GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => European/Asian Air Gun Gates => German AirGun Gate => Topic started by: Oldgringo on December 12, 2016, 06:36:00 PM
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The past couple of days, I've been braving our nippy weather and taking a few target shots off of the patio with different frauleins. This morning, I had my 50S out when a squirrel perched on a limb at the corner of the yard (25 yards) to see what was going on. For whatever reason, I shot the squirrel. Now, I wish I hadn't, the squirrel was not hurting anything and I'm not gonna' eat it. I used to love to hunt, I reckon I've become too old/soft to want to kill anything that doesn't need killing? :'(
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First of all they are called TREE RATS.
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I used to love to hunt, I reckon I've become too old/soft to want to kill anything that doesn't need killing? :'(
I understand what you are saying. I used to love being in the woods in the fall hunting squirrels and rabbits in the fields. Now, I don't want to shoot anything other than paper or steel. Comes with age, I guess. ;D
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the squirrel was not hurting anything and I'm not gonna' eat it.
OldGringo, I'm the same way.....When I was young and "more stupid" than now, I would shoot anything that was moving...LOL. I also would eat it though....nothing wrong with hunting, as long as you eat what you take and even make use of the hides and what not.
But as we get older and mature, I think we learn to appreciate life for what it is, and how fragile it is, here today gone tomorrow. We learn that everything and everyone is just trying to survive day to day.
But don't get me wrong...LOL, if I need food to survive...gonna be some "dead" critters coming to my house.
That's all I have to say about that.....
Regards, Thomas M.
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Yeah Oldgringo,
If you don't need the food anymore and they're not bothering ya ......... comes down to senseless Killing.
In my Youth, I did it a few thousand times or more ............ ???. Finally got my belly full.............
Kirk
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I am the same. I will shoot chippers tho. I show no mercy after having to rebuild a retaining wall they destroyed this summer. If it makes you feel better leave it there and some animal will take care of it so there is no waste.
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"Live and let live".
I was instilled at a very early age, if the is no immediate harm and your not gonna eat it, let it go.
Still abide by this today.
now... I eat an assortment of critters.
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I understand, I went through a "kill everything" phase. At some point I realized that I was wasting life for no reason. Now I only kill if the animal is injured, threatening a garden, trying to get into an attic, etc... If I can't eat it I'll throw it into the woods for other animals to get at.
If it makes you feel better, Oldgringo, over 30,000 house fires are caused by squirrels alone every year; you may have saved a life by taking one. ;)
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I used to shoot red squirrels, partly because my grandfather hated them and was impressed that I could take them down with my .177 caliber Webley Vulcan II at significant distances.
After a while, I found that I did not feel good after killing them, but I still shot them, because I received approval for each kill.
Sometime later, I had a dream where I was repeatedly shooting a rabbit, but it did not die, it just kept hurting more as I shot it. I woke up, and never killed another animal with a firearm or airgun again.
I'm not saying that hunting is wrong. In fact, I think hunting for food is infinitely better and more humane than the meat industry. Taking a deer for the Winter is fine, as far as I'm concerned.
However, I realized that I don't enjoy shooting and killing animals. It hurt me to even think about it.
So, to each his/her own beliefs, needs, and conscience. I don't consider myself to be the arbiter of what is right and wrong, but I doubt that I will ever shoot a living being ever again.
-Whirligig
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Greg, I feel your pain. I used to live to hunt in my younger years and loved everything about hunting right down to the shot, everything but the killing, even though we ate every thing I shot and nothing ever went to waste. What's more, I totally support ethical sport hunting and I always will. I think hunting is an essential part of who we are as a species and I'm still proud of the hunting skills I mastered. In the end, though, I decided that if the killing bothered me that much, then it was wrong for me, personally - not wrong for someone else, just me. Going on twenty years, now, since I've shot anything but paper and metal targets. I'm sure you feel bad about that squirrel, but just put it behind you and move on. Hang in, there.
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Greg, I feel your pain. I used to live to hunt in my younger years and loved everything about hunting right down to the shot, everything but the killing, even though we ate every thing I shot and nothing ever went to waste. What's more, I totally support ethical sport hunting and I always will. I think hunting is an essential part of who we are as a species and I'm still proud of the hunting skills I mastered. In the end, though, I decided that if the killing bothered me that much, then it was wrong for me, personally - not wrong for someone else, just me. Going on twenty years, now, since I've shot anything but paper and metal targets. I'm sure you feel bad about that squirrel, but just put it behind you and move on. Hang in, there.
