On Jun 18, 3:22*pm, "Joe AutoDrill" wrote:
If you staple a brightly colored tag to its ear it will be easier to
recognize next time.

I'll make you a deal. *I'll catch a few NJ-born and bread Raccoons and *you*
can try to get that tag on their ear.
..
Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.


First nail it to the workbench.

jsw

wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet rifle.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Ignoramus13320 wrote:

I do not want to traumatize my kids, they are too impressionable. And
it is illegal; for me to shoot guns in my backyard.

How about intruders in your living room?

Wes

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet rifle.

I have a Gamo `1000 FPS .177 air rifle, it is nothing short of
amazing. I once became upset at squirrels, took a rifle, out of five
shots, I killed three with headshots and fatally injured the fourth.

i

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
Ignoramus13320 wrote:

I do not want to traumatize my kids, they are too impressionable. And
it is illegal; for me to shoot guns in my backyard.

How about intruders in your living room?

That's legal, as far as I know, under some circumstances. Illinois is
not rabidly anti gun, only moderately anti gun.

i

What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.
--

Dan H.
northshore MA.

"dan" wrote in message
...
What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.

Really nasty on cats and dogs.

http://www.terrierman.com/traprelease.htm

--
Ed Huntress

What's that Lassie? You say that dan fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:26:59 GMT:

What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.

Forgot to include a link:
http://www.oneidavictor.com/trapsett...tructions.html
--

Dan H.
northshore MA.

On Jun 18, 5:07*pm, wrote:
...
Not a lot of what used to be called "boy's rifles" out there, all the
boys have grown up and the manufacturers are going after thicker
wallets now.

Stan

When I grew up and had a thicker wallet I wanted a Boyes rifle:
http://www.kramersales.com/images/Fi...rtAntitank.jpg
The importer rebarreled them to .50 BMG.
It's a waste in NH, it begs for a rifle range the size of the North
African desert.

It wouldn't even have been the biggest gun on the street, someone had
one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_mm_H..._anti-tank_gun

If you don't have an appropriate tracked vehicle to tow it this is a
"reasonable" compromise:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahti_L-39
Riley's gun store in Hooksett NH had one for sale some years ago.

And you think .380 ammo is expensive and hard to find.

jsw

Ignoramus13320 wrote:

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet rifle.

I have a Gamo `1000 FPS .177 air rifle, it is nothing short of
amazing. I once became upset at squirrels, took a rifle, out of five
shots, I killed three with headshots and fatally injured the fourth.

i

Yup, Gamo makes a number of powerful air rifles. I used to like squirrels until I saw how
much damage they do. Now I call them tree rats and deal with accordingly.


Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

On 2010-06-18, Ed Huntress wrote:

"dan" wrote in message
...
What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.

Really nasty on cats and dogs.

http://www.terrierman.com/traprelease.htm


and kids.

i

On 2010-06-18, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jun 18, 5:07?pm, wrote:
...
Not a lot of what used to be called "boy's rifles" out there, all the
boys have grown up and the manufacturers are going after thicker
wallets now.

Stan

When I grew up and had a thicker wallet I wanted a Boyes rifle:
http://www.kramersales.com/images/Fi...rtAntitank.jpg
The importer rebarreled them to .50 BMG.
It's a waste in NH, it begs for a rifle range the size of the North
African desert.

It wouldn't even have been the biggest gun on the street, someone had
one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_mm_H..._anti-tank_gun

If you don't have an appropriate tracked vehicle to tow it this is a
"reasonable" compromise:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahti_L-39
Riley's gun store in Hooksett NH had one for sale some years ago.

And you think .380 ammo is expensive and hard to find.

jsw

My grandpa commanded something like this (if I remember his
WWII photographs correctly).

http://tinyurl.com/2cu5o56

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/280_mm_mortar_M1939_(Br-5)

He had nightmares almost every night.

On Jun 18, 6:39*pm, (dan) wrote:
...
Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. *The right
size kills them quick.

Forgot to include a link:http://www.oneidavictor.com/trapsett...tructions.html
Dan H.

When we trapped muskrat and beaver with them the vee fence of upright
sticks leading in was an obvious warning to keep your boots away. They
don't squeeze too hard if you let them close slowly but when they snap
on an animal they crush the neck bones.

The instructions brought back the muscle memory of how to set them. I
could do it without looking but not describe how.

At home I'd use the Havahart type, covered with clear plastic if you
worry about skunks. You do want to see what's inside.

jsw

On Jun 18, 7:00*pm, Ignoramus13320 ignoramus13...@NOSPAM.
13320.invalid wrote:
...
My grandpa commanded something like this (if I remember his
WWII photographs correctly).

http://tinyurl.com/2cu5o56

That's a REAL gun!

