Hunting, pest control, animal culling

[Kuchipatchi]

I've been doing some research on grey squirrel culling to help with red squirrel conservation. As well as scientific progress in feeding greys contraceptives, people go about and shoot them in their local area or even do what's called "Drey poking" when they find a squirrel nest, prod it with a long pole and shoot the squirrel that comes out if one does.
The UK hunting scene isn't so big compared to the US scene because we're a nation of animal lovers. It bugs me that people think shooting a random pigeon is the same as killing a pet cat but in the same breath complain that pigeons are over-populating the cities. What can you do to get rid of these pests?
I've seen a fair amount of US-based YT channels do hunting videos. My favourite are the 'catch, clean, cook videos' because you get a recipe out of it though I'm still squeamish about the gutting parts but it's interesting to see the hunting stage, making a meal out of a pest.

I'm hoping to get an air gun myself soon, I've got the money over Christmas and looking about but the friend that has the knowledge is on holiday so I have to wait for him to come back.

Have you got any hunting stories, been on a culling run, subscribed to some good channels or your own catch, clean, cooked some food?

 

[NekoRightsActivist]

IDK about squrriel but plecos are the creepiest invasive species ever and should be exterminated at all costs.

 

[Kuchipatchi]

IDK about squrriel but plecos are the creepiest invasive species ever and should be exterminated at all costs.

In the UK, at least, grey squirrels have brought over diseases that are fatal to our red natives, out compete them for food and strip bark from trees.

Just watched that video, damn! That'll be one hell of a task to deal with and the poor manatees!
I wonder if they're edible cos you can catch and cook them. Do the tiniest thing is a start.

 

[DumbDude42]

in my area the wild boar population is exploding but the faggot greens block any expansion of hunting operations so it just keeps getting worse
the boars usually just live in the forests but more and more they invade the suburbs where they trash peoples gardens. they bite holes in fences to get through, dig around in the ground for food and ruin the lawn in the process, eat or trample the plants people are growing, etc. very annoying. to keep them out of your property you have to either build solid wall around it or at least thick steel fence that extends deep enough underground to prevent them from digging under it, which is expensive and annoying to set up.

 

[Feline Supremacist]

You know why these populations get out of control? They have a steady food source. We are insanely wasteful and produce more food that we can consume, supermarkets and farmers literally throw tons of food away. People are also wasteful and throw food away that these critters eat. Stop leaving food out that's accessible to them; yes, that means not leaving food for Rex or Fluffy outside.

Don't poison these animals, regardless of your feelings. Pigeons and squirrels may really rustle your jimmies but hawks, falcons and owls feed on them, and if you poison then raptors will also be poisoned. Some of these birds are endangered so there's also that. Personally I trap and release. I know this isn't an option for the gray squirrel in the UK so shooting them may actually be more humane.

 

[Champion The Wonder Horse]

@Kuchipatchi I can't quote your post but -

1) The UK hunting scene is a lot bigger than you think and bigger than reported, I'm not going to power level on this but more people hunt than you are lead to think, most of the people I know who hunt are young say sub 35 and do it quietly, and don't use approved methods.

2) Dray pokeing - It's great I used to do it regularly but you need to do it in the right season to have a full effect. In Winter some kits will reoccupy a dray so will the odd adult but doing it now isn't ideal. This time of year your better laying out a 50/50 mix of marmite and Honey on a stick and picking them off with a Air Rifle or Catapult.

Now if you want a natural control you need to think Dog more than Cat, Greys can out manover and out run your average moggy, and they know it - get a small to mid sized fast dog in your garden and you wont see them, also do the best you can to encourage Covids like Magpies or Crows, they predate on them and also out compete the greys for food.

Also before you ask about expeiance, yes I have a lot in this sort of thing both legal and questionably so, including Nogging which is a really old form of control involving drway poking and tossing weighted sticks at tree rats.

Incedentally Wild Garlic, Olive Oil and a bit of Rasbery wine makes a nice glaze for Greys when roasted on a low fire.

Theres an awful lot of catapults sold, and an awful lot of long dogs bred for a country where supposedly not many people hunt...

Prefer a 12 bore myself; duck, pheasant, partridge, pigeon, the odd bit of ground game. Also have a mate who does a lot of deer control so there's always venison going.

 

[Papa Adolfo's Take'n'Bake]

Lol airguns. On this side of the Atlantic we just use a .22LR for pest control. All I have to contribute is helping a buddy with a white tail problem in his back yard this season. One good shot later and that little herd was off for the season.

As for people getting squeamish by the gutting: it's a lot like handling the raw meat you buy at stores. The real trick is to get 'er done as quickly as possible, wear a mask with peppermint oil if you're bad with smells and just focus on calmly and deliberately severing the connective tissue. Panic, overthinking and ESPECIALLY comparing the guts to something are the enemies. Just resign yourself that you will probably fuck up your first few dressings don't process yourself until you get good at ripping guts out.