Thanks Joanie,
I'm not gonna' shoot myself or something. I'm a little remorseful that I shot a defenseless animal that didn't need shooting for no reason. Had it been an attack on me or mine by a tailless biped, there would be no remorse.
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I completely understand how you feel. While not recently, I've had likely the same exact feelings for the same reasons. Kind of a... now why did I do that moment... especially because at a certain point it's not even a challenge. I think nobody will judge you over it though and certainly you have to find peace with yourself so don't be too hard on yourself.
This is a personal choice for me as I too grew up hunting and just don't enjoy the killing part of it.... but like another just stated I also fully support ethical Hunting for the same reasons. If I were hungry, I'd drop a deer in a heartbeat. I also think that game is overmanaged and that people have a right to survive and should be allowed to hunt rather than go hungry with less restriction.
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Hey Greg,
I'm sure it was a clean kill, so the animal wasn't in any pain. Let the remorse be your guide ;).
The last two things I shot were birds pecking on the side of my house & steel chimney when my daughter was about 2 months old. A darn *bird* was pecking right behind my bed's, headboard .... when I wasn't getting any sleep. The other was a *different bird* that was pecking our metal chimney around the same time period. When you're not sleeping - you're insane!
Anyway, went outside (both cases) in my bath robe and blasted them with my Benjamin 342 and never looked back.............
I haven't wanted to pass that part of shooting to my Son.
On the other hand, Pheasant Hunting was a completely joyous time spent with my Father.
I mentioned senseless killing because I still can't believe how long I was a participant :-[.
Mod edited by vigilandy: Just to keep within the rules. I understand your pain Kirk. Been there done that, look at the nice holes the 22 shotshell made in my wall, but it was worth it.
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A moment of weakness, just shows you're human.
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A moment of weakness, just shows you're human.
Well put.
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A moment of weakness, just shows you're human.
+1
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Hey Greg,
I'm sure it was a clean kill, so the animal wasn't in any pain. Let the remorse be your guide ;).
The last two things I shot were birds pecking on the side of my house & steel chimney when my daughter was about 2 months old. A darn *bird* was pecking right behind my bed's, headboard .... when I wasn't getting any sleep. The other was a *different bird* that was pecking our metal chimney around the same time period. When you're not sleeping - you're insane!
Anyway, went outside (both cases) in my bath robe and blasted them with my Benjamin 342 and never looked back.............
I haven't wanted to pass that part of shooting to my Son.
On the other hand, Pheasant Hunting was a completely joyous time spent with my Father.
I mentioned senseless killing because I still can't believe how long I was a participant :-[.
Mod edited by vigilandy: Just to keep within the rules. I understand your pain Kirk. Been there done that, look at the nice holes the 22 shotshell made in my wall, but it was worth it.
Hey Andy,
Even though I was insane due to lack of sleep, I still had the wherewithal to pick off the *bird* from the side, so as to not hit the house ;).
No matter what, you still have to remember not to shoot your house ::).
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To hunt, I say
Go afield for a day.
Even though it may be harsh
Hunt the endless marsh.
I don't hunt to live any more.
Now it's live to hunt even if I don't score.
I'll show my son
And we'll have fun.
You must understand, we must stay in touch with the land.
In my mind, it is about the tradition. I do enjoy the meals that I prepare from the things I harvest. I thanks the One who gave the animals to me. This may be the other side of the coin, but it is the way I feel. And it is okay if you don't agree!
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To hunt, I say
Go afield for a day.
Even though it may be harsh
Hunt the endless marsh.
I don't hunt to live any more.
Now it's live to hunt even if I don't score.
I'll show my son
And we'll have fun.
You must understand, we must stay in touch with the land.
In my mind, it is about the tradition. I do enjoy the meals that I prepare from the things I harvest. I thanks the One who gave the animals to me. This may be the other side of the coin, but it is the way I feel. And it is okay if you don't agree!
Ethical hunting is good for the species and the environment. Enjoy!
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Thanks, Greg. I am glad you see my side too.
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To hunt, I say
Go afield for a day.
Even though it may be harsh
Hunt the endless marsh.
I don't hunt to live any more.
Now it's live to hunt even if I don't score.
I'll show my son
And we'll have fun.