Russians don't think small:
http://mikeandbevdavis.net/BaMPix/Russia/russia058b.jpg

My father trained on 4.2" mortars until he was whisked off to Officer
Candidate School. When the rest of the unit reached Italy they set up
in an old German dugout, for which the Germans still had maps.
Artillery wiped them out immediately.

jsw

On 6/18/2010 10:52 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 6/18/2010 9:20 AM, Ignoramus13320 wrote:
On 2010-06-18, Ed wrote:

id wrote in message
...
I think that he lives under a porch. It is furry and the size of a
big cat.

http://igor.chudov.com/Animal/

i

Groundhog (woodchuck).

http://www.frugalyankee.com/files/groundhog_main.jpg

http://mypunchbowl.files.wordpress.c.../groundhog.jpg

I have a recipe for woodchuck in sour cream, from the old Gourmet
magazine,
should you need it.g


I tried eating squirrel, it was disgusting. I prefer chicken.

i

Funny you mention squirrel. A guy I know from my gun club was telling me a
couple of weeks ago that he eats squirrel. I was surprised. He told me he
makes a shepard's pie and used squirrel meat in it. I didn't say much
about it to him but I was amazed that anyone actually ate squirrel these
days. I'd heard of it in the olden days from hillbillies and such but not
today.

This hillbilly still eats them. I fry the young ones with rosemary and
scallion or chives, and either braise the older ones or make a Brunswick
Stew -- the real original recipe, with squirrel.

He also said he went on rabbit hunting trips and killed up to 100 rabbits.
This guy grew up in the boonies and was a real cowboy when he was a young
man so I can understand where he learned this stuff. It just goes to show
you that you never know what other people are up to. Eating squirrels?
That sounds like something Gummer would do.

Me, too. They're delicious. The young ones are a lot like rabbit; the older
ones taste like turkey dark meat.

Iggy just did something wrong. d8-)



One man's meat is another man's poison still seems to apply. The older I
get the less meat I eat. Now it's only turkey, ham, and chicken and I'd
like to eat even less than I do now. As someone who grew up in a family
where we ate meat three meals a day not eating meat almost seems a
sacrilege. But now that I know more about the process of where "meat"
comes from the less appealing it is. Count me as someone who would never
eat any exotic or weird kinds of meat. I just have this memory from the
Beverly Hillbillys with "Granny" yelling out to Jed that the possum or
squirrels would be done right soon. Grosses me out. I think it did for
most people then too, which was what they intended. Nope, squirrels are
for feeding and watching play, not eating. If they were for eating
they'd be in the meat counter in a Styrofoam container.

Hawke

"Hawke" wrote in message
...
On 6/18/2010 10:52 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 6/18/2010 9:20 AM, Ignoramus13320 wrote:
On 2010-06-18, Ed wrote:

id wrote in
message
...
I think that he lives under a porch. It is furry and the size of a
big cat.

http://igor.chudov.com/Animal/

i

Groundhog (woodchuck).

http://www.frugalyankee.com/files/groundhog_main.jpg

http://mypunchbowl.files.wordpress.c.../groundhog.jpg

I have a recipe for woodchuck in sour cream, from the old Gourmet
magazine,
should you need it.g


I tried eating squirrel, it was disgusting. I prefer chicken.

i

Funny you mention squirrel. A guy I know from my gun club was telling me
a
couple of weeks ago that he eats squirrel. I was surprised. He told me
he
makes a shepard's pie and used squirrel meat in it. I didn't say much
about it to him but I was amazed that anyone actually ate squirrel these
days. I'd heard of it in the olden days from hillbillies and such but
not
today.

This hillbilly still eats them. I fry the young ones with rosemary and
scallion or chives, and either braise the older ones or make a Brunswick
Stew -- the real original recipe, with squirrel.

He also said he went on rabbit hunting trips and killed up to 100
rabbits.
This guy grew up in the boonies and was a real cowboy when he was a
young
man so I can understand where he learned this stuff. It just goes to
show
you that you never know what other people are up to. Eating squirrels?
That sounds like something Gummer would do.

Me, too. They're delicious. The young ones are a lot like rabbit; the
older
ones taste like turkey dark meat.

