View Full Version : Squirrles
Speaking of which...any tips on hunting squirrels by airgun? :-D
(Sorry ESpy I don't know much about acorn preparation :wink: )
I tend to ambush them when they are swiping stuff off the bird table.
Headshots only - they are tough little so & sos - and be aware of the size of the size of the sinus cavity.
MartiniDave
26-09-2003, 09:10
I always aim just behind the eye if the angle permits, and try to keep the range down. Always found .177 works well, but have had good results with .22 as well its just that my better rifles are all .177.
Some recommend baiting them but I've never tried that.
Dave
It isn't really baiting as such - the little beggars nick everything going.
Behind the eye and slightly low works well for me - my gut feel is that .22 hollow point pellets work "best" for me (less post mortem activity, as you no doubt know what I mean!), but frankly, .177 or .22 work equally well.
C_Claycomb
06-10-2003, 20:27
I have never had a problem with my .22 dome pellets (accupells) shooting for the chest. As long as you hit far enough forward to get the hear/lungs it is a good shot. There is so much of the head that is none fatal, and it is so small that if I have the choice I always go for the chest.
Baiting can work, but I like still hunting best. Just easing through the wood, stopping every-so-often to look and listen. In many areas squirrels aren't exactly the wariest critters. Staking out nut trees works well too, if you find an area covered with bits of nut shell it is good to hang about.
The Americans are BIG on hunting squirrels with just about any means you can think of, there should be a ton of stuff about it on their hunting magazine web sites.
Any of you eat them or process them for anything?
Chris
Ate squirrel for the first time at the weekend - very tasty. Similar to rabbit in flavour, much denser meat (presumably because it gets more exercise).
This is supposed to be the best time of year to eat them - they're stuffed on nuts, so the flavour of the oils are supposed to permeate the flesh.
For the sake of humanity I'd much rather go for headshots. Personally I wouldn't kill it if I didn't intend to eat it and a headshot saves the trouble of discarding some of the meat/digging around for a pellet.
Matt... check out http://home.comcast.net/~pelletgunn/sqr.htm
Although about hunting ground squirrels, it has some good tips and some useful infomation about air rifles and pellets to use when hunting the lil'critters.
Ed
Personally I wouldn't kill it if I didn't intend to eat it
Fair point. I haven't been happy about killing them and not eating them, but neither have I been happy about them eating the food I'm growing for myself.
I absolutely agree on headshots - and you *have* to know where to place the shot. Not a big target.
Here in the US, i hunt squirrels often. Usually with a .22 rifle, but sometimes with a .177 pellet rifle.
If one looks at a squirrel that has been completely skinned but not gutted, they look like miniature body builders. Very muscular and no fat. They are tough little scrappers for their size, and I personally always try for a head shot even with a .22 LR rifle. A body shot, especially with an air rifle, may work but is not as sure or quick.
Their hide is thin and TOUGH. Makes wonderful thongs- even used by Native Americans for hunting bow strings.
Hey guys, killin' 'em is easy. :-) It's the cleaning part that's a killer. Here's a little squirrel gambrel I made that that makes life much, much easier. Put the hind legs in the slots, make a slit at the base of the tail dorsal to the anus and cut completely through the spine (but not through the skin). Extend the cuts along the haunches and give a yank, pulling the hide down over the front legs (cut the front paws off first). Now remove the squirrel and place the neck in the large slot at the top. Now pull his "britches" off by tugging at the remaining skin, pulling downward over the hind legs. Gut and it's a done deal. And if you do it right, no squirrel hair to spoil your meat. :-D
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/images/squirrelcleaning2.jpg
hoodoo, you da man!
cool gadget too
In Britain, how many species of squirrel are there?
Also, are there species of North American animals which have been established in Britain?
In Britain, how many species of squirrel are there?
Also, are there species of North American animals which have been established in Britain?
