Be Vewwy Quiet

[WØTKX]

So my "new" (rental, sigh) home is old, pretty neglected. The property outside is pretty much dry and barren.
Well, except for thos pesky wabbits. Vermin I say, so I'm gonna git 'em. Colorado Division of Wildlife says GO!

OTOH, I have permission for antennas, and it is pretty cool and funky. Mor to come about that.

Built this live trap, and deployed it about a half hour ago. Will probably make another one or two.
There are 5-7 of the little shits, they dig under the storage sheds and what-not.

Trap 'em, and kill 'em. Yes, I could get a pellet rifle and that would be interesting, but potentially messy and painful.
Neighbors might freak out too. So, into the large garbage can full of water. Then, wrap and freeze till garbage day.

Same as the 11 mice I've dispatched in the basement/crawlspace areas. I'll post the "wheel of death" soon.

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[N8YX]

Y U no like hausenpfeffer?

Around here the scourge is groundhogs...the Eastern marmot. Also known as the other, other white meat. Been dealing with those things on and off for several years.

[kb2vxa]

Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated! That thing operates like a much larger version made out of a steel pipe that the Fish & Game Commie Mission uses to trap bears. One place I lived at had an awful squirrel problem, thankfully I found a trap in the basement like the one shown only with a single door. Unfortunately that's the only picture that shows the drop down door and latch, inside is a tilting flat piece of metal for a trigger and actuating rod. The ASPCA uses them to catch cats in abandoned houses when they're too elusive for chasing them around with big nets. You heard the phrase "it's like trying to herd cats", well, I've seen it done and it's funny as hell.

Shooting them is messy and painful? WTF do you care, they're WABBITS! Hu hu hu hu hu. Consider drowning is any less??? When you see the first one in spending several minutes frantically scrambling to escape, then wear itself out as it bobs around gasping for air and eventually stop moving ask yourself "What HAVE I done?" Then you'll buy a .22 rifle and a box of longs and do it the RIGHT way, hit it in the head or shoulder and it goes down without so much as a twitch.

Now if you want to elicit a really nasty revenge do what I did with that trap and the squirrels that were chewing up my coax and tearing insulation out of the walls, but first you need one of those real radios that can kill you or a KW amp., or at least the plate transformer from one. Find an AM Gangsta, they have lots of cool stuff. Next a trip to a high performance auto supply store for a spool of solid conductor ignition wire also just fine for hooking up remote power supplies. Last you'll need to rig up something you can stick into the trap without shorting out, if you can dig up an old CRT HV probe with a meter on it from a defunct TV shop one works perfectly. Use your noodle, you're a HAM, you can rig up a remote power switch and other nasties, it's best done outdoors because distressed rodents tend to spray urine everywhere. Drag over a boom box and play AC-DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap nice and loud, when the screech owl gets to HIGH VOLTAGE stick it in. MUAHAHAHAAAaaaaaa.....

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CONTACT!

[WØTKX]

If you submerge the trap in water, and weight it down, the bubbles stop quickly.

Got two, Mama is too smart, and now the trap is a little soaked and sticks.
It will dry out soon, and back in business.

However, done a little research, and I have a backup arriving from Amazon.



Quiet single shot bolt action .22 air rifle. Under $130.00 with ammo, CO2, and oil.

Disclaimer: This is not a gun thread.

[ad4mg]

No bump stock option?

If you submerge the trap in water, and weight it down, the bubbles stop quickly.

Got two, Mama is too smart, and now the trap is a little soaked and sticks.
It will dry out soon, and back in business.

However, done a little research, and I have a backup arriving from Amazon.



Quiet single shot bolt action .22 air rifle. Under $130.00 with ammo, CO2, and oil.

Disclaimer: This is not a gun thread.

[HUGH]

Drowning is definitely best, it's pretty much like going to sleep and has the advantage of removing any warning smells from the trap. It works with squirrels and rabbits.
One or two methods mooted over here included putting the beast into a sack and jumping on it's head or bringing two concrete blocks together. If that doesn't work successfully you have a mess and the animal is in a great deal of pain in the process.

[WØTKX]

I worked on the trap yesterday and reset it. Sanded the heck out of the door and the guides.
Don't want to poly or varnish the thing for water, as the smell would mess with the rabbits.
It's hidden under a tree, so it looks more like a neato hidey hole.

The Beeman air rifle will be here on Friday the 13th. I have ammo, and pellets already.
Today (on 9/11) a scope and laser bore sight device arrive. Printing targets.
The goal is (of course) single shot and quick. I can do this.

So far, I'm just under $180 for the whole thing. Which is pretty decent.
Just need a case, so the scope will stay dialed in.

Yeah Hugh, drowning is preferred, but mama bunny won't go near the trap.
She (and some of the older ones) sniff at it, and eat the outside bait.





Ja sure Luke, a bump stock on a single shot.

[K4PIH]

Get a Home Depot "Homer" bucket with lid and about 24" of 4-6" PVC or styrene drain pipe. It has to be smooth inside but anything will work Cut a hole in the lid so that the drain pipe fits really snug and push it in about 4". Use some gorilla glue to cement pipe in place.

Put at least 6" of water and some sliced apples in the water. Snap on the lid and place near trees.

Squirrels try to get to the apples, slide down the pipe and can't get out and drown. Works on all types of varmints. Rabbits if you bury the bucket ground level.

[N8YX]

Gamo makes a neat suppressed air rifle in either .177 or .22 cal. With the company's special pointed-tip pellets, they're easily capable of dispatching squirrels or rabbits and a former boss used his to rid their yard of woodchucks.

My favorite small game rig was an old CO2-powered Crosman single-shot .22 pistol. That's what got me hooked on handgun hunting. Nowadays, the platform of choice (from a bench) is a T/C Encore w/ 12" .22LR bull barrel (made by Bulberry Barrel Works). With a 3x9 scope attached the setup weighs as much as a similarly equipped rifle and will put an entire box of CCI Mini-Mags into the same hole @ 50yds.

Area farmers with a squirrel problem around their corn cribs or a woodchuck takeover of their pastures needn't do more than ring me up and I'll gladly donate my time and equipment. Likewise with coyotes, though I have other gear for dealing with them. I'm not too fond of eating squirrel or rabbit but have plenty of acquaintances who are, so anything I harvest is either given to the landowner or to people who will appreciate the game.

[WØTKX]

The Beeman is a Chinese made improved copy of that old Crosman.
Imagine that. So far, no takers on the relocated trap.
At least the ants have not found it yet.

I know about the bucket trick for squirrels and rabbits.
Didn't want to dig here, ground is hard and rocky.

I just got some wood working tools too, so I wanted to practice.
Replacement for my Craftsman circular saw and a Bosch router.

So, maybe another thread about the wood working projects.
Been busting my ass getting the new place fixed up.
It was pretty trashed out. Barely habitable.

Much nicer now, but it's a mess with sawdust everywhere.

The router is a hoot.