Iggy just did something wrong. d8-)



One man's meat is another man's poison still seems to apply. The older I
get the less meat I eat. Now it's only turkey, ham, and chicken and I'd
like to eat even less than I do now. As someone who grew up in a family
where we ate meat three meals a day not eating meat almost seems a
sacrilege. But now that I know more about the process of where "meat"
comes from the less appealing it is. Count me as someone who would never
eat any exotic or weird kinds of meat. I just have this memory from the
Beverly Hillbillys with "Granny" yelling out to Jed that the possum or
squirrels would be done right soon. Grosses me out.

'Possum really needs an applesauce dressing. It's kind of musky. It's been
said that among wild meats it's the closest in taste to domestic meat, and
it's often compared to pork, but it would be one musky pig, in my opinion,
to taste like roast 'possum.

There isn't much I won't eat. Uuurrrppp!

I think it did for most people then too, which was what they intended.
Nope, squirrels are for feeding and watching play, not eating. If they
were for eating they'd be in the meat counter in a Styrofoam container.

Hawke

Wuss. g

--
Ed Huntress

On Jun 18, 7:51*pm, Hawke wrote:
On 6/18/2010 10:52 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
......Nope, squirrels are
for feeding and watching play, not eating. If they were for eating
they'd be in the meat counter in a Styrofoam container.

Hawke

And that was a Hawke that doesn't eat squirrels.

Next up, a cat that fears mice:
http://www.lycaeum.org/~sputnik/Drug.../Chapter2.html

On 2010-06-18, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jun 18, 7:00?pm, Ignoramus13320 ignoramus13...@NOSPAM.
13320.invalid wrote:
...
My grandpa commanded something like this (if I remember his
WWII photographs correctly).

http://tinyurl.com/2cu5o56

That's a REAL gun!

Or it may have been this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...hibition-2.jpg

Russians don't think small:
http://mikeandbevdavis.net/BaMPix/Russia/russia058b.jpg

My father trained on 4.2" mortars until he was whisked off to Officer
Candidate School. When the rest of the unit reached Italy they set up
in an old German dugout, for which the Germans still had maps.
Artillery wiped them out immediately.

Scary stuff. Digging seems to be the essential war skill.

I was reading about tanks, when a tank company arrived to a new place
they had to dig out (usually by hand in those times) tank
emplacements. That was appx. 40 cubic yards of soil to move.

i

If you can get longs, or subsonics in flat point or hollow point, that
should work. I havn't tried this, but consider shooting from indoors,
a foot or so in from the window. Might contain the sound. I don't
know, but it's an idea.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ignoramus13320" wrote in
message ...

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

i

So, try it and let us know how it works. The air rifle vs. the
woodchuck. Might work, never know.

Aparently the rimfires are popular now days. People stocking up.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ignoramus13320" wrote in
message ...

All of my guns are far louder than really is sensible for the
situation. Plus the ricochet issue in a suburb. I do not own a .22.

I visited a gun dealer recently and saw no .22 rifles cheaper than
$200, WTF?

Anyway, I have a 1000 fps air rifle, which works great against
squirrels (really great!), but it looks like it is not enough for this
woodchuck.

i

Moving critters is like bailing the ocean from one side of the boat to
the other side.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Buerste" wrote in message
...


The last time I trapped a raccoon in the shop and took him for a ride
it
took him two busses and a taxi to get back three days later.

Woodchuck with bright ear tags ride bus for free, here.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
On Jun 18, 2:38 pm, "Buerste" wrote:
...

The last time I trapped a raccoon in the shop and took him for a
ride it
took him two busses and a taxi to get back three days later.

Catch and release laws, huh?

If you staple a brightly colored tag to its ear it will be easier to
recognize next time.

Box trap, spray paint, and release a couple blocks away. No problem.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ignoramus13320" wrote in
message ...


How about intruders in your living room?

That's legal, as far as I know, under some circumstances. Illinois is
not rabidly anti gun, only moderately anti gun.

i

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:52:07 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:29:29 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Ignoramus13320" wrote in message
news:1N6dnZC3S4ayOIbRnZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@giganews. com...

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

i

Make sure it's a BIG one.

A reminder about live traps - rig a remote release in case it traps
something you don't want ... like a skunk. :-)

Wayne

Oh, boy, do I have a story about that. g I had to forge a hook on the end
of a LONG stick (actually, two 11' surf rods taped together) when that
unfortunate circumstance occurred. I wrapped myself in a plastic drop cloth
before getting that close. That was for my wooden box trap. If I'd caught
one in the Havahart (spring-loaded door, with a latch) I think I would have
just kept him in there as a pet and fed him with the surf rods...


I learned a couple years ago that I'm part of local lore in the small
town in Nova Scotia my mother's family came from.

