Squirrel issues

 
One of the strangest squirrel control devices I have personally seen used was a blow gun with darts. My buddy lives in Key Largo. You can not discharge a weapon in Monroe county. He has a real old gumbo limbo tree on his property next to a two story garage. He put a piece of plastic with a slit cut in it in place of a window that faced the tree on the upper story of his garage. There was some kind of bait in the tree to draw the squirrels in to about 10 feet or so. He use a feathered dart as a projectile. He silently put the blow gun out the slit and gave a big huff to send the dart on its way. Head shot the squirrel and watched it fall to the ground. Silent and deadly.
Talk about going primitive!
 
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One of the strangest squirrel control devices I have personally seen used was a blow gun with darts. My buddy lives in Key Largo You can not discharge a weapon in Monroe county. He has a real old gumbo limbo tree on his property next to a two story garage. He put a piece of plastic with a slit cut in it in place of a window that faced the tree on the upper story of his garage. There was some kind of bait in the tree to draw the squirrels in to about 10 feet or so. He use a feathered dart as a projectile. He silently put the blow gun out the slit and gave a big huff to send the dart on its way. Head shot the squirrel and watched it fall to the ground. Silent and deadly.
Talk about going primitive!
Wow! Amazing. You bring up a good point, whatever method you use, it is important that it is legal. That is why I purchased the pellet gun. There are local ordinances against discharging firearms in my area. Because a pellet gun does not use an explosion to propel the projectile, it is not a firearm. Of course in my left wing county I'm certain that they would pass ordinances against discharging them if they could. Fortunately, my state is not that far left yet. They passed a law prohibiting local jurisdictions from passing ordinances prohibiting the use of pneumatic guns on private property. Further, our game department looking at declining numbers of hunters created a June squirrel season so folks could more easily introduce their kids to hunting when they are out of school. So, I'm sure what I'm doing is legal. My biggest problem will be neighbor relations.

Thanks,

Jack
 
Because a pellet gun does not use an explosion to propel the projectile, it is not a firearm

Are you 100% sure about that? Legal definitions are often different from dictionary definitions. In many jurisdictions bows and crossbows are considered firearms.
 
In Ontario, for example, bows and air rifles are considered firearms in the context of hunting.

Federally, in Canada, some air rifles are firearms if they have a muzzle energy above a certain threshold.

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Are you 100% sure about that? Legal definitions are often different from dictionary definitions. In many jurisdictions bows and crossbows are considered firearms.

Yes, in the US (don't know about Canada) BATF is authorized to enforce firearm laws and they have a specific legal definition of both firearm and "dangerous device".
 
Well, I picked up some Crossman .22 hollow point pellets today just to get the gun in the right ballpark when the pellets I ordered arrive. This afternoon was my first opportunity to shoot the NP2. Overall I was impressed with it. It cocks easily and the trigger second stage is reasonably crisp. I started at 15 yards. I didn't have a good rest in the back yard but I was shooting about 1 1/2" groups. (Most of the error was probably me not the gun). I adjusted the scope to center the group on the bulls eye and then moved back to 20 yards. I was surprised at the smoke coming from the barrel after a shot. There must be a lot of friction with the new barrel. Every 20 shots or so I'd run a snake through it. I'm not worried too much about grouping at this point since it is the break-in period. I just want to get close enough that I can kill a squirrel or two at close range.

Well, after I had put about 60 shots through the barrel, the scope broke. It is a CenterPoint 3-9 x 32. The reticle rotated internally about 45 degrees counter clockwise. I went to the Crossman website to check the warranty. The scope warranty the offer does not apply to scopes sold as a combo with an air rifle. I then chatted with Cabelas. I was hoping that I could simply return the scope. No such luck. I need to return the entire package. They said it would take up to 48 hours to email me the shipping label and they would not send the replacement until they received the package.

The last time I bought and returned something on Amazon, it arrived in 2 days. Amazon sent me the USP return label in less than a minute and they immediately sent the replacement before I even dropped the item off at UPS. Looks like Cabelas has some catching up to do on customer service if they want to stay competitive.

So, I had Cabelas email me the shipping label. They told me if I mark the reason for return as defective and ask for a refund they will waive any shipping and refund my credit card when they receive the package. So, I simply ordered another one this afternoon. Since I've already started to break in my NP2 and I'm happy with the performance, I'll just pull the scope from the new box when it arrives, put the defective scope in the box with the new firearm, and return that one.

Thanks,

Jack
 
So, back to squirrel control. I finally had success with one of the connibear traps. The set that worked was not the squirrel pole seen in the video posted earlier in this thread. It was my own set. I placed the set in a raised flower bed where domestic animals are unlikely to walk. It well over 6" of wood mulch. I cut the top off a poweraid bottle and buried it in the mulch. This time I did put holes in the bottom for drainage. The bottle is deep enough that birds can't get at the nuts in the bottom. Cardinals and other birds have been going into my box traps and eating the nuts. They are so light they don't trip the trap. It took me a while to figure out why the bait was disappearing. The plastic bottle keeps squirrels from digging in the chips under the trap to get to the nuts. The diameter of the poweraid bottle (32 oz) is just slightly smaller than the opening in a connibear 110.