Two, Red and Grey
Yep, Grey squirrels aka tree rats :AR15firin
bigjackbrass
19-11-2003, 19:53
In Britain, how many species of squirrel are there?
Also, are there species of North American animals which have been established in Britain?
Two, Red and Grey
Yep, Grey squirrels aka tree rats :AR15firin
At least, there were two before this topic got started. They might all be gone by now.
great gadget hoodoo! just don't mention the fetal pigs.
the red, our native squirrel, is both smaller than the invading american grey, and has a slightly different digestive system. basically the grey squirrel can eat alot of the nuts and mast earlier than the red. so there ain't much left for the poor liddle native squibbles. :-(
greys are considered pest and vermin, the reds are a rare protected species.
cheers, and.
We have a species of small red squirrel here as well. It seems to be able to out compete grey squirrels in areas mainly forested by conifers.
We also have a Fox squirrel. It is quite a bit larger than the grey, and less likely to be found in groups. It realy seems to eat more ground based food than the greys, such as corn and mushrooms. The fox is the species most common near my home.
Are other north American species established in Britain?
As far as animal and bird species are concerned, the following are all regarded as 'naturalised' within the UK (although some are the object of eradication programmes):
Mink
Grey squirrel
Night heron
Ruddy duck
Canada Goose
Wood duck (Carolina duck)
Bobwhite quail
Source - 'The Naturalised Animals of the British Isles', Christopher Lever, 1979, Paladin (publ.)
Of course that's now a pretty old book.
Additionally, 'Fauna Britannica', Duff Hart-Davis, 2002, Ted Smart (publ.) lists Muskrat, Elk and Lynx (although the latter via 'circumstantial evidence' - there are many ongoing sightings of various 'big cats' around the UK but few - if any? - have been caught that weren't recent releases).
Additionally, re-introduction programmes for both Beaver (European, not American) and Wolf are currently being debated.
Hope that helps
Bob :-D
Thank You sir. How in the world did night herons get over there? :-?
Ok, I will put this to you.
The squirrel is the only true organic meat to found in the country!
Jack.
I'm still trying to find out if the park next door are controlling the population with poison.
Roving Rich
21-11-2003, 11:34
What the hell are Night Herons, are they a distant relative of the vampire bat ?
Rich
More a not so distant cousin of our Grey Heron! I would imagine the naturalised population were domestic escapes as you could arguably say they are more aesthetic (by torchlight!)
Bob :-D
Ok, I will put this to you.
The squirrel is the only true organic meat to found in the country!
Jack.
What about the Highland red deer?
George
Keith_Beef
25-11-2003, 14:51
Ok, I will put this to you.
The squirrel is the only true organic meat to found in the country!
Jack.
What about the coypu in East Anglia?
Also considered vermin.
And wood pigeons, too.
Keith.
Roving Rich
25-11-2003, 15:44
The thing is all these critters will eat whatever crops they can find, the crops can be sprayed and therfore not Organic. The Squirrel eats nuts. I have never heard of a nut farm (only the funny farm where you lot escaped from) or any commercial nut growing enterprise so i guess that nuts in the UK are Organic (I said ORGANIC). Only thing is surely Squirrels eat something other than nuts during the rest of the year? And is this organic?
Rich :roll:
Baby birds. Which may or may not be organic.
I thought the coypu in East Anglia has all been eradicated?! Coypu are from South America, not North America (which is why they weren't in my original list!)
Commercial hazel nut 'farms' do occur in the UK - Kent is a hotspot. On the continent they spray hazels to reduce losses to insects however I don't know if we have the same pest species here.
Bob :-D
Keith_Beef
26-11-2003, 08:51
I thought the coypu in East Anglia has all been eradicated?! Coypu are from South America, not North America (which is why they weren't in my original list!)
Bob :-D
I know coypu are from South America, I was suggesting another "organic" (well, wild at least) vermin that might be edible.
