Topic: Missouri town bans pellet-shooting of tree-rats

[Pandora]

Chesterfield, Missouri is proposing a new ordinance that will prevent citizens from shooting pellet guns at nuisance animals like squirrels.

Figures a "concerned" neighbor started the whole brouhaha over a BB-gun.

Hell, my neighbor BB-shoots the squirrels from his front porch and the only objection I have is that he's not a better shot.

[IronDioPriest]

A .22 is a much more efficient tool for rodents. Perhaps the neighbor objects to the BB gun because it is not enough firepower.

 

[Libertas]

Concerned neighbor my ass!  Crazy batsh*t loon more like it!  I know, had a neighbor lady kiddie-corner in the back yard from us where I was raised, goofy lady in there shared a yard with the neighbor more directly across from us that had a huge stand of Cottonwoods in it...squirrels (aka tree rats) nested in there all the time.  Crazy lady would feed the varmints and actually named one!  I and others (but mostly me) would go after the varmints.  She would come out screaming and carrying on...I'd ignore her...my parents would sympathize with me but didn't want that crazy lady calling them and complaining...so I went GI Joe on 'em and would lay in wait concealed and nail 'em.  People who elevate pests above people and their property ought to be run out of town!

[Pandora]

A .22 is a much more efficient tool for rodents. Perhaps the neighbor objects to the BB gun because it is not enough firepower.

 

Cats are even better; no muss, no fuss, self-directed.

Our rodent population has gone way up since our last yard-kitty died.

[Libertas]

A .22 is a much more efficient tool for rodents. Perhaps the neighbor objects to the BB gun because it is not enough firepower.

 

Cats are even better; no muss, no fuss, self-directed.

Our rodent population has gone way up since our last yard-kitty died.

Need a "loaner" or some sub-sonic rounds!

 

[AlanS]

A .22 is a much more efficient tool for rodents. Perhaps the neighbor objects to the BB gun because it is not enough firepower.

 

Cats are even better; no muss, no fuss, self-directed.

Our rodent population has gone way up since our last yard-kitty died.

Need a "loaner" or some sub-sonic rounds!

 

Why didn't I think of that? Rent-a-Kitty.

[Damn_Lucky]

The only problem I have with shooting tree-rats is when you don't clean and eat them.
I love squirrel.

[warpmine]

I had a .22 cal pellet pistol that was damn fine.

[Libertas]

I have my old .22 pump pellet/bb gun for quietly dispatching squirrels at the lake.  Gray, Red...it gets 'em all.

Got any recipes to share DL?

[Pandora]

Lately we're having a crow infestation.  They're big, black and LOUD!  And they were extremely pissed off that a buzzard was sitting in "their" tree this morning.

Brings to mind the scene in Steel Magnolias where Tom Skerritt is trying to shotgun them out of the trees in the backyard the day of his daughter's wedding.

[Libertas]

If they are really big, aren't they raven's then?

I hate 'em all though, noisy as hell, but smart and warry...hard to get a drop on 'em on the spur of the moment...though up at the lake I still try...they stay deep enough in the trees to make a shot hard.

 

PS-All the shotgun does is drop a lot of tree branches in your yard you have to clean up!

[Pandora]

If they are really big, aren't they raven's then?

I hate 'em all though, noisy as hell, but smart and warry...hard to get a drop on 'em on the spur of the moment...though up at the lake I still try...they stay deep enough in the trees to make a shot hard.

 

PS-All the shotgun does is drop a lot of tree branches in your yard you have to clean up!

Maybe they are ravens, I don't know the differences.  I DO know they're a pain in the ass.

I wasn't planning on using a shotgun anyway; we already have enough of Mother Nature's tree-mess to clean up as it is.

[Libertas]

If they are really big, aren't they raven's then?

I hate 'em all though, noisy as hell, but smart and warry...hard to get a drop on 'em on the spur of the moment...though up at the lake I still try...they stay deep enough in the trees to make a shot hard.

 

PS-All the shotgun does is drop a lot of tree branches in your yard you have to clean up!

Maybe they are ravens, I don't know the differences.  I DO know they're a pain in the ass.

I wasn't planning on using a shotgun anyway; we already have enough of Mother Nature's tree-mess to clean up as it is.

Physical Differences: Crows average around 17 inches long, and ravens about 24-27.
A raven weighs about four times that of a crow.
Crows have a wing span around 2.5 ft., and ravens about 3.5-4 ft.
A raven's wing sometimes makes a prominent "swish, swish" sound, while a crow's wingbeat is usually silient.
Ravens have pointed wings, while crows have a more blunt and splayed wing tip.
Crows have a fan-shaped tail (squared-off), while raven tails are long and wege-shaped.
Besides having a bigger, more powerful bill, a raven's bill is curved, while a crow has a more-or-less flat bill. Additionally, atop a raven's bill is a tuft of hairs absent on crows.
As a result of being larger and more powerful, ravens are the more efficient predator. (Predation is a very small percentage of crow and raven diets.)

http://www.angelfire.com/id/ravensknowledge/ravensvscrows.html

[Glock32]

A .22 is a much more efficient tool for rodents. Perhaps the neighbor objects to the BB gun because it is not enough firepower.

 

Cats are even better; no muss, no fuss, self-directed.

Our rodent population has gone way up since our last yard-kitty died.

I had a little mixed dachshund who was thoroughly obsessed with squirrels.  He would lie in the shade staring them down in the branches literally all day.  He was just as quick and acrobatic as they were, so more than a few of them met their end that way.  He would then triumphantly deposit them in the driveway, I suppose as a gift for his humans.

[Pandora]

Ah.  Ever the informative one, Libertas; thanks.

I will have to observe them more closely and report what I see.  Just from the size and the wingspan alone, they probably are ravens.

If they're so crafty and wary, I doubt I'll get close enough to note bill-tufts, though.

[IronDioPriest]

The only problem I have with shooting tree-rats is when you don't clean and eat them.
I love squirrel.

I tasted squirrel once when I was a kid, right alongside some hobby-farm-raised bunnies. I remember actually liking the squirrel better.

[Libertas]

Ah.  Ever the informative one, Libertas; thanks.

I will have to observe them more closely and report what I see.  Just from the size and the wingspan alone, they probably are ravens.

If they're so crafty and wary, I doubt I'll get close enough to note bill-tufts, though.

Their size and wings are the best giveaways.  I see more crows than ravens, and the crows make a heckofa racket!

Years ago the little golf course my father and I played at we saw a crow swoop in from one pine tree and grab my fathers ball he just shot short of the green and up into the next tree he went.  Silly bird thought they were eggs.  A neighbor thought my father was pulling his leg.  Sure enough, he went golfing one day and saw the same thing.  He came up to my father and led off with, "I owe you an apology..."

The course finally got rid of him, had a nest filled with golf balls.
They annoy everyone.

Whenever I see a small bird chasing one off, diving and nipping at it in retaliation for raiding their nest, I always root for the little guy!

[Pandora]

Libertas, check out this one smart little bugger ...

Crow roof tubing ( ?? ? ??)

[John Florida]

  Air rifle at work.

Squirrel Hunt (7) GRAPHIC!

[Libertas]

Heh, crow tubing!  Good balance, eh?

And JF is going greenskeeper Carl on squirrels.  Fresh squirrel stew for din-din!