About 35 years ago I was camping on my grandmother's timber lot with a
couple friends. I had made a trip to Labrador, hitching and by ferry,
and while there met a fellow who taught me how to snare rabbits.
Anxious to impress my friends with my new skills I got hold of some
wire, found all sorts of rabbit runs in an abandoned orchard, and
figured to have a couple rabbits in no time. I set 3 or 4 snares in
the runs around the orchard. When I returned they were all pushed
aside, and not a single rabbit. I reset them, opening the loops a
little wider. Same result. Damn, these must be big rabbits. Opened the
loops wider, and came back several hours later to find a very angry
porcupine in one of the snares. There was no way to release him, so I
was forced to club him to death with a stout branch. After that we
felt obligated to eat him, and proceeded to roast him on a spit. It
was edible, but not something you'd want to eat a lot of, so I made a
big pot of lentil stew with the leftovers. That's the way to cook
'pine.

My uncle has since inherited the land and is building a camp. I was
there a few years ago and he told me some locals stopped by to visit
and wanted to know whether he was related to the guy who eats
porcupines.

--
Ned Simmons

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:51:23 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:02:02 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins
wrote:

On Jun 18, 1:42*pm, Hawke wrote:
...
Eating squirrels? That sounds like something Gummer would do.

Hawke


Squirrels earned their own class of rifles:
http://www.donstith.com/hawken_squirrel.html

They and rabbits are the only plentiful daytime animals worth eating
and too stupid or self-confident to hide from us.
I can sometimes see a chipmunk further away than a deer, because deer
freeze and blend in very well.

There is a game park at Stone Mountain GA with tame deer wandering
around under the pine trees. When they lie down they vanish in plain
sight, the hair looks just like pine needles. The easiest way to find
one is to look for the flies,above them, then the nose and eyes and
ears.

jsw


Actually, when I shoot a squirrel...there really isnt a hell of a lot
left to eat. The California Cat Squirrel is considered a varmint, is
often tick and flea infested and while fun to shoot at long ranges with
a decent varmint rifle..is hardly something one wishes to eat.

Youtube has plenty of 22-250 vrs Squirrel videos.

My dad loved squirrel: Indiana gray and black squirrels, not the
chittering little varmints. He shot them offhand thru the head with
his Browning SA-22 rifle, made in Belgium and chambered for shorts.
Dad regarded anything more than shorts with hollowpoints as excessive
for squirrel hunting.

He cleaned 'em, Dr. Ma cooked 'em. Yum!

He later had to sell that rifle to make ends meet, that being in a
time when Americans actually took responsibility for their lives,
livelihoods and families. He always regretted having to do that, but
in that era a man didn't expect and wouldn't allow the government to
support him or his family if there was any way to avoid that shame.
The SA-22 is the rifle held by John Moses Browning in the Wiki about
him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning

It was out of production for some time, but I came across one a couple
of years ago and was reluctant to leave the store without it because
it was my Dad's favorite rifle. Mary made me buy it. No kidding!
When I balked with indecision because it was kinda pricey for a .22,
she bought the rifle doing the 4473 with her name and her creds, my
VISA card. She's a woman who knows how and when to make a decision. I
like that about her. She ain't always right but her track record is
quite respectable.

It comes apart, can be easily packed in a suitcase. Dad liked that
because he could take it on the train so he could go hunting when he
returned to Indiana.

It is amazingly accurate for such a small rifle with iron sights, and
it is a lot of fun to shoot even though I can't see iron sights like I
could as a youth and never could like my Dad could. I was about as
good as any the Army had at the time, nowhere near as good as Dad.

The Ruger 10-22 is a very popular rifle. I can see why it's popular,
but it isn't in the same league or even the same galaxy as the John
Moses Browning designed Browning SA-22 semiautomatic .22 rimfire
rifle.

"Ned Simmons" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:52:07 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:29:29 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Ignoramus13320" wrote in message
news:1N6dnZC3S4ayOIbRnZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@giganews .com...

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

i

Make sure it's a BIG one.

A reminder about live traps - rig a remote release in case it traps
something you don't want ... like a skunk. :-)

Wayne

Oh, boy, do I have a story about that. g I had to forge a hook on the
end
of a LONG stick (actually, two 11' surf rods taped together) when that
unfortunate circumstance occurred. I wrapped myself in a plastic drop
cloth
before getting that close. That was for my wooden box trap. If I'd caught
one in the Havahart (spring-loaded door, with a latch) I think I would
have
just kept him in there as a pet and fed him with the surf rods...


I learned a couple years ago that I'm part of local lore in the small
town in Nova Scotia my mother's family came from.

