Tally to date, chippers and tree rats.

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Vinjak said:
The ol' unconfirmed... always ends up behind the shed for some reason.
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Well, I do miss from time to time and I used to blame it all on ME. But more recently I found that my Fortitude was throwing more fliers than I thought, so I am not so quick to blame myself as I used to. The DAR is also still throwing more fliers than I would like, but I am working on both... although it is a slow process because I don't shoot as much as I once did.

Anyway, the *unconfirmed* numbers come from those shots I KNOW were solid hits, but I simply could not confirm the kill by collecting or at least viewing the dead carcass.

So... yeah... they ended up "behind the shed" so to speak... (chuckle)
 
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BackStop said:
Well, I do miss from time to time and I used to blame it all on ME. But more recently I found that my Fortitude was throwing more fliers than I thought, so I am not so quick to blame myself as I used to. The DAR is also still throwing more fliers than I would like, but I am working on both... although it is a slow process because I don't shoot as much as I once did.

Anyway, the *unconfirmed* numbers come from those shots I KNOW were solid hits, but I simply could not confirm the kill by collecting or at least viewing the dead carcass.

So... yeah... they ended up "behind the shed" so to speak... (chuckle)
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Just don't let the Mrs. find'm...
 
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douger said:
that pretty impressive numbers lotta tree rats over the years iv shot and chippy also but nothing like your getting nice to see them gone as they really cause lotta damage
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I hate to admit it, but since this pesting has become an obsession, I really miss having at least one or more opportunities per day to shoot.

And I look for opportunities several times a day! (sigh) (chuckle)

BTW, the neighbor's dogs alerted me to an Armadillo in their yard (just across the alley) the other night (after midnight) and I need to do some research on where shoot it to make a to make a good clean kill. That link was essentially useless. (heavy sigh) With .177, even at ~19-20fpe, I know I will need to make a precise shot to the head... but I still need to look up where to hit the head for a clean kill... if I ever get the chance... (smile)

p.s.

So far, I haven't found anything that tells me where the best spot is to kill an Armadillo with a head shot. Especially with .177 at ~19-20FPE. Oh well... I'll keep looking and if I get the chance for a shot, I'll take it and hope for the best. Better that than having one undermine the foundation of my house/home. Not to mention that Armadillos are the only animal in the USA I know of that *can* carry Leprosy. Yeah, I know the chances are slim, but... (shiver)
 
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Tally update:

Got 2 more tree rats yesterday with the Fortitude still using the CPUM pellets. One at ~24 yards and one at ~40 yards. The next shots will be with the JSB Hades which have recently proven to be more accurate than the CPUMs. OK, we'll see if they perform well in real pesting shots. (smile)

The DAR developed a leak and I am not sure if I will be able to fix it as I am no good at such things. I hate that because it was nice having an airgun that I could simply put the crosshairs on the target at 40 yards instead of using holdover. (heavy sigh) At 920fps, it had plenty of power/FPE, but I found myself making many more "finishing shots" than I ever did with the Fortitude shooting at ~750fps for ~12-13fpe. Given the same shot placement, the slower pellet killed cleaner than the faster pellet.

So, the count is:

7 tree rats this month.

Year totals:

Tree rats - 84 confirmed and 8 unconfirmed

Chipper numbers still haven't changed. Haven't seen any lately, let alone have a safe shot.

Chippers: still at 30 confirmed and 2 unconfirmed

Looking forward to seeing if the Hades make a difference since I have been shooting domes exclusively for ~5 years. (smile)

P.S.

Oh, and still only 1 rat. The poison bait I put out seems to be taking care of them. However, I have considered stopping that so I might have more targets! (grin)
 
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Tree rats = 86, plus 1 more ? (unconfirmed) so 9 unconfirmed.

The 2 new confirmed kills were the first ones with the .177 Hades and the Fortitude. I was pleased with the accuracy at close range (both shots were about 25 yards), but for one of those, I needed a finishing shot although the shot placement looked to be good for a heart shot. Oh well...

The ? (unconfirmed) was at 40 yards and the winds were gusting from 15 to 20 mph. I took 3 shots, missed the first 2 totally and the 3rd shot dropped the tree rat from about 40 feet up in the Oak tree. It took me about 60 seconds to get out to where it fell, and I found nothing.

So, for this one, I may not have hit it. The sound I heard was more like it hit wood. But, it did drop with the 3rd shot. Oh well...

It is very hard for me to know what the wind is doing when shooting from my "sniper window" and I am still getting used to the trajectory/holdover of the .177 Hades pellets.

If terminal performance does not improve, I will be going back to domes if they can improve the accuracy/precision which may mean another barrel cleaning and finally polishing it properly. Not to mention that I am used to the domes trajectory/ballistics. (smile)

Also, I need to test the Hades again for accuracy as I have seen pellets do well in tests and fall off soon after testing...
 
