Author Topic: Piggin' (Read 4682 times)

Longshot · « **on:** March 01, 2008, 09:51:54 AM »

Had a little time on Friday so I ran out to the shooting spot and got my first pig of 08. They were at the surface chirping but only a few actually ventured out. nailed one and missed three others. OOOOH I can't wait till it warms up a little more......
LS

Nomad · « **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2008, 08:01:08 AM »

I see range time in your future, reloading and a range finder....NOW PIGGEN A
relocation working.....

Michael N · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2008, 09:15:31 AM »

I have a 1000 pieces of .223 loaded , a new barrel on my 10/22 courtesy of Tac-Sol and a Ruger 77/22 Magnum switchbarrel rifle sitting here ready to go . The Vermin are in trouble .

Spiff · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2008, 10:46:29 AM »

We may not be shooting pigs much longer.

According to a pamphlet that I picked up at the Sportsmans show yesterday one of the squirrels in this area is literally called the 'Southern Idaho Ground Squirrel'. It is a candidate for placement on the Endangered Species list.

Here's a quote about the Southern:

"Candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Remaining populations are small, isolated, and in decline. Degradation of rangelands, and loss of native food plants due to invasion by exotic annual grasses are the main threats." However it does say in an earlier section that "Human threats to ground squirrels such as sport shooting (plinking) and poisoning can be devastating to some species when their populations are small and isolated"

The Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel is in this area up by Weiser and it's already on the Endagered Spicies List.

Others in this area are the Townsend's Ground Squirrel (bit more to the west from here) and the Merriam Ground Squirrel.

All four of these squirrels are of a type called the 'Small Eared Group' of ground squirrels.

I *think* the squirrel we shoot is the Merriam Ground Squirrel (However there is a possibility that it's the Southern Idaho Ground squirrel!). The Merriam Ground Squirrel not endangered but it is a 'candidate for concern' when it comes to the Endangered Species List, and so is the Townsend's Ground Squirrel.

Jeff · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2008, 11:10:38 AM »

Remember that you need a hunting license to shoot pigs.

Michael N · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2008, 12:07:41 PM »

As much as I hate to see it happen (listing of the squirrels) a couple years on the list and they will be begging us to shoot them again . Of course it could wind up like the Wolves where it will take us a decade to get them de-listed .

Look at the Sand Hollow area or Lick Creek road in Mountain Home . Both areas that had so many you ran over almost as many as you could shoot and now there is nothing (or very little) . Sad to say boys but it could be the end of an era .

Longshot · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2008, 02:56:26 PM »

Well if they do list them there are always feral cats. Do we need licensing for those too??? Can we truly be considered free when we can't even burn leaves in the backyard? Oh well when they finally list all species as endangered they'll have to open a season on all those now unused environmentalists!!!

LS

Idaho_Gun_Nut · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2008, 05:04:14 PM »

Quote from: Nomad on March 02, 2008, 08:01:08 AM

I see range time in your future, reloading and a range finder....NOW PIGGEN A
relocation working.....

Range time definitely.... he can't hit the broad side of a barn!

luckypunk · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2008, 05:11:45 PM »

Quote from: Jeff on March 02, 2008, 11:10:38 AM

Remember that you need a hunting license to shoot pigs.

or a condom

Idaho_Gun_Nut · « **Reply #9 on:** March 02, 2008, 07:23:10 PM »

Quote from: luckypunk on March 02, 2008, 05:11:45 PM

or a condom

Nice one....

Shortmag · « **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2008, 08:27:36 PM »

Just got the AR ready for the Pig season with a couple new toys.

New to me Eotech 553 (thanks Jeff!) and a new YHM BUIS.

SM

Longshot · « **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2008, 08:26:34 AM »

You're right I suck.

Orbital-Burn · « **Reply #12 on:** March 04, 2008, 01:05:49 AM »

whistle pig attack - this is why you needs to be armed and have backup guns too!

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88071

fj40mojo · « **Reply #13 on:** March 04, 2008, 07:14:31 AM »

Anybody that believes that ground squirrels are endangered should take a drive from Kuna to Swan Falls where the little bastards are protected because they are in the Birds of Prey area. This will give you an idea of what the rest of the Kuna/Mora Desert will look like after a few years of protection, and if you are a shooter it will give you a terrible spasm in your trigger finger.

