| mehulkamdar |
| (.416 member) |
| 05/01/15 01:35 AM |
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Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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100 Pounds per hectare to shoot / poison squirrels. I know what I'd do - go out with an air rifle, and get myself some good eating.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 05/01/15 03:26 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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The greys are running off the smaller red squirrel, I think I saw somewhere else in the UK air gun press.
Lots of blokes are shooting them, but one must have 'permissions' from land owners to shoot them on private property. I don't think there is such a thing as open, public land over there, is there? Here we call open public lands, Crown Land, but there, Crown Land has a more literal meaning.
Greys are VERY good eating, Mehulamder.
| Yochanan |
| (.375 member) |
| 05/01/15 04:47 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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So there might be a career as professional grey squirrel hunter in UK. How does grey squirrel taste?
What is best for squirrel, bolt rifle or double
Which bullet to use, solid or soft 
| ducmarc |
| (.400 member) |
| 05/01/15 01:06 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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taste good especially squirrel gravy. good puttin them on a skewer over a fire too. i like to use 22 long rifle and try for head shots so u don't ruin any meat and theres no pellets in your dinner.
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 05/01/15 01:21 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Yochanan,
Bolt rifle (CZ452fs) with with a 4X scope sighted in at 50 yards, target ammo (hollow pointed subsonic).
Head shots only. No meat loss that way.
Browned in a skillet and roasted with potatoes, onions and carrots. Nothing finer for the pallet.
| RogerRoger |
| (.224 member) |
| 05/01/15 01:22 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Easy choice. you would have to use a 22 long rifle in a nice H&H double, 40 gr hollow in one side and 40 gr solid as back up in case the furry F##ker charges.
| greenshoots |
| (.300 member) |
| 05/01/15 10:34 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
22 long rifle in a nice H&H double, 40 gr hollow in one side and 40 gr solid as back up in case the furry F##ker charges.
yep you dont want them after your nuts
greenshoots
| Yochanan |
| (.375 member) |
| 06/01/15 10:23 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
Easy choice. you would have to use a 22 long rifle in a nice H&H double, 40 gr hollow in one side and 40 gr solid as back up in case the furry F##ker charges.
Some weeks ago I bought a Mauser 420B dangerous game rifle with control feed in 22lr
| MikeRowe |
| (.333 member) |
| 06/01/15 11:50 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Whilst clearing an attic of invading squirrels many years ago, one of the dangerous beasts charged along a rafter at me. I was able to stop him with a heavy load of .22 rat shot, just inches before he reached me.
It was a close call......
| Ash |
| (.400 member) |
| 07/01/15 03:39 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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You're a braver man than I, Mike.
| Waidmannsheil |
| (.400 member) |
| 07/01/15 03:54 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Mike, you have balls of steel.
Waidmannsheil.
NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 07/01/15 05:02 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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With all the gastronomic comments which is better, squirrel or raccoon?
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NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 07/01/15 05:05 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
But they will be able to apply for funding of £100 per hectare per year for five years to help them cull the squirrels using whatever method they prefer.
Damn, I wish we had that here in Oz, say for rabbits. At one time I would have made about $122,343 per year or in total $611,718.75 from such a bounty!
Forget vineyards, I would become a professional squirrel (rabbit) hunter.
| Ahmed577 |
| (.333 member) |
| 07/01/15 05:32 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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I knew they would have an important role to play in the defence of England BOSS s/n 10356 5.6 x 50r over under rifle and PURDEY s/n 31022 22hornet single shot rook rifle. I guess for a big bull squirrel the PURDEY s/n 31056 5.6 x 52r can be reached for. Head shots of course.
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NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 07/01/15 05:43 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Ahmed,
Yes those rifles of yours would be invaluable in the UK, especially in your role as a PH (Squirrels), the grey death of the UK forests is not just an ankle biter but also a neck tearer from above. A good double is a necessity for these DG charges.
I like both the cartridges you mention too. I quite liked using the 5.6x50 (I can't remember if it was rimmed or rimless) in a Frankonia Under and Over double rifle, the first double rifle I ever used - back around 1981 or 82. This one was one barrel on .22 Mag RF and the other in 5.6x50. The .22 Mag barrel was pretty ordinary accuracy, but the 5.6x50 was a three shot one hole killer.
The hornet rook rifle sounds like it will also be very handy and a dream to shoot.
| JabaliHunter |
| (.400 member) |
| 08/01/15 02:46 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quelle surprise...
Quote:
Animal charities are opposing the plans for culling greys.
Andrew Tyler, the director of Animal Aid, said: “People have been responsible for wiping out the red squirrel. It’s an excuse to blame the grey squirrel.
“They’re on a list of animals that are considered pests but they’re an indigenous species.
“The damage they do is exaggerated. Attempts to purge the landscape of them in the past have failed and this will fail too.
“It amounts to a bigoted pogrom.”
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 08/01/15 03:03 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
With all the gastronomic comments which is better, squirrel or raccoon?
While raccoon has good flavor it can be kind of tough. I much prefer squirrel.
| Grenadier |
| (.375 member) |
| 08/01/15 03:16 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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It would undoubtedly accomplish more if the Land Owners in the UK were paid to shoot the nuts
| mehulkamdar |
| (.416 member) |
| 08/01/15 03:51 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Grenadier,
The article does talk about land owners being paid Pounds 100 per hectare to either shoot or poison the squirrels. The food value is additional.
Good hunting!
| Ash |
| (.400 member) |
| 08/01/15 04:22 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
It would undoubtedly accomplish more if the Land Owners in the UK were paid to shoot the nuts
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Good call!