About 35 years ago I was camping on my grandmother's timber lot with a
couple friends. I had made a trip to Labrador, hitching and by ferry,
and while there met a fellow who taught me how to snare rabbits.
Anxious to impress my friends with my new skills I got hold of some
wire, found all sorts of rabbit runs in an abandoned orchard, and
figured to have a couple rabbits in no time. I set 3 or 4 snares in
the runs around the orchard. When I returned they were all pushed
aside, and not a single rabbit. I reset them, opening the loops a
little wider. Same result. Damn, these must be big rabbits. Opened the
loops wider, and came back several hours later to find a very angry
porcupine in one of the snares. There was no way to release him, so I
was forced to club him to death with a stout branch. After that we
felt obligated to eat him, and proceeded to roast him on a spit. It
was edible, but not something you'd want to eat a lot of, so I made a
big pot of lentil stew with the leftovers. That's the way to cook
'pine.

My uncle has since inherited the land and is building a camp. I was
there a few years ago and he told me some locals stopped by to visit
and wanted to know whether he was related to the guy who eats
porcupines.

--
Ned Simmons

Ha! Good one!

I'm told that porkies that live among evergreens taste like a pine tree.
That's one critter I've never eaten.

Wes can update me on this, but during at least part of the time when I lived
in Michigan (1966 - 1973), it was illegal to kill porkies. Not because they
were trying to preserve them -- they do a hell of a lot of damage to
trees -- but because they were the only animal slow enough that you could
kill one with a stick. It was an ancient law that was based on the idea that
someone lost in the woods could always catch and kill a porcupine to eat.

During that time the conservationists were raising hell about the law,
pointing to the awful number of trees they destroyed. I never did hear how
that legal fight came out.

--
Ed Huntress

On Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:29:30 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:51:23 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:02:02 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins
wrote:

On Jun 18, 1:42*pm, Hawke wrote:
...
Eating squirrels? That sounds like something Gummer would do.

Hawke


Squirrels earned their own class of rifles:
http://www.donstith.com/hawken_squirrel.html

They and rabbits are the only plentiful daytime animals worth eating
and too stupid or self-confident to hide from us.
I can sometimes see a chipmunk further away than a deer, because deer
freeze and blend in very well.

There is a game park at Stone Mountain GA with tame deer wandering
around under the pine trees. When they lie down they vanish in plain
sight, the hair looks just like pine needles. The easiest way to find
one is to look for the flies,above them, then the nose and eyes and
ears.

jsw


Actually, when I shoot a squirrel...there really isnt a hell of a lot
left to eat. The California Cat Squirrel is considered a varmint, is
often tick and flea infested and while fun to shoot at long ranges with
a decent varmint rifle..is hardly something one wishes to eat.

Youtube has plenty of 22-250 vrs Squirrel videos.

My dad loved squirrel: Indiana gray and black squirrels, not the
chittering little varmints. He shot them offhand thru the head with
his Browning SA-22 rifle, made in Belgium and chambered for shorts.
Dad regarded anything more than shorts with hollowpoints as excessive
for squirrel hunting.

He cleaned 'em, Dr. Ma cooked 'em. Yum!

He later had to sell that rifle to make ends meet, that being in a
time when Americans actually took responsibility for their lives,
livelihoods and families. He always regretted having to do that, but
in that era a man didn't expect and wouldn't allow the government to
support him or his family if there was any way to avoid that shame.
The SA-22 is the rifle held by John Moses Browning in the Wiki about
him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning

It was out of production for some time, but I came across one a couple
of years ago and was reluctant to leave the store without it because
it was my Dad's favorite rifle. Mary made me buy it. No kidding!
When I balked with indecision because it was kinda pricey for a .22,
she bought the rifle doing the 4473 with her name and her creds, my
VISA card. She's a woman who knows how and when to make a decision. I
like that about her. She ain't always right but her track record is
quite respectable.

It comes apart, can be easily packed in a suitcase. Dad liked that
because he could take it on the train so he could go hunting when he
returned to Indiana.

It is amazingly accurate for such a small rifle with iron sights, and
it is a lot of fun to shoot even though I can't see iron sights like I
could as a youth and never could like my Dad could. I was about as
good as any the Army had at the time, nowhere near as good as Dad.

The Ruger 10-22 is a very popular rifle. I can see why it's popular,
but it isn't in the same league or even the same galaxy as the John
Moses Browning designed Browning SA-22 semiautomatic .22 rimfire
rifle.





