Can you recommend a good air rifle to take out beavers?

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JoseM

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I work in a town that is having beaver problems and one of the two suggestions is to quietly deal with them by using air rifles (discharging a firearm in town limits is illegal but air guns are alright). I obviously need something accurate and powerful enough to take out one of these varmints (well several of them). Any suggestions?

And note, we are also looking at hiring an outside firm to "remove" these as well...not sure if it's removal by euthanization or by trapping and relocating. But I said I'd check on the details of option 1 (airgun option).

Thanks!
 
my son took out a bird with metal pellet from an air gun[ got in trouble], but I doubt theres enough firepower to do anything but cruelly injure a beaver. better to relocate, although statistically relocated animals die within 2 months
 
I figured a 1100 fps pellot gun would do the job, but I never even thought about a snare...thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, that's definately the way to go in place of an air rifle.

Now we just have to see what people think ....snares or paying a company to come in and clean them up.
 
Does the town have an animal control department? If they won't let you discharge a gun in town, I would let them deal with it. Air guns can reliably take out animals up to the size of squirrels and rabbits but beavers are way too big for an airgun pellet unless you have the accuracy and marksmanship to hit them in the head.
 
Beavers are way too big to have any hopes in quickly dispatching them with an air gun.

Best bet is to find a trapper to take them out.
 
Beaver is too tough for an air rifle to humanely kill them. Comabear (sic?) traps are most effective because they are quiet, kill by breaking the neck and back, and are the most humane method to use. You can't live trap them, because where would you take them? In Mississippi, beavers are among the largest causes of damage, particularly timber damage and destruction from flooding.

I used to trap beavers, and if you go that route, plan on using several traps and checking them at least every other day. You must be very, VERY careful or else you'll break your wrist with that trap. It is far better to have a trained guy do it for you. Surely you have access to animal damage control officers who do just this.

Ash
 
If this is a serious city issue then I would go to city council and ask if they would temporarily allow you to shoot the beavers with a .22 LR. In my youth I dispatched many a beaver with my trusty 10/22, but shot placement is very important when shooting them with a smaller caliber. My favorite caliber to use on beavers was either .223, or 7.62X39. I shot one old beaver that had to weigh clost to 80 lbs!!! The easiest way I found to hunt them was at night when there is a full moon, or at dusk. Even if they know you are there they will often times cruise around in the water because they think they are safe. If they are in the water just aim for the eyes and take the shot. Growing up there was nothing I enjoyed hunting more then beavers.

I knew an old farmer that would poor oil in their ponds hoping they would get it on themselves and get sick, but I always thought that was kind of a cruel way to go. Plus I think the EPA and DNR would crap themselves if they found out about it.
 
I've used a .25 caliber Beeman Kodiak on nutria. In the winter they'll get out in the sun and not pay attention to their surroundings, a close head shot (25 feet) isn't a problem. Just aim right infront of the ear.

I wouldn't use it for beavers, the Kodiak is a powerful air rifle, but using it would involve getting too close to what can be a mean and dangerous critter.

A .22LR or traps would be the better route.

http://www.beeman.com/kodiak.htm
 
There are air rifles that would kill beavers, but they're expensive and loud. And .50 caliber.

That said, what sort of trouble are the beavers causing?

It's hard to imagine beavers being half the trouble that public employee unions are here. We don't have beavers, though.
 
Talk to either your state conservations department or the USDA department of Wildlife Services to see if they can do anything for you. Also, unless this is during the posted season, you will most likely need a nuisance permit from your state conservation department.

Now, for a little how to. If you get the permit to shoot and have the ok to use a rifle, this is what you do to get a clear shot. A couple hours before dark, take a rake or some other garden tool and make a hole in the dam so that water starts to run out of the pond. Find a place where you can have a good shot at that hole and then wait for dusk. Once the sun goes down, the beaver will come out to repair the damage and when a clear shot is present, take it.

I did this about 6 weeks ago here at the airport and it worked like a charm. By the way, I used a .223.
 
I talked with the public works guy and he wants to contract out to someone to take care of it. He didn't like the idea of getting his hands dirty (but it was his decision, I was just giving him options).

Thanks for the responses. And the trouble we've been having is the P/W department would clear out dams and then in a few weeks have to go back and do it again. It get's to be a waste of time and going back into the woods is not the safest. Plus dams of course are near creeks, which is where sanitary sewers are always located...so when the dams make things flood, then the sewer easements flood which means we can't do our manditory maintenance on the easments. PLUS if there is a blockage, we can't get equipment in to clear it....and if there's a spill, well then that's a whole new headache!
 
Your state wildlife resources folks will remove them if they are a nuisance and especially since they are a public works problem. What state/town are the critters in?
 
First, let me add my voice to the chorus of people saying "don't use an air rifle". Beavers are tough, man. They're more common than most people think, tougher than most people think, bigger than most people think, and definitely meaner (in the right situation) than most people think.

A crossbow (as krochus suggested) is probably an excellent an idea for this if there's simply no way you can get a waiver to use a firearm or get some animal control outfit to do it. But for the love of God, don't go near a beaver you've stuck with a crossbow bolt until you're absolutely certain he's dead. In fact, I'd do my "is it dead yet" check with a baseball bat if it were me.
 
That said, what sort of trouble are the beavers causing?

It's hard to imagine beavers being half the trouble that public employee unions are here. We don't have beavers, though.
Click to expand...

ArmedBear,

Those rodents can be a big problem, as JoseM already outlined. Around here they routinely build dams on the many small streams, causing flooding of trails and roads. Mostly, that's what they cause; flooding.

But we had a good flood last October that should have wiped most of the offenders well downstream (say, all the way to Connecticut!). Of course, when they're on class 5 and 6 roads, nobody really cares anyway, until they use the road.
 
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