Beaver Damage control

[Tnwhip]

It is that time of the year again. The beavers come up the creek bank and eat my crops. I try and stay on top of them but this year I slacked up and let them eat about 1/2 acre of my soy beans. I have been checking but not in the very back of the field for the last two weeks. My 4 wheeler had a broken wire some where in the harness and I just got around to fixing it. I got lazy and didn't want to walk the 1/2 mile to the back 40. I finally got the 4 wheeler fixed and saw the damage they had done. The creek bank is 20 to 25 ' high. I set up over looking the creek that evening and one came out and I shot him in the head with my 22 mag. He sunk. The next day I went back and carried some snares and set the trails where they come in and out of the creek. After that I set up in the same place I shot the other one and right before dark. I mean 2 more minutes and I would not have been able to see the cross hairs, and here comes one. I popped him and he sunk. The next day I went back and had one in a snare. After shooting him with the 22 pistol, I sat around till dark but nothing showed up. I took the snared beaver and took him back down the field about 300 yards and wired him to a over hanging limb to tease the coyotes and in a few days I may try calling one up. Here are some pictures of the damage to my field, creek and the beaver in the snare.

 

[lewwetzel]

Way to hammer those rodents. Up here we have groundhogs that eat beans like that; guess I didn't know beavers would eat land crops. Our state Wildlife people are intent on bringing those glorified rats back here, but they usually don't stay in the body of water they're dumped in. For several years I had problems with some "transplants" migrating from an old quarry lake to a nearby scenic river where they insisted on damming up the area around the treatment plant I operate's effluent pipe. After a couple years, they finally moved on or (hopefully) were eaten by some predator.

 

[Tnwhip]

Way to hammer those rodents. Up here we have groundhogs that eat beans like that; guess I didn't know beavers would eat land crops. Our state Wildlife people are intent on bringing those glorified rats back here, but they usually don't stay in the body of water they're dumped in. For several years I had problems with some "transplants" migrating from an old quarry lake to a nearby scenic river where they insisted on damming up the area around the treatment plant I operate's effluent pipe. After a couple years, they finally moved on or (hopefully) were eaten by some predator.

We don't have many ground hogs but we do have plenty of beavers. I would rather shoot them, but the snares work all night. I can get them all in my section of the creek but more come in to take there place in a few weeks. This is the only time of the year they cause any crop dammage. Just have to stay on top of things. I was going to go down and break there dam and see if they try to fix it but It has been raining the last few days and the creek has come up. If they don't fix it, I know I have them all for now.

 

[Tnwhip]

Thinning them out. snared two more and I shot one with my 220 Swift late this evening at about 75 yards. That makes 5 now.

 

[Tnwhip]

Re: Beaver Damage control and a Coyote

I got another beaver the other day, that make 6 and wired the carcass to a tree and this morning I looked down the edge of the field and here comes a yote. I shot her in the chest with the 220 swift 175yards. She is fat. Or just a belly full of Beaver

 

[lewwetzel]

Wow. Dead coyotes and rodent-type varmints, plus a .220 Swift, all in the same post. My kind of story!

 

[Tnwhip]

Wow. Dead coyotes and rodent-type varmints, plus a .220 Swift, all in the same post. My kind of story!

Yea the 220 Swift is a oldy but goody. 1976 Bicentennial Ruger, sporter barrel. People may talk bad about Rugers but this one shot 1/2" with our reloads. My cousin bought it new. He lived in town and he would come out and we would ride around shooting at crows out in the fields on weekends. Then we started getting coyote's, I used it for several years calling,then gave it back him when I got my 2506. My cousin sold the swift to a friend. He never shot it much and sometime in the 90s I asked him if he wanted to sell it. So I bought it and got out my old load book and reloaded the 53hp match and 4064 I still had in my cabnet. Some time along the way the crown got buggered up and I fixed that and pillor bedded it. Then I shot several 1/4" groups. I carried it down to the farm and there just happened to be a crow at 200 yards and the crow killer took another one out. One time I got a crow at 75 yards and it blew, what was left of him up in the air 10 feet, a leg and tail feathers. They came down like a helicopter. I wish I had that on video. It shoots so good I have always been afraid of wearing the barrel out and have never shot it much. I did shoot my 2506 barrel out with my hot loads and 75hps. I just shoot my 223s and Ackley hornet and my new 22-250 most of the time. The 22-250 is a 700 sps Varmint and it shoots good but the old Swift still the best shooter.

 

[Jud96]

You outta let that Swift and .22-250 do some work on them beavers. That would be a serious mess haha!

