Shooting into a body of water

[bunyip]

Kangaroos are a problem and can be in plague proportions but are protected, I know some who call them Australian Deer then the protection vanishes.
Snakes are protected too but it depends upon who is watching but relocation is allowed, snake heaven?

 

[plowhog]

To answer the question about the shotgun application. At 150 yards, none of the shot sizes would do much except maybe BB. 00 would kill it, but the patter of 00 Buck would typically be large enough to drive a truck thru. The slug would be lethal and beyond, but the chances of hitting it would be very small. I have shot man size targets at 75 with a slug but double that? Um.. I am not sure I could hit a cow, let alone something small.

Hickock 45 shot some 200 yard targets with slugs and did fairly well. You can bet he was "dialed in". and he is one heck of a good shot.

As I said before I will check with a trapper tomorrow before doing anything.

After surveying things, I have substantial dirt backdrop if firing in one direction. But that would make for the longest shot as the varmit hangs out near that dirt backdrop. I'd be on the complete other side of the pond to keep that backdrop in play. My residence is in the background in the next direction-- no go. Pretty heavy forest in the other two directions but also neighbors a ways out in that forest. Not ideal.

I was thinking of bullet skip and safety when I was thinking of not using a rifle and contemplating a close in shot from a shotgun. To keep the backdrop in play, due to distance there is no way I could use a shotgun. It would have to be an open sight rifle, maybe a .223. But, I need to check in tomorrow on other aspects.

What is difficult is that I have worked for nearly 15 years to create a prized fishing habitat. It attracts and supports a lot of local wildlife. It's well on its way to destruction with my new guest only on scene for about a week. I read that these otters kill a fish, take a few bites, leave the rest and go get another one just for fun. I'm pretty sure my catfish are wiped out-- some of them were 10-15 pounds. For pond balance, they are an integral part of the bass and blue gill surviving. The bass are hanging out in the shallows which is unusual.

The blue gill are in shallow water defending their nests right now, as they are spawning. Of course an otter compared to them is Godzilla. All of the ducks and geese which are always at the pond are gone. There is a blue heron that takes small fish from the pond-- a large one-- I wonder if it is at risk?

I first figured out what was going on when I saw a turkey buzzard at the shore of the pond. Over many decades I've never seen one on this property. On closer examination he was picking at one of the catfish carrion on the shore. I see nothing but trouble ahead.

 

[k0ua]

Hm... how about a frangible .223 round? They are made to bust up when hitting a hard surface. At those speeds, water is a very hard surface. Sure would be a lot safer than a shotgun slug.

Frangible 223 Ammunition - 5.56 and 223 Frangible Rounds for Sale

 

[the old grind]

0-#3 buckshot, esp if when they're in the water. Get within 20 yards or use a rifle. Shots that hit water at 15^ or greater angle are unlikely to ricochet, thought that's not a recommendation to use anything but a shotgun. rolleyes I've used a Remington 12 Ga 42-pellet #4 buckshot load on a 45 yd shot to take a rat that had just stepped onto a feeding bed. Two shots, and only one from the first of them (metal detector & dressed for cat food) had caught the little monster in the eye while quartering to.

I do my best to trap invading muskrats, from the water out of a 15' canoe, but not across shallow flats of cattails to all denning entrances. 'Banks' along sandy shore are only distinct where willow roots hold them together, but willows and olives (working on that w/newest grapple} block shore line access most everywhere even near where they travel or frequent.

These largest of NA weasels (your)and rodents (my) have thick, felt-like fur that is not easily penetrated esp when aswim. They can dive & travel crazy distances while remaining underwater for 3-4 minutes at the mere click of a safety. If spooked by land critters, they just switch to more feeding in lowest light or by night.

Shooting either from shore is possible depending on swimming patterns and gaps in brush, or constantly alarmist RWBBs that blab your presence like bluejays, but then won't shut up. Did I say you have to use SG from close up, even on cat-sized rodents? Gunning for one this week. Using the Benelli (M-2 Field 26" camo) and an old Rem goose load I have much of left. (PRHSNHV12M2) It's only 1 1/4 oz, but #2 'Hevi-Shot' rated at 1450fps. The load worked very well on snows over dekes on those madhouse management hunts.

If you plan to use a .22 LR practice 'grouping' a three shot burst. At the first reaction their body rolls a tad above the surface as they nose-dive. If you miss the head shot (our scopes are > 1" off at 10 yd) you hope to get a body hit. We've shot muskrat that didn't mind us at 175y shooting away. My cousin got one at 192 yd the day he bought his Model 700 (.30-06). I kidded him when sighting-in. I said 3'' high. Bang-flop. I got one once at 180 yd with the 10/22 and Mini-Mag HPs. We were both high-hoping our shots. I have a pic of Micah and his result somewhere.

 

[MossRoad]

As I said before I will check with a trapper tomorrow before doing anything.

