Going Full Out for Beaver
Mississippi, with its myriad of lakes, streams and ponds, has long been a haven for that waterborne flat-tailed rat, the beaver.
These plentiful amphibious rodents are responsible for damming up streams, destroying tree stocks, and turning forest into wetlands at rapid rates.
Never fear though, they make a great addition to your hunting list.
About the Beaver Castor canadensis, or for those non-Latin speakers out there, the North American Beaver, is one of the most plentiful of animals in the woods of this continent.
Back in the pre-colonial era, as many as 90 million roamed the waterways of the land.
Today, even after generations of trapping, hunting, and habitat changes, there is still an estimated 15-million of these aquatic rats around.
They build dams, canals, and lodges in fresh water of all depths.
To construct these engineering works, beaver lumberjacks fell thousands of healthy trees each year.
They are capable of toppling a 9-inch thick pine overnight and as such can damage forestry stocks and clog rivers and streams.
A large adult beaver can live two decades and grow to over 50-pounds.
Herbivores, they get their fill of lilies, pondweeds, and aquatic plants.
Hunting In Mississippi, the beaver is considered a nuisance animal and as such can be hunted year-round.
This means further means that these bucked tooth river rats have no daily limit on private land.
A common way to pull this off is with medium sized shot (#4-6) from 12 and 20-gauge shotguns near dusk around beaver lodges.
Some have good results with hyper velocity.
22LRs like CCI Stingers,.
22WMRs, and.
223's, but be aware of bullets ricocheting on water tops.
This means being sure of your target and what is beyond it.
As some of these flat-tailed tree chewers can get as big as a Labrador retriever, shot placement is key and a good strong dip net from a flat-bottomed boat may be needed to pull it out afterwards.
You can hunt these creatures at night with or without the aid of a light but MDWFP regulations state that you are restricted to using "standard rimfire rifles or handguns no larger than.
22 caliber long rifle (all magnums excluded) and/or shotguns with shot size no larger than No.
6.
" If you have problems with these critters on your land that some simple hunting or trapping can't fix, contact the Beaver Control Program of the USDA Wildlife Services at (662) 325-3014 for professional help.
They are the beaver A-Team in the Magnolia State.
While not commonly practiced, you can eat beaver.
Native Americans had this humble water rat on the menu for centuries and in the 1600s, the Catholic Church even declared the beaver to be a 'fish' so that settlers in the New World could have an extra choice on Fridays.
I have a friend in Jackson County, one-eyed Robbie, who smokes beaver with a little Tony Cha Cha rub and some BBQ sauce on the grill and eats it like pulled pork.
Trapping If you find that your predilection to chasing the beaver gets strong enough, you may want to look into trapping for fun and profit.
A trapping permit is only $25 a year and beaver, classified as a nuisance animal, can be taken 365 on private land.
While fur has long been out of favor in the US, China and Hong Kong based buyers have been going nuts for it in the past few years.
In 2008, some 528 licensed Mississippi trappers took 10.
545 beaver, for an average of almost 26 of these flat-tailed critters apiece.
Other than raccoon, beaver is the most trapped animal in the state.
Beaver tails have long been in modest demand by some fur houses.
Generally, these traders want dried tails at least eight inches long and at least 4.
5 inches wide with no holes or scars.
Pelts, generally over 42-inches in length are also sought after to some extent at about $10-$15 apiece if properly skinned and fleshed out.
For more information and a support network of current trappers in the state, check out the Mississippi Trappers Association at http://www.
mstrappers.
org/.
They usually hold a 3-day Trapper's College each fall for about $50 that is an investment well spent.
Don't get me wrong, you won't get rich doing this stuff but the hobby can pay for itself and possibly add a nice new shotgun or two to the collection.
Moreover, you are helping control these dam-making waterborne aggravations while keeping a tradition alive.
Which is a bonus all its own.
These plentiful amphibious rodents are responsible for damming up streams, destroying tree stocks, and turning forest into wetlands at rapid rates.
Never fear though, they make a great addition to your hunting list.
About the Beaver Castor canadensis, or for those non-Latin speakers out there, the North American Beaver, is one of the most plentiful of animals in the woods of this continent.
Back in the pre-colonial era, as many as 90 million roamed the waterways of the land.
Today, even after generations of trapping, hunting, and habitat changes, there is still an estimated 15-million of these aquatic rats around.
They build dams, canals, and lodges in fresh water of all depths.
To construct these engineering works, beaver lumberjacks fell thousands of healthy trees each year.
They are capable of toppling a 9-inch thick pine overnight and as such can damage forestry stocks and clog rivers and streams.
A large adult beaver can live two decades and grow to over 50-pounds.
Herbivores, they get their fill of lilies, pondweeds, and aquatic plants.
Hunting In Mississippi, the beaver is considered a nuisance animal and as such can be hunted year-round.
This means further means that these bucked tooth river rats have no daily limit on private land.
A common way to pull this off is with medium sized shot (#4-6) from 12 and 20-gauge shotguns near dusk around beaver lodges.
Some have good results with hyper velocity.
22LRs like CCI Stingers,.
22WMRs, and.
223's, but be aware of bullets ricocheting on water tops.
This means being sure of your target and what is beyond it.
As some of these flat-tailed tree chewers can get as big as a Labrador retriever, shot placement is key and a good strong dip net from a flat-bottomed boat may be needed to pull it out afterwards.
You can hunt these creatures at night with or without the aid of a light but MDWFP regulations state that you are restricted to using "standard rimfire rifles or handguns no larger than.
22 caliber long rifle (all magnums excluded) and/or shotguns with shot size no larger than No.
6.
" If you have problems with these critters on your land that some simple hunting or trapping can't fix, contact the Beaver Control Program of the USDA Wildlife Services at (662) 325-3014 for professional help.
They are the beaver A-Team in the Magnolia State.
While not commonly practiced, you can eat beaver.
Native Americans had this humble water rat on the menu for centuries and in the 1600s, the Catholic Church even declared the beaver to be a 'fish' so that settlers in the New World could have an extra choice on Fridays.
I have a friend in Jackson County, one-eyed Robbie, who smokes beaver with a little Tony Cha Cha rub and some BBQ sauce on the grill and eats it like pulled pork.
Trapping If you find that your predilection to chasing the beaver gets strong enough, you may want to look into trapping for fun and profit.
A trapping permit is only $25 a year and beaver, classified as a nuisance animal, can be taken 365 on private land.
While fur has long been out of favor in the US, China and Hong Kong based buyers have been going nuts for it in the past few years.
In 2008, some 528 licensed Mississippi trappers took 10.
545 beaver, for an average of almost 26 of these flat-tailed critters apiece.
Other than raccoon, beaver is the most trapped animal in the state.
Beaver tails have long been in modest demand by some fur houses.
Generally, these traders want dried tails at least eight inches long and at least 4.
5 inches wide with no holes or scars.
Pelts, generally over 42-inches in length are also sought after to some extent at about $10-$15 apiece if properly skinned and fleshed out.
For more information and a support network of current trappers in the state, check out the Mississippi Trappers Association at http://www.
mstrappers.
org/.
They usually hold a 3-day Trapper's College each fall for about $50 that is an investment well spent.
Don't get me wrong, you won't get rich doing this stuff but the hobby can pay for itself and possibly add a nice new shotgun or two to the collection.
Moreover, you are helping control these dam-making waterborne aggravations while keeping a tradition alive.
Which is a bonus all its own.