My Aunt Mullet had the Remington version, Model 241 I think. When we
were kids and wanted crawfishing bait, we'd ask Aunt Mullet. She'd
grab her rifle and lean around the corner of the house, shoot us three
or four jackdaws (grackles) out of the cottonwoods in the front yard.
Range was 20-40 yards, darn good shooting. We'd hoot and holler, grab
'em, and head for the canal. This wasn't in town.

Pete Keillor

Ed Huntress wrote:
"William Wixon" wrote in message
...
"Ignoramus13320" wrote in message
...
On 2010-06-18, Ed Huntress wrote:
"Ignoramus13320" wrote in message
...
I think that he lives under a porch. It is furry and the size of a
big cat.

http://igor.chudov.com/Animal/

i
Groundhog (woodchuck).

http://www.frugalyankee.com/files/groundhog_main.jpg

http://mypunchbowl.files.wordpress.c.../groundhog.jpg

I have a recipe for woodchuck in sour cream, from the old Gourmet
magazine,
should you need it. g

I tried eating squirrel, it was disgusting. I prefer chicken.

i
a few weeks ago i came across a dead rabbit on the road. he was still
warm. i brought him home and did a google search on how to gut and skin a
rabbit. i was afraid i'd be too disgusted to do it but i did do it,
wasn't as bad as i feared (was afraid i'd be so disgusted i'd vomit and
not be able to finish). somehow it reminded me of processing a mango.
well, so, i followed the directions i found on-line. the guy said to boil
it for an hour or two. did. i found the meat to have a disgusting aroma.
i couldn't get myself to even put a tiny bit in my mouth to taste it. my
hands (and all the utensils, pots, etc.) were INFUSED with that same
disgusting aroma (from the fat/oil of the rabbit) it took HOURS for that
smell to fade from my hands. i was afraid "what, if i've got this
disgusting smell INFUSED into my skin just touching it i can't imagine
what it'll be like to put it inside me". was a shame to let that meat
(and effort) to go to waste but i buried the meat in my garden. i
wondered if perhaps it might've been due to some internal organ being
crushed and it's fluids expelled into the rabbit. i wonder if ordinarily
rabbit meat is as palatable "as chicken".

i'd like to see ed's woodchuck recipe. i've got lots of woodchucks. (and
yes, i put a fence around my garden after one of the early years having a
woodchuck DEVASTATE my young brussels sprouts and broccoli plants. that's
when i learned crucifers are EXCELLENT woodchuck bait for my havahart
trap.

b.w.

My _Gourmet_ series is in my attic, but this is almost the same recipe:

http://www.justgamerecipes.com/print...t-0015944.html

What they don't tell you is that you MUST remove the musk glands behind the
legs, and do it carefully. I haven't skinned one in 40 years so I can't help
you there. Maybe someone else here can help.

If you break the musk glands, throw the chuck away.

About your rabbit: It normally has no real aroma when raw, maybe something
like chicken. Cooked, it has a mild flavor with a slight gamey "tang."
Recipes that contain some vinegar or other acid, such as the lemon juice in
many hassenpfeffer recipes, eliminate the tang.

You had one bad rabbit. I've eaten at least 100 cottontails, and they are
delicious.

Cleaning small game is not for the squeamish. It helps to have started doing
it before age 10. g The neat way to gut a rabbit is to slit him from anus
to upper chest (near the throat); grab the two front legs in one hand and
the rear legs in the other; turn him so the slit is facing away from you;
swing him back over your head; and "flip" or "snap" him forward, like a
soccer-ball throw-in. The guts go flying.

Do not do this in the house. d8-)


Also be aware of who happens to be standing "in range", girlfriends and
wives take a dim view of critter guts in the hair....

'chuck is not bad as long as you prep it correctly. Very fatty though.

--
Steve W.
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On Jun 19, 1:38*am, Ned Simmons wrote:
...
...Opened the
loops wider, and came back several hours later to find a very angry
porcupine in one of the snares. There was no way to release him, so I
was forced to club him to death with a stout branch. After that we
...
Ned Simmons

If you really have to pick one up, say it stuck its head in a hole and
you can't hit it, you can pin its tail down and then slide your hand
toward the tip as you grab. I'm not recommending that but I got away
with it.

I skinned it successfully, salted the skin and hung it up to drain,
but the crows got it. Same with the skunk.

jsw

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:52:26 -0400, Wes
wrote the following:

Ignoramus13320 wrote:

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet rifle.

I have a Gamo `1000 FPS .177 air rifle, it is nothing short of
amazing. I once became upset at squirrels, took a rifle, out of five
shots, I killed three with headshots and fatally injured the fourth.

