Squirrels Alfalfa Pivots

ironworker

New member
Drove to usual place for squirrel shoot in alfalfa pivots ,sunny early spring day ,no squirrels ? I wonder why ,rancher said last year he poisoned but wasn't satisfied ,welcomed me up yesterday . Dang it I only shot one dang critter .
 
I was out Tuesday and Wednesday. Some pivots were full of squirrels and adjacent pivots were empty. Made no sense. The babies should start popping up next week and the shooting should be good.
My friend and I clocked about 6-700 in two days. I am fortunate to have some ammo stockpiled for these adventures, but if I had to buy ammo today, I would be broke.
Keep searching.
 
Yes
Clocked meant we killed and/or shot that many. It was a spectacular couple of days (Expensive too, by the way ammo prices are going)
 
Educate me...what is an alfalfa pivot? I know what an alfalfa field is and know what a an irrigation pivot is, but...
Also, what kind of squirrels get into a pivot(depending on what it is)? And where in the pivot do they get?
Thanks.
 
Alfalfa pivot is an irrigation pivot. Just means the gophers were in the alfalfa field that had an irrigation pivot. Gophers are ground squirrels.
 
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I was down in Crane Or. shooting sage rats a few years ago and talked to one of the farmers about the poison process. He told me the stuff they originally used just kinda did an ok-ish job but within about a year they'd start seeing the numbers of sage rats in their fields increasing. But then they came up with a better product/process to use on them and when they go in and poison a circle it flat wipes them out and they don't see any for quite some time after.

Of course if you're a fan of shooting sage rats all I want to do is say boooo boooooo no good bad idea but if I was a farmer and trying to make a living I'd obviously like the idea of wiping the alfalfa eating little buggers out.
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Originally Posted By: baitpilewhat kind of squirrels get into a pivot(depending on what it is)? And where in the pivot do they get?
Thanks.

pivot squirrels get into pivots. they get in the little sprinkler holes and plug them up. pesky devils they are.
 
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotOriginally Posted By: baitpilewhat kind of squirrels get into a pivot(depending on what it is)? And where in the pivot do they get?
Thanks.

pivot squirrels get into pivots. they get in the little sprinkler holes and plug them up. pesky devils they are.

Pesky little vermin!! Okay, all cleared up. Thanks for the replys. I really am a farm kid, just different part of the country. We get rain here.
 
B23 said:
I was down in Crane Or. shooting sage rats a few years ago and talked to one of the farmers about the poison process. He told me the stuff they originally used just kinda did an ok-ish job but within about a year they'd start seeing the numbers of sage rats in their fields increasing. But then they came up with a better product/process to use on them and when they go in and poison a circle it flat wipes them out and they don't see any for quite some time after.

Of course if you're a fan of shooting sage rats all I want to do is say boooo boooooo no good bad idea but if I was a farmer and trying to make a living I'd obviously like the idea of wiping the alfalfa eating little buggers out.
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The biggest drawback to poisoning is the cost of a licensed applicator to spread the "good stuff" At about $75 an acre, it would wipe out just about all the profit from a hay field.

Then again if it's an organic field they can't use poison anyway.
 
I went out today in northern Nevada, not many squirrels. I only shot 20-30, the farmer here doesn’t poison, but he said the numbers have been dwindling the last few years. I heard there was some kind of disease killing them off.
 
I've never been to or through Iowa, that's my disclaimer. IS there no irrigation (center pivot sprinklers) in Iowa? That's an honest question from an honest idiot.
 
I will admit to having been away from any alfalfa for quite a while. $75 per acre of applied pesticide doesn’t sound high or out of line. Around here we get at least three cuttings a year, with a late fourth not uncommon.
The first and second being the best of course. Now this is on nonirrigated alfalfa.

I can’t see $75 per acre eating up a large percentage of profit. Tonage per acre should be way up there compared to dry land, especially on irrigated ground.
 
Originally Posted By: SubpaR I've never been to or through Iowa, that's my disclaimer. IS there no irrigation (center pivot sprinklers) in Iowa? That's an honest question from an honest idiot.

As a general rule, no. You may see some where the ground is very sandy and drains fast. This is generally where a farmer is trying to get the last little bit of crop that he can in a less than ideal area or field. They are not uncommon to us though. A short drive to NE, you will see lots. Also, a short drive into WI, further north into the potato fields, there are plenty of pivots. Very sandy soil up there. Having said all that, I have never seen a pivot on an alfalfa field. We generally get 3 good cuttings a season here as well.
 
I just got back from shooting sage rats in Crane, OR. It was pretty good but not red hot yet. Over three days of shooting, I fired 300+ rounds of .223 and 400+ of 17 HMR. Not sure how many .22LR as I don’t track that. The shots were from 20 yards to 300. The two guys that went with me pretty much did the same.

The guide and farmer both commented that it was a very late Spring and that probably delayed things a bit. The guide said he would email me another report in a week or so.

I will say that I noticed the alfalfa in many fields were barely a half inch. I was expecting it to be almost 2 inches by now. On our last day we did shoot a field with higher alfalfa and there were a lot more rats moving about.

It’s a bit of a drive for me but I was just giving the wife a warning that I may have to go back in a couple weeks.
 
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