 

[TaterFarmer]

IDK about squrriel but plecos are the creepiest invasive species ever and should be exterminated at all costs.

Develop a netting system to catch them. It should be easy enough with how tight they school, I think crabs or lobsters are trapped off the ocean floors when they move in schools. They could look at how that's done. Legalize a catching season that happens BEFORE the egg laying season. Get some chef to create a recipe for that fish, maybe hold a contest and publish a book of recipes. Then find vendors to clean and sell the netted fish as a gourmet protein. If you live in the area, go grab a bunch of them and find out if there's a way to make them tasty. You could get rich if you can.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

We eat iguanas.

 

[Kuchipatchi]

Don't poison these animals, regardless of your feelings. Pigeons and squirrels may really rustle your jimmies but hawks, falcons and owls feed on them, and if you poison then raptors will also be poisoned. Some of these birds are endangered so there's also that.

Yeah, I'm against poisoning pests. Sure, it'll work wonders in the short term but the long term damage will be hard to repair.
I love seeing birds of prey, I live in the suburbs so I don't get to see them often. I'd love to leave some food out for them one day.

 

[Wahgonga]

Yeah, I'm against poisoning pests. Sure, it'll work wonders in the short term but the long term damage will be hard to repair.
I love seeing birds of prey, I live in the suburbs so I don't get to see them often. I'd love to leave some food out for them one day.

We have problems with red squirrels where I live. They tend to find ways into your attic and walls where they make one hell of a noisy mess. They like to chew the insulation off wires, and are the cause of more than a few house fires. The grays are not destructive at all, and keep to themselves.

I'm pretty far out in the woods so I can use any gun I want. For red squirrels and ground hogs I generally use a .17 HMR bolt action rifle. However there is a road about a mile away to the south, so if I have to shoot something in that general direction I use a scoped Weihrauch HW98 air rifle just to be safe.

I don't eat the squirrels or hogs. I toss them pretty far out in the back field and they're always gone by morning. Plenty of predators here ready for a free snack. Bears, Grey Fox, and Bobcats are the main ones. We also have Bald Eagles and Hawks. I don't use poison at all. Too much of a chance of accidentally poisoning something other than the specific pests I'm targeting.

Only recent hunting story I have was last year's moose hunt. My nephew got drawn, and I went along with him as a spotter and to help recover the animal after. He shot a 700lb bull at around 225 yards. Took it through the shoulders heart and lungs with a .308 soft point. Dropped it right on the spot. After processing he ended up with around 270lbs of meat, and I got a bunch of steaks and burger for helping out.

What's your price range for an air rifle, and do you have a preliminary idea of what you might want to buy?

 

[Kuchipatchi]

What's your price range for an air rifle, and do you have a preliminary idea of what you might want to buy?

I've saved up an extra £100 over Christmas to put towards the gun but looking to not spend over £300. I was told that .22 calibre is fine for shooting small animals like squirrels and pigeons.
This'll be my first air rifle so I don't need anything fancy.

Other than shooting, I'd love to go hunt some crayfish. Signal Crayfish are infesting our waters and destroy anything and everything they come across.
Too bad I don't like seafood otherwise I'd eat them too.

 

[Wahgonga]

I've saved up an extra £100 over Christmas to put towards the gun but looking to not spend over £300. I was told that .22 calibre is fine for shooting small animals like squirrels and pigeons.
This'll be my first air rifle so I don't need anything fancy.

Other than shooting, I'd love to go hunt some crayfish. Signal Crayfish are infesting our waters and destroy anything and everything they come across.
Too bad I don't like seafood otherwise I'd eat them too.

You can definitely get a good quality .22cal air rifle and scope in that price range, and have money to spare. I'd recommend a break barrel spring piston gun. You want to avoid a C02 gun for hunting, because once you puncture the cartridge, you have to either use it up, or dump it while it's still got pressure in it because you can't store a C02 gun pressurized.

With a spring piston gun you just crank down the barrel, put a round in the breech, close it, and shoot. Spring piston guns also generally have a higher velocity. Some brands you should check out are Gamo, and Hatsan. Both companies make affordable high quality guns. Weihrauch rifles are pricier but they are top of the line beautiful guns.

Also, be sure to get a scope that's rated for airgun use. Regular firearm scopes are designed to withstand rearward recoil. Spring piston airguns recoil rearward and then forward. That forward shock will destroy a normal firearm scope.

My Weihrauch HW98 is a .22cal spring piston gun. With pointed hunting pellets the velocity is around 1000fps. Headshots on squirrels out to 40-50 yards are no problem.