A rancher near my home of Salmon decided that he didn't want people shooting on his property for fear that one of his cattle would be shot, so he closed gates and posted fences etc. etc....Within 2 years he was calling people to come out and shoot pigs. My first visit back he took me to a hay field irrigated by wheel line, approx 150 acres-it was eaten down to bare dirt. The badger population was concentrated to about 1-3/acre. This was a target rich environment to say the least. Said rancher limited us to rimfires only to protect his cattle-that only lasted a year as he discovered that the population was still out of control and he freed us up to use centerfires too. I moved down here shortly after that, but spoke to the rancher last summer-he finally had to resort to poisoning to get the population down enough to keep them under control with just shooters and natural predators.

Idaho_Gun_Nut · « **Reply #14 on:** March 04, 2008, 09:30:11 AM »

Quote from: fj40mojo on March 04, 2008, 07:14:31 AM

Anybody that believes that ground squirrels are endangered should take a drive from Kuna to Swan Falls where the little bastards are protected because they are in the Birds of Prey area. This will give you an idea of what the rest of the Kuna/Mora Desert will look like after a few years of protection, and if you are a shooter it will give you a terrible spasm in your trigger finger.

A rancher near my home of Salmon decided that he didn't want people shooting on his property for fear that one of his cattle would be shot, so he closed gates and posted fences etc. etc....Within 2 years he was calling people to come out and shoot pigs. My first visit back he took me to a hay field irrigated by wheel line, approx 150 acres-it was eaten down to bare dirt. The badger population was concentrated to about 1-3/acre. This was a target rich environment to say the least. Said rancher limited us to rimfires only to protect his cattle-that only lasted a year as he discovered that the population was still out of control and he freed us up to use centerfires too. I moved down here shortly after that, but spoke to the rancher last summer-he finally had to resort to poisoning to get the population down enough to keep them under control with just shooters and natural predators.

Damn...

Spiff · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2008, 04:24:59 PM »

The problem is that *we* are not in control of whats considered 'endangered'.

egress81 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 05, 2008, 11:50:04 AM »

Finally got my first day off in 3 weeks and went out and popped a couple whistle pigs yesterday. The wind made hitting them a little diffcult with the 10/22 but the AR didnt have any problems. There werent as many out as i thought there would be but there were still quite a few out.

I thought the whistle pigs were the Beldings ground squirrl ?

http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0122

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belding's_Ground_Squirrel

fj40mojo · « **Reply #17 on:** March 05, 2008, 09:23:51 PM »

Quote from: egress81 on March 05, 2008, 11:50:04 AM

Finally got my first day off in 3 weeks and went out and popped a couple whistle pigs yesterday. The wind made hitting them a little diffcult with the 10/22 but the AR didnt have any problems. There werent as many out as i thought there would be but there were still quite a few out.

I thought the whistle pigs were the Beldings ground squirrl ?

http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0122

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belding's_Ground_Squirrel

I'm not totally up on taxonomy, but the species I believe is the Columbian ground squirrel and the rest of these are sub species within that. As far as numbers of squirrels, if you would hold off shooting them until the yungins get out of the den there will be a lot more to shoot later on. For every female you shoot now you are killing 4-6 more littluns.

fj40mojo · « **Reply #18 on:** March 07, 2008, 07:43:17 AM »

I did some research and it turns out that ground squirrels are probably one of the most study and diverse animals in the world. There are something like 14 different species just in North America. This is all thanks to college students all over the country finding minor differences in isolated populations that happen to be in close enough to the college of their choice to make them convenient to study. Anyways here are a couple of pics to illustrate the differences between the endangered Idaho Ground Squirrel and the more common Columbian Ground Squirrel.

Don't shoot this one unless you got lots of $$$

Fire at will!!!

luvmy45 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 11, 2008, 08:22:50 AM »

I need pictures from the front of them standing up. From the side, they do me now good

bk

luckypunk · « **Reply #20 on:** March 11, 2008, 10:01:50 PM »

they are EVIL I say....

they will turn on their own kind

They will break into your house & kill you

unless...

Hotness & her pet Bald Eagle save the day

Spiff · « **Reply #21 on:** March 12, 2008, 06:26:57 PM »

That was kind of different LP.

luckypunk · « **Reply #22 on:** March 12, 2008, 10:38:04 PM »

sorry, Haven't gone piggin lately...a little antsy

luckypunk · « **Reply #23 on:** March 22, 2008, 06:21:37 PM »

OK, got some action today, so I should be good for a bit.

while out at the OTA I came across this
Guess what it is and you win a prize

Precise · « **Reply #24 on:** March 22, 2008, 07:49:22 PM »

Aluminum 20 gage shotgun hull?

Author Topic: Piggin' (Read 4682 times)

Michael N

Michael N