Why do I feel bad for just killing a squirrel?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why do I feel bad for just killing a squirrel?

Posted: 1/18/2009 10:53:05 AM EDT

They get into my bird feeders, they're little rats, and I don't want them getting anywhere near my house and inhabiting it. My neighbor feeds everything in the world on his driveway. Which is kind of neat because ducks and all kinds of birds come. But then so do the undesirables, like chipmunks, raccoons, I've even seen silly opposum over there. And then the raccoons come over and eat my bird feed and I don't want those things anywhere's near here either.

So, am I wrong for having a prejudice against them and shouldn't try and deter them?

Or should I just man up and not care about the little buggers and go to town on them?

Part of feeling bad was it was with a pellet gun and I wasn't completely sure if it would kill one. And I wounded it and had to finish it off with a couple more shots. Maybe I should just not pump as much and set to "stun".

What say the hive mind of hunters?

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:03:20 AM EDT

[#1]

Get a .17 rifle and go to town on the little fuckers.
A .22 works too but I prefer my .17HMR

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:07:27 AM EDT

[#2]

Unless your gonna eat them, let them be.....

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:14:08 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Unless your gonna eat them, let them be.....

This

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:15:29 AM EDT

[#4]

Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:17:14 AM EDT

[#5]

Think about how this dumb sob feels and what about the damn lama.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=2&t=619494

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:22:13 AM EDT

[#6]

Let them entertain you!

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:28:46 AM EDT

[#7]

Squirrel proof your feeders and leave them be unless you're going to eat them.

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:47:44 AM EDT

[#8]

IMO the taking of the precious gift of life for non life sustaining reasons is wrong. (no i dont mean war...im talking animals here)

there are a lot of two legged "squirrels" out there that deserve shooting more than the 4 legged kind.

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:50:04 AM EDT

[#9]

Im guessing a lack of a certian chromosome

Posted: 1/18/2009 11:52:54 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

This is what I'm afraid of. Our side is not winning at this point. But I can see both sides of this, which is why I feel bad. But I don't know if I feel bad enough to not deter them.

I'm not going to shoot a .17 HMR in my subdivision. The houses are pretty close and a pellet gun is probably the best bet, except it doesn't kill them real quick.

Posted: 1/18/2009 12:04:26 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

Or chew the wiring out of your car ! Fucking Rodents, the farther they fall the better I feel .

Posted: 1/18/2009 12:05:59 PM EDT

[#12]

I kill the little bastards every chance I get. They almost destroyed my attic a couple of years ago.

I was using a crosman .177 pellet gun and a lot of time the gun was not sufficient for a one shot kill. The little bastards would do triple flips and run off to the trees.

I now have a RWS .22 that was my gift from Santa. So far I have only had one shot on one squirrel, but it was drt on the first shot.

I look forward to spring when the momma squirrels make more reactive targets for me.

Steve

Posted: 1/18/2009 12:09:11 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Unless your gonna eat them, let them be.....

This

This x's alot.

clean him, and throw him in a crock pot full of carrots, potatos, onions and green peppers. Salt, pepper and a dash of tobasco. Let it cook A LONG time (squirrels are tough little buggers). Take it out, cube him up and serve over rice - excellent.

Posted: 1/18/2009 12:11:17 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

This is what I'm afraid of. Our side is not winning at this point. But I can see both sides of this, which is why I feel bad. But I don't know if I feel bad enough to not deter them.

I'm not going to shoot a .17 HMR in my subdivision. The houses are pretty close and a pellet gun is probably the best bet, except it doesn't kill them real quick.

A good single pump pellet gun is the answer.
Tree rats have become a real issue in local towns over the last couple years. I stoped by a friend of mines house about 3 months ago and while we drank 1 beer his wife shot 9

. We cleaned them and he cooked them for his dogs

I counted 8 more without looking for them while driving down the road to get on the highway

Posted: 1/18/2009 6:59:47 PM EDT

[#15]

Problem is, they have a season here and after Jan 31st, it will be illegal. That's when I'll set it to stun I guess.

Posted: 1/18/2009 7:18:59 PM EDT

[#16]

Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

Posted: 1/18/2009 9:31:37 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Or chew the wiring out of your car ! Fucking Rodents, the farther they fall the better I feel .

I couldn't help but laugh at this! It's gonna be my new squirrel hunting mantra!

The lesson here is this: Do you want to control them now while you still can, or do you want them to get completely out of control when their babies start springing out from under your porch and out of your crawlspaces?

If it really tears you up to just kill them, then eat them.

After the season ends, still eat them. Isn't there some kind of a pest law where you live?

Posted: 1/19/2009 12:29:55 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

try some .22 CB shorts in a 20+" rifle ....