(That should take out a woodchuck, Ig.)


Yup, Gamo makes a number of powerful air rifles. I used to like squirrels until I saw how
much damage they do. Now I call them tree rats and deal with accordingly.

I used the .22 for the ground rats around here. They do far more
damage than tree rats. They ruined my weed patch, erm, my lawn.

--
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst.
-- Lin Yutang

In article , (dan)
wrote:

What's that Lassie? You say that dan fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:26:59 GMT:

What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.

Forgot to include a link:
http://www.oneidavictor.com/trapsett...tructions.html

I'd be worried about using this with schools of children running this way and
that.

Joe Gwinn

On Jun 19, 11:39*am, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
...
I'd be worried about using this with schools of children running this way and
that.
Joe Gwinn

http://www.kremlinoptics.com/catalog...le_scopes.html

On 2010-06-19, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:52:26 -0400, Wes
wrote the following:

Ignoramus13320 wrote:

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet rifle.

I have a Gamo `1000 FPS .177 air rifle, it is nothing short of
amazing. I once became upset at squirrels, took a rifle, out of five
shots, I killed three with headshots and fatally injured the fourth.

(That should take out a woodchuck, Ig.)

I know that a pellet from this air rifle goes through 1/2 inch
plywood. (I hope that I remember right)

I heard from a few people who said that I could not kill a groundhog
with that and now you say I can. Hm

What I would REALLY not want is to injure this woodchuck, so that it
runs away and then dies in a burrow under my porch. That would really
stink!

i


Yup, Gamo makes a number of powerful air rifles. I used to like squirrels until I saw how
much damage they do. Now I call them tree rats and deal with accordingly.

I used the .22 for the ground rats around here. They do far more
damage than tree rats. They ruined my weed patch, erm, my lawn.

Ignoramus20428 wrote:
....
What I would REALLY not want is to injure this woodchuck, so that it
runs away and then dies in a burrow under my porch. That would really
stink!

Dying in the burrow probably wouldn't be so bad, if you closed it up
with dirt. I once had a raccoon die under a plywood "porch" that was
only inches off the ground & the only way to extract the corpse was to
reach in & pull it out. Piece by piece, that is, 'cause by the time I
had figured out where that awful smell was coming from, it was well into
decomposition. That was THE most disgusting thing I've ever done, and
I've done some disgusting things.

Bob

"Ignoramus20428" wrote in message
...
On 2010-06-19, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:52:26 -0400, Wes
wrote the following:

Ignoramus13320 wrote:

On 2010-06-18, Wes wrote:
wrote:

For in-town use, I'd recommend one of the more potent air rifles, you
can still get a good springer for under $120. That should take care
of most anything up to rabbit size with proper shot placement. Ammo
is a hell of a lot cheaper than .22s, too.

Speaking of air rifles, a .22 cal or better would be a nice and quiet
rifle.

I have a Gamo `1000 FPS .177 air rifle, it is nothing short of
amazing. I once became upset at squirrels, took a rifle, out of five
shots, I killed three with headshots and fatally injured the fourth.

(That should take out a woodchuck, Ig.)

I know that a pellet from this air rifle goes through 1/2 inch
plywood. (I hope that I remember right)

I heard from a few people who said that I could not kill a groundhog
with that and now you say I can. Hm

Read carefully. You can take out a woodchuck with almost anything *if you
make a head shot*. That's what a couple of people have explained to you. If
you're able and disciplined to do that, go for it.

Jim Wilkins pointed out why 'chucks are hard to kill if you don't shoot them
in the head. His is not some minority opinion. Having shot and killed a
couple hundred of them, and having once immersed myself in the
recommendations from the wildcat clan who shot them all the time, I can
agree what Jim says is widely known among varmint hunters. They don't die
easily if shot indisciminately in the body.

If you don't kill them, they'll make it into their hole and die there. That
may not be so bad if you fill the hole immediately, or, if the hole is under
your porch, it can produce a stinking mess that will disgust you for several
weeks. g


What I would REALLY not want is to injure this woodchuck, so that it
runs away and then dies in a burrow under my porch. That would really
stink!

Bingo. If your chucks are calm enough that they'll sit still for you to
shoot, maybe you can make a clean head shot.

Try this trick: When no one is in your yard except for a chuck chomping his
way through your vegetation, give a sharp, short, high-pitched whistle. Or
use a toy whistle to do it if you can't whistle. That fluttering sound of a
regular whistle does not help; pull out the little ball, if you can.

If the chuck is comfy he will sit up on his hind legs and just look. Shoot
now. This is something that varmint hunters have been doing for many years,
and it usually works.