I didn't know they'd been eradicated, though. I had a plan, way way back, to go out river camping with a couple of schoolfriends in a flat-bottomed boat with our bows, hunting the little blighters. I'd read that normally, you need a special licence to hunt with a bow, except for going after vermin. And coypu are a bit bigger than squirrels, I think.
Keith.
Roving Rich
26-11-2003, 10:21
Keith, Was that hunting in France, cos i thought hunting with a bow was outlawed in the UK. But bunnies are classed as vermin along with woodpigeon, and those grey squirrels ? not that i'd have a hope of squewering any of um with my archery skills.
Cheers
Rich
Keith_Beef
26-11-2003, 22:24
Keith, Was that hunting in France, cos i thought hunting with a bow was outlawed in the UK. But bunnies are classed as vermin along with woodpigeon, and those grey squirrels ? not that i'd have a hope of squewering any of um with my archery skills.
Cheers
Rich
No, in the UK, back in 1985/86.
In France, the situation is a bit complicated... there seem to be a fair number of bow hunters (from the few articles and ads I've seen in the hunting magazines here), but what you can go after is limited, and I think that to give the game a fair chance, you have to shout "BANG" as you loose the arrow ;)
Hunting is quite big over here, but is mostly firearms, going for various faethered things, deer, boar. Opening and closing dates vary, depending on species and place. Sometimes, you can shoot any day of the week, sometimes not on Wednesday, sometimes not on Sunday...
If you're over here on holiday, it's really worth checking up on the dates and "off-days", or you risk serious injury and death! Last year, an old man on a bicycle was killed accidentaly by a bullet that went through a boar before hitting him...
Keith.
Full boar rifle, presumably? :-D
Hunting ANYTHING with a bow and arrow is totally outlawed in the UK. Please don't do it. Archery as a sport in the UK has a very good record for being a responsible and well deiciplined pastime and has a very good saftey record. If you were to contact GNAS you will discover that there are more things to shoot at than just round targets, but shooting animals is not on, it is not safe enough or certain enough. 22s and the more powerful airguns, ok, bows anmd arrows - NO.
Keith_Beef
27-11-2003, 23:31
Hunting ANYTHING with a bow and arrow is totally outlawed in the UK. Please don't do it. Archery as a sport in the UK has a very good record for being a responsible and well deiciplined pastime and has a very good saftey record. If you were to contact GNAS you will discover that there are more things to shoot at than just round targets, but shooting animals is not on, it is not safe enough or certain enough. 22s and the more powerful airguns, ok, bows anmd arrows - NO.
You know, I've been away from the UK for quite a while... I'm pretty sure, though, that back in 1985/86 it was quite legal to go after *vermin* with a bow, or a five-shot repeating shotgun.
My uncle had a repeater until about 1990 (IIRR), and he only used it fro pigeaons to feed his ferrets; he told me he couldn't use it on anything but vermin (rabbits included).
Anyway, like I mentioned, here in France, there are some species, somewhere, at certain times, that you can take with bow and arrow...
Keith.
Whilst it may be legal in France, you have to ask yourself if it is the right thing to do.
I consider myself to be a fairly proficient recurve archer having won many club and county competitions, but I would never consider using my bow to shoot at any wild animal, not because I think that wild animals should not be shot, but because I know, good as I am, I could not give myself a good enough guarantee that I could hit cleanly every time. There are so many variables with bow shooting and so much to go wrong. Shooting a rabbit at even 30meter requires a very high skill level and even then a poorley knocked arrow, damaged knock, slight sight misalignment, minor distraction or lack of concentration, not quite straight arrow, damaged flight... I could go on for half a page or more, but the point is that if you respect your prey, and you should!, then you be as certain as you can be of killing cleanly and a bow is not the tool for this. Furthermore, hunting arrowheads are as illigal as non folding knives and cannot be purchased for use in this country.
