Squirrels can read minds - Who knew?

[PHPaul]

I scatter some scratch feed for my chickens twice a day - morning chores and evening chores. I use a Wild Bird Mix for scratch feed, sunflowers, cracked corn, oats, millet and various other seeds. Double benefit, what the chickens don't eat (they don't appear to care for millet) the mourning doves and various tweety birds hoover up.

Last week, at least once a day, I'd spot a grey squirrel in there getting his share. I was gonna give him a pass, but he started going in the coop and chowing down on the layer pellets...not to mention making a mess while he was at it. Sorry, Rocket J., that's over the line.

So, I staged my pellet pistol in the feed shed figuring I'd pop his fuzzy butt.

Haven't seen the furry little bastige since. Whatever works, I guess.

 

[jkrez]

I scatter some scratch feed for my chickens twice a day - morning chores and evening chores. I use a Wild Bird Mix for scratch feed, sunflowers, cracked corn, oats, millet and various other seeds. Double benefit, what the chickens don't eat (they don't appear to care for millet) the mourning doves and various tweety birds hoover up.

Last week, at least once a day, I'd spot a grey squirrel in there getting his share. I was gonna give him a pass, but he started going in the coop and chowing down on the layer pellets...not to mention making a mess while he was at it. Sorry, Rocket J., that's over the line.

So, I staged my pellet pistol in the feed shed figuring I'd pop his fuzzy butt.

Haven't seen the furry little bastige since. Whatever works, I guess.

Same thing happening when I get the AR out for a groundhog.

 

[Nicfin36]

They know when your gunning for them.

 

[Tughill Tom]

I scatter some scratch feed for my chickens twice a day - morning chores and evening chores. I use a Wild Bird Mix for scratch feed, sunflowers, cracked corn, oats, millet and various other seeds. Double benefit, what the chickens don't eat (they don't appear to care for millet) the mourning doves and various tweety birds hoover up.

Last week, at least once a day, I'd spot a grey squirrel in there getting his share. I was gonna give him a pass, but he started going in the coop and chowing down on the layer pellets...not to mention making a mess while he was at it. Sorry, Rocket J., that's over the line.

So, I staged my pellet pistol in the feed shed figuring I'd pop his fuzzy butt.

Haven't seen the furry little bastige since. Whatever works, I guess.

Patience Grasshopper, They will come back!

 

[Deleted member 47704]

Put aluminum foil yur hat, it blocks tree rats and groundhogs/woodchucks/gophers from reading yur brain waves.

 

[bearbait]

I scatter some scratch feed for my chickens twice a day - morning chores and evening chores. I use a Wild Bird Mix for scratch feed, sunflowers, cracked corn, oats, millet and various other seeds. Double benefit, what the chickens don't eat (they don't appear to care for millet) the mourning doves and various tweety birds hoover up.

Last week, at least once a day, I'd spot a grey squirrel in there getting his share. I was gonna give him a pass, but he started going in the coop and chowing down on the layer pellets...not to mention making a mess while he was at it. Sorry, Rocket J., that's over the line.

So, I staged my pellet pistol in the feed shed figuring I'd pop his fuzzy butt.

Haven't seen the furry little bastige since. Whatever works, I guess.

Guess mine aren't that smart, all I can tell ya is it's great that the eagles and crows like them more than I do...just lay them belly up in the field and they disappear.

 

[Old_Paint]

Guess mine aren't that smart, all I can tell ya is it's great that the eagles and crows like them more than I do...just lay them belly up in the field and they disappear.

The crows here (actually ravens) like playing with them. Had a pair nest in the back this year, and I presumed they ran off all the red-tail hawks that nested back there last year. Hawks and crows can't abide each other. Was watching 5 crows and 5 squirrels playing around under some pines behind my place. The squirrels would pretend to attack the crows, the crows would pretend to be afraid and just hop over the squirrels. A brown streak about 5 feet wide comes outta the trees to the southwest, and suddenly, there's 4 squirrels, and a screeching noise (the MIA squirrel) going off to the east. The other 4 squirrels just get really still, wondering 'Where'd Billy go?' The crows are very abnormally dumbfounded until the red-tail that just caught lunch whistles one time. Then 5 crows start screaming and trying to chase down a hawk that just snatched a playmate out from under their beaks. He was already nearly a half-mile away with a squirrel corpse dangling from his talons by the time the crows reacted. I wish he'd teach his tactics to all his friends and a few eagles to go with it. That was most impressive to see him go between all the trees and critters on the ground and grab a specific one out of the bunch. Must have been the juiciest looking one to him. That's one less squirrel raiding our bird feeders.

If I can ever figure out how to make it safe for the birds, I've got an old-school bug zapper that's going to be converted to a squirrel zapper. Can't wait to see it work. That's GoPro camera and Youtube stuff.

 

[RCW]

Same thing happening when I get the AR out for a groundhog.

As a young person, we had a 20 acre "hill" field across a small crick valley from the house on the farm.

Sloped toward the house/barn, and and you could see 5-6 woodchuck/groundhog holes from the house. Shots ranged 200-400 yards.

Just before we moved, I was out studying for college finals behind the house. My Rem 700 Varmint Special in Rem .22-250 was leaning against the back of the house near me.

There were a couple 'chucks left on that hill, and it was a tough shot for my 55gr Sierra Spitzer pushed by 36 gr. of IMR 4064. The valley made the bullet wobble a little, and my accuracy up there wasn't great. They were spooky....

A Sheriff's Deputy from the next-door county pulls in the driveway, and WAY in until he could see me.....

He asks my last name.....Is the gun loaded? (Gun wasn't loaded)

He then asks if I knew where to hunt turkeys? (Turkey hunting was kind of new then)

Said not a turkey guy, but a woodchuck guy. No more than said it, then I saw a "shaver" on the hill....a woodchuck just peeking over the mound/grass by a inch.....

