A crock pot and bottles of your favorite sauce you can cook most yard and barn pests. If you don't eat squirrels no problem.Just about any type of meat tastes good with the right seasonings added to it. And I agree the young squirrels get fried up while the olde ones get added to gumbo, jambalaya or even simmered in a pot of BBQ sauce until tender.
i still don't see any reply to why not another 22. it doesn't sound like it was ever a noise issue and most of the replies are for lower noise options for 22s. i am confused.
NEED pix!!!Saber toothed tree rats can be irritating.
I live in the country so noise isn't a problem.
I like to attract them with an open bowl of sunflower seeds...
With a tub of tannerite in the middle...
You've gotten plenty of suggestions to use CCI .22 quiet rounds, or to try various pellet rifles. If it were me, I'd give the CCI's a try first, and if I found they were not consistently accurate enough in a lever action rifle for those 70 plus yard shots (ten acres should provide longer shots than that), I'd take advantage of the wife's permission to buy another rifle before she changes her mind!let me start by saying I am a deer hunter and not a shooter, so not much experience beyond sighting in a scope and shooting at deer or coyotes and occasional critters. I don’t reload and don’t intend to. I have a house built out of bar wood and have a serious squirrel problem with them chewing through the wood and getting into the walls so now it is time to wage war on my squirrels. I own 10 acres of primary oak trees so ALOT of squirrels to take care of. I have a small inside dog that is terrified of thunder and gun shots. My 22 rifle does not bother her too much but when I shoot a squirrel with the shotgun it takes over 30 minutes for her to calm down. My wife has said I can buy a new rifle to take care of the squirrel problem so I need to find a new caliber to buy that is not much louder than a 22. I am aware of silencers but don’t want to wait 6 plus months to get one so wanting something to buy now. a 22 is the only small caliber rifle I have ever shot. I do own a 5.56 nato 223 a r and was going to use it but I shot it once saturday in the back yard to compare it to my 22 for noise level and it was way too loud And my dog did not like it neithier.
upon reserach I have read about 17hmr, 17 hmr2, 17 hornets, 204 Ruger. how much louder are those than a 22?
what is in between noise level of a 22long rifle and a 223 ar?
I know the decibels of a 22 are around 140 but can’t find the decibels of. 17 hmr or 204 Ruger.
I really like what I have read on a 204 Ruger but afraid it is going to be too loud.
I have also saw the cci quiet bullets for a 22 but have saw several posts where those bullets don’t shoot as accurate as normal bullets??
any suggestions on a different caliber than a 22 would be appreciated along with any experience of a caliber I should consider.
thanks for any input and help,
Hoppy
CCI Quiet .22 is probably the best you are going to get unless you want to go with an air rifle.let me start by saying I am a deer hunter and not a shooter, so not much experience beyond sighting in a scope and shooting at deer or coyotes and occasional critters. I don’t reload and don’t intend to. I have a house built out of bar wood and have a serious squirrel problem with them chewing through the wood and getting into the walls so now it is time to wage war on my squirrels. I own 10 acres of primary oak trees so ALOT of squirrels to take care of. I have a small inside dog that is terrified of thunder and gun shots. My 22 rifle does not bother her too much but when I shoot a squirrel with the shotgun it takes over 30 minutes for her to calm down. My wife has said I can buy a new rifle to take care of the squirrel problem so I need to find a new caliber to buy that is not much louder than a 22. I am aware of silencers but don’t want to wait 6 plus months to get one so wanting something to buy now. a 22 is the only small caliber rifle I have ever shot. I do own a 5.56 nato 223 a r and was going to use it but I shot it once saturday in the back yard to compare it to my 22 for noise level and it was way too loud And my dog did not like it neithier.
upon reserach I have read about 17hmr, 17 hmr2, 17 hornets, 204 Ruger. how much louder are those than a 22?
what is in between noise level of a 22long rifle and a 223 ar?
I know the decibels of a 22 are around 140 but can’t find the decibels of. 17 hmr or 204 Ruger.
I really like what I have read on a 204 Ruger but afraid it is going to be too loud.
