Back yard help.

[Steelharp]

Guys, I have seen this animal coming out of my barn. I didn't know what it was, I'd never seen one before. A friend randomly sent me a link to this page called dogbegone.com. Lo and behold, there's my animal; a "Prairie Dog." What's another name for this critter? There must be one. I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of this guy. I do live in a rural area, but I do still have houses on both sides of me, and there's a row of houses as I look down my three acres on my right hand side. Hence, the end of my property is where those folks back yards begin. So something high powered is NOT an option. Will my little .22 take care of this guy?

 

[steveno]

it is called a "sert" as in Self Erecting Rifle Target

 

[redneck]

Its more likely a ground hog since your in Tennessee
A .22 will do the job pretty handily if your at a reasonable range. You'll want to get it as soon as you can because they will dig holes around the posts/foundation and could do some serious damage to your barn

 

[Steelharp]

You should see my barn; any damage would be an improvement!

Ground hog, eh? Never had seen one before; thanks, I'll try to nail him. It's probably about 20-25 yards from my back door to the barn, so the .22 should do it?

 

[Art Eatman]

Dunno how good a shot you are, but, yeah, a .22 oughta do just fine at that short range.

Heck, just keep shooting 'til he quits moving.

You have the option, of course, to keep him around for amusement's sake. I have a few coyotes, foxes and raccoons which come visit my house from time to time. Great entertainment.

Art

 

[Steelharp]

Thank you... yes, the .22 was enough... sighted sub, sank same...

 

[jefnvk]

Guess the problem is solved, but another option (if you were worried about ricochet, hitting another house, etc.) would be a high power pellet gun. They make models specifically for hunting that are nothing like their toy counterpart (I hate to say toy when talking about BB Guns), they will kill small animals quite effectively.

 

[Steelharp]

For future reference, tell me about the pellet guns...

 

[one-shot-one]

minimum air rifle

would be a pump up .177 benjamin. i have killed squirle and rabbit with this rifle when i was a kid (no longer legal for game animals in texas)
your best bet is a single cock rws but be prepared for sticker shock they ain't cheap. stay away from the cheap chinese/korean guns they are less powerful than the benjamin.
the .177 offers more velocity than the .22 modles and usually more penatration.
i have shot all three of the above mentioned modles in .177 and compared pentration on an old set of mettle shelves, the chinese single cock pentrated one shelf only my benjamin w/10 pumps went thru two shelves and the rws single cock pentrated two shelves and made a 1/8" dimple nearly breaking thur the third shelf.

 

[Steelharp]

one-shot-one, I did a search; thank you. I assume you mean the Legacy 1000 model rifle, the one with 1000 fps? What about the Gamo 1000 I've seen at Wally World? That's a bit less expensive at $120; but I understand the "you get what you pay for" concept. Is the Benjamin a far better quality product?

 

[redneck]

I have a Gamo 220 (1000fps .177), they make very reliable accurate guns. The fit and finish are far behind the more expensive german guns, but for a shooter on a budget you can't go wrong. If I remember right the gamo 1000 is synthetic which takes care of the finish problems. Its really just the wood on mine, the inside of the groove the barrel folds down when you cock it looks like it was cut with a chainsaw. Everything else is pretty good.

 

[tango3065]

Ground hogs are abudant here in ky also. I have killed them plenty with a 22lr to the head. As for air rifles in my opinion you can't beat a beeman, or a rws- one pump one shot, the gamos are one pump also but I have had bad luck with my previous one but could of been a fluke. Killed a skunk with my beeman last week with a head shot at about 10 yards never moved to much after that pellet hit him at 1000fps and didnt even spray when he went down (wish they would always do thi ). As far as ground hogs, and skunks go I hate to kill anything that I dont eat but them little varmits do nothing but dig up my yard and spray my ac unit which anyone who has had this happen knows what I mean when I say get out of the house fast. I say kill any hogs that pop up.

 

[Steelharp]

Well, another one of those critters stuck its' head out today! Wonder how many there are? Is there a particular food (bait) I can put out there to bring my target(s) out easily?

BTW, I went out and picked up the one I did get to dispose of it... head to tail, it was as long as our Radio Flyer red wagon! Huge teeth on the thing. Are they supposed to be that big? Seemed awfully big to me, but what do I know...

 

[one-shot-one]

Not familiar with the gamo but the more fps the better because they tend to rate them higher than what you get in the field.
benjamin is a good gun but you get tired of having to pump it up after each shot, for hunting/pest control i would go with the RWS mod 48 at 1100fps

 

[joebogey]

Steelharp

They're vegetarians and love young tender grass. They also love sunshine and will spend quite sometime just lying about on the top of their holes soaking up the rays.
Don't let them fool you, they may look like they're asleep, but you won't believe how fast they can travel, and how quick they can pick up on danger.
Most times you're looking at a pair per hole, until spring. Then you could have 4 or 5 per hole once they bear their young.
A lot of mountain folks are known to eat them, but claim you must know how to prepare them as they are a greasy type of meat.
Never had the pleasure myself.

 

[pete f]

If you can use a rimfire without upsetting the neighbors keep using it...
I have had worse richocets from pellets than with SGB;s or the Aguilla 60 gr sub sonics.

good practice to head shoot them.

on skunks have you ever shot them just in front of the back legs before head shooting them? We used to do that because when gut shot they could not do the back arch to spray. It worked better than head shots. percentage wise.

 

[standingbear]

another cheap alternative;bubblegum.they like the friut flavored ones.they will eat it but their digestive system cant digest it and its downhill after they eat it.a slow process but an effective one if you cant shoot them due to city regulations or whatnot.

apples laced with transmission fluid.they love apples as well.


incidently,if you see 1 you can bet you have a few living under your barn.they tunnel under the foundation until it starts to give way.I knew a lady that had them under her house and in her celler.not very fun Id imagine having them inside the house.