SharpsDressedMan
member
I'm not sure why, but this year my yard has become home to an inordinate number of critters, particularly chipmunks. Several years ago, they invaded the inner, clandestine recesses of my over hanging roof, having great fun, sponsoring foot races at 5:15 in the morning until I took action. Action extended over four months with traps, ratpoison, and ultimately gunning them down. They wouldn't go into the traps, skipped the ratpoison (although a few birds dropped from the rafters), and I couldn't get clear shots until I figured out that I could remove a new section of soffet and take them with .22 birdshot, peppering the surrounding soffet just a little. I bagged 5 in one morning, including the mother munk. I should have put them on the hood of my truck, and posed for the great white hunter picture. Nevertheless, their kind has returned; under the shed, all over the yard near the trees and creek, and two were seen racing in and out of the garage. War has been officially declared. The big trap took out a possum, a skunk, and a cat (released, for all you bleeding hearts) from UNDER the shed, and rabbits have also proliferated. But the chipmunks, they are the worst. Where I live, the use of suppressors is legal, and I have a .22 rifle and pistol that I use a sound suppressor on, with subsonic ammo. This day I had the little Beretta 75 with the AAC can & Docter sight. A great, light, and compact unit. I have been dispatching these pests for about a month now, opportunity permitting. The latest, as perhaps most unusual departure for a chipmunk was yesterday. I arrived home a bit early from work, and caught two of them offguard. They were seen in the vicinity of my aerator for my septic system, and one immediately took to the creek brush. The other decided to take his chances on the aerator structure. I waited patiently until he crested a concrete block, and carefully.......missed....shot over him, struck the lawn at an angle, and bounced a deformed bullet into the side of my shed, WHACK! He just sat there, so I lowered, and shot again. Miss, another ricochet, and WHACK, hit my shed (which is my reloading room) again. (I made amental note to check for holes later). Mr. Chipmunk ducks, and I wait. He never exits the concrete area of the septic block. I crept up, no signs of the bandit. I rattled the motor housing; no sound. Kicked it several times, no critter. I flip it open on its hinges, and like a speeding bullet, the chipmunk exits the housing and jumps into the nearest hole.....which happened to be the opening for the blower pipe, going down into the black, odorous sludge below. He never made an appearance, so I'm guessing he lost his footing, and fell into the abyss. We discussed it at the coffee shop the next morning, and agreed that it was one of the worst cases of sewercide that we had heard of............