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I got a couple more up to 97 the last one a very unusual, I spied a couple of tree rats out back and they were moving really slow. Not at all like normal run around dig up nuts, bury nuts, scurry here and there, chase around like normal squirrels. Just setting there not moving I figure that it's some sort of a trap for me. But I can't resist so, I get the window open, and rifle loaded, now the closest squirrel is laying down on it belly with its head on its side chewing on something. I'm thinking that this squirrel has been shot by someone else as I have seen that a few times in the last year or its sick. So, I put one through its tiny little brain and the other one takes off like it was shot out of a cannon, I mean high tailing it out of there. When I retrieved the dead one it appeared OK no visible wounds or anything out of the ordinary and still had an acorn in its mouth. That one went to the trash can I'm not taking any chances on eating that one it just didn't seem right. The second one has run across my back yard a few times at high speed not even slowing down, I guess that he saw his buddy get whacked for setting still and he isn't taking the chance. If he ever slows down, I'll whack him if I get the chance.

RB
 
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rhbrink said:
I got a couple more up to 97 the last one a very unusual, I spied a couple of tree rats out back and they were moving really slow. Not at all like normal run around dig up nuts, bury nuts, scurry here and there, chase around like normal squirrels. Just setting there not moving I figure that it's some sort of a trap for me. But I can't resist so, I get the window open, and rifle loaded, now the closest squirrel is laying down on it belly with its head on its side chewing on something. I'm thinking that this squirrel has been shot by someone else as I have seen that a few times in the last year or its sick. So, I put one through its tiny little brain and the other one takes off like it was shot out of a cannon, I mean high tailing it out of there. When I retrieved the dead one it appeared OK no visible wounds or anything out of the ordinary and still had an acorn in its mouth. That one went to the trash can I'm not taking any chances on eating that one it just didn't seem right. The second one has run across my back yard a few times at high speed not even slowing down, I guess that he saw his buddy get whacked for setting still and he isn't taking the chance. If he ever slows down, I'll whack him if I get the chance.

RB
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Many times, when I have 2 tree rats that seem to be connected in some way, once I shoot one... if I wait, sometimes up to an hour, the second one comes back to inspect the first one shot.

Yeah, it is hard to wait that long, but many times I have gotten both by doing so. Sometimes I never even see the second one until I shoot the first one! (smile)
 
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BackStop said:
Tree rats = 86, plus 1 more ? (unconfirmed) so 9 unconfirmed.

The 2 new confirmed kills were the first ones with the .177 Hades and the Fortitude. I was pleased with the accuracy at close range (both shots were about 25 yards), but for one of those, I needed a finishing shot although the shot placement looked to be good for a heart shot. Oh well...

The ? (unconfirmed) was at 40 yards and the winds were gusting from 15 to 20 mph. I took 3 shots, missed the first 2 totally and the 3rd shot dropped the tree rat from about 40 feet up in the Oak tree. It took me about 60 seconds to get out to where it fell, and I found nothing.

So, for this one, I may not have hit it. The sound I heard was more like it hit wood. But, it did drop with the 3rd shot. Oh well...

It is very hard for me to know what the wind is doing when shooting from my "sniper window" and I am still getting used to the trajectory/holdover of the .177 Hades pellets.

If terminal performance does not improve, I will be going back to domes if they can improve the accuracy/precision which may mean another barrel cleaning and finally polishing it properly. Not to mention that I am used to the domes trajectory/ballistics. (smile)

Also, I need to test the Hades again for accuracy as I have seen pellets do well in tests and fall off soon after testing...
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Got one more tree rat today. Wind was still high, gusting from 15-20 MPH from the right (NNE). However, it is hard to read the wind due to how the houses make it curl around from different directions from moment to moment... anyway...

40+ yards shot with the Hades. Missed the first shot (heard it hit the tree), but the tree rat stopped long enough for a second shot and it was a perfect head shot. It dropped from about 40 feet and was DRT as far as I could tell when I got to it about 45 seconds later.

Many of the more recent tree rats (including this one) have sores on them and evidence of mange and bot fly larvae. Never saw this much on them in the past . The pic below is not mine, but typical of the bot fly infestation. Perhaps the sores I am seeing is also due to bot flies, but after they have left the host? They look like olives don't they?

iu


Maybe that is one of the reasons I am not seeing as many/having opportunities for shots like I once did?

Anyway, that is 87 confirmed tree rats. Still WAY lower than the last 4-5 years!
 
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rhbrink said:
Wow! That's terrible, I don't ever remember seeing a warble (that's what we call bot fly larvae) on a squirrel. I have seen plenty on rabbits especially early in the fall.
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Although the pic I posted is not mine, I have seen MANY like that and worse this year. Never saw them either before this past year in my back yard.
 
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Got 3 more tree rats yesteday. All DRT, one at ~42 yards, one at ~37 yards and one at ~15 yards.

