[Balog]

I've never really been "hunting" as ya'll would use the term. I've killed a fair amount o' animals, but it's always been in the name of protecting my family's trees/gardens. I look back fondly on my school days when I would do my homework sitting on our back porch in a swing with my twenty gauge. :)
Anyway, it's been a long time since I've been able to do any hunting/pest control, and I really miss it. I'd love to get into varminting. It performs a useful service to farmers and ranchers, it lets you practice your shooting skills, and I really hate gophers ;) . However, I'm faced with some rather thorny problems.

Problem #1: I have nowhere to shoot. I suppose I could drive up to random farm houses and ask the owner if I could go shoot up his back 40, but I somehow doubt that'd go over real well.

Problem #2: I have no gear. I currently own three firearms. Two of them are shotties and thus not applicable. The other is a $45 Chi-Com knockoff of a Mosin-Nagant carbine. I don't even know if it's safe to shoot, and I'm willing to bet it wouldn't be up to the task of potting crop destroying vermin.

Problem #3: Unless someone takes me up on my offer and trades me an accurate rifle for my station wagon, I can't afford to buy a suitable rifle. And by the time I could afford one, I'll probably be at boot camp.


So there we are. Balog wants to help out the locals by playing the adult version of whack-a-mole, but he don't know how. Any thoughts or suggestions? Anyone here from Arizona who might want to invite a poor young Marine recruit on a vermin elimination trip?

[Atticus]

A few questions for ya.

Why aren't your shotguns applicable?
Would you trade one for a rifle?
Can you make do with a .22? (used Marlin model 60's are pretty inexpensive)
Why not try some public hunting areas. Varmits can be found about anywhere...if that's what your planning on hunting.

[Art Eatman]

Having some notion of where you're located might help us...

Anyhow, public lands offer opportunities. It sure doesn't hurt to go to some farmer's house during non-work hours and ask about any pest/varmint problems he might have. (In the south, I dunno what sort of firearm would work on fire ants. :) )

And, sometimes, you can listen in on BS sessions at some local gunstore and find opportunities. And mentioning going off to the Marine Corps generally doesn't hurt.

Art

[redneck]

Step one: Trade one of those shotguns for a NEF handi rifle in either .17HMR or .223Rem (not sure how much more the centerfires are, rimifires are cheap). Also check out a Marlin 17VS.
Step two:Trade the knockoff rifle for a scope of some sort. You don't have to have the most expensive stuff out there.

Step three: Look into public lands where you are, and start going up to those farm houses and knocking on the door. If you go about it right,you might get a yes and the worst thing that cold happen is they tell you no.

[Balog]

Ah yes, the old saying is true. Location, location, location. I'll try to do this in order.

Atticus (Finch, perhaps?) wrote:Why aren't your shotguns applicable?
Well, I may just be showing my ignorance here, but my understanding was that shooting varmints required a pretty accurate rifle. I suppose it would depend on what sort of varmints one was pursuing, tho.

Would you trade one for a rifle?
Can you make do with a .22? (used Marlin model 60's are pretty inexpensive)
I'd trade my old single shot Ithaca 20, but I use my Mossie 500 for home defense so that's a no-go. As to whether I could use a .22..... Well, I wouldn't have thought so. But as I've said I don't really know what I'm talking about, so please let me know if I'm wrong.

Why not try some public hunting areas. Varmits can be found about anywhere...if that's what your planning on hunting.

Honestly, I don't know of any. I'm stuck in the middle of a city :barf: and I don't know where public hunting areas are, nor how to find out where they are.

I'd be happy to hunt fur-bearers or small/large game, but that presents even more problems. Licenses, tags, equipment, butchering, meat storage etc.

[Balog]

Art Eatman wrote:Having some notion of where you're located might help us...
I'm in Mesa, Arizona. Broadway and the 101, if that helps ya any ;) . Mesa is middlin sized city close to Phoenix. It's about a 15-30 minute drive just to get to the suburbs, depending on which direction you go.

Anyhow, public lands offer opportunities. It sure doesn't hurt to go to some farmer's house during non-work hours and ask about any pest/varmint problems he might have. (In the south, I dunno what sort of firearm would work on fire ants. )

I'd have no problems doing my business on public land, but I dunno of any that's close.

