Need Help on a Beaver gun?

hillmanr2 said:
Spoken from experience

Accuracy is extremely important, every miss makes them more wary. IMHO the best rifle would be an AR15, but we live in the land of idiot laws and fudds who say "why would anyone need that?", but I digress. A semi auto is a benefit as beavers that have not been hunted may not dive after the first shot. I got a young one this year that refused to dive after the first two misses, the third found it's mark.

Optics are a good idea as well, even a large beaver only presents a small moving target. While I don't have a picture one of my nieghbors shot a large one west of my place and he weighed in at a staggering 92 lbs:eek:

Beavers are a solid animal with a thick skull. 22lr head shot will not usually kill a large beaver outright and follow up shots are necessary after they inevitably resurface.

I plan on purchasing a mini14 target model with my beaver bounty money. 223 is a good varmint round and the mini14 target is said to be AR15 kind of accurate. As I said every miss will decrease your chances for sighting them. It is very important to make every shot count is you plan on hunting at the same time of evening. Beavers will change thier habits and activity times to protect themselves from being shot. Generally they become very active just before dark. I find a few hours before sunset is a good time to get them at the dam, then just before dark I head to the lodge and paste them as they "leave for work".:D

According to local expertise, though I have no experience with this, is beavers will become much less wary of humans in a boat thant if you are onshore.

YMMV
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you should take a look at the remington 7615, you can get LAR pistol mags, or use cheap common AR15 rifle mags. I got one, and find it a very handy rifle.
 
trebor2880 said:
...and a crate of ammo? For a few beaver? I believe he said "humanely"
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the ones I've shot died pretty much immediately with SKS fmj ammo and didn't hurt the pelts as my friend is a trapper and wanted as little damage as possible.

I've shot some big ones with a 30-06 using 168 gr hp's that took 2 shots but then again it was way out in the slough. They still were done thrashing around in the first 10 seconds and need sewing up a lot on the pelts.

So I wouldn't discount the use of the sks.
 
Don't know what your beavers are like, but around here a big stick is about all a person needs ...

DSC01801Medium.jpg

Yes, the stupid thing let me walk down the length of the tree as it was chewing on it! In broad daylight! I got to within about 10 feet before it finally spooked and slid into the water - and it didn't even bother with the tail slap.

Never needed more than a .22lr ... But I also never had a shot that was more than 30 yards. 22 Mag would probably be more than enough for any decent range shot.

For the "It's photo-shopped" crowd ... Sorry the vid is so short ... batteries died as I was making my way down the tree and I had to go back to the house to get fresh ones ... by that time, one had left for whatever reason and I only got pics (above) of one of them up close, but here's a vid of the pair having dinner as I walked down their "dining room table" :p

[youtube]HhIq8UhQzBQ[/youtube]
 
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gallen270 said:
you should take a look at the remington 7615, you can get LAR pistol mags, or use cheap common AR15 rifle mags. I got one, and find it a very handy rifle.
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I have one as well, and like it a lot. A little bit heavy, but it's a tradeoff for having a decent medium weight barrel that doesn't heat up as much as a buggy whip barrel. Nice small size, decent accuracy, and quick follow up shots for those that are used to pump shotguns.
 
ManitobaMan said:
My brother noted using a .22 mag But I have never shot one, do they have allot more punch? as the standard .22 seems way too wimpy for these creatures.
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are you guys serious? 85-90lb beavers? :eek:

i killed the ones up at my cabin with subsonics in a 10/22T. i tore up the dam with a hand tiller duct taped to a long stick, then sat on the bridge and shot them in the head as they came to repair it. they were so busy working on the dam they didnt even notice their pals getting popped.

just reading this thread stresses me right out: i havent been up at my cabin since last year and i just know when i go up next week im going to have to deal with these damned pests again. this time im bringing some mesh to wrap around the tree trunks closest to the water in the hopes that itll help encourage future beavers to set up downstream from me instead. any other tips to discourage them from setting up? my creek seems to be a prime location for beaver, and theyre raping my grove of birch trees. at least this year ill be getting up before fall - when they seem to do the most damage as they prepare for winter: they were taking down 2-3 large trees per day.

anyone else think its pathetic that the beaver is our national animal? other countries have 'noble' creatures like lions, dragons, tigers, eagles, wolves, etc... and we have a giant destructive rat :rolleyes:
 
Canada was founded on trapping. Especially beaver! Ever hear of the North West Trading Co.(HBC)?

By the way. Your destructive rat is no nearly as destructive as the Nurtia that were sent here to replace the beaver.
Also the beaver is a very important part to the ecology. They create new growth trees and meadows,new water ways and help with fish, deer and moose populations.
Only when we started getting our feet/basements wet or our prized trees eaten did we complain.

60-80lbs is a days gone by record. Most of todays beaver will not pass the 25-30lb range for a good sized adult. The size of beaver can be determined by the damn construction. Many 'saplings' and mud indicate a very young beaver. Large trees indicate a large beaver.

Sorry for the hijack
A 22LR or 22WMR should do fine. Just be careful of ricochets.
 
I have used 22lr before and it works. Just be sure of your shot.
7HMR is much better though.

Also found if you can get up off the ground you will have much better luck shooting them.
 
I dont want to be shooting any super high velocity rounds out there ie 22.250 etc

I have an old 30.30 I would think of using but is that too much gun?
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Talk about being unclear on the concept. :O

You don't like a high velocity frangible varmint bullet but think that a big solid slug that is far more likely to bounce or ricochet is a better choice?
 
I have shot more beavers with a .223 than anything else. Bulk 55 grain Remington soft points judiciously handloaded and launched with a Mini14. That has been my favourite only because I really like the rifle and I haven't usually saved the pelts.

We have also had extremely good luck with a .22 and yellow jackets. Headshots are usually DRT. There was one instance where a beaver got religious and was resurrected after loading him into the canoe. Seems that they don't like to travel that way and insisted on trying to get out of the boat. Strategic paddle distraction and application of a high speed lead injection helped him regain his seat though.

I think that whoever invented the .22 mag though had beaver hunting in mind. It, to me at least, would seem to be ideal (with just about any loading) from just about any normal beaver hunting distance. Problem is that .22 mag ammo is just too expensive. I can shoot my .223 handloads cheaper. Whatever floats your boat.

I think a .357 mag lever would be a hoot and would knock 'em dead right there with good, cheap cast handloads. The lever thing with beavers would be a little more traditional and would be a good excuse for going out and buying another gun. Probably could find one for the same price as a good high end .22 mag.

Hard to beat sniping beavers - no matter what gun you fix on using ...
 
To me the sks idea is very cost effective. I think 2 of 3 gun shops in brandon carry them, maybe all 3. Gun + case of ammo = $450 all in. Its been a couple of years, but JoBrooks usually had something in a varmint size on the used rack on the floor. Last time there was a savage 340 in 222 with a homemade mount.... that was "farmer goob" to say the least, but it looked like it worked with a 50mm tasco for a good deal.
Clint
 
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