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Probably a small gauge shotgun would be safest for shooting at water. However I now use a scoped Savage bolt action in .17 HMR . This caliber will flat knock out an armadillo,skunk, etc. I use a lot of caution on the rare occasion i shoot at water.

Speaking of beavers, I was shocked to see beaver damage at my new pond. There are now three 330’s underwater. Those things are pretty hairy to handle as my fingers have felt the wrath of a small body grip trap and I know they hurt.


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Thanks Al, I was aware of some live beaver traps but was not sure they would work with Otters. I usually set up near slides but have caught a couple that were in or near a beaver entrance located just under the water surface. After eliminating the two beavers I removed the connibar 330 trap from the pond. I did not like the risk with the two Golden Pups, even though the trap was some 200 yds away. I found a small otter turd (scat) a couple of days ago and believe it came from a small otter. The otters I have trapped have been in the 20 to 25lb range so I am thinking this one is smaller. But, I have not found an otter or it's arse would be mine. I feel better having traps out if I would did worry about the 6 month old pups chasing something into the water. Looks like I will be getting some live traps, Thanks again


Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


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Put together my version of the perfect pond rifle today. Ruger 96/22WMR, 16" BBL, 1X4 compact scope.
I still need a sling.
Snappers and beavers beware!!

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Last edited by Clay N' Pray; 08/07/18 05:53 PM.
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Here's mine. An integrally suppressed Ruger MK II. I also have a integrally suppressed Ruger 77/44, but it's a little much for pond work. lol

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JKS3613 #494621 08/07/18 06:46 PM
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Originally Posted By: JKS3613
Here's mine. An integrally suppressed Ruger MK II. I also have a integrally suppressed Ruger 77/44, but it's a little much for pond work. lol


Ha! Great minds...

I've got a 77/357 that I SBR'd and threaded. It's movie quiet with 38spl.

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Beautiful! These are so much fun too!


Originally Posted By: Clay N' Pray
Originally Posted By: JKS3613
Here's mine. An integrally suppressed Ruger MK II. I also have a integrally suppressed Ruger 77/44, but it's a little much for pond work. lol


Ha! Great minds...

I've got a 77/357 that I SBR'd and threaded. It's movie quiet with 38spl.

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Verdict is in, Its a keeper.
Shoots where I point it.
Plenty of horsepower for normal pond business and quiet enough to keep things private.

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Nice setup for sure! How is the suppression with the WMR round?

JKS3613 #494858 08/14/18 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted By: JKS3613
Nice setup for sure! How is the suppression with the WMR round?


Hearing safe at the shooters ear.
The sonic crack occurs well down range.
The locked breech also helps keep things quieter at the shoooter.

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Yeah, that's why I like the Ruger rifles as a suppression platform. So much noise comes from that damn bolt opening and closing. IMO, bolt or lever action is the only way to go.

Originally Posted By: Clay N' Pray
Originally Posted By: JKS3613
Nice setup for sure! How is the suppression with the WMR round?


Hearing safe at the shooters ear.
The sonic crack occurs well down range.
The locked breech also helps keep things quieter at the shoooter.

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Hi all, new member here. I've lurked for a while and joined today.

Anyway regarding handguns and shotshells... at anything at more than point blank range (barrel nearly touching vermin) they are generally a waste of ammo.

I've shot "at" numerous snakes with a S&W 629 44 with shotshells and within 3-4 feet the shot pattern was so wide it failed to be effective. Even my Thompson Center Contender with a choke tube was nearly as bad. It did kill some snakes but I think that the plastic shotshell casing was more lethal than the shot :-)

A real shotgun with a decent shot size and choke has no issues with dispatching varmints and water skipping long distance is really not a big issue where a most center and rimfire are a problem there.



Last edited by gnappi; 08/21/18 08:00 PM.
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I just moved into my new house at the pond.

My first go-to was my Ruger 10-22 with a basic rimfire scope. It is a great gun. The challenge is 22LR is reasonably loud.

So I went to my local Walmart and picked up a Savage MK II bolt action. ($130) I shoot it with iron sights. Now I am shooting CB rounds. These are very quiet rounds.

I started with CCI CB 22 Shorts. These feed fine in the bolt action Savage. My daughter and lady friend can shoot cans with them without ear protection.

I just received a bunch of Remington CBee 22 Long Rifle from Academy. These are also CB but in a Long Rifle form factor. I expect this to be my primary round from here on.


Although I am one of those few people who don't mind snakes, I don't want water moccasins and copperheads. Bouncing a few dozen .22 off the water trying to hit a water moccasin is poor edicate so I went back to Walmart and picked up a single shot .410 It is a Hatfield, made in Turkey. $99 at Walmart. It is a basic single shot break barrel. I haven't fired it yet but I have #6 shot rounds.

We have a wide variety of normal critters. Rabbits, squirrels, fox, bobcat, coyote, whitetail, coons, possum, armadillos, Osprey, green heron, little blue heron, great blue heron, etc.

These guys are basically all welcome and safe at my place. Beavers, river otters etc may be less welcome.

