greybeard
Well-known member
Well, you know you'll only get one shot, not for long, and at a pretty small target if they're just swimming.
I've shot a couple at night with a .270. When shot, they do dance around a bit on top of the water..which makes the wait worth it.
I learned to just watch for the water to move the tiniest bit. A small wake is all they leave.
I watched a couple thru a borrowed night vision monocular one night and sure made me wish I could justify the cost of a NV scope. A green led rifle light works pretty good but nothing like the NV did.
For those that never saw them, their work is meticulous. You might think you can just start at the top and start throwing sticks off, but it's not that way. All weaved and intertwined together so securely, it's a royal pain to tear any of their construction apart. Here, they also cement it together with mud, muck and rotten vegetation from the pond bottom.
I cleaned out a big culvert 4 straight days--they rebuilt their dam every night, and were done well before daylight each time.
I've shot a couple at night with a .270. When shot, they do dance around a bit on top of the water..which makes the wait worth it.
I learned to just watch for the water to move the tiniest bit. A small wake is all they leave.
I watched a couple thru a borrowed night vision monocular one night and sure made me wish I could justify the cost of a NV scope. A green led rifle light works pretty good but nothing like the NV did.
For those that never saw them, their work is meticulous. You might think you can just start at the top and start throwing sticks off, but it's not that way. All weaved and intertwined together so securely, it's a royal pain to tear any of their construction apart. Here, they also cement it together with mud, muck and rotten vegetation from the pond bottom.
I cleaned out a big culvert 4 straight days--they rebuilt their dam every night, and were done well before daylight each time.