After surveying things, I have substantial dirt backdrop if firing in one direction. But that would make for the longest shot as the varmit hangs out near that dirt backdrop. I'd be on the complete other side of the pond to keep that backdrop in play. My residence is in the background in the next direction-- no go. Pretty heavy forest in the other two directions but also neighbors a ways out in that forest. Not ideal.

I was thinking of bullet skip and safety when I was thinking of not using a rifle and contemplating a close in shot from a shotgun. To keep the backdrop in play, due to distance there is no way I could use a shotgun. It would have to be an open sight rifle, maybe a .223. But, I need to check in tomorrow on other aspects.

What is difficult is that I have worked for nearly 15 years to create a prized fishing habitat. It attracts and supports a lot of local wildlife. It's well on its way to destruction with my new guest only on scene for about a week. I read that these otters kill a fish, take a few bites, leave the rest and go get another one just for fun. I'm pretty sure my catfish are wiped out-- some of them were 10-15 pounds. For pond balance, they are an integral part of the bass and blue gill surviving. The bass are hanging out in the shallows which is unusual.

The blue gill are in shallow water defending their nests right now, as they are spawning. Of course an otter compared to them is Godzilla. All of the ducks and geese which are always at the pond are gone. There is a blue heron that takes small fish from the pond-- a large one-- I wonder if it is at risk?

I first figured out what was going on when I saw a turkey buzzard at the shore of the pond. Over many decades I've never seen one on this property. On closer examination he was picking at one of the catfish carrion on the shore. I see nothing but trouble ahead.

I've seen great blue herons eat 14" carp at the zoo. I thought it was gonna choke, but it finally got it down and stood there all googly-eyed for about 10 minutes.

And if you're wondering about heron VS otter.... here's a link to a video of just that. Spoiler alert: heron loses.
A heron takes on an otter and loses - YouTube

 

[the old grind]

Yeah, here's Micah, like ten years ago. He's been in & out of US Army reserve (Capt. & didn't re-up) Still a MI St Police officer. Nice guy to hunt with, too. A goose harvester like nobody I know, and hunts a lot 'Downriver' between Trenton and the MI/OH state line. I've teased him about having a 'golden fish-hook, too. :laughing:

This animal was quartering away and facing to our right, and Micah was going for the head shot. btw, drives me nuts when I wonder "what'd he use on that shot?", and I do every time I see a hunter pictured with his quarry. So, Rem 700 SPS, Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40, Rem 'green box' 165g PHP. I'd just mounted scope & rings. 1/2 box later he was grouping ~1 1/2" at 100 yd & I'd have wanted to know what it takes.
View attachment 607418

Never mind the 'cute baby' stuff. When critters gotta go, they gotta go. ... I gotta go watch a mayfly swarm at dusk.

 

[radios1]

a shotgun slug, because it's heavy, and is slow, will travel much further underwater than a supersonic round. they just break up into little pieces underwater, keep that in mind.. and as far as birds go, killing a migratory bird is a Federal Felony, unless you get permission, which is not guaranteed..

 

[japody]

Why can't you use a rifle? I shoot beavers with my 30-06 all the time, and my wife uses a 7mm-08 to shoot them. We shoot snakes too!!! Best shot that I saw her make was about 200 yards at a beaver swimming across our pond. All you can see is the top side of it's head, and that's where she hit him!!!!

I need her to come shoot the beavers on my pond.

 

[the old grind]

IIRC those guys on TV showed that even .50 BMG wouldn't hurt a guy swimming much more than 1 foot below the surface. A slow, blunt slug isn't going too deep, either. All splash. As for birds and poaching them, does the OP have them wrecking stuff too?

And, did you EVER see where a guy got busted/fined for catching fish illegally .. with a firearm? (Ever? Anywhere on Earth? I gotta google that one.) Bullets work on the parts above water if you've shot at enough of them. Otters and rats are tiny targets thereupon, and can be a challenge. btw, you can lose count after a dozen years or a dozen pests removed.

Let's keep this open to broad thinking. What could a guy do with bow-fishing gear, to be adventurous but still get the job done? Sporting? Perhaps. 'Shooting', yes. Trapping often means dispatching your 'fur' when you run your line. .22 RF is pretty typical, and broadly sufficient.

Beavers can be easy. Get a chair and a cooler, .22 rifle, maybe listen to a podcast .. after you bust a dam open. Take 'em out where & as they show up to repair it. They're not as tough to finish as raccoon or 'possum. You may have a few that leave alive. (best thing to hope for) They and/or others will likely be back, but we don't deal with this every year, right?

Check with local game or LEO office as to legality of DIY treatment always before you get out the guns, and ask anybody you know who hunts if you get an official OK. (a "designated hunter" in our state when so) Call an exterminator or two for advice or referral.

 

[shooterdon]

I would use a scoped .223 with a Hornady SX or Sierra Blitz bullet. Very little chance of a ricochet.

BTW, I live in a real rural area. If I have a critter problem, it would be resolved without worrying about rules made by bureaucrats living in condos. But I do have my own rules... eagles, hawks or owls do not present a problem and I enjoy seeing them. Others in the area have been reported to be less selective.