Alligators are expected. Our mayor recently made The Drudge Report when she got a 12 footer in her nearby pond. (She is a grandmother.) I'll deal with this when it happens. A small gator will probably be welcome. A large one might be taken away by Gator World. Neighbors tell me they are really good to eat, so waiting until hunting season and harvesting is not out of the question.


Plus I've found panther scat. In my experience you never actually see these cats, just their scat and prints.

No hogs at this time, but they are expected to come around. They will be aggressively introduced to the AR.

We also have exotic critters exclusive to the Big Thicket. My ranch is on some website for its Bigfoot sightings. People regularly stop by looking for the Squash. I have not seen one on my game camera, but I have heard a strange noise out here on a few nights. The local electricity coop just encircled a neighbor's house with large lights for a woman who was being harassed by bigfoot.

About a 1/4 mile of my drive is the historic old Tram Road. It is known to be haunted by the "Saratoga Lights". This is an accepted fact around here, but I haven't seen them.

I'm not planning to engage Bigfoot or the headless conductor who carries the lights.

Last edited by Vortex 4; 01/13/19 09:51 AM.

4 acre pond 32 ft deep within East Texas (Livingston) timber ranch. Filled (to the top of an almost finished dam) by Hurricane Harvey 9/17. Stocked with FHM, CNBG, RES 10/17. Added 35lbs RSC 3/18. 400 N LMB fingerlings 6/18
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What the heck is a pond gun?

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Wanna.

Part of managing a pond is controlling unwelcome guests. River otters, muskrats, beaver, etc can wreak havoc on the physical pond and its inhabitants. A gun, and traps, may be options for management.

Plus a lot of folks hunt at their ponds.

Plus plinking around the pond can be a blast.


4 acre pond 32 ft deep within East Texas (Livingston) timber ranch. Filled (to the top of an almost finished dam) by Hurricane Harvey 9/17. Stocked with FHM, CNBG, RES 10/17. Added 35lbs RSC 3/18. 400 N LMB fingerlings 6/18
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I do have a suppressed .22 that won't wake the neighbors....

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Wanna,

I was hoping congress would make suppressors easier to own, but the recent changes killed that.

What do you use? Rifle, suppressor ammo?


4 acre pond 32 ft deep within East Texas (Livingston) timber ranch. Filled (to the top of an almost finished dam) by Hurricane Harvey 9/17. Stocked with FHM, CNBG, RES 10/17. Added 35lbs RSC 3/18. 400 N LMB fingerlings 6/18
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Originally Posted By: Vortex 4
Wanna,

I was hoping congress would make suppressors easier to own, but the recent changes killed that.

What do you use? Rifle, suppressor ammo?

Did the hearing protection bill get shot down?
It's a 1911 with subsonics. Probably need a rifle. My AR might be overkill...

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Originally Posted By: wannapond0001
I do have a suppressed .22 that won't wake the neighbors....


I don't give the noise of my .22 a second thought. These swamp rats around here are shooting all hours of the day and night, and usually more at night!!


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
TGW1 #500623 01/13/19 08:26 PM
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TGW1,
I've watched this forum for a while as not only did my folks build a pond in the late 70s when they built their house, but I bought a place 2 years ago with a small pond. That being said, I've had a little experience with beavers. My parents had one 25 years ago when they were unheard of in northern IL. My little brother and I spent countless hours 1 summer and hundreds of rounds in various guns trying to murder said beaver or beavers. we ultimately succeeded as well as the neighbor got 1 too. 1 appeared at my place last winter. My wife didn't want any type of trap used other than a live trap. Spent 2 weeks trying to catch that sob. Tried all sorts of bait. Sliced apples, grape jelly and peanut butter ultimately worked. Here is the bad news, that beaver destroyed a 2 week old TSC live trap. It looked like I had a gorilla on meth in it. The guy at the desk at TSC couldn't believe that a beaver did that kind of damage. And the length of time it was in there was minimal, overnight. I ordered a pair of 330 body traps from Amazon along with the setting tool. 5 days later I had a 47 inch long, 40+ pound beaver. Just my 2 cents.


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Mike M, I have stayed with the 330 trap, It works and am no fan of Otters and beavers in my pond. In the last month I have trapped three otters and one big ole beaver.


Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


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Do beavers go for small ponds?

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They go for anywhere water flows and a food source is near. Trees of the right size and preference are great attractors. Flowing water gives them something to dam up.

I have seen beavers move upstream to a new area they were never a problem in a very wet year where water flows presently where it had not in the past. They dam up a pool to live in and around.

Last edited by snrub; 01/14/19 09:26 AM.

John

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John, I now have a new pool because of a beaver. Just as you described. I just trapped him last week. His pool looks interesting. It might be a good place for a bg pool. Not sure it will hold water if I dig it deeper. But right now looks interesting.


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Not the best for the Beav but I bought a Hatfield single-shot 410 today for 89 bucks at wallyworld.. Keen little gun for 89$!!
Should be great for GBH, and...did I say GBH, I meant GSH.. laugh

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You guys are cruel with the wildlife. They're just trying to survive like the rest of us.

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