In North America it is quite common to hunt with a compound bow. Whilst personally I do not agree with it, it is a lot safer that using recurve or longbows as the arrow velocity is much higher, the sighting is more accurate and the release is usually by a mechanical 'trigger', however, the weight of the bow is still held by the archer, albeit a lot less than a recurve, and prolonged tension can easily lead to fatigue and a poor aim.
I can well apprechiate the satisfaction of a clean kill with a bow, but consider the alternative of a wounded animal escaping to die very badly from its wounds leaving you a bloody arrow for your troubles.
Nah, there are better ways.
Silas
Keith_Beef
28-11-2003, 11:46
Whilst it may be legal in France, you have to ask yourself if it is the right thing to do.
I consider myself to be a fairly proficient recurve archer having won many club and county competitions, but I would never consider using my bow to shoot at any wild animal, not because I think that wild animals should not be shot, but because I know, good as I am, I could not give myself a good enough guarantee that I could hit cleanly every time. There are so many variables with bow shooting and so much to go wrong. Shooting a rabbit at even 30meter requires a very high skill level and even then a poorley knocked arrow, damaged knock, slight sight misalignment, minor distraction or lack of concentration, not quite straight arrow, damaged flight... I could go on for half a page or more, but the point is that if you respect your prey, and you should!, then you be as certain as you can be of killing cleanly and a bow is not the tool for this. Furthermore, hunting arrowheads are as illigal as non folding knives and cannot be purchased for use in this country.
In North America it is quite common to hunt with a compound bow. Whilst personally I do not agree with it, it is a lot safer that using recurve or longbows as the arrow velocity is much higher, the sighting is more accurate and the release is usually by a mechanical 'trigger', however, the weight of the bow is still held by the archer, albeit a lot less than a recurve, and prolonged tension can easily lead to fatigue and a poor aim.
I can well apprechiate the satisfaction of a clean kill with a bow, but consider the alternative of a wounded animal escaping to die very badly from its wounds leaving you a bloody arrow for your troubles.
Nah, there are better ways.
Silas
I appreciate your concerns, and I am in full agreement about the need to respect the game, and go for a clean kill. I am not a hunter, yet. I'm going to join a gun club and do a lot of target shooting, safety classes, and try different sorts of gun before I start going after live game.
Were I to take up bow hunting, I would go through the same kind of training (outdoors, in near-real conditions). Certainly, if I had stalked an animal, and felt I was near enough, had the arrow well-nocked, had a good grip, felt that I was as sure as is humanly possible that the kill would be clean, I would loose the arrow. If conditions changed, and I was no longer sure, then I would let the animal be, rather than risk simply inflicting a wound...
I seem to remember that the reasoning behind a ban on using repeaters for shooting game, is that it encourages lazy, hasty, sloppy shooting. Forcing the hunter to go for a clean kill off just one shot is much better.
As for rabbits, I think that with a lot of practice, I could take them, at a push... but if I was really interested in getting rabbits for the pot, I think I'd rather be out there with a ferret.
Your statement that "hunting arrowheads are as illigal as non folding knives" leaves me a bit perplexed... Fixed blade knives are not illegal in the UK. I see them for sale all the time when I'm back there. I've bought a few there, too. What is considered illegal, is *carrying them in a public place without a good reason*. Long discussions about what constitutes a *good reason* have been rolling on for a while over on British Blades. I would like to see a reference to the law which states that broadheads are illegal, or that using them to hunt animals is illegal, if you know of one.
If you are sure that the law now forbids hunting with bow and arrow, and can point me in the direction of an authoritative text, then I stand corrected. Like I mentioned, I am referring to almost twenty years ago; laws change, memory is fallible; I recollect that hunting vermin (rabbits, pigeons, coypu...) with bow and arrow was permitted at the time.
Keith.
On reflection, my analagy with fixed blade knives was not entireley appropriate, but 'broadheads' are nevertheless illegal in the UK. The leading archery supplier in the UK (Quicks) lists them but are for mail order only to non UK residents.
