest control, it doesn't mean that their aren't rules and regulations that need to be followed.
In some states, there are specific laws related to nuisance wildlife while other's have none following only their hunting and trapping laws. Some require licenses (i.e., hunting license and/or trapping license if not on property you own or wildlife control license if charging a fee, etc.) while others don't. Certain states require a permit or authorization for that specific animal problem while other states are more cart blanch. Some states require that a specific dollar amount of damage be performed before any action can take place while others authorize action just for the animal being there. Then there is what can actually be done about it. For some they must live capture and then relocate the animal (i.e., in Ohio nuisance rabbits cannot be shot by any means outside of hunting season without receiving authorization by the Chief of the Division of Wildlife or his designee) while other species allow for lethal control if desired (i.e., in Ohio nuisance squirrels may be shot provided you can legal discharge a firearm/air rifle at that location).
It is important that all individuals dealing with nuisance wild animals know and understand all laws and regulations pertaining to their control. Talking with the regulatory authority for wildlife for that state will quickly educate the individual for what is legal with their specific situation.
Too many don't realize that just because they see a YouTube video of squirrels or rabbits being shot or on the box it says that the air rifle can be used for pest control, it doesn't mean that their aren't rules and regulations that need to be followed.
In some states, there are specific laws related to nuisance wildlife while other's have none following only their hunting and trapping laws. Some require licenses (i.e., hunting license and/or trapping license if not on property you own or wildlife control license if charging a fee, etc.) while others don't. Certain states require a permit or authorization for that specific animal problem while other states are more cart blanch. Some states require that a specific dollar amount of damage be performed before any action can take place while others authorize action just for the animal being there. Then there is what can actually be done about it. For some they must live capture and then relocate the animal (i.e., in Ohio nuisance rabbits cannot be shot by any means outside of hunting season without receiving authorization by the Chief of the Division of Wildlife or his designee) while other species allow for lethal control if desired (i.e., in Ohio nuisance squirrels may be shot provided you can legal discharge a firearm/air rifle at that location).
It is important that all individuals dealing with nuisance wild animals know and understand all laws and regulations pertaining to their control. Talking with the regulatory authority for wildlife for that state will quickly educate the individual for what is legal with their specific situation.
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Yes Sir, be responsible hunters or guardians of property and dispatch critters within the laws. Yahoo or Google (or Bing if you're weird) LOCAL County or City laws first on such matters(make sure you are on the dot.gov site not just some FAQ online)...they will over-ride a State law, if you get my meaning, on what a civilian can do. State may say it is fine to use bazooks and landmines but Stick-Up-the-Butt-County may say you can only poison the well or nothing at all. I would not even bother asking an officer or clerk. Laws change allll the time and you want it in writting and look up the same topic of concern often to make sure you are still in the clear. Now I have to get more mortars...
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You all have made very good points. In my case, I can legally take out pests with my air rifle as per the state. City ordinances a lot of time don't allow the discharge of firearms to include air rifles unless you are protecting your property from damage or home invasion. I have the luxury of having a police officer that lives close and together we went over our city ordinances before I even purchased my air rifle to make sure it would be legal, which in my case it is. He also said the bottom line is safety. It may be legal for me to dispatch these problem squirrels, but if I'm launching pellets into the air at treed pests, then safety becomes a factor and the intent of the ordinances were to keep everybody safe. That is why I never take a shot unless it is in front of my shed. I have many shooting lanes in my yard that are safe, but I use my shed for that extra piece of mind. I showed my videos to my police friend and I was told I am in no danger of breaking any ordinances especially because of the caution I take to make sure I am safe. The bottom line is safety. Protect yourselves by researching your state and local laws and if you have any questions, ask the proper people.
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My local city ordinances say that I can't brandish an airgun/blowdart gun/throwing star/knife in a threatening manner. I can not discharge any firearm within city limits except at approved shooting ranges. Airguns, per state definition, are not firearms. The city ordinance though says that airguns can not be discharged in an "unsafe manner within city limits". That part in quotes makes the discharge of airguns a subjective definition more or less left to the discretion of law enforcement. I think that one could easily argue their way out of that one, but it's easier to just not be stupid with airguns so that law enforcement doesn't need to get involved..
And this topic has spiraled WAY off topic. Nice shooting. I've never even seen a black squirrel like that. Very cool.
And this topic has spiraled WAY off topic. Nice shooting. I've never even seen a black squirrel like that. Very cool.
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I blast tree rats on a regular basis. When I bought my house ten years ago I had nails sticking out in the air where wood had been. My RWS 34 in 22 accounted for over 600 before I got a Mrod in 25. What some don't realize is once inside the attic they keep chewing. A house in my old neighborhood burned to the ground due to squirrels chewing the wiring.
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