Calling all suburban snipers

[ericire12]

Gamo makes a suppressed air rifle.  Velocity is around 1200 fps.  I have a Gamo, unsuppressed, very accurate with a Bushnell 4X scope.  Excellent for scary the hell out of cats at about 40 yds.  Makes a loud noise when you hit the cat in the ribs, they jump about two feet and never see them again.  I have seen the cats afterwards but never come into my yard.  No squirrels in my area, hell, no trees.

You can bait 'em

[twyacht]

Since the wife won't let me really take care of those dandified rodents, I have a full auto Airsoft rifle that looks like a Bullpup. It shoots about 200 rpm, at 120 fps. With new batteries it thumps them really nicely, and I can chase them if I lead them a bit.

As they pillage my bird feeders, its almost getting to the point of a "Caddyshack" level.

Until I saw this:

I'll get 'em , if its the last thing I ever do.

[CJS3]

Funny thing is guys...I feed the squirrels around here every morning.  Sunflower seeds, must be at least a dozen that show up every am.  Heck, Strech doesn't even bother to chase them anymore!

My cat doesn't chase them anymore either.

[Rastus]

Its amazing.  You give a rat a bushy tail and they are cute and good to eat.  BBQ raccoon is much tastier, and you can bait them with cat food.

HAZ...maybe that's why you have the problem with your pool....the cat food and all?

[ericire12]

Anyone have any experience with the Predator Polymer Tip Pellets?



They look pretty potent, but are pretty costly.

[Sponsor]

[Rastus]

Anyone have any experience with the Predator Polymer Tip Pellets?



They look pretty potent, but are pretty costly.

They work great.

[ericire12]

Well, I think that the squirrels around my neighborhood have wised up.

Over the last month it seems like they just wont come into my yard anymore, and I have not been able to get one single kill shot. I know that there are a bunch of them just passed the tree line behind my house, and I have seen the remains of their acorn eating in my driveway and on my front step, but they have wised up about my shooting gallery in the backyard. If this keeps up, I may have to start taking drastic measures. 

[MikeBjerum]

Our son uses them on squirrls, possum and rabbits.  However, his favorite is the Gammo pellets.  They cost more, but do a better job with same accuracy.

[Fatman]

My mom cooked a coon for my dad once and he wouldn't eat it. He said it looked like a dog on a platter.

He's right, lol Coons are in the dog family, philum or whatever the scientific term is. Bears too, if I remember any of my biology. Speaking of which, I was raking the leaves two days ago and stepped in a serious plop all full of seeds and such. Seems 5 years ago, someone bagged an 800 plus lb black around here. Illegally! He got the tag after he shot it.

Bethlehem man will get another chance to hunt after serving a three-year ban




Jason Taddeo shot the 808-pound bear on Dec. 1, 2003. It was a trophy by all accounts, but there was one problem — Taddeo did not own a bear stamp needed to harvest a bear

By Mike Kuhns
Record Sports Writer
November 24, 2008

It's not every year an 800-pound bruin is shot by a hunter.

In 2003, three black bears 800 pounds or larger were killed in Pennsylvania.

But one made headlines.

It was Dec. 1, 2003, when Jason Taddeo of Bethlehem, then 29, pulled the trigger on an 808-pound bruin off Community Drive in Middle Smithfield Township.

It was a trophy by all accounts, but there was one problem — Taddeo did not own a bear stamp needed to harvest a bear.

In the end, Taddeo paid an $800 fine and was unable to purchase a Pennsylvania hunting license for three years. He was able to buy one this year.

Today marks the opening day of this year's three-day bear hunt in Pennsylvania. And, Taddeo said Saturday, he plans on hunting in the park today.

"I'm going (today) and I've got a tag," Taddeo said. "I'm going to the same spot I got him."

The December day is still fresh in the mind of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area park ranger Chris Kross. Kross was one of the first people to meet up with Taddeo that December 2003 morning.

"I was driving on Community Drive and he was standing outside his vehicle eating a sandwich," Kross said. "He was very up-front. 'Oh yeah, I got a bear,' and something to the effect that it was a good one."

Kross went back into the woods to take a look at the bear Taddeo had killed just about 300 yards off the road. What he saw that day was the biggest bear he'd ever seen.

"It looked like a giant black couch," Kross said. "I was impressed with how big it was."

Kross said initially everything looked in order. The ranger checked the tag on the bear — Taddeo had bought a tag after killing the bear that morning — and the tag was properly filled out.

The bear was field dressed in the woods and someone began taking photos. The celebration of harvesting a trophy bear was under way.

It took eight to 10 men to drag the huge bear out of the woods that day.

"He didn't appear to be hiding anything," Kross said.

Kross said he remembered hunters walking by wanting to see the bear. Word was spreading that a large bruin had been shot.

"I don't know where they all came from," Kross said of the numerous people wanting to see the bear.

But something wasn't right. Hunters began talking about the odd and unusual events after Taddeo shot the bear. It was the hunters who told the park rangers and ultimately the Pennsylvania Game Commission that Taddeo had disappeared after shooting the bear.

That sparked an investigation by Monroe County Wildlife Conservation officer Victor Rosa, who ultimately got Taddeo to tell the truth about what happened that day.

"That's one of the key things, we rely on other hunters as our eyes in the woods for violations," Kross said. "They give up other hunters that are unethical."

Taddeo said he doesn't regret shooting the bear, but said he shouldn't have lied. He said, looking back, that he would handle the aftermath differently, though.

He said he was taking a nap and he woke up the bear 10 yards away. Taddeo claims the bear charged him.

"I think we surprised each other," Taddeo said. "I fell asleep and he stepped on a branch and woke me up. I looked by my right and there he was 10 yards away.

"I think I was so close to him. He felt intimidated and stood his ground."

Taddeo said he didn't even aim his gun before pulling the trigger.

"I shot and ran like hell," he said. "I didn't even know if I hit him."

The hunter wasn't sure how big the bear really was. When he finally heard that the bear tipped the scales at more than 800 pounds, he was excited, but that excitement was tempered.

"As excited as I was, I wasn't excited because I knew I got the tag after the fact," Taddeo said.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first illegal bear shot in Pennsylvania and it most likely won't be the last. Kross said bears are sometimes found in the park with missing paws and gall bladders that are in turn sold.

But park officials and the game commission do try to catch those who illegally kill animals. Park officers continue to run decoy operations and checkpoint stations in an effort to catch those who break the law.

The challenge, though, is a daunting one.

"It's hard to catch them," Kross said.