Hunting Ground RATS With A .22 Mag and with Archery!
Some pretty good shooting – clearing ground rats out of a horse arena. This one is using a .22 Mag and finishes up with two excellent shots using a bow and arrow.
For me it’s time to shake off this cold winter and head out to the country and start thinning the population.
Flatlander…
Prairie Dog Hunting – Thinning out a prairie dog colony with .17 HMR rfile.
Some good footage here with many slow-motion replays.
It’s always interesting to see how effective the .17 HMR is for small varmints like this.
Enjoy…..
Check with your game and parks or wildlife resources departments in your state and your area. In many states, the season for ground squirrels and many other “pest” species never closes. So, no matter what time of year it is, you can almost always go out and find something to hunt. It’s good for the soul. It keeps you sane.
For example, here’s a list of species in Wisconsin that never closes:
Species with Year-round Hunting Seasons
The following small game species may be taken year-round with any valid hunting license* (except within state park and recreation areas from April 1 to September 14):
The following species may be taken with a firearm year-round with any valid hunting license (except within state park and recreation areas from April 1 to September 14):
*No license is required for a resident, resident’s spouse or resident’s children to hunt small game on the enclosed farmlands where they live.
OK? Now go out and squeeze a few off and keep those shot groups close.
Ground Squirrels cause lots of damage in pastures and crops and their holes can cripple cattle and horses. Pest control methods such as poisoning, etc. is too expensive. So, you call out the snipers to reduce the population.
Enjoy the ground squirrel hunting video below.
– flatlander
I read an article put out by the Colorado State University Extension Office where they were discussing the damage and control of the Wyoming Ground Squirrel populations. Among the various control methods was, of course, shooting.
Here’s an excerpt from this article:
Small, isolated colonies of Wyoming ground squirrels can be effectively controlled by shooting. Shooting lowers the population by removing individuals and disrupting their life cycle. However, if there are other colonies of ground squirrels nearby, individuals from those populations will migrate into the area where squirrels are being removed. For effective control of problem ground squirrels, a population must be kept under constant shooting pressure.”
Ahh…. music to my ears! Keep them under “constant shooting pressure”. Makes me want to get out and send a few .17 HMR Hornady V-Max bullets down range!
There’s nothing like hearing the crack of the rifle and smelling the burnt gun powder out in the field! I guess if you’re going to be on crack, that’s the crack to be on.
Take a kid hunting – teach them gun safety – get them out in the field. Get ‘em hooked on the crack of rifles and pistols and you won’t find them in trouble on the streets.
– flatlander
235 +/- squirrels less on the farm..
Rifle: Ruger 77/17
Scope: Tasco World Class Scope (6x-24x-44mm)
Ammo: Hornady .17 HMR ballistic tip
This was taken over a two day period where the problem was not solved completely, but certainly addressed… The dead land in the film use to be rows of trees, and the piles of limb and branches in the video are whats left of the trees. The green is the neighboring alfalfa which they are severely threatening…
My kids and I like this movie. I know most of you redneck squirrel whackers won’t admit to liking something like this, but you should at least like Doug’s squirrel joke (Doug is the talking dog for you boys from Montana….).