Archery is not like any other form of shooting. When an arrow leaves the bow it is travelling very fast, very fast indeed, but it slows down very quickly so such an extent that very minor thing like the air temperature and humidity will affect its trajectory quite noticably.
If you sight your arrows on a target that is 4' above the ground and then try to aim at something 2' off the ground it is unlikeley that the arrow will even reach its target ( depending on distance and draw weight of the bow).
Before an archer shoots a competition he has six 'sighter' arrows in order to set up properley. These are required for the very reasons outlined above. If everything was constant, he would not need to set up before each shoot, he could just refer to his sight marks - if life was so simple.
The difference in sight marks between say 30meters and 60 meters is quite significant, but in order to shoot accuratly these must be set exactly.
How do you thing you would be able to shoot a rabbit when you are having to guess the distance it is away from you, bearing in mind that even a couple of yards will make a difference to your sight marks. You may be lucky and hit it cleanly, but I think it more likley that you will not.
There is a branch of archery known as field shooting where archers follow a trail around a woodland area and shoot at dummy animals and posters with animals on. The animal has a target overprinted on it and points are awarded depending on where the arrow hits. If you were to see these targets after a shoot, and bear in mind that the archers generally are well practices individuals, you would be horrified to see how many miss the target area by a long way - and these targets are static.
To be absoloutly confident of shooting live game I would suggest that you should be able to place ten arrows consecutively within a 20cm circle at 30 meters. If you could do that, you could represent England in the next Olympics, but then you would still have the problem of the sighting distance.
In North America, they have sighting gauges to accuratly determine the distance at which the prey is. You can get them for use over here, but no-one, as far as I know sells them as they cannot be used in field competitions and there really is no other use for them. They tend to hunt much bigger stuff over there, deer etc.
No, leave archery hunting where it belongs - in the past.
Silas
Keith_Beef
28-11-2003, 14:17
On reflection, my analagy with fixed blade knives was not entireley appropriate, but 'broadheads' are nevertheless illegal in the UK. The leading archery supplier in the UK (Quicks) lists them but are for mail order only to non UK residents.
I'd still like to see the text of the law; I've seen so much rubbish (bad interpretation of a law, or even downright falsehood) spouted by knife retailers, that I no longer take things on hearsay...
I'm not questioning your good faith, but retailers sometimes err on the side of caution, rather than risk running foul of the law.
Archery is not like any other form of shooting. When an arrow leaves the bow it is travelling very fast, very fast indeed, but it slows down very quickly so such an extent that very minor thing like the air temperature and humidity will affect its trajectory quite noticably.
If you sight your arrows on a target that is 4' above the ground and then try to aim at something 2' off the ground it is unlikeley that the arrow will even reach its target ( depending on distance and draw weight of the bow).
Before an archer shoots a competition he has six 'sighter' arrows in order to set up properley. These are required for the very reasons outlined above. If everything was constant, he would not need to set up before each shoot, he could just refer to his sight marks - if life was so simple.
The difference in sight marks between say 30meters and 60 meters is quite significant, but in order to shoot accuratly these must be set exactly.
How do you thing you would be able to shoot a rabbit when you are having to guess the distance it is away from you, bearing in mind that even a couple of yards will make a difference to your sight marks. You may be lucky and hit it cleanly, but I think it more likley that you will not.
There is a branch of archery known as field shooting where archers follow a trail around a woodland area and shoot at dummy animals and posters with animals on. The animal has a target overprinted on it and points are awarded depending on where the arrow hits. If you were to see these targets after a shoot, and bear in mind that the archers generally are well practices individuals, you would be horrified to see how many miss the target area by a long way - and these targets are static.
That's the kind of thing I was thinking of, but had forgotten the name. Field archery. As I understand it, you hold the bow differently, so you can use that old stereoscopic vision to judge the distances better.