You must understand, we must stay in touch with the land.
In my mind, it is about the tradition. I do enjoy the meals that I prepare from the things I harvest. I thanks the One who gave the animals to me. This may be the other side of the coin, but it is the way I feel. And it is okay if you don't agree!
I will also be one of the first to step up and protect your rights to hunt, teach your children to do the same and continue to pass on the traditions.
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We have a serious squirrel problem in my neighborhood. They keep chewing through,among other things, my cable line.
I identify with the OP's feelings because I've had them myself at times; but my pangs of guilt don't last long.
I view it simply as home defense. Filthy varmints. >:(
Edit: Except for Snowflake.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/grover68/009%20300x300_zpsz4tfihdn.jpg)
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We have a serious squirrel problem in my neighborhood. They keep chewing through,among other things, my cable line.
I identify with the OP's feelings because I've had them myself at times; but my pangs of guilt don't last long.
I view it simply as home defense. Filthy varmints. >:(
Edit: Except for Snowflake.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/grover68/009%20300x300_zpsz4tfihdn.jpg)
Maybe southern squirrels have better manners? 8)
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We have a serious squirrel problem in my neighborhood. They keep chewing through,among other things, my cable line.
I identify with the OP's feelings because I've had them myself at times; but my pangs of guilt don't last long.
I view it simply as home defense. Filthy varmints. >:(
Edit: Except for Snowflake.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/grover68/009%20300x300_zpsz4tfihdn.jpg)
I had to take a second look before I saw that little darling. :D
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I used to feel that any gun I owned wasn't properly christened until I shot game with it-no longer feel that way although I still hunt.
People evolve.
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It's ok to not want to kill.
It's ok to sport hunt.
I live on prime deer and turkey property and will let one or two trusted hunters harvest here... but I don't.
In my younger days I loved stompin the brush piles for Bunnies or scouting for squirrels with my .410... feeling one with nature. There was open season on those darn Red squirrels.
Now, I only shoot the troublesome Ground Hog, or Opossum maybe something else that is causing damage to my immediate area. But that's about it.
Oh except Canadian geese... filthy, over populated, disease carrying critters here. They taunt me so!
Thank GOD I don't have Rats... they would HAVE to go. HEEVEY JEEVIES... BLAAAH!
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Ive hunted all my life and still deer hunt, squirrel and occasionally rabbit hunt.. had beagles for 40 yrs. and loved hunting with them..
Anything I kill other then pigeons, Starlings,occasional coyote and English sparrows is to eat.. I do not shoot deer in my woods nor squirrels off my feeders, I put the food out so its my fault the squirrels come to eat it and I have a lot of squirrels, sometimes will have 10-15 squirrels on ground under feeder at a time.. in 20 yrs I've shot 2 squirrels in my yard one a really old boar squirrel was chewing the heck out of my deck railing, tried chasing him away at least a dozen times but wouldn't give up so he was shot, another really old boar squirrel grabbed a male Cardinal off feeder while I was watching and ripped it to shreds, he's no longer with us either..
Killing an animal because it "might" do damage is not pest control its just killing to kill and killing animals off or under feeders is the same thing because 99 percent of them are not going to harm a thing..
Love to hunt and have killed literally thousands of animals to eat and to rid a area of invasive species but cant kill stuff to have a kill tally or just to say I killed something.
Everyone has to do what they think it ethical and morally right.
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I don't kill unnecessarily. few creatures, around here where I live, are destructive enough to warrant killing.
in fact, most are more enjoyable just to watch or see.
a while back, I was grooming our mare and I noticed a big bobcat watching me from the woodlot next to us...almost as if it were asking me to groom it, too. unless it was trying to get at me, or the mare, I would not harvest.
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Dude if you do not enjoy it or harvest anything from it then dont hunt. No shame in that. Paper punch your heart out. Haste makes waste brother and we are taught not to waste. Most of us were anyway.
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Well I am sympathetic toward OP's position.
Growing up, we shot everything that moved.
As I got older, I started having a conservation type attitude which I still have.
However there are pests that sometimes have to be taken out and I am still a varmit hunter as my user name suggests.
But now I never shoot anything without a very good reason...and that is that animal has qualified itself as a pest.
I (we) mostly target shoot nowdays.
