i need a gun!
 

Ok so its an airgun of course and i dont want anything too powerful. As odd as that may sound, its for the squirrels in my back garden and i dont want to kill the stupid little things, just sting them enough to make em run.

Currently the super soaker type water pistol thingy only irritates them for a second or 2, and they sit on the back fence just out of range of it till i go away and then they are back in eating all the bird food and chasing the little birdies away.

I prefer birds to rats with fluffy tails, so all your airsoft peeps and general gun loving nutters - tell me what i should be looking at please :)

Remember - i DONT want dead squirrels messing up my garden, just want to give them a slap!

Re: i need a gun!
 

Have you looked at squirrel proof feeders like this one or these even if they dont work that well its fun watching how they figure out how to get into them HTH




ps nice to see you posting again, ive missed you ;)

Re: i need a gun!
 

You will injure a squirrel if you shoot it with an airsoft gun, if you get it in the eye or something probably seriously.

Get a proper airgun and kill them properly and humanely.


Or look into other means, traps maybe, maybe dosing the bird seed with some chillis? I think birds are immune to it but mammals not but look into it. Or try something irritant in the super soaker.

Re: i need a gun!
 

If you intend to shoot the squirrel and not kill it, i.e. causing distress and harm to the animal, you will be in breach of the relevant animal cruelty laws.

However, if you kill the squirrels humanely, then all is above board, provided you do not "discharge a firearm, including an airgun, within 50 feet of the centre of any highway".

By the way, airsoft rifles are split into two groups, realistic imitation firearms (RIF) and imitation firearms (IF). The difference between the two are that one looks like an actual firearm (RIF) whereas the other (IF) is half painted in a different colour (fluorescent green, pink, blue, orange etc). You should not be able to get an RIF unless you can proof you are a skirmisher (ie participates at an airsoft site at least 3 times within 6 months(?)).

To sum up, shooting squirrels with airgun, airsoft or otherwise is not a good idea and you should probably use a squirrel-proof feeder.

Re: i need a gun!
 

Why not?

The tree rat is an invasive species, a pest and completely legal airgun quarry. I've been shooting them for years perfectly legally.

Re: i need a gun!
 

There's a pair of ravens that keep attacking the wipers on our car plus all the other neighbours cars for the past 3 months or so on a daily basis. If I were fortunate enough to live out in the sticks the little b'stards would have have 32grams of bird shot in their face!

Re: i need a gun!
 

Kill them! The guy that lives next to my olds used to catch them, then take them about 5 miles down the road and release them. Somehow someone in the council found out about it and he got grief for it. The council actually said it was illegal to catch them and set them free, they are classed as vermin and should be destroyed...

He's still fighting the loosing battle with the little Feckers but he's now bumping them off!!!

Re: i need a gun!
 

You can eat them when you kill them....put them in a pie with some rabbit etc....mmmmmmmm

Re: i need a gun!
 

Dont waste them if you do pop the odd few as they dont taste to bad, bit like duck ;) plenty recipes online (example) http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sauted_squirrel_20328 :)

Re: i need a gun!
 

Either shot to kill, or ignore and enjoy the sight of them. As others say, squirrel proof feeders are ok, but you must change them every so often, or they'll learn how to get in.

As for catch and release, grey squirrels are not indigenous and it's an offence to release one back into the wild, even if you catch it by accident.

My opinion? Ask around, find a local Airgun club and ask for help. I'm off shooting tree rats next weekend for a friends auntie who is over-run with the feckers. I'll be cooking them for our tea as well. It's only right.

Pete ;)