MA law and shooting gray squirrels with pellet gun

[TLB]

Nope, kill trap illegal, poison illegal. Nothing about live trap and shark diving.

Maybe it didn't get signed into law?

Massachusetts Senate Approves Bill To Explicitly Outlaw Killing of Animal By Drowning - National Humane Education Society

Paws Up! March 23, 2018 To the Massachusetts Senate for unanimously passing a bill to outlaw the drowning of animals and other crimes against animals. According to a recent news article, the Massachusetts State Senate has unanimously passed S. 2332, a bill to ban the drowning of all wild and...

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Mass. Lawmakers Approve Bill to Prohibit Drowning of Animals

Massachusetts lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would prohibit the drowning of animals and double the penalties for hit and run accidents on dogs or cats.

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[moojpg2]

There are a couple of pro tips if you are going to go the trap route .
Cut yourself three pieces of cardboard about the size of a matchbook .
Put peanut butter on all three.
When you go to set the trap , place one all the way to the back.
Then put a little on the trip plate.
Them put one of the pieces just inside the entrance to the trap and the last just in front.
This trick will sucker in the shy ones.

The other trick is to set up your trap with some barriers ( Pieces of firewood, boards , whatever ) so that the front looks like the only option to get the goodies.
Otherwise they may just come up from behind and jostle the trap around till it trips.

The last and maybe most important is to spring the traps just after dusk and reset early in the morning .
A skunk in a squirrel sized Hav A Heart is the definition of ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag and a real problem with no good answer.

Been there done that with the skunks. Really challenged my problem solving skills I'll tell ya!!

 

[Racenet]

Been there done that with the skunks. Really challenged my problem solving skills I'll tell ya!!

Cover with a blanket and shoot them in the head through the cage with a pellet gun. Works every time.

 

[Asaltweapon]

Covid 19 killed them.

 

[EddieA]

Cover with someone else's blanket and shoot them in the head through the cage with a pellet gun. Works every time.

FIFY

 

[Choctaw]

I have two of the A24's with counters on them. One has killed 3 and the other 14. Mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks. I mounted them to some scrap 2x6's so that I can move them around. I lean them against trees and structures. Something always carries off the corpses. They work well.

 

[308rifleman]

CCI quiets and a 20"+ barrel - all you hear is the striker drop.

Would these work with a shorter barrel? All we have is a Savage bolt action 16.5" and a 10/22 18.5".

 

[grey]

Would these work with a shorter barrel? All we have is a Savage bolt action 16.5" and a 10/22 18.5".

Its not that they won't work, theyre just louder than the longer barreled gun. And you have to hand cycle the 10/22. Cb shorts are a little quieter. I prefer the 22 quiet segmented since they have just a bit more punch

 

[pastera]

Would these work with a shorter barrel? All we have is a Savage bolt action 16.5" and a 10/22 18.5".

Haven't tried with a shorter barrel except for my victory (5" and loud)

If you are around Taunton and want to try them out, I can give you some to try.

 

[Spanz]

" The 500ft law applies to firearms, but air rifles are not firearms since we can purchase them freely without any license. "

i am pretty sure the law is about HUNTING within 500 ft. if you hunt by throwing rocks, you had better be 500 ft away from any structure that might have people in it.
also, there is a specific gray squirrel hunting season, so you can only killz them during the right part of the year

 

[fencer]

Would these work with a shorter barrel? All we have is a Savage bolt action 16.5" and a 10/22 18.5".

I have one of these. Sweet rifle and it holds 21 shorts. Shoots 22 long, 22 long rifle and 22 shorts. When 22 is hard to come by, the Golden Boy will eat anything you can get your hands on. One of my favorite rifles. 20" octagon barrel.


For tree rats, this has proven to be very effective. And my neighbors DGAF.

 

[whacko]

As long as you have your hunting license, it should be perfectly fine, but you do have to be far enough away from your neighbors house or have their permission. They do have to be in season or your poaching which could land you in trouble with the environmental police. They can be quite tasty and are a game animal so don't be a dick and waste them, at least give them to someone who will use them. Use a pellet gun that is subsonic so it doesn't have that loud crack. If you don't have your hunting license and live close to neighbors that object than your only legal option is to call a licensed wildlife removal guy and have him trap them.

They are tasty. Fried squirrel and gravy over biscuits from last weekend.

 

[whacko]

Alright, thanks guys. Really appreciate the insight. Looks like I will be trapping the squirrels instead, because it is just so much quieter. Kind of a bummer that I can't really use the Gamo Varmint rifle at all, unless I want to shoot it from my house - which is very impractical for all sorts of logistical reasons.