They are quieter then your pellet gun, and a hell of a lot more potent

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:08:30 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Or chew the wiring out of your car ! Fucking Rodents, the farther they fall the better I feel .

I couldn't help but laugh at this! It's gonna be my new squirrel hunting mantra!

The lesson here is this: Do you want to control them now while you still can, or do you want them to get completely out of control when their babies start springing out from under your porch and out of your crawlspaces?

If it really tears you up to just kill them, then eat them.

After the season ends, still eat them. Isn't there some kind of a pest law where you live?

There might be, but I'm sure about what would let you consider them pests. I'll check into that. And you make a very good point about trying to control them now. I swear there is twice as many this year around here. Funny thing is, my wife don't feel bad about it at all. She don't want them anywhere near the house. We had a chipmunk almost get in the house and it was pretty irritating for her. Hehehehehehe.

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:08:48 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

try some .22 CB shorts in a 20+" rifle ....

They are quieter then your pellet gun, and a hell of a lot more potent

I'll have to check into those!

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:41:18 AM EDT

[#21]

If you can kill, I think only an idiot would criticize you for not doing so.

Posted: 1/19/2009 11:06:49 AM EDT

[#22]

+1 on the CCI CB .22 shorts. I kill feral cats without a problem with those things. About a 25 yard solid kill range, but could still kill after that probably. Out of my .22 it sounds like someone dropping a small box - not very loud and not obviously a gun shot.

Plus it's like $8 or so for 100 of them.

Posted: 1/19/2009 11:30:13 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

try some .22 CB shorts in a 20+" rifle ....

They are quieter then your pellet gun, and a hell of a lot more potent

This is the corract answer. If you feel bad then eat'em, they are pretty tasty

Posted: 1/19/2009 11:46:56 AM EDT

[#24]

I like to feed'em and watch'em personaly. I kill varmit at every given chance but not the one's I share my yard with. They are neat little creatures... If you are unable to appreciate god's little nut hoarding tree rats then have them captured/re-located. Otherwise, you will be reincarnated as a squirrel & shot to death by pellet gun

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:01:22 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

try some .22 CB shorts in a 20+" rifle ....

They are quieter then your pellet gun, and a hell of a lot more potent

This is the corract answer. If you feel bad then eat'em, they are pretty tasty

I've been wanting to, but not sure if I can handle it. My stomach isn't that strong anymore for things that I'm not used to. But you never know, it may sit real well. I should probably just try it.

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:05:24 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Since pellet guns don't have that crack they go fairly unnoticed unless your on the roof or in the front yard

screen window off and back from the window would draw very little attention when they are back in season of course

try some .22 CB shorts in a 20+" rifle ....

They are quieter then your pellet gun, and a hell of a lot more potent

I'm with ya i use cb shorts at night sometimes when i don't want to wake up the wife and kids(i live in the country).
They let you slide on a pellet gun around here in town but are really getting pissy about using a real gun in town now.

Posted: 1/19/2009 6:59:49 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

Or chew the wiring out of your car ! Fucking Rodents, the farther they fall the better I feel .

Had this happen to my 2003 Ram pickup. The little fuckers got up inside the engine compartment while I was at the mall.....wasn't in there more than 30 minutes. Got home and pulled a dead squirrel out of the engine comparment. I guess the belts and fans hit him. He was whole, but dead. Killed the car and it wouldn't start the next morning. Called the dealer, they came and got it. They called later and told me that there was about $2500 in damage and it wasn't covered by the warranty because it was obvious that rats or squirrels had chewed on it.

Posted: 1/20/2009 8:22:46 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Once they chew their way into your attic you won’t have any remorse

Or chew the wiring out of your car ! Fucking Rodents, the farther they fall the better I feel .

Had this happen to my 2003 Ram pickup. The little fuckers got up inside the engine compartment while I was at the mall.....wasn't in there more than 30 minutes. Got home and pulled a dead squirrel out of the engine comparment. I guess the belts and fans hit him. He was whole, but dead. Killed the car and it wouldn't start the next morning. Called the dealer, they came and got it. They called later and told me that there was about $2500 in damage and it wasn't covered by the warranty because it was obvious that rats or squirrels had chewed on it.

Oh man, that's just wrong!!!!!!!

Posted: 1/25/2009 7:01:47 PM EDT

[#29]

When I lived in the city they destroyed the eves of my garage. I killed the living shit out of them with my pellet gun. I go to a annual hunt in Southern Illinois every year, nothing I like better than taking a cat squirrel out of the top of a 80 ft Beech tree.

Posted: 1/25/2009 7:39:24 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
When I lived in the city they destroyed the eves of my garage. I killed the living shit out of them with my pellet gun. I go to a annual hunt in Southern Illinois every year, nothing I like better than taking a cat squirrel out of the top of a 80 ft Beech tree.

what on earth is a cat squirrel?