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I had to take out 1/2 dozen or so monks this year, they're cute little devils but they started invading my property, landscaping, shed, fences they were eating or burrowing everywhere, I was afraid they were going to infest interior walls. I viewed them as destructive invaders, my 317 dispatched them instantly. The squirrels seem to know their place, never had to eliminate them and in fact I make sure they are well fed all winter. Never fun to shoot these guys for problems like that. I have friends that have horror stories on monks, wires in cars chewed, inside walls with holes, lots of damage for such a small animal.
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Squirrels here keep getting in my garage attic. I cover the venting with chicken wire and they chew through it. So every nutter in my yard is a threat same with racoons as they climb in after the stupid nutters chew up the wire. Amazing the size a hole a racoon can fit in.
I also like hunting nutters in the early season before deer and coyote season. But we eat what we take at my house. Minus the racoons and yotes but I do keep the furs. Mainly I kill the coyotes cause they kill the deer. They have also desimated the grouse/rabbit and quail in Indiana. I've seen 1 rabbit all hunting season its sad.
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its not the coyotes that are decimating the rabbits, quail etc, its the farmers taking out all the fence rows, weed patches etc to make room for more crops.. where there's good habitat there's always rabbits and quail no matter how many coyotes are around.. when I rabbit hunted Central Indiana(now live in Parke county) a lot in the mid 70`s and 80`s it was easy to find lots of rabbits/quail used to take my dogs out every afternoon and usually killed my limit before dark..then farmers started taking out all the weed patches/fence rows and by the 90`s there wasn't hardly any rabbits left.
Theres a few places around me where the farmers let CRP grow up around the edges of their fields out about 30 yds and these places are loaded with rabbits and quiet a few quail..coyotes have a hard time catching them if they have adequate cover such as briars and stuff to get into..
The good ole days of small game hunting in Indiana are pretty much gone except for squirrel hunting still tons of them..
Squirrels here keep getting in my garage attic. I cover the venting with chicken wire and they chew through it. So every nutter in my yard is a threat same with racoons as they climb in after the stupid nutters chew up the wire. Amazing the size a hole a racoon can fit in.
I also like hunting nutters in the early season before deer and coyote season. But we eat what we take at my house. Minus the racoons and yotes but I do keep the furs. Mainly I kill the coyotes cause they kill the deer. They have also desimated the grouse/rabbit and quail in Indiana. I've seen 1 rabbit all hunting season its sad.
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We have a serious squirrel problem in my neighborhood. They keep chewing through,among other things, my cable line.
I identify with the OP's feelings because I've had them myself at times; but my pangs of guilt don't last long.
I view it simply as home defense. Filthy varmints. >:(
Edit: Except for Snowflake.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/grover68/009%20300x300_zpsz4tfihdn.jpg)
Huh? One of 6 "flakes" escaped to the other Grove! Had been wondering where they went. Didn't think squacks migrated though and why they would move further North!? Yes this CG had 6 snowflakes less than 150 feet from me. Had a leucistic pair of Robins this year...must be from all the lead in the ground?
Greg, since September 2015 I can account for 337 reasons why you made that choice. You're going to be fine, and trust me, as will the squack population also(may even be better because you made the correct choice).
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I find the older I get, the more I value life... whether it's mine, someone else's or some critter. Don't get me wrong, if I had a "reason" to terminate something, I would and still do. But, if it's not hurting anything I feel it's got as much right to live as I do.
Just my two cents,
Ted
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I'm all for ethical hunting. I don't do it hardly anymore, but I might if I get an invitation. I'm a city dweller and don't have a lease or other access to land. Which is a major reason I like airguns.
That said, when I was maybe 11, I was patrolling the back yard with my Daisy Pal, which was low-powered enough to almost be safe. I saw a sparrow or wren up on the power line, drew a bead on it with the fixed iron sights and blam. To my surprise, it dropped like a rock into the alley. I went and watched that bird die. I felt pretty bad and remember that 40 years later. That was senseless killing and I wasn't happy with it. So I haven't done it since.
We have a lot of mockingbirds, bluejays, robins, cardinals, cowbirds, squirrels and grackles around and the occasional coon and possum. None of them have ever gotten in the house, although the squirrels sometimes dig up my wife's bulbs and that annoys her. But I don't shoot them anymore. I'd rather just watch em. And watch the cats watch em.
I might waste a coyote near an urban neighborhood before it got someone's pet(s), but that's about it for varminting.
