# shooting a beaver.....



## bamafans (Jul 21, 2010)

has anyone ever shot a beaver? my friend has 2 of them and they are causing chaos around their lake...

what size gun would one use to shoot a beaver with?


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## sinclair1 (Jul 21, 2010)

410 works.


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## wmahunter (Jul 21, 2010)

Bust out a hole in their dam in the morning and sit near there just about dark with a .22
They will be there to repair it sometime that evening and I rarely don't get a shot at one or two right at dark.


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## rhbama3 (Jul 21, 2010)

wmahunter said:


> Bust out a hole in their dam in the morning and sit near there just about dark with a .22
> They will be there to repair it sometime that evening and I rarely don't get a shot at one or two right at dark.



Thats a good way if there is a dam involved. Beavers almost always emerge right at dark.
If the beavers are gnawing down all the trees around a lake, sneaking in with a scoped .22 and a red lens spotlight at night works also. If its a big lake you may need to move up to deer rifle.


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## BBQBOSS (Jul 21, 2010)

id use my 223 or  22-250...


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## Todd E (Jul 21, 2010)

When I had issues, I used a 12ga w/#4 and killed quit a few. I used a normal flashlight and had no problems spookin them.


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## Gentleman4561 (Jul 21, 2010)

Get your 12 guage out and get a good flash light. Like somebody said bust a hole and wait right before dark. They will come to fix it almost always.


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## SneekEE (Jul 21, 2010)

What ever you shoot it with just be sure it aint still kickin when you pick it up, beaver bite is nasty!


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## Nicodemus (Jul 21, 2010)

I`ve killed more than you could haul off in a long bed truck, with a 22 long rifle solid. Either an eye or ear shot.


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## chuckb7718 (Jul 21, 2010)

SneekEE said:


> What ever you shoot it with just be sure it aint still kickin when you pick it up, beaver bite is nasty!





Nicodemus said:


> I`ve killed more than you could haul off in a long bed truck, with a 22 long rifle solid. Either an eye or ear shot.



Yep to both!

Head shot with a 270 is both a surety of the kill and little damage to the pelt, if you want it.
Excellent shot placement practice with your deer rifle on a moving target as well.


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## dawg2 (Jul 21, 2010)

Nicodemus said:


> I`ve killed more than you could haul off in a long bed truck, with a 22 long rifle solid. Either an eye or ear shot.



Yep, .22 knocks them out.  STINGERS are my favorite.


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## bigox911 (Jul 21, 2010)

Only one I've ever killed was with a .300 win mag...all I had with me


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## Hankus (Jul 21, 2010)

clipped one with a 06 and it worked real well at around 100 yards, wasnt nuthin but a red spray

My uncle does it at night with a q-beam and a 22 auto


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## Strych9 (Jul 21, 2010)

bigox911 said:


> Only one I've ever killed was with a .300 win mag...all I had with me



I think we tag teamed that one


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## jigman29 (Jul 21, 2010)

I like a 22mag,work well with a good head shot.


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## RipperIII (Jul 21, 2010)

chuckb7718 said:


> Yep to both!
> 
> Head shot with a 270 is both a surety of the kill and little damage to the pelt, if you want it.
> Excellent shot placement practice with your deer rifle on a moving target as well.



I've killed two with my .270, both head or neck shots, got two fine pelts to show for it


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Jul 22, 2010)

I killed 3 one morning with my Ruger Blackhawk .44 back in 96 while deer hunting.  We never had problems with them damming the creek up after that.  I body shot one with a .22 once at my grandfather's place years ago, but it didn't die right away.  It went down the creek a ways and I couldn't find it.  I guess it died eventually.


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## bnew17 (Jul 22, 2010)

7 mag!


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## bigox911 (Jul 22, 2010)

Strych9 said:


> I think we tag teamed that one



Probably a 20 gauge slug will work then too 


I just remember water flying everywhere


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## georgia_home (Jul 22, 2010)

just about any firearm should do the trick.

shotgun: slug, buck, larger shot size... should do it.

rifle: if a 22 will kill it, anything larger will probably kill it DEAD-ER!

go bust'em!