Very frustrating that we must justify what we do on our own property, especially when these same people have 0 objections to killing the squirrels as they all collectively respond with "hire an exterminator". Clearly this has nothing to do with the poor furry squirrel dying and all about the means. Baffled by the stupidity.

Trapping and dispatching is the correct method. The laws have their reasons. For starters your not shooting them from a distance and taking a chance on a pellet hitting a neighbor's house or whatever......you already mentioned your neighbors are less than 500 feet. I think if you really dig down and think about it you'll realize that trapping and dispatching is not only the safest way.....but the most efficient. The trap is working when your not. Right? When you see one in the trap just drown it in a barrel of water and then into the garbage. Reset the trap and repeat until the problem is gone. I know you had your heart set on sniping them with your pellet gun but seriously .......trapping and dispatching them is safer and easier in the long run right? If you want to snipe squirrels take hunter Ed and get a hunting license. Grey squirrel season opener was Monday the 14th in zones 1-9 and opens sat after columbus day in zones 10-14.

I have dispatched 3 woodchuck this summer with a have a heart trap and my 22 revolver. Trap it......into the bed of the truck.....drive to wma land and take him for a walk........pop between the headlights......dump it for the coyotes and done. But......woodchuck has no closed hunting season (grey squirrel is actually a game animal in mass with a season and bag limit).....and I do have a hunting license in ma. Not sure how transporting a trapped squirrel to wma to dispatch it with a fire arm would work for your case with no hunting license.

All that said mass still sucks and these nuisance animal laws are great advice nobody should have to follow by law.

 

[whacko]

There are a couple of pro tips if you are going to go the trap route .
Cut yourself three pieces of cardboard about the size of a matchbook .
Put peanut butter on all three.
When you go to set the trap , place one all the way to the back.
Then put a little on the trip plate.
Them put one of the pieces just inside the entrance to the trap and the last just in front.
This trick will sucker in the shy ones.

The other trick is to set up your trap with some barriers ( Pieces of firewood, boards , whatever ) so that the front looks like the only option to get the goodies.
Otherwise they may just come up from behind and jostle the trap around till it trips.

The last and maybe most important is to spring the traps just after dusk and reset early in the morning .
A skunk in a squirrel sized Hav A Heart is the definition of ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag and a real problem with no good answer.

I learned this the hard way when going after my woodchuck problem. Got a fat skunk Instead one night. I actually was able to load up the trap in the truck pretty easy. Skunk have shitty eyesight. Get an old sheet and hold it up in front of you and SLOWLY walk toward the trap. When you get close enough slowly drape the sheet over the trap. Grab the trap handle through the sheet and walk slow. I didn't get sprayed and the bed of my truck didn't even smell after.

 

[whacko]

Pretty sure MA semi-recently made the swimming lessons illegal, but I wouldn't let that stop me, personally. The Dems have taught me laws are optional, so carry on.

I researched it recently when I had to take care of a woodchuck problem and the regs I read still state "humanely euthenize" and no mention of method.

How are you "pretty sure"? Did you read it somewhere official?

 

[mac1911]

The biggest problem with using pellet rifles is the wounded animal that runs off and will always seem to die on your worst nieghbors deck.
A 22 cal that you can get decent accuracy from inside 30 yards is all you need. Run a 13 grain pellet at 600 fps.
Theres no need for all these hyper velocity pellet guns. Espeially in the 177. Most claims of 1200-1400 fps are with the ultra light pellets.

Unless you plan on some 50+ yard hunts no need for the ultra expensive guns. Although i do like them. Have wanted a edgun since I first found

Ted's HoldOver

Hi. I'm Ted. I grew up on a farm in the Midwest. Got a bb-gun (Daisy 840) when I was 10. Shot it until it fell apart. Then I bought a Crosman 760 (now 2100)....

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[1776]

Interesting that edgun has no ballistics listed on their site

 

[01906]

I agree with the crossman 760 I had one when I was a kid. I killed more squirrels with it that then I'd like to admit. Hunting pellet to the head I don't remember any walking away. I purchased another one a couple years ago for nostalgia. I recently lent it to my brother for rat control. He has used it with good success. It is super quiet.

 

[1776]

Drowning them isn’t my thing. Drowning has to suck as a way to go; especially in a cage.

I have no issues killing them. I just won’t drown them.

Bob

Have a small cooler or trash container with a plastic bag over the end that will hold the trap and place a rag sprayed (about 6 seconds) with starting fluid ether in with the trap. Wait....and grill when ready!