 

[LoneTraveler]

As a retired wild life officer, Been there and done that. First thing check with your state wildlife people. Some states will not allow shooting of Beaver, Using artificial light or taking beaver in closed season without a damage permit issued by the state. It gets down to what do you want to do. Shoot them for the sport of it, Or exterminate the problem. When Beavers build a dam and pond, look close muskrats may have moved in and helping with the damage. Find the Beaver's den, Whether a bank den or a hut built in the pond. That is the place to set a snare or Conabear trap over the entry to get any coming and going. I have never seen beaver eat crops that much, But they will claw, scratch and chew off grass with its roots and use the grass and roots to seal the back of the dam over the bigger sticks and rocks to cut down water passage. That may be what they are doing with the beans. Seen them cut corn and use it in dam building. Beaver this time of year usually is a male and female and their litter of this year young. There could more than one den in the pond. Not much need to tear the dam out till you get the Beaver cleaned out, Beaver will rebuild the dam that night after you tear it out. GoodLuck

 

[Tnwhip]

As a retired wild life officer, Been there and done that. First thing check with your state wildlife people. Some states will not allow shooting of Beaver, Using artificial light or taking beaver in closed season without a damage permit issued by the state. It gets down to what do you want to do. Shoot them for the sport of it, Or exterminate the problem. When Beavers build a dam and pond, look close muskrats may have moved in and helping with the damage. Find the Beaver's den, Whether a bank den or a hut built in the pond. That is the place to set a snare or Conabear trap over the entry to get any coming and going. I have never seen beaver eat crops that much, But they will claw, scratch and chew off grass with its roots and use the grass and roots to seal the back of the dam over the bigger sticks and rocks to cut down water passage. That may be what they are doing with the beans. Seen them cut corn and use it in dam building. Beaver this time of year usually is a male and female and their litter of this year young. There could more than one den in the pond. Not much need to tear the dam out till you get the Beaver cleaned out, Beaver will rebuild the dam that night after you tear it out. GoodLuck

I ended up shooting and snaring 6 got them all for now. Heavy rains tore the dams out. The banks are 20' high and a heavy rain will wash them away everytime. They have not rebuilt any more dams. They can only make bank dens. The creek is not very deep from inches to a few feet. Except in a few holes. More will move in to take their place. I don't use conabears much. I like snares. lighter and don't cry when one gets washed away in heavy rains.

 

[kc0pph]

We have several in an area not far from me that the DOW is trying hard to deal with. It is public land so we cant set traps but our DOW officers do. We go there and trash the living hell out of their dam and wait with our 22's til night. Usually get a few.

On some private land we completely got rid of a few using Conabear traps and steel legs. Put the steel legs on a piece of aspen tree and pound it in the water. When they try to touch it or eat it they get trapped and drown.

Just start layin traps down like crazy-- put lots in the same area, you might get a rabbit and a yote will come in to get the rabbit and you get a yote too.

 

[Tnwhip]

A few Beavers have come back. I went down one evening last week and shot one right before dark. Went back 4 more times in the eveing and never saw anything. I could see signs of them but they were not coming out till late I guess. I went down yesterday morning early to see if I could spot one before they went back to their bank den. Then go coyote hunting afterwards. It was still dark when I got to the creek bank. I could see a few ripples in the water and i guess the beaver saw me and slapped his tail and was gone. This morning I got in my sneaky mode and crawled to the bank It was still dark. When It started to get lighter and could see a dark spot on the far bank. I raised my rifle and looked through the scope and I could see it was a beaver. I could not see the cross hairs they are real fine and are not du plex. I said well I will just put him in the middle of the scope and the old 220 swift went boom. He never even flinched. 10 minutes went by and I saw a few ripples and another beaver came over to check out his buddy. The Swift took him out too. I have been useing the 22 mag because the longest shot would be 50 yards and it is not so loud but this morning I took the Swift because I was going coyote hunting after I finished with the beavers. It sure does a number on them at 30 or 40 yards. After shooting them with the 22 mag they flop around alot. I coyote hunted for a couple of hours but never saw anything.

 

[Tnwhip]

It Rained Sunday so I thought it should be dry enought to drive back of the farm and see it I could shoot another beaver. Got down there just as it was getting light enought to shoot. There was one on the far side I eased the safety off the Swift and let him have it. 15 minutes later here come another, I got him. There was another one that stayed under the under cut bank on my side. I could see ripples in the water but he never came out for a shot. I took a picture of these, they were head shot and still floating.

 

[jonthomps]

Smoke 'um all. You can still get good money for a beaver pelt.