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wkrp

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We thought we had a problem with a red squirrel two years ago so I shot it. Next day we saw another one so I shot it. Long story short, we ended up shooting and trapping (rat trap) 9 of them.

 

Last year we ended up doing away with 11 of them. So far this year I have only seen two, one was dispatched, the other has been avoiding the house and as long as it keeps away from the house it will live. If you are seeing one, there are probably several!

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Tis baby season for many critters. If you're going to shoot or trap the squirrel, make sure you check for babies in the attic as they'll starve and rot/stink if you eliminate the mother.

 

 

Squirrels are relatively tough critters to kill with tough hides so it's best to make head shots with air guns, especially with a lighter .177 pellet traveling under 500 fps.

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In Canada, a firearm is described as anything that fires a projectile at a speed of 500 feet per second or faster.

That's why many pellet guns are slightly below this mark. (490 ft. per sec., etc.)

Yes, as mentioned above, there may be municipal regulations to deal with as well.

Be careful if you decide to go the pellet gun route. Some neighbours may not understand what you're doing and just see someone with a gun. Next thing, you're getting a nasty visit from the police.

 

I would try to live trap it and relocate the critter far away from your home.

I've relocated several racoons a few kilometers away and across to the other side of a large river.

Make sure you have a large garbage bag wherever you put the cage in your vehicle an several sheets of newsprint on top of that. If you don't, when the animals pee or poop, the cage and your vehicle will be soiled.

 

Good luck !

 

 

FYI...the law states when live trapping and relocating an animal in Ontario it must be released within 1 km of where it was trapped. Just a heads up as a CO or SPCA officer will likely question someone they see releasing an animal.

 

 

Airgun regulations have been changed in recent years. In the past anything over 500 fps was considered a firearm for the Firearms Act and Criminal code while the new regulations state in order for them to be considered a firearm it needs to shoot over 500 fps and have a muzzle energy of 4.2 ft/lbs or higher. This means an air gun shooting the relatively new and much lighter plastic/alloy pellets at say 575 fps with a muzzle energy of 4 ft/lbs (just a guess) would not be considered a firearm or require a PAL to buy and shoot.

 

Municipal bylaws often define anything that shoots a projectile as a firearm no matter how fast the projectile is traveling or what is being shot. Pellet guns, bows, sling shots, paintball guns, potato guns, etc all fall under this category.

Edited by ch312
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Well, my cross bow only shoots a bolt at about 375 FPS but I have killed plenty of deer with it. Now to be honest with you I have never shot a red squirrel with it (been tempted a couple of times as only a deer hunter sitting in his stand for many hours only to have one of the little suckers let go about 15' away as that trophy buck approches to almost within range). So I am guessing speed isn't the main factor here! I'll be a 5 lb rock thrown at the little sucker would kill it and I know I couldn't get a 5 lb rock over 120'/second (assuming I dropped it from above LOL)

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Well, my cross bow only shoots a bolt at about 375 FPS but I have killed plenty of deer with it. Now to be honest with you I have never shot a red squirrel with it (been tempted a couple of times as only a deer hunter sitting in his stand for many hours only to have one of the little suckers let go about 15' away as that trophy buck approches to almost within range). So I am guessing speed isn't the main factor here! I'll be a 5 lb rock thrown at the little sucker would kill it and I know I couldn't get a 5 lb rock over 120'/second (assuming I dropped it from above LOL)

 

I'm not sure if you're replying to what I posted or not? :dunno:

 

Anyways, the last time I shot a squirrel with my 348 fps (tested with a chronograph) crossbow I ended up using a knife to dig a zwickey judo point out of a tree that the arrow went into after passing through the squirrel. Be sure to stick with rubber blunts if you plan on using fast bows for small game to avoid over penetration.

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