Gumout 11 oz. Starting Fluid 5072866 - The Home Depot

Engines need the right conditions to perform properly. If temperatures drop too low, gasoline can have problems evaporating, making it harder to burn. Extreme humidity can also have an effect on fuel's

www.homedepot.com

 

[Cur]

Interesting that edgun has no ballistics listed on their site

All their guns are a little bit tunable from the factory. You can also buy a regulator for most of them. Different cal pellets usually come in a many different weights, all affecting velocity.

"What do you want it to be?"

 

[1776]

It's called Technical Specifications.

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The edgun site looks like repackaged snake oil with a 400% markup.

 

[McReef]

Drowning them isn’t my thing. Drowning has to suck as a way to go; especially in a cage.

I have no issues killing them. I just won’t drown them.

Bob

It’s not my thing either, but I am a practical person, and it solves both problems (upset neighbors and living squirrels).

FWIW, I have never personally died from drowning, so can’t do much more than speculate on the truth of this, however, it is generally considered a fairly peaceful death. It is also considered by many (including ‘official’ sources) to be a humane method of dispatch for nuisance animals.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I have a 22WMR revolver you can borrow.

Have a small cooler or trash container with a plastic bag over the end that will hold the trap and place a rag sprayed (about 6 seconds) with starting fluid ether in with the trap. Wait....and grill when ready!

Gumout 11 oz. Starting Fluid 5072866 - The Home Depot

Engines need the right conditions to perform properly. If temperatures drop too low, gasoline can have problems evaporating, making it harder to burn. Extreme humidity can also have an effect on fuel's

www.homedepot.com

An interesting and human option. I don’t know that I would eat them afterwards though.

Bob

 

[1776]

An interesting and human option. I don’t know that I would eat them afterwards though.
Bob

I wouldn't either, but the bbq guests don't complain

 

[AHM]

Have a small cooler or trash container with a plastic bag over the end that will hold the trap and place a rag sprayed (about 6 seconds) with starting fluid ether in with the trap. Wait....and grill when ready!

Wait -
is that for the squirrels,
or the skunks?

An interesting and human option. I don’t know that I would eat them afterwards though.

I wouldn't either, but the bbq guests don't complain

Spoiler: BBQ guests be all like...

 

[1776]

"AHM, post: 6904622, member: 46798"]
Wait -
is that for the squirrels,
or the skunks?


Both

 

[rkd80]

Love the discussion, really do. Yeah it sucks that I bought the gun, bought special pellets, sighted the scope, etc. I did take out a small number of the tree rats already and an exterminator would have been more expensive anyway.

Regarding the above post that said trapping is safer, yes I suppose. Even though my backyard does not actually abut any private property, it looks out on trees and behind that is an abandoned railway. My backyard is also sunk in so I have a natural 8ft backstop and then another 5 foot fence on top of that. it would have to be a REALLY errant shot to go anywhere other than the dirt/fence. Although, in fairness....I did snipe one right off the post, so then yes - they can go flying.

Regarding hunting and gray squirrels. I also called environment police and mass wildlife, those guys are just as confused as the police. EPO refer me to MassWildlife and they themselves have this fact sheet: https://www.mass.gov/doc/living-with-squirrels-fact-sheet/download

Fact sheet says: " LETHAL REMOVAL: Traps may be effective in removing squirrels within an attic or other confined space. Any trapped animal must either be relocated on the premises (within the property) or destroyed humanely; it is illegal to transport and release wildlife to another location. Shooting is quick, simple, and effective in areas where firearm discharge is safe and legal. A .22 caliber rifle or a shotgun with #6 shot or smaller is suitable. This method may be most effective when targeting a few persistent animals. "

This suggests we are allowed to lethally remove the squirrels, as in this case they are considered pests. They are even saying move elsewhere on the property - for example a private yard - and then shoot it! Even suggesting a caliber. Yet the EPO does not follow its own guidance and told me to call the exterminator or get a hunting license. But jeez, I don't want a hunting a license - I just want them to stop eating all my shit. So frustrating.

Btw guys, when I talked to mass wildlife, you need a trapping license to put out squirrel traps. The level of insanity has no limits.
So everyone who has traps outside and catches squirrels, technically breaking the law. Lib hell.

 

[mac1911]

Interesting that edgun has no ballistics listed on their site

I think that might be because each country might have different requirements. Like Canada and England

 

[mac1911]

Love the discussion, really do. Yeah it sucks that I bought the gun, bought special pellets, sighted the scope, etc. I did take out a small number of the tree rats already and an exterminator would have been more expensive anyway.