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I did shoot a few cowbirds off of the bird feeder back in the spring. Cowbirds are the most nasty of all birds.
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Greg. Perhaps this might make you feel a little better.
I used to fly in a lot of air shows in the late 1980s. I flew with a lot of WWII veterans. A lot of WWII vets from all the services would tell me their stories. My own Father talked to me a lot about WWII after I went in the military.
I also had the honor of talking to a lot of POWs from that war. Except for two, all of the POWs that I met were captured in the ETO. I'll never forget those two gentlemen that I met, who were captured by the Japanese.
They talked to me about their experiences. For some reason, I felt compelled to ask, "Did you ever have to eat rats?"
Their answer was, "Yes, we ate a lot of rats."
"What's a rat taste like?"
"It's sort of like eating a squirrel."
Now do you feel better?
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Greg. Perhaps this might make you feel a little better.
I used to fly in a lot of air shows in the late 1980s. I flew with a lot of WWII veterans. A lot of WWII vets from all the services would tell me their stories. My own Father talked to me a lot about WWII after I went in the military.
I also had the honor of talking to a lot of POWs from that war. Except for two, all of the POWs that I met were captured in the ETO. I'll never forget those two gentlemen that I met, who were captured by the Japanese.
They talked to me about their experiences. For some reason, I felt compelled to ask, "Did you ever have to eat rats?"
Their answer was, "Yes, we ate a lot of rats."
"What's a rat taste like?"
"It's sort of like eating a squirrel."
Now do you feel better?
I've ate a lot of squirrels, rabbits, dove, quail, chukkar, pheasant, ducks, geese, deer, elk, and even bear. I used to skin the squirrels including the tail and leave the cartilage on it for my mother to guess whether I'd brought home squirrels or rats. I thought that was a lot funnier than she did, bless her heart.
I ain't never ate a rat that I know of; however, I do favor Chinese food of the Schezhuan variety. Except for the Chinese food, the game shooting and eating days are pretty much behind me.
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I ain't never ate a rat that I know of; however, I do favor Chinese food of the Schezhuan variety. Except for the Chinese food, the game shooting and eating days are pretty much behind me.
Put enough spices (or ranch dressing or tobasco sauce) on anything and it will taste good.
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I am a hunter but have the same feelings about the squirrels and deer that live around my house.
After repairing house damage, the squirrels get a 50 yard perimeter, once inside that perimeter they are shot or trapped.
I live trapped dozens before the roof was fixed. I would drive them 3 miles away and spray paint their tails fluorescent orange before I released them. Any orange-tailed squirrel who made it back to my yard was shot. You have never seen a squirrel run like one that has just been spray painted!
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I do shoot the tree rats in my backyard just to keep the population under control. Every thing I shoot gets eaten though. A red Fox comes by every night and checks the back corner of my yard where I put my kills. Some nights he gets starlings or a crow, and then once every week or two he gets a yummy tree rat. I left him a mole one night, He took a dump on it. Yeah! I got that on my game cam.
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We have a serious squirrel problem in my neighborhood. They keep chewing through,among other things, my cable line.
I identify with the OP's feelings because I've had them myself at times; but my pangs of guilt don't last long.
I view it simply as home defense. Filthy varmints. >:(
Edit: Except for Snowflake.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/grover68/009%20300x300_zpsz4tfihdn.jpg)
Maybe southern squirrels have better manners? 8)
No, southern squirrels are just as pesky. Here in SW FL they will hit mango and avocado trees and take one bite of each fruit on a tree.
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Nice shot!
Here are a few opposing viewpoints:
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My uncle had to spend a couple grand to repair the damage to his soffit from squirrels chewing in to make a home in his attic. He shoots them mercilessly now, and leaves them lay for the coyotes to dine on at night. So still, there's no waste.
- Squirrels eat baby birds, even native songbirds. Native songbirds are in a much worse position due to invasive birds than hardy squirrels are.
- When not eating them, they'll often chase off the songbirds
- If you haven't heard enough about songbirds, I'll add that since I killed 30+ squirrels in my back yard this year, I've helped the native cardinals, nuthatches and woodpeckers make a strong comeback. At least in my little area. Also saves a lot of bird seed. :)
- Eat them. Pressure cook them in soup; they're wonderful.
- It could be the hunting instinct that has been bred into us for the first 70,000 years of our existence too...
If all that fails, consider investing in a couple of squirrel-shaped field targets. :)