As to going up to farm houses..... Since I'm soon going to be sporting a high and tight, I've cultivated a look that can most charitably be described as "scruffy." Add in the cross tattoos on my wrist and my looks are really against me. On the plus side, I'm quite polite. :) The only farmer I know pretty well (we go to church together, and we went to the same Bible study for a while) is a shooter himself, so I could probably ask him. Hmmmm, I like that idea.

And, sometimes, you can listen in on BS sessions at some local gunstore and find opportunities. And mentioning going off to the Marine Corps generally doesn't hurt.


I'd love to be able to hang out at a local gunstore, but everytime I go into one and wander around I tend to get looked at like a black guy at a KKK rally :o . Well, maybe not that bad but I do get the impression that I'm viewed as a shoplifting risk. And I may be going about it wrong, but I tend to get monosyllabic responses to any questions/attempts at conversation.
:( Maybe I just need to work on my conversational skills.

[Balog]

redneck wrote:Step one: Trade one of those shotguns for a NEF handi rifle in either .17HMR or .223Rem (not sure how much more the centerfires are, rimifires are cheap). Also check out a Marlin 17VS.

A good idea. I dunno if anyone would trade for my Ithaca (Dad payed $80-90 for it and it's seen lots of use since then) and I need my Mossie for two-legged varmints :) I've heard good things about those Handi-Rifles. My brother had an NEF 12 gauge and it was a good gun.

Step two:Trade the knockoff rifle for a scope of some sort. You don't have to have the most expensive stuff out there.

Hmmm, I'd hate to trade that rifle. It was a wedding present, and the first rifle I ever owned. Wouldn't I also need rings and such? I'm not familiar with how NEF's mount their scopes. Heck, I just don't know much about scopes in general.

Step three: Look into public lands where you are, and start going up to those farm houses and knocking on the door. If you go about it right,you might get a yes and the worst thing that cold happen is they tell you no.

With some of the farmers I used to live next to, the worst thing that could happen would involve either large dogs or a rifle :uhoh: :D
Still, I suppose that it's a pretty good idea. I'd just have to find some farmers.

[Art Eatman]

I guess, go over to the General forum and ask for any Phoenix-area varmint hunters. There seems to be a fair number of THR folks from that area.

Art

[Balog]

I've been thinking. I'd like to try my hand at coyotes. I didn't ask about them originally, but I realized that I didn't really know much about hunting them. So, any advice about taking 'yotes on public land? Would I need an elaborate set-up, or could I just go out with my Mossie?

Thanks for the help guys.

[redneck]

Search this forum for coyote calling/hunting.

It helps if you've got a buddy to back you up on the long shots with a rifle, but its a pretty common set up to have one guy with a shotgun for when they run right up to the call.

[Greybeard]

Ya might do a web search to locate AZ Parks and Wildlife Department, which should be able to give you an idea of public lands. In TX anyway, the Public Hunting Permit gives one access to thousands of acres - of all types - for just $48 a year. And coyotes are typically "open season" many places year round.

My vote on a rifle would lean toward .223. Decent knockdown on critters up to and including coyote - plus same round you'll likely get real aquainted with in Marines. Pretty fast and flat out to around 250 yards. Buddy Chaz (ScoutSniper here at THR) loves his little single shot scoped H&R - and has trajectory memorized further out than my old eyes can see! Used it last year to center punch a coyote at around 280 yards. Great little gun, especially for the money.

[twoblink]

Find out where your local "farm feed" store is.. ask the owner there if you can stick a "Free varmint cleaning" sign up.

You will have customers like you can't believe!!

I recall seeing a video of a farmer; who got fed up with the rabbit infestation and so had a bbq and invited the local hunters..

They bagged over 200 rabbits that day:what: and the farmer said it wasn't even 1/10th the amount of rabbits on his farmland..

They say 14 rabbits eat as much as a baby elephant... Don't know if that's true, but 14 rabbits becomes 140 rabbits in a month, that much I _DO_ know is true!

10/22 + scope = good varminting..

If you want to move up to bigger varmints, then .223's the way to go. A cheap Savage .223 bolt + a tasco scope is good enough for what you need to do..