Regarding the above post that said trapping is safer, yes I suppose. Even though my backyard does not actually abut any private property, it looks out on trees and behind that is an abandoned railway. My backyard is also sunk in so I have a natural 8ft backstop and then another 5 foot fence on top of that. it would have to be a REALLY errant shot to go anywhere other than the dirt/fence. Although, in fairness....I did snipe one right off the post, so then yes - they can go flying.

Regarding hunting and gray squirrels. I also called environment police and mass wildlife, those guys are just as confused as the police. EPO refer me to MassWildlife and they themselves have this fact sheet: https://www.mass.gov/doc/living-with-squirrels-fact-sheet/download

Fact sheet says: " LETHAL REMOVAL: Traps may be effective in removing squirrels within an attic or other confined space. Any trapped animal must either be relocated on the premises (within the property) or destroyed humanely; it is illegal to transport and release wildlife to another location. Shooting is quick, simple, and effective in areas where firearm discharge is safe and legal. A .22 caliber rifle or a shotgun with #6 shot or smaller is suitable. This method may be most effective when targeting a few persistent animals. "

This suggests we are allowed to lethally remove the squirrels, as in this case they are considered pests. They are even saying move elsewhere on the property - for example a private yard - and then shoot it! Even suggesting a caliber. Yet the EPO does not follow its own guidance and told me to call the exterminator or get a hunting license. But jeez, I don't want a hunting a license - I just want them to stop eating all my shit. So frustrating.

Btw guys, when I talked to mass wildlife, you need a trapping license to put out squirrel traps. The level of insanity has no limits.
So everyone who has traps outside and catches squirrels, technically breaking the law. Lib hell.

What you have to establish is your “reason” for dispatch.
Squirrels are destroying your roof or getting into your pigeon coup and destroying eggs.
If EP or local LEO show up you dont want to be found with a stack of squirrels rotting in a pile or tails strung up .
Now as far as “safety”
If for what ever reason EP/LEO decide tour unsafe thats a different matter all together.
Some towns have other rules to follow also. My neighbor used to call the police on me if I was target shooting with a 10m air rifle or even seen a rifle. Not so much anymore. She either got used to it or the PD said enough already?
Your best option is to get a hunting license see where 500ft is get permission from your good nieghbors and lure the tree rats to the other side of the property.
Which reminds me can you bait squirrels in MA?
I only dispatch critters if they are destroying my shit.
I removed all the trees around my house and there are no food sources for them near the house.
Any other critters I dispatch are not game animals and some the state encouraged you to thin them out

 

[Spanz]

Love the discussion, really do. Yeah it sucks that I bought the gun, bought special pellets, sighted the scope, etc. I did take out a small number of the tree rats already and an exterminator would have been more expensive anyway.

Regarding the above post that said trapping is safer, yes I suppose. Even though my backyard does not actually abut any private property, it looks out on trees and behind that is an abandoned railway. My backyard is also sunk in so I have a natural 8ft backstop and then another 5 foot fence on top of that. it would have to be a REALLY errant shot to go anywhere other than the dirt/fence. Although, in fairness....I did snipe one right off the post, so then yes - they can go flying.

Regarding hunting and gray squirrels. I also called environment police and mass wildlife, those guys are just as confused as the police. EPO refer me to MassWildlife and they themselves have this fact sheet: https://www.mass.gov/doc/living-with-squirrels-fact-sheet/download

Fact sheet says: " LETHAL REMOVAL: Traps may be effective in removing squirrels within an attic or other confined space. Any trapped animal must either be relocated on the premises (within the property) or destroyed humanely; it is illegal to transport and release wildlife to another location. Shooting is quick, simple, and effective in areas where firearm discharge is safe and legal. A .22 caliber rifle or a shotgun with #6 shot or smaller is suitable. This method may be most effective when targeting a few persistent animals. "

This suggests we are allowed to lethally remove the squirrels, as in this case they are considered pests. They are even saying move elsewhere on the property - for example a private yard - and then shoot it! Even suggesting a caliber. Yet the EPO does not follow its own guidance and told me to call the exterminator or get a hunting license. But jeez, I don't want a hunting a license - I just want them to stop eating all my shit. So frustrating.

Btw guys, when I talked to mass wildlife, you need a trapping license to put out squirrel traps. The level of insanity has no limits.
So everyone who has traps outside and catches squirrels, technically breaking the law. Lib hell.

Shooting a .22 cal cartridge into a metal trap might not be that safe, in case the bullet ricochets off of the cage metal!

“You’ll shoot your eye out”