To be absoloutly confident of shooting live game I would suggest that you should be able to place ten arrows consecutively within a 20cm circle at 30 meters. If you could do that, you could represent England in the next Olympics, but then you would still have the problem of the sighting distance.
In North America, they have sighting gauges to accuratly determine the distance at which the prey is. You can get them for use over here, but no-one, as far as I know sells them as they cannot be used in field competitions and there really is no other use for them. They tend to hunt much bigger stuff over there, deer etc.
You know, *if* I was going to try bow hunting, I wouldn't be going after small animals. I'd be going after a bigger target, like an ibex.
You certainly seem to know quite a lot about archery. Do you, by any chance, know about making traditional longbows? I'm after some wood, and I've read that lemon can be used (yew being expensive and difficult to get in a bow-length).
No, leave archery hunting where it belongs - in the past.
Silas
There are quite a lot of people who say that hunting should be abandoned altogether, now that we have farmed meat...
Hunting isn't about going out and killing things, or about filling your belly cheaper than going to the butcher's shop.
Keith.
Longbows Ahh....
Many longbowmen do indeed makew their own bows. Numerous kits are avalable and I would seriously suggest that you start with one of those as it will have all of the materials that you reqire in the kit. Most longbows ( except yew) are a composite of two or three woods and, yes, lemon wood is very often a component.
Try Richard Head on 01225 790452 or Quicks www.quicks.com for kits or ready made longbows.
Longbow sights consist basicaslly of a small rubber band placed around the top limb and simply moved up and down to obtain a distance sight mark. Very basic and very much a back to nature type thing, but great fun and most longbow men will not shoot anything else. Most of these guys also make their own arrows as well ( Many of them dress in 'traditional' costumes for competitions, although us 'real'archers think that this is simply an excuse for them to carry a hip flask of their favourite tipple).
Yew is and indeed was, rareley used for longbows. It is, and was, very expensive, English yew is no good, it has to be Spanish or similar. a yew bow is made fron a section of the tree that has a lightwood core. this is used in section on the bow so the bow looks like it is made of two different woods longditudinally. the woods work against each other to provide the required 'springiness'. Having said that, Yew is the best material, but it is very expensive, a Hickory and Lemonwood bow may cost £150.00 ready made but you could easily pay four times that for a yew bow. I have never made one myself, although I know several people who have and it is not at all difficult if you have a modicum of skill in woodcarving and a half decent spokeshave.
I am not against hunting. Far from it, I would rather eat a 'free range' pheasant or rabbit than a farmed chicken, but I do think that if one is going to hunt one has a duty to do the job properly and cause as little suffering as possible. I am sure that you would agree with these sentiments from reading your responses.
Some half assed attempt to shoot an animal with a bothched up bow and arrow is not, in my opinion, a sport, just a self gratification that I don't think should be indulged.
Silas
Keith_Beef
28-11-2003, 15:30
Thanks for the advice on longbows.
I did a bit of archery when I was about 15 to 17, just for fun (no competitions), and still have my Jacques black (fibreglass?) recurve bow; I think it's a 45lb pull at 33 inches. The "sight" was a bit of foam, with a pin stuck in it, but I rarely used it, prefering to do it all "by eye alone".
I had a go, just for an afternoon, last summer with a borrowed bow (and no sight), and have been thinking of taking up archery again. Maybe the "funny dressing up" brigade ;) too!
Keith.
Yeah.. 'ave a go.. it's great fun.
I don't do much now as I have a shoulder injury ( Not archery related)
Don't fall into the "My bow has a heavier draw weight than your bow" trap. Pull what you are comfortable with and no more otherwise not only will you tire easily, your accuracy will suffer horrendously which will demotivate you and, more seriously, you have a real risk of injury. Beauty of longbows is that you can overbow yourself, but don't need to full draw them. Good choice.
