The .410 as a WMD

[Gordon]

I have a chicken coop with an outdoor run about 8' x 25' where I throw the scratch ect. twice a day. The adjoining pasture is having a ground squirrel explosion, they are even eating the chicken eggs that are on the ground! I shoot them with a .17HMR Anschutz , when I have time, but they are wary devils.
I noticed , when I drove by, that the scratch I threw 10 minutes earlier was covered by half a dozen fat ground squirrels , pushing the chicken out of the way.
Today I had the .410 SS H&R 'folding' gun loaded with #9 Win AA as I drove up to about 50 feet away and about 10 feet above(I figured the pattern would be about right)
When the chickens went toward the roosting house in disgust while the cluster of 7 rowdy ground squirrels chowed down I let fly a cloud of shot that hit the dirt in about a 24" circle right where the squirrels were.
Now I'm not gonna tell you they all instantly died, but 3 were kicking right there, and another 4 are twitching all around the pasture, they never made it to their dens on the outside of the fence line along the road.
I plan on getting my my Citori O/U .410 out for some regular practice , with #9s around the barns and house as rats are after the Geese's stale bread too. The .410 with #9 is better around domestic animals you don't want to hit, I think.

 

[Dave McCracken]

For some reason this made me imagine a blinged out Evil Black 870 in 410 with mag extension, S/S, G/R and AR style collapsing stock.

Good job on the Rodentia. According to a reliable source, they make great compost for rose bushes.

 

[sm]

Gordon,
I know about 3 barrel Citori Skeet Guns doing "pest control" as you are doing.

.410 and 28 gauge.
I ever mentioned how effective a 28 ga loading is around here?

Single shot shotguns, are still a very good tool for a lot of tasks, some today just do not realize this. I only use/ recommend .410, 28 and 20 gauge.

Heck that .410 single shot is a proven "property gun".

WE tried using popcorn kernels reloaded into shells to run off squirrels, like what you are doing.
It worked for a short time.
We set out Squirrel Feeders with the Corn Cob out away a bit, and that helped.
We moved feeders further away once the squirrels found them.

On one occasion with the squirrels getting into Chicken scratch - we could not figure out how come the farm dogs, were not chasing off the squirrels.
Feral cats were keeping the dogs near the structures (we guess) to protect the structures and keep them out of these.

We got rid of feral cats, dogs went back to keeping squirrels away.
Critters are interesting. One can learn a lot from them.

Oh, a "Popcorn load" from a single shot .410 will kill snakes inside the structures...and not do damage.

 

[Titan6]

Seven at a time is very impressive. Myabe I should throw out some chicken feed to get them to bunch up like that - problem solved.

 

[Aaryq]

Good job. I was born and raised in a very agricultural area of ND so I know from firsthand how those little critters can ruin your livelyhood. I agree with Titan6 though. 7 at once is great. Keep up the good work and send those little *self edit* back to the fire pits of hell.

 

[sm]

Re: Shotguns and especially as the term "General Purpose" is often used.

Gordon I know has defensive shotgun training.

Still take note it is NOT the shotgun, instead user of shotgun that gets the tasks accomplished.

I just had to mentioned this, as a plain old shotgun has a history of putting food on the table, protecting property and doing so without hurting a budget.