I have also saw the cci quiet bullets for a 22 but have saw several posts where those bullets don’t shoot as accurate as normal bullets??
any suggestions on a different caliber than a 22 would be appreciated along with any experience of a caliber I should consider.
thanks for any input and help,
Hoppy
My wife got one of those pesky red squirrels this morning with a Havahart trap. She was using peanut butter on a cracker for bait. The OP will be glad to know there was no noise or commotion to bother people or pets. I haven't had a chance to try any 22 shorts yet like I mentioned in my post #63, but with red squirrels it's very difficult because around here they never seem to stand still long enough to draw a bead on. Only got one with the pellet gun last year, seen back in post # 42 of this thread. Now I have a pic of the latest one in the "holding cell", in the bed of my truck, on the way to the "relocation camp", which is actually almost 15 miles from here. .. Still have lots of grey squirrels around but so far they aren't invading the attic, the garage, or anything else.Go to Academy and buy a few Havahart traps. Wire a half ear of corn to the trip plate.
Take the squirrels trapped to some woods or swamp at least 5 miles away.
Squirrel hunters will appreciate your efforts.
If you’ll send me a PM and not divulge my method of controlling those terrible creatures, I’ll share with you.let me start by saying I am a deer hunter and not a shooter, so not much experience beyond sighting in a scope and shooting at deer or coyotes and occasional critters. I don’t reload and don’t intend to. I have a house built out of bar wood and have a serious squirrel problem with them chewing through the wood and getting into the walls so now it is time to wage war on my squirrels. I own 10 acres of primary oak trees so ALOT of squirrels to take care of. I have a small inside dog that is terrified of thunder and gun shots. My 22 rifle does not bother her too much but when I shoot a squirrel with the shotgun it takes over 30 minutes for her to calm down. My wife has said I can buy a new rifle to take care of the squirrel problem so I need to find a new caliber to buy that is not much louder than a 22. I am aware of silencers but don’t want to wait 6 plus months to get one so wanting something to buy now. a 22 is the only small caliber rifle I have ever shot. I do own a 5.56 nato 223 a r and was going to use it but I shot it once saturday in the back yard to compare it to my 22 for noise level and it was way too loud And my dog did not like it neithier.
upon reserach I have read about 17hmr, 17 hmr2, 17 hornets, 204 Ruger. how much louder are those than a 22?
what is in between noise level of a 22long rifle and a 223 ar?
I know the decibels of a 22 are around 140 but can’t find the decibels of. 17 hmr or 204 Ruger.
I really like what I have read on a 204 Ruger but afraid it is going to be too loud.
I have also saw the cci quiet bullets for a 22 but have saw several posts where those bullets don’t shoot as accurate as normal bullets??
any suggestions on a different caliber than a 22 would be appreciated along with any experience of a caliber I should consider.
thanks for any input and help,
Hoppy
The OP should consider those last 3 factors versus using a 22 rimfire, considering the small inside dog that the 22 doesn't bother too much. The fun factor is greater than most folks realize, until they try something like that. I bet the dog would have no problem at all with the noise level of a factory suppressed .22 pellet rifle. While getting the fun and satisfaction of a .22 ca. squirrel gun, except you won't have the range of a .22 rimfire unless you get a more expensive PCP ( Pre-Charged-Pneumatic ). I limit myself to about 20 yards , 25 tops, on squirrel, with a .22 cal. Benjamin Trail, by Crosman. This one's over 8 years old now and has proven itself as cheap, effective, and fun, and has even legally squirrel hunted, besides being employed as a defensive tool against red squirrel "invasions". ..The only cautionary advice on modern air guns that I always give folks is that old "Caution; May Be Habit Forming" warning message.or one of the other factory suppressed .22 pellet rifles offered by Gamo or their competitors.
Cheap, effective, and fun.
Cayenne pepper is your answer. Birds do not have taste buds. Tree rats do... BTW, watching the squirrel's reaction to his first taste of the pepper is truly comicalbut they get into the bird feeder and that makes the wife mad.
No offense, but I've always thought that was a weird argument. "It's okay I paid too much because I can afford it". We have deep resources, but I can't stand paying someone to do something I can do myself.The OP did ask "..squirrel control besides a .22...". He never specified only guns. Today we hired a company called Alpha Wildlife.
It's really expensive, 3-step treatment, but to have the cash for such an expenditure is only one example of why I worked longer than I otherwise might have.