This afternoon when I went out to shoot the Benjamin NP2, I found my first squirrel in this set. Perhaps things are looking up for my trees!

Thanks,

Jack
 
Well, I picked up some Crossman .22 hollow point pellets today just to get the gun in the right ballpark when the pellets I ordered arrive. This afternoon was my first opportunity to shoot the NP2. Overall I was impressed with it. It cocks easily and the trigger second stage is reasonably crisp. I started at 15 yards. I didn't have a good rest in the back yard but I was shooting about 1 1/2" groups. (Most of the error was probably me not the gun). I adjusted the scope to center the group on the bulls eye and then moved back to 20 yards. I was surprised at the smoke coming from the barrel after a shot. There must be a lot of friction with the new barrel. Every 20 shots or so I'd run a snake through it. I'm not worried too much about grouping at this point since it is the break-in period. I just want to get close enough that I can kill a squirrel or two at close range.

Well, after I had put about 60 shots through the barrel, the scope broke. It is a CenterPoint 3-9 x 32. The reticle rotated internally about 45 degrees counter clockwise. I went to the Crossman website to check the warranty. The scope warranty the offer does not apply to scopes sold as a combo with an air rifle. I then chatted with Cabelas. I was hoping that I could simply return the scope. No such luck. I need to return the entire package. They said it would take up to 48 hours to email me the shipping label and they would not send the replacement until they received the package.

The last time I bought and returned something on Amazon, it arrived in 2 days. Amazon sent me the USP return label in less than a minute and they immediately sent the replacement before I even dropped the item off at UPS. Looks like Cabelas has some catching up to do on customer service if they want to stay competitive.

So, I had Cabelas email me the shipping label. They told me if I mark the reason for return as defective and ask for a refund they will waive any shipping and refund my credit card when they receive the package. So, I simply ordered another one this afternoon. Since I've already started to break in my NP2 and I'm happy with the performance, I'll just pull the scope from the new box when it arrives, put the defective scope in the box with the new firearm, and return that one.

Thanks,

Jack

Order another one and return the first for a refund. You’ll cut your replacement time in half.


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Yes, in the US (don't know about Canada) BATF is authorized to enforce firearm laws and they have a specific legal definition of both firearm and "dangerous device".

BATFE doesn't enforce municipal laws; they enforce federal laws with federal definitions.

You should confirm the local laws for your area if you haven't already. A black powder muzzleloader isn't a firearm by federal definition, but it might be by your municipality's definition.
 
BATFE doesn't enforce municipal laws; they enforce federal laws with federal definitions.

You should confirm the local laws for your area if you haven't already. A black powder muzzleloader isn't a firearm by federal definition, but it might be by your municipality's definition.

First, a black powder muzzleloader is a firearm by the federal definition. The are classified as "antique firearms" and as such are not subject to the GCA but they are firearms.

18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3): DEFINITIONS (FIREARM)
"The GCA defines the term “firearm” as:
(A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm."


Second, as I previously stated, in my state, local jurisdictions can not override state law. We have a state law that specifically prohibits localities from passing ordinances the prevent the use of pneumatic guns on private property with the permission of the property owner. They can restrict them on public land.
 
Order another one and return the first for a refund. You’ll cut your replacement time in half.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is exactly what I did!
 
a black powder muzzleloader is a firearm by the federal definition. The are classified as "antique firearms" t

As strange as it sounds, an "antique firearm" is NOT a "firearm" under US federal law.
 
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It is a firearm. Look at the definition. It is a special class of firearm that is exempt from the GCA. Note that in the links you quote above ATF doesn't call them Muzzleloaders but instead calls the "Muzzleloading Firearms".

At this point was are simply talking semantics. But if you look at the GCA itself, it has the specific definition of firearm I posted above, and all of the ATF links you post are consistent with that definition.

Thanks,

Jack
 
You posted it yourself.

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Squirrels:emoji_slight_smile:
 
Yeah squirrels... they are giving me a headache. They destroyed about a pound of sunflower seed. My rat traps have a tendency to bounce when they fire, so the squirrels get away. I will mount one to a board today. I hope that helps.
 
You posted it yourself.

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Correct, a muzzleloader is a firearm, but because it is an antique firearm it not covered by the GCA. Of interesting note, when you dig into the detail, you find that some muzzleloaders are covered by the GCA. Years ago, I bought a TC muzzleloader and it had to go through an FFL license. Because ATF deemed that it could "easily be converted", it was covered under the GCA. Thompson sells single shot rifles that can support multiple barrels including muzzleloader. I find it interesting that section B includes receiver and frame but not barrel. Since one could buy the stock action and receiver with a muzzleloader barrel and then in a separate transaction buy a rifle barrel (not covered in section B) that fits the same stock/action/receiver combination, they are "easily convertible.

And back to squirrels. I'm not a trapper, so I didn't really know what I was doing when I started, but I also found the orientation of the connibear trap matters. If the trip is on the side a squirrel enters, they are quick enough that they may be able to jump back when the trap springs. By orienting the trap the other way, when the squirrel hits the trigger, they are too deep into the trap to escape.

Thanks,

Jack
 
Mine worked a couple of times. Squirrels are fast learners though....

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