It's a pretty weak load, it won't cycle my automatic.
Posted on 08/05/2005 1:03:26 PM PDT by Rebelbase
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jason Williams keeps his gun — a .22-caliber squirrel-killer with a scope — propped by the sink.
He bags the varmints as they raid his pear tree and chomp his fig bush in his woodsy backyard just blocks from Crabtree Valley Mall. It's a family practice going back decades.
But newer neighbors do not cotton to Williams squirrel hunts. In a single July week, they called police three times.
"As it stands, I have fired four rounds, killed four squirrels and been visited by four police officers," said Williams, who is 41. "The first time, they SWAT-deployed. This is silly."
Hunting squirrels, rats and pigeons is perfectly legal in Raleigh yards provided you get a 90-day permit like the one Williams keeps taped to his front door.
The law dates to at least 1959, when Williams' Brookhaven neighborhood was outside city limits and the nearby mall was a cow pasture.
Granting special permits was a nod to people who thought they had a "plethora of pests," said City Attorney Thomas McCormick.
Times and neighborhoods have changed. Brookhaven might still be quiet and wooded, the sort of place where families spend eight or nine years and still are considered "new-ish."
But residents note that 80-plus townhouses are going up nearby, and Glenwood Avenue is one of the busiest streets in Raleigh.
"It certainly is far from rural," said Bee Weddington, who lives in the neighborhood. "I hate the squirrels, too, but I don't like guns. I'm not one of those crusaders, but there's always a chance you could harm some animal who's a pet, or a person, or a child."
Weddington, who is not one the neighborhood complainers, said legalized squirrel hunting surprised her. Only nine people have the permits citywide.
Williams, though, has a stack of permits dating back to the 1980s, when Brookhaven was annexed. When neighbors called the police, he sent them copies by registered mail.
The squeamishness about guns bothers him. By city law, he can use no rifle larger than a .22-caliber, and he must use rat shot, which will travel only about 25 feet.
"You could shoot your buddy in the (behind) with one and it would feel like a mosquito — if it cut through your pants," he said.
A forestry consultant, Williams has been hunting since age 5. He keeps his guns in a safe — including the rifle, when not actively pursuing varmints. He aims for animals on tree trunks so the round will strikes the bark if it misses the squirrel.
And rat shot, he says while demonstrating, can be fired from his rifle only one round at a time.
"You're not going to be bursting out in the back yard going 'Bam, bam, bam, bam. Oh, sorry Bob. I hit your head.' It's just impossible," he said.
So far this year, squirrels have torn through hundreds of pears he had been planning to can, scattering the rotten fruit across his yard.
He tried putting out deer corn for them, but they ate through a garbage can to get to a larger supply. He tried non-lethal have-a-heart traps, but he couldn't catch them.
If neighbors would ask, Williams said, he could show them that his hunting is responsible and safe.
"Yankees," said his girlfriend, Dawn Wiggins. "This isn't Brooklyn. Were not popping people over here. One he fired, I was sitting in the house, and I never even heard it."
The last time police visited, Williams said, the senior officer shook his head and walked away, cursing wasted time.
Williams feels for the police. There are criminals to catch, he said. Leave the varmints to him.
Preach it sister!
BWAHAHAHAHA!
Man, I rally need to get out of CT. I can't shoot at anything in town.
Never heard of "rat shot". What is it like? A .22 cal shotgun shell?
She forgot "liberal" after that. ;-)
Redundancy.
(I'm joking ... some of our finest NC FReepers are transplants from Up North.)
#9 shot in a .22 shell.
I assume it's what we call 'bird shot' out here, but I may be wrong.
It's a shot shell and shoots nr 11 shot and it shoots a good bit beyond 25 ft. Still, I am amazed it is effective on squirrels.
And eaten four squirrel omelettes.
Yep, with #9 shot.
Exactly. I used to call it snake shot. But with a .22, you need to get right on top of 'em to kill then with one round. There ain't much "shot" there to work with!
It's a pretty weak load, it won't cycle my automatic.
It's so dinky that my husband used to shoot mice and rats with it in our kitchen, and the very limited "scatter" barely made dents in the baseboards.
(yeah, yeah, some people would think it's overkill, but it clears up the vermin problem instantaneously)
OR NOT...
I live in rural WV, where random gunshots are not only the norm, they're practically expected. People call the cops if they DON'T hear gunfire coming from your property.
On July 4th, well after 11:00, I've been known to fire about 4-5 shots through the ol' Moisin Nagant in celebration. Nobody calls the cops.
The locals automatically filter out .22 noise. People literally can hear it and not realize they've heard it.
http://www.straightshooters.com/beeman/bdr9goldfinger.html
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
Yep. In my experience the spread is so wide as to be useless unless you are standing directly over the snake or whatever.
We're talking about a blue county, aren't we.
Yeah, I think you're right - the .22 is #11 or #12, and the .45 shell is #9.
I order mine from Sportman's Guide:
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=66028
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