few beaver questions

I

impala

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just wondering when shooting beaver for fur when the fur starts to be prime and what would be better a .17 or a shotgun. i want to do as little damage to the fur as possible shots will be under 35 yards
 
A .17 with a headshot i'd say . I use a .22 mag . I've tried shotguns but a good sized beaver requires buckshot and i've shot a few that i didn't recover . A solid headshot with a .22 mag and they are all recovered with little damage . I'm signed on as a helper on a friends trapline so here in Ontario it's legal for me to do it . I have no idea of the regs anywhere else .
 
Another vote for the 22 mag., leave the shot gun for the stuff that flies..Some are using the 17 HMR with good results, but I have have also heard stories that the 17 didn't do a good a job as the 22 mag.

BD..
 
Be a while before the pelts are decent in this area. My grandfather carried nothing but a long handled hatchet during his last days on his trap line.
But, in those days, bears and wolves were a real rarity in Central Ontario.
 
22mag is a good choice, for sure.
So oos the Hoornet, havenn't used a 17 riimfire, but I'm sure it would be great, just watch where you shoot them, becuase a bit off on the head shot and he is gone with the smaller calibers!:eek:

I don't like shotguns for fur work, but I know some use them.
I have used reeduced loads from the Speer manual and cast loads from thhe Lyman for them in calibers from 25/20 all the way up to '06, and really liike useing my .58 Hawken with a 45 grain charge, but haven't shot a beaver with it for a few years.
One of the better know trappers up here uses a 25/20 in a Winchester Model '92 and really brags it up, but most uses a .22rimfire.

When my father was working in thhe ammunition industry , he told me that thee natives in northern Ontario and Manitoba liked the .22 short!:eek:
Cat
 
Beavers are prime mid December on into January, but fall beaver are marketable a couple of weeks just prior to freeze up. If you are into shooting and not trapping, it kind of rules out the time period when the fur is actually prime.. Good Luck..

BD..
 
22

I use a 10/22 and do head shots or nose shots. I would not use a 12 pump cause I hate sewing or pinning my hides thers money in them furs dont ya know. Happy thanksgiving.
 
I'd suggest the .22 mag or a Hornet. I've recovered .22 long rifle bullets from just under the skin of a beaver's head (with absolutely no penetration into the skull), so I would recommend bigger instead of smaller.

A friend of mine shot a rather large one in the head with his 22-250 (about 20 feet in front of me). That one checked out immediately. When we skinned him out the skull had "popped" and opened up along the suture lines although there was little external sign of injury.
 
I cut my teeth hunting Beaver - they were a nuisance on our property for quite some time! :mad:

The .22 Mag is an ideal beaver cartridge. If I didn't hit it in the head, I would almost always find the .22 Mag bullet perfectly mushroomed resting on the far side of the body just under the hide. I used Winchester 40gr JHP exclusively, but nowadays there is a much wider assortment of ammo available.

Another of my favourite beaver cartridges is the .357 Magnum out of my Winchester '94 Legacy. With solid lead bullets at about 1500 fps, instant one shot kills and not too much meat and pelt damage.

The pelts should be hitting their prime just about now; as soon as the summer is over the pelt begins to fill in for the winter.:dancingbanana:
 
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