Ahmed I'd love to see pics of your rifles, heck I'd almost fly to WA.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 08/01/15 04:43 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
Quelle surprise...Quote:
Animal charities are opposing the plans for culling greys.
Andrew Tyler, the director of Animal Aid, said: “People have been responsible for wiping out the red squirrel. It’s an excuse to blame the grey squirrel.
“They’re on a list of animals that are considered pests but they’re an indigenous species.
“The damage they do is exaggerated. Attempts to purge the landscape of them in the past have failed and this will fail too.
“It amounts to a bigoted pogrom.”
I watched a film on them which made note that the grey squirrels were an introduced species and not indigenous. It was from the Ministry of the Environment, or whatever the game branch is called there.
I am surprised the tree-hugger didn't claim them to be an endangered species as well.
| deeangeo |
| (.300 member) |
| 19/05/15 07:42 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Heavens above...I've shot thousands of gray squirrels over the last ten years or so...with a .22LR. No one ever paid me a penny and I used most of them feeding Harris hawks. Never actually had the urge to try eating one myself though.
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 19/05/15 08:32 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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deeangeo,
I shoot many squirrels each year specifically for the table.
The flavor is excellent, I prefer it over rabbit. You should try it sometime.
I only head shoot squirrels using my CZ452fs and subsonic hollowpoint ammunition.
| LesLeeSpeed |
| (.300 member) |
| 19/05/15 10:06 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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The grey squirrel is an indigenous species, just not to the UK.
| deeangeo |
| (.300 member) |
| 19/05/15 04:33 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Hi Iowa 303, I use Winchester HP subs in my .22LR (Anschutz 1416 double set triggers) with moderator. Headshoot them most of the time, I just want to ensure they die right away. The same with Magpies...although I don't bother trying to headshoot them.
I've used very many of them both to train my daughters hawks and feed them..the hawks don't seem to have much taste for maggies though.
@ LesLS Gray squirrels were introduced here from America as I understand it. They're pretty voracious and also carry a disease that if caught by our red squirrels is fatal. We have red squirrels around our cottage in Scotland..so I kill grays on sight if I can.
You never know, one day I may try them over the BBQ.
I often wish it was legal to deal with domestic cats the same way! However, it's not legal, so I remain frustrated!
| LesLeeSpeed |
| (.300 member) |
| 19/05/15 07:01 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Hi Deeangeo,
Plenty of feral cats get the bullet in Australia. If I ever get to Scotland again maybe we could knock off a couple of grey squirrels and try them in a stew.
LLS
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NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 19/05/15 09:40 PM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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I wonder how similar squirrels are to shooting Aussie possums? The possum might be a bit larger in body size for an adult. Shot a "hundred" once with a Kangaroo Island farmer on his farm under pest destruction permit. But by spotlight. With a .22 RF. No shortage of possums, the place had far too many. Didn't try eating them though.
Has any Aussies or Kiwis on here tried eating possum?
By spotlight of course their eyes shine so head shooting isn't that difficult. The farmer did expect one dead squirrel per .22 round however which was a bit difficult.
Shooting a squirrel only in the head during the day, would require some fine shooting wouldn't it? Their heads are smaller than a rabbits? Or is the brain area a similar size? What sort of range, 25 yards, 50 yards?
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 20/05/15 12:06 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Yes, head shooting a squirrel is a challenge.
My perfered shot is in the side of head between the eye and the ear. About 1.5 cm in size.
My rifle is sighted at 50 yards.
I use trees as a rest whenever possible but years of position rifle shooting has served me well while hunting.
My ammo is SK Match which I modify to a deep and wide hollowpoint using a special die/shellholder I made to do this in a reloading press.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 20/05/15 01:03 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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Quote:
No shortage of possums, the place had far too many. Didn't try eating them though.[/quote
Have heard possums are good eating- but???
When using a muzzleloader for squirrels, head shot must be taken - as the round balls leave little to eat with body shots.
Our red squirrels commonly known as "Pine" squirrels, being classified as a fur bearing animal (along with being virtually inedible) are generally not shot. They would be like eating a pine or spruce cone.
Many years ago when it was OK to shoot them, I attempted to 'bark' some - ending up with either blowing them to Smithereens, or having them simply to run off, unscathed, and this with a .69 calibre round ball. MUCH depends, I assume, on the make of tree in which you are barking them. The trees here with thicker bark (Spruce, Pine and Fir) than the Eastern variety of hickory, maple, walnut or oak. If just a fraction of an inch "off", no worthwhile effect is to be achieved, as there is no explosion of bark - the bark merely absorbs the energy & the ball and no barking effect is observed.
Head shots are easy to about 75 yards with an accurate, scoped .22 - when a rest is available. The heads are not large and they can be quite tough if body hits are made, especially if .22 longs or shorts are used. The squirrels usually don't sit still for very long though, unless they think they are hidden from your view. Be quick, be accurate.
Greys and black squirrels are quite decent "table" fare.
| deeangeo |
| (.300 member) |
| 20/05/15 07:09 AM |
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Re: Land Owners in the UK will be paid to shoot squirrels
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I have my rifle sighted at 25 yds with Win. subs. That puts them also right in there at 50-60yds.
Squirrels, Maggies are easy as usually they were around 25yds......pulled in by the bird feeders.
What's really brilliant with maggies is the 'wake' they have when one is shot. Just have to wait a few minutes and they're all around cackling...so shoot some more. I often end up with 6 or 7 on the ground before they clear off until later when I shoot another...then 'go' again!
Thing is, with the ability to nail them easily at 50-60yds without re-sighting, I can also knock over a crow or pigeon that land in the field too.
Cats I would dearly love to deal with the same way, but it is illegal in the UK to shoot them. So, no can do. Pity, but $h1t happens.