Also had the first shot at a chipper (~15-17 yards) in a LONG time, but I had to shoot through 2 layers of chain-link fencing and this time the pellet got deflected. (sigh)

So the tally is now:

Tree rats: 90 confirmed and 9 unconfirmed

Chippers: 30 confirmed and 2 unconfirmed (unchanged)

Rats: 1 (unchanged)

The Hades pellet seems to do better at closer ranges for DRT kills, but it is doing fairly well out to 40+ yards for accuracy. Usually sub-MOA to MOA (but has more fliers), depending on wind, etc. It rides right on the edge of being really good. I may go back to the JSB/FX/AA 10.34 domes just for the accuracy as the terminal performance was at least as good with my gun(s) if not better than the Hades. Heck, if the CPUMs start shooting sub-MOA (again) in the Fortitude, I will happily go back to those as that is what I was shooting in the Fortitude since I got it (6/12/2020) and until recently, it was getting sub-MOA out to ~75-80 yards with the CPUMs and even better from 10-50 yards. (shrug)
 
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Seems the tree rats and chippers are scurrying around a lot more as the weather cools. Soon enough I won't even look for chippers until next spring, although that may still be a few more weeks away... possibly? I still don't expect to see many as I have had such a long time without seeing ANY, until recently. (smile)

Anyway, over the last 2 days I nailed 3 chippers and 4 tree rats. 2 chippers and 3 tree rats in one day! So I was happy to be able to get that many pesting shots in a single day.

So that makes it 94 tree rats and 33 chippers so far. I doubt I will have many (if any) more shots at chippers, but the tree rats will most likely keep coming in waves.

Still, my numbers are nowhere near what they were in the last few years. So, I have been very successful pesting hunter! (chuckle)

Removed some tree branches that needed pruning and it had a secondary effect of opening up another safe pesting avenue! (grin)

Good luck to all!
 
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Anyone who pests chipmunks gets used to their movements and can spot them even out of the corner of their eye.

However, and I don't have anything against these, but I have a lot of Thrushes (don't know the exact variety) and their ground movements mimic a chipmunk so much that they get my attention quite often. I would never shoot one, but they do get my adrenaline flowing all too often for no reason.

Anyone else noticed this with Thrushes?

Thanks! (smile)
 
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L.Leon said:
I would say no, but I saw a brown leaf on a rock 50 yards away this morning. For a moment I thought I saw a chirping devil and got excited. Then realized what it was😔. Chipmunks have been scarce around here.
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Until the last week, I haven't seen ANY chippers... even in my neighbor's yards. BUT, as the cooler weather is setting in, I am seeing some IN MY yard... I just don't always have a safe shot.

In any case my numbers on chippers are less than half that I killed, compared to the last 2 years. And even my tree rat numbers are FAR from what I would have killed by this time.

Boohoo... the successful pester's lament! (chuckle)

p.s.

Although I know I won't come even close to the number of tree rats I have taken in the last 3 or 4 years, as the temperature cools more and given that I have opened up a couple of safe shot avenues by pruning branches... I may have more opportunities for TR shots between now and 2023. But I know my numbers will never get to what they once were... SUCCESS! (grin)

 
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Haven't had a safe shot at a tree rat since my last update, but I did get 2 more chippers at about 11 yards.

Both were DRT using Hades pellets. Pass through on both. I may eventually go back to the (FX/JSB/CPUM) domes for the improved accuracy as the Hades don't seem to do any better at the fps/fpe I have to shoot and are not really as accurate/precise (although they do better than any other "hollow point" type pellet I have tried) even at close range and get very iffy past about 30-35 yards with the Fortitude.

Anyway...

Still at 94 tree rats and now 35 chippers. Still just one 1 Norway rat.

Not sure how much longer I will have chances to shoot chippers... once the temps get consistently cold enough, they will go into torpor and I most likely won't see any more until next spring.
 
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BackStop said:
Haven't had a safe shot at a tree rat since my last update, but I did get 2 more chippers at about 11 yards.

Both were DRT using Hades pellets. Pass through on both. I may eventually go back to the (FX/JSB/CPUM) domes for the improved accuracy as the Hades don't seem to do any better at the fps/fpe I have to shoot and are not really as accurate/precise (although they do better than any other "hollow point" type pellet I have tried) even at close range and get very iffy past about 30-35 yards with the Fortitude.

Anyway...

Still at 94 tree rats and now 35 chippers. Still just one 1 Norway rat.

Not sure how much longer I will have chances to shoot chippers... once the temps get consistently cold enough, they will go into torpor and I most likely won't see any more until next spring.
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95 Tree rats (+1)
36 Chippers (+1)
1 Norway rat

Yes, pesting is really slow in my backyard lately... but I have to keep in mind that it is because I have been very successful! (chuckle/sigh)

I actually miss the days when I had multiple chances for safe pesting shots on any given day as I don't shoot paper targets for any other reason than to maintain accuracy/precision. (smile)

Saw a chipper today, but it was smart enough to keep moving so fast that I never could get a sight picture on it.

Maybe tomorrow... (smile)
 
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