Silas
clcuckow
28-11-2003, 16:38
Keith,
The law you are looking for is "The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981" Section 5 and 11
http://212.187.155.84/wnv/Subdirectories_for_Search/Glossary&References_Contents/LegislationUKContents/L_UK_0002.htm
Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild animals
11. -(l) Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person-
(a) sets in position any self-locking snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal coming into contact therewith;
(b) uses for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal any self-locking snare, whether or not of such a nature or so placed as aforesaid, any bow or cross-bow or any explosive other than ammunition for a firearm;
(c) uses as a decoy, for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal, any live mammal or bird whatever; or
(d) knowingly causes or permits to be done an act which is mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this section,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(a) sets in position any self-locking snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal coming into contact therewith;
Now - what exactly constitutes a self-locking snare?
If I make my snare, but double up the loop around the main wire, is that a self-locker?
(c) uses as a decoy, for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal, any live mammal or bird whatever; or
There are - as usual - exceptions. Larson (or is it Larsen, I can never remember) traps involve the use of a calling bird to trap magpies in the other half. The calling bird has to be treated according to all sorts of humane dictats, but otherwise, this is covered by the DEFRA licence (full title eludes me just now).
Yay.
Keith_Beef
28-11-2003, 17:02
Keith,
The law you are looking for is "The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981" Section 5 and 11
http://212.187.155.84/wnv/Subdirectories_for_Search/Glossary&References_Contents/LegislationUKContents/L_UK_0002.htm
Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild animals
11. -(l) Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person-
(a) sets in position any self-locking snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal coming into contact therewith;
(b) uses for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal any self-locking snare, whether or not of such a nature or so placed as aforesaid, any bow or cross-bow or any explosive other than ammunition for a firearm;
(c) uses as a decoy, for the purpose of killing or taking any wild animal, any live mammal or bird whatever; or
(d) knowingly causes or permits to be done an act which is mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this section,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
Thanks for that!
I've not read the whole of the text, yet (just the part you posted), but it looks exactly like what I needed to read.
But, it looks like I had hearsay tittle-tattle back in 1985, from somebody who was thinking that "Sections 9(1), (2) and (4), 11(1) and (2) and 13(1) do not apply to anything done... (h) for the purpose of preventing serious damage to livestock, ... or any other form of property ...
if it is done under and in accordance with the terms of a licence granted by the appropriate authority."
Thus, coypu being vermin, damaging property, a "licence" may be obtained from some authority, giving an exemption sections 5 and 11 which specifically mention that bows may not be used.
Decoys are mentioned, too, as being naughty. There are certainly some big differences in hunting techniques between the UK and France! Here, live ducks (and other birds) are often used to lure other game near the hunter.
Keith.
Now - what exactly constitutes a self-locking snare?
If I make my snare, but double up the loop around the main wire, is that a self-locker?
A self locking snare is one that is not free running. The snare must be able to be open and closed freely.
Ed
ditchfield
28-11-2003, 19:46
I was reading the law for air weapons the other day, and apparently, trespasing with an air weapon gets you a life sentence :-?. Surely not.
trespasing with an air weapon gets you a life sentence . Surely not.
That is probably the maximum sentance... probably not what you would get!!!
Ed
A self locking snare is one that is not free running. The snare must be able to be open and closed freely.
That would seem to suggest that I *am* referring to a self-locker - once it tightens, it won't loosen easily.
Trespassing with an air rifle is armed trespass, BTW - i.e. no different in the eyes of the law to wandering around with a firearm where you shouldn't be. I wouldn't recommend it, especially not in today's climate of stupidity.
Hmmmmm would carrying a fixed blade knife be armed tresspass?? :shock:
Roving Rich
02-12-2003, 10:14
Ducks, Geese and pigeons are all hunted using decoys- in the UK. I wonder if the law above does not apply to fowl? and for that matter vermin??
Rich
I think it means using live animals and birds as decoys. Because you can buy all manner of different plastic ones. I've used plastic Woodpigeons in the backyard with some small success (little devils soon wise up).