Pesky Beavers -

[Brutus]

Used my 222 Remington once. Beaver was about 45 lbs!! I had no idea they got that damn heavy!

 

[old hound]

I would recommend a 30/30 or 308. 12ga with 000 buck works good as well if your waiting on them at dusk or something.

 

[that guy]

I have a friend that is a strong advocate of the .22mag for water rodents.

 

[series1000]

This thread was started in 08, I think they figured it out

 

[DrNick]

Two things:

1. .22 RL does carry enough energy to humanely dispatch a beaver BUT nearly all shots are in/near water and the .22 LR is notorious for riccochets. I use a .17 HMR to good effect and the little bullet is so fragile that even if you pancake one into the water there is no second bounce....just a shower of fragments that hit the water 20 yards further down.

2. In my opinion, there is no better way to control beaver populations than by sitting in a treestand. Yes....a treestand. So long as you have a tree near the flood that's big enough, the little devils never seem to look up. It gives the added advantage of a larger field of fire and it incereases your angle to the water reducing the chance of riccoshets.

 

[blasted_saber]

In my experience, a .22 worked just fine. The trick is to use a semi and pop off 3 or 4 shots immediately . I normally only see the head as they swim and the first shot normally sends them diving. The next 2 or 3 shots, however, have a bigger target as the beaver arches his back to dive. If you use a lever or a pump, the beaver is ususally under water by the time you're ready for the next shot.

i think having to shoot something 4 times completely obliderates the "works just fine" statement.

 

[JAGDMORDER]

.223 would be great imo...

 

[sherlockbonez]

There is a bounty on them in my area . I used a 22 once and only once as they got away and died later. I generally use my 30/30, or down to a shotgun with buck shot. ( Oh Carry a fishing rod). I forgot once and had to cross 40 yards of water to retrieve up to my waste.

Sounds rough!

 

[Oneshot Stephenson]

.22 mag works for me

 

[sms0000]

.22 mag works for me

I have dispatched several beaver, big & small with my 22 mag. One shot to the head will do it.

 

[the spank]

Cant say for beavers but last year a friends homemade trout pond was invaded and being dug up by muskrats. A couple of evenings waiting them out with the 12 ga loaded with 1 1/4 oz #4 lead took care of the problem ...........period! I would think a good heavy load of #2's or BB through a full choke inside of 20 yards would be pretty devastating on a beaver.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

Guys, this thread is from 2008, coltfan has been gone a long time.

 

[blasted_saber]

Guys, this thread is from 2008, coltfan has been gone a long time.

lolz

Leave it to a newb to bump a three Y/O thread and then a bunch of vets to not bothering checking the date.

Whats really funny about threads like this is you can often catch people saying two vastly different things as theyve forgotten they replied to it already years before.