If the chuck is nervous, he will run when you whistle. Your chances of
getting a clean, still head shot will be much less. 'Time for the trap.

--
Ed Huntress

On Jun 19, 12:41*pm, "Ed Huntress" wrote:
...
Try this trick: When no one is in your yard except for a chuck chomping his
way through your vegetation, give a sharp, short, high-pitched whistle. Or
use a toy whistle to do it if you can't whistle. That fluttering sound of a
regular whistle does not help; pull out the little ball, if you can.

If the chuck is comfy he will sit up on his hind legs and just look. Shoot
now. This is something that varmint hunters have been doing for many years,
and it usually works.

If the chuck is nervous, he will run when you whistle. Your chances of
getting a clean, still head shot will be much less. 'Time for the trap.

--
Ed Huntress

After sitting alert and motionless for a while my lips are too dry
when I try to whistle. Do you know if an ultrasonic dog whistle works?
I don't want to attract the neighbors' attention as well, since they
might all want a shot themselves.

Several mouth noises that don't sound human or threatening work, like
clucking and hissing. They sit up and look for the source.

OTOH if you make a loud deep WOOF like a large dog lots of animals
flee in terror even if they were staring at you, who are obviously not
the large dog. That's my immediate reaction to a sudden nearby noise
at night outdoors. It works on people too.

jsw

On Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:53:44 -0500, Ignoramus13320
wrote the following:

On 2010-06-18, Ed Huntress wrote:

"dan" wrote in message
...
What's that Lassie? You say that Ignoramus13320 fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:56:15 -0500:

I cannot use anything bigger (louder) than .22.

Sounds like havahart is the way to go.

Or (if allowed in your area) you can uses a conibear trap. The right
size kills them quick.

Really nasty on cats and dogs.

http://www.terrierman.com/traprelease.htm

and kids.

So, you don't set traps where kids and dogs can get at them. Simple.

Find their hole, pour 29.4% ammonia down it, and cover it. Problem
solved, nitrogen released from the ammonia as it degrades. Buy it at a
surveyor's supply. A gallon cost me $7.75 a while back.

P.S: Keep the jug of aqua ammonia away from kids/pets, too.

--
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst.
-- Lin Yutang

On 2010-06-19, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Ignoramus20428 wrote:
...
What I would REALLY not want is to injure this woodchuck, so that it
runs away and then dies in a burrow under my porch. That would really
stink!

Dying in the burrow probably wouldn't be so bad, if you closed it up
with dirt. I once had a raccoon die under a plywood "porch" that was
only inches off the ground & the only way to extract the corpse was to
reach in & pull it out. Piece by piece, that is, 'cause by the time I
had figured out where that awful smell was coming from, it was well into
decomposition. That was THE most disgusting thing I've ever done, and
I've done some disgusting things.

That does sound very disgusting indeed. I am not easily grossed out,
and was called to remove dead animals, but not this big and not in
advanced stage of decomposition.

i

On Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:07:17 -0400
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

snip
Wes can update me on this, but during at least part of the time when I lived
in Michigan (1966 - 1973), it was illegal to kill porkies. Not because they
were trying to preserve them -- they do a hell of a lot of damage to
trees -- but because they were the only animal slow enough that you could
kill one with a stick. It was an ancient law that was based on the idea that
someone lost in the woods could always catch and kill a porcupine to eat.

Still had rules for the 2008 Hunting season tucked away on the computer:

===
Small Game
Early September Canada Goose Hunting A small game license entitles you
to hunt rabbit, hare, squirrel (fox and gray), pheasant, ruffed grouse,
woodcock (HIP endorsement required), quail, crow, coyote (applies to
Michigan residents only) and waterfowl (with a federal waterfowl stamp
and Michigan waterfowl hunting license, if age 16 or older) during the
open season. Opossum, porcupine, weasel, red squirrel, skunk,
ground squirrel and woodchuck also may be taken year-round
with a valid hunting license. No license is required for a resident,
residents spouse or residents children to hunt small game on the
enclosed farmlands where they live, except a federal waterfowl
stamp and state waterfowl license are required to hunt waterfowl.
===

Michigan has had no closed season on them for as long as I can
remember...

I've heard the same story you told (save them for survival situations),
but in general, not just a Michigan thing (shrug).

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:04:47 -0400
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

snip
Now I'm really curious about this. Was it a myth? Or was there a reversal of
the law at some point?

I have some old Michigan hunting rules & regs. I know they don't go
back to the time you remember though, I'm not as old as most people
think ;-)

I'll try and look around for them later and see what they say.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email