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## AbnormalEKG (Jul 22, 2010)

wmahunter said:


> Bust out a hole in their dam in the morning ....



Someone told me not long ago that it was illegal to mess with a beaver's dam for any reason. Anybody know if this is true or not? From the looks of the posts here, I think I may have been misinformed....


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## Twenty five ought six (Jul 22, 2010)

AbnormalEKG said:


> Someone told me not long ago that it was illegal to mess with a beaver's dam for any reason. Anybody know if this is true or not? From the looks of the posts here, I think I may have been misinformed....



Loggers, railroads and landowners dynamite them all the time.


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## AbnormalEKG (Jul 23, 2010)

Twenty five ought six said:


> Loggers, railroads and landowners dynamite them all the time.



I'm sure they do......The question was; "Is it legal?"


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## Twenty five ought six (Jul 24, 2010)

AbnormalEKG said:


> I'm sure they do......The question was; "Is it legal?"



Yes.

Or more correctly, it is not illegal.


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## JW2 (Jul 25, 2010)

Try it with a bow, it's more fun!


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## Fat Daddy (Jul 25, 2010)

I've killed a pile of them in our pond with a illuminated reticle scoped 22 auto.
I usually wait till about 10pm on a full moon night to hunt them.  Waiting till after the first frost helps out with the skeeters.  A good lean on ladder stand gives you a much better vantage point and a much bigger target (top of head) to shoot at.
Wait for a good shot, beavers are curious and cover a lot of water.  I don't shoot past 20 yards.

I can about guarantee there's more than 2 also.


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## sbrown (Jul 31, 2010)

I head shot one with my bowfishing bow !


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## skoalman69 (Sep 9, 2010)

yeah same here its really fun to do with a bowfishing set up and if you got him on the bank just stick him with a rage or field point i did em all and all are dead on the spot but my bowfishing bow is at 60 lbs and i have a heavy arrow for gators i carp fish with but to do it the most ethically you would prob want a 410 with steel no lead around the water same for duck like rules but a 22 to the head works prob the best in a game wardens mind


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## GA1dad (Sep 9, 2010)

Beaver actually makes a fine barbeque sandwich when cooked in a crockpot and shredded. An old timer turned me on to it a few years back. After that first taste, I've never wasted one.  If you are of a mind to try it, don't shoot them in the water. Some dive down, some sink. You don't want to be diving for something that may or may not be alive. Just figure out where there getting their wood from and wait. Or bust the dam as mentioned. Shooting them on land is the way to go.

Oh yeah, a scoped 22 lr will do the trick. Kill the brain, the body will follow.

BARBECUED BEAVER RECIPE

Tomato Barbecue Sauce 

1-32 oz. bottle ketchup 
32 oz. cider vinegar 
1 lb dark brown sugar 
1 tsp pepper 
1 tsp ground red pepper (heaping) 

Mix and simmer 5 minutes 


Traditional Vinegar Sauce 

1 gal cider vinegar 
10 oz. texas pete 
1-32 oz. bottle ketchup 
1 1/2 oz. crushed red pepper 
16 oz. honey 
1 1/2 cups salt 

Mix and simmer 

Remove as much fat as possible from one small or medium beaver. Place beaver in a foil lined roasting pan and bake, covered at 350 degrees F. for 1 1/4 hours, starting with the back down and then turning over after half an hour. Add water if beaver seems to be drying out. Cover with sauce, inside and out and cook uncovered for about half an hour. Add sauce every ten minutes. Tomato sauce will burn easily.

<object style="height: 344px; width: 425px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mPJaDdvxook?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mPJaDdvxook?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></object>


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## golffreak (Sep 10, 2010)

Almost anything behind the ear will kill most animals. I don't know how many beavers I have killed that way with a little bitty 22 long rifle.


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## Nugefan (Sep 10, 2010)

475 H & H , you seen the teeth on them critters ...


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## Hogtown (Sep 10, 2010)

Shoot them with whatever you have at hand.


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