I pointed out the woodchuck, and did ask permission to shoot at it.

Grabbed the gun, folded down the Harris bipod, put one in the chamber and closed the bolt.

Literally laid down on the lawn 20 feet from his front bumper....settled the 4-12 crosshair right on the top of head and squeezed it off.

You could see it pull him out of the hole. The Crack of the hit followed....About 325 yards as I recall. Not a bad yardage for me, but terrain was the challenge.

He was pretty impressed. He said "I think you got it!!"

He had a Ruger 77V in 220 Swift. Just didn't have it dialed in like I have the .22-250.

He really looked my gun over afterwards, and we had a great talk about long-range varmint shooting.

He didn't get turkey advice, but learned a lot that day.......

 

[NCL4701]

About 5 years ago, we had a groundhog causing carnage in Dad’s garden, which is right across from my front yard. Dad had been hunting him for a while and I’d been keeping an eye out for him but we never could get a shot at him.

One Saturday afternoon I was in our driveway getting the camper de-winterized, doing some routine maintenance, and getting it ready for a trip. My 4WD pickup was in the driveway as well. Groundhog came out of the woods carefully making his way to the garden. It was about a 200 yard shot so too long for my .22LR or shotgun. Went in and got my .308. He must have been shot at before because as soon as I started to point it in his direction he bolted for the coverage of the woods.

I laid the rifle on the back of the truck and went back to work. He came back and as soon as I picked up the rifle he was back in the woods. Repeated about 3 times and I was getting a bit more committed to beating him.

Last time I had laid the rifle under the truck. When he came out, I crawled under the truck (on the concrete driveway), lined him up, and took him out.

I had ear valves in (picked them up when I got the rifle). Still, if I’ve ever heard a louder sound than shooting a .308 while laying on a concrete driveway under a pickup truck, I can’t recall what it was. Wouldn’t advise doing it.

 

[bearbait]

The crows here (actually ravens) like playing with them. Had a pair nest in the back this year, and I presumed they ran off all the red-tail hawks that nested back there last year. Hawks and crows can't abide each other. Was watching 5 crows and 5 squirrels playing around under some pines behind my place. The squirrels would pretend to attack the crows, the crows would pretend to be afraid and just hop over the squirrels. A brown streak about 5 feet wide comes outta the trees to the southwest, and suddenly, there's 4 squirrels, and a screeching noise (the MIA squirrel) going off to the east. The other 4 squirrels just get really still, wondering 'Where'd Billy go?' The crows are very abnormally dumbfounded until the red-tail that just caught lunch whistles one time. Then 5 crows start screaming and trying to chase down a hawk that just snatched a playmate out from under their beaks. He was already nearly a half-mile away with a squirrel corpse dangling from his talons by the time the crows reacted. I wish he'd teach his tactics to all his friends and a few eagles to go with it. That was most impressive to see him go between all the trees and critters on the ground and grab a specific one out of the bunch. Must have been the juiciest looking one to him. That's one less squirrel raiding our bird feeders.

If I can ever figure out how to make it safe for the birds, I've got an old-school bug zapper that's going to be converted to a squirrel zapper. Can't wait to see it work. That's GoPro camera and Youtube stuff.

Great observation, you just put into words what I couldn't without getting tongue tied and people looking at me funny, thank you. After a life time living in the woods, just let nature take it's course..we have a lot to learn from our unruly friends.

 

[Lil Foot]

I've experienced the same thing with various critters. Told my neighbor about it and he didn't believe me.
Waited till the critters were in sight, and went in and grabbed a broom, shouldered it like a long gun, and got no reaction. Went back in, traded the broom for pellet gun, and critters vanish.

 

[Deleted member 47704]

I've had trouble with woodchucks forever.
One day I got a lawn chair and set it where I could where they were browsing on clover.
My brother came over while we were sitting there my chair started to list. Finally it dropped down with a leg sunk into the ground several inches, I put the chair right on top of a woodchuck tunnel and it broke through!

 

[motionclone]

I had a woodchuck digging a hole in the side of my leachfield so that was its death sentence. All i had for a scoped rifle was an Browning 30 06. Every time i started to open a door or slide open the slider even a 1/8" that thing would high tail. So i left a bedroom window open with the screen still in place and shot through the screen. That was LOUD but i saved my leachfield

 

[Nicfin36]

It is armadillos here. They can really make a mess with their digging. I can usually go out at night and find them them in the act of digging and take care of business, but our times must not be coinciding, because I cannot catch the little buggers.

 

[mcfarmall]

I had a woodchuck digging a hole in the side of my leachfield so that was its death sentence. All i had for a scoped rifle was an Browning 30 06. Every time i started to open a door or slide open the slider even a 1/8" that thing would high tail. So i left a bedroom window open with the screen still in place and shot through the screen. That was LOUD but i saved my leachfield

LOL I had some crows destroying property so I threw out a package of ground venison that was lost in the freezer and badly freezerburned. The next day happened to be Easter Sunday so the day before I removed the upstairs master bedroom window screen and positioned the shotgun nearby. We got home from church and the wife needed to use the master bathroom, well those crows were having a nice Easter lunch on that frozen venison. I grabbed the shotgun, opened the window unbeknownst to the crows and my wife. Squeezed a shot off and got the two that were eating but the lookout got away. Let's just say that constipation wasn't a problem for her that day!

 

[DustyRusty]

Do you ever wonder why crows in and around Boston never get hit by cars? It is clear that the only crows that get hit in the roadways are always hit by trucks. The reason is clear, the look out crow has mastered the word kah, kah, but still hasn't mastered the word truck, truck..