The Squirrels Have Been Asking For It

My brother also had a pre-'64 Wham-O slingshot. We found that Sun-Maid raisins made good anti-personnel ammo. They weren't hard enough to give more than a good sting and they were biodegradable. They also provided a snack when waiting in ambush for one of the other kids in the neighborhood.
 
I've always wondered if there'd be a market out there for some rubber .177 or .22 cal rubber pellets for bb guns or pellet guns that we could use to shoot and chase tree rats and other pests away but not kill them. You could have a lot of fun with your old Red Ryder with those.
 
fiasconva said:
I've always wondered if there'd be a market out there for some rubber .177 or .22 cal rubber pellets for bb guns or pellet guns that we could use to shoot and chase tree rats and other pests away but not kill them. You could have a lot of fun with your old Red Ryder with those.
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I got a bunch of costume jewelry beads and raised cane with the neighborhood cats.

The small ones were curb balls but the bigger they got the more accurate they became.

You need weight but weight can injure them.
 
If the intent is not to kill them but just chase ‘em off, how about use an airsoft pistol? Get a replica of a model that you normally carry, stick it in your favorite holster, and practice your fast draw.
 
Onomea said:
If the intent is not to kill them but just chase ‘em off, how about use an airsoft pistol? Get a replica of a model that you normally carry, stick it in your favorite holster, and practice your fast draw.
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My wife uses an Airsoft CO2 revolver that closely resembles a S&W. It uses a plastic ring that holds 8 pellets and loads like a moon clip.

My Airsoft of choice is a battery operated full auto Thompson. Runs at 400 rounds per minute and I can chase them up into the trees with it.
 
Like the OP I also have Blue Jays and squirrels.The difference is I enjoy watching the squirrels and hate the screeching Blue jays.

Squirrels are entertaining to watch. They're territorial. They will sneak up on another and scare the heck out of them. They will confront another one rather than go around. They will sit within a few feet of a hawk on the fence but go into full panic mode when a small kitten comes around.

I've got them on a schedule. PBJ around 9am and roasted peanuts at noon. I crack my back door and one is usually right there waiting. I don't want them in the house so I tell them to "Get back!" and they usually back up a few feet. Have an older squirrel with a bad front leg. He will just sit and wait his turn.

I really like squirrels. It's a kind of therapy for me. I feel like the Mother squirrel trying to keep some semblance of order so they all get the same chance to survive through the Winter.
 
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coltle6920 said:
Squirrels are entertaining to watch. They're territorial. They will sneak up on another and scare the heck out of them. They will confront another one rather than go around. They will sit within a few feet of a hawk on the fence but go into full panic mode when a small kitten comes around.
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When my late mother was bedridden with Lou Gehrig's disease, the squirrels coming to our back deck were a source of entertainment for her. We built a mini-corn crib on the deck rail and then from her bed Mom could watch the squirrels chow down on the corn ears we put in the corn crib.
 
Walter Rego said:
....

I figure they need some aversion therapy. ....
If the squirrels want a free lunch they are going to have to provide some target opportunity for me.
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Aim low and count on a helpful ricochet if you're off a bit.
The bushy tailed rats in my yard make my [formerly] nice lawn look the buggers have been having hand grenade practice on it all around the oak trees.
Good luck with your entertainment, and thanks for the idea.
 
Just need some rubber bands, a pocket, and a sack of marbles. This old flip stock is probably 60 years old.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

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Walter Rego said:
I recently moved to a small mountain community. I enjoy feeding the Steller's jays, a western species of blue jay. They are smart little birds and will come up and sit on the deck railing in the morning and wait for me to throw a few roasted & unsalted peanuts out for them. My yard also is home to chipmunks and a few fat gray bushytail squirrels. The squirrels are greedy rodents and sometimes get the peanuts before the birds do.

I figure they need some aversion therapy. I bought this vintage Wham-O on ebay along with a couple of new bands. It's just like the one I had as a kid. This one is marked So. Pasadena so is an early one, they moved to San Gabriel by about 1965. Mine as a kid was a pre-'64.
If the squirrels want a free lunch they are going to have to provide some target opportunity for me.

I use the single nut peanuts and try and choose the ones that look like they would have the best ballistic coefficient and ft/lbs of striking energy. I have not yet connected on one of those rats with bushy tails but I am getting their range. If the peanuts fail to stop I may have to move up to solids. The original Wham-O ammo was .25 cal steel ball bearings.

I knocked plenty of big bullfrogs right off of stumps and rocks back in my youth with my trusty Wham-O. I live in a residential neighborhood so a .22 even with shorts or Colibri loads is out of the question. This should provide some entertainment for me.
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You'll poke your eye out.:rolleyes:
 
I don't mind the tree rats until they start messing with my tomato plants. They'll wait until it's just about time to pick one and they'll take one bite out of it and drop it on the ground. They just about stripped my cherry tomatoes one year. Hard to keep watch all day and they are relentless.
 
Rats chewed through the fuel line on my Tacoma twice. Things are about to get real...
 
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