Helluva shooter-

 

[Sped Xing]

Theres an awful lot of catapults sold, and an awful lot of long dogs bred for a country where supposedly not many people hunt...

I prefer to hunt with my trebuchet.

 

[Kuchipatchi]

You can definitely get a good quality .22cal air rifle and scope in that price range, and have money to spare. I'd recommend a break barrel spring piston gun. You want to avoid a C02 gun for hunting, because once you puncture the cartridge, you have to either use it up, or dump it while it's still got pressure in it because you can't store a C02 gun pressurized.

With a spring piston gun you just crank down the barrel, put a round in the breech, close it, and shoot. Spring piston guns also generally have a higher velocity. Some brands you should check out are Gamo, and Hatsan. Both companies make affordable high quality guns. Weihrauch rifles are pricier but they are top of the line beautiful guns.

Also, be sure to get a scope that's rated for airgun use. Regular firearm scopes are designed to withstand rearward recoil. Spring piston airguns recoil rearward and then forward. That forward shock will destroy a normal firearm scope.

My Weihrauch HW98 is a .22cal spring piston gun. With pointed hunting pellets the velocity is around 1000fps. Headshots on squirrels out to 40-50 yards are no problem.

Helluva shooter-

View attachment 2854224

I've heard of Weihrauch during my research but I'm not sure if I can afford that brand. Thanks for the info, the thing about the CO2 was interesting, I don't want to fill a quota when I want to unwind and have fun.

I talked to a family member that turned out to have an air rifle and he said that there's a shop near his house and my dad can take me there one day. I really look forward to getting my airgun soon!

Now I need to find somewhere nearby that'll let me get some wildlife.

 

[troon patrol]

I have a Savage .22LR that is perfect for picking off crows.

 

[LurkNoMore]

in my area the wild boar population is exploding but the faggot greens block any expansion of hunting operations so it just keeps getting worse
the boars usually just live in the forests but more and more they invade the suburbs where they trash peoples gardens. they bite holes in fences to get through, dig around in the ground for food and ruin the lawn in the process, eat or trample the plants people are growing, etc. very annoying. to keep them out of your property you have to either build solid wall around it or at least thick steel fence that extends deep enough underground to prevent them from digging under it, which is expensive and annoying to set up.

Shame you don't live in America. You can hunt them year round without a permit. Best practice is buy one of them cages and you can get 20-30 of them in a single go.

Develop a netting system to catch them. It should be easy enough with how tight they school, I think crabs or lobsters are trapped off the ocean floors when they move in schools. They could look at how that's done. Legalize a catching season that happens BEFORE the egg laying season. Get some chef to create a recipe for that fish, maybe hold a contest and publish a book of recipes. Then find vendors to clean and sell the netted fish as a gourmet protein. If you live in the area, go grab a bunch of them and find out if there's a way to make them tasty. You could get rich if you can.

Their catfish, never had catfish that didn't taste alright. Fried tails are always good.

 

[Molester Stallone]

Around my parts we tend to have an infestation of squirrels, or chipmunks every year. I never saw the chipmunks as a problem until they began damaging vehicles. My neighbor has been setting rat traps for them but he can't keep up. He would need dozens of traps and have to be baiting, and resetting them all day to even stand a chance. The squirrels are easier to deal with as they can be picked off pretty easily when their numbers begin to increase. Having a few quality air rifles makes for an entertaining afternoon with friends.

 

[Sped Xing]

You really don't need *that* much of a fence to stop feral hogs, unless there's something they really want right on the other side. Standard hog wire will make them choose to go through the neighbor's barbed wire, instead.

They are awful, though, and culling does no more than at best make them scared of the area their friends got shot. Macedonian boys had to kill a wild boar singlehandedly up close before they were allowed to eat at the men's table. Maybe schools should make it a prerequisite for a high school diploma.

I've heard of people capturing them in traps, loading them onto trailers, and dropping them off at the sale barn for lods emone. I don't know if that's true, and it's definitely harder than just rigging the creek bed each night with claymores.

 

[B2_Spirit]

I'm a spearfisher. Or was, till I moved away from Cornwall, but I plan on checking out the new area I'm in this Spring and see what kinds of fish species there are in the bay. It's pretty heavily populated/fished but there's a gang of seals nearby which suggests there's enough to support them at least so there must be something.
Otherwise I'm pretty good with a slingshot when the Fallout days come for eating rat on a stick and pidgeon pie.

In response to OP, When I lived in Coventry, they used to have a couple of guys with a rifle sweep the town centre at night and take down pidgeons, you'd see mysterious spots of blood on the floor in the morning but they'd take the dead ones and incinerate them at some facility. They do control the pidgeon pop actively in most inner cities but because it would "upset" the public they do it in the small hours.