Henry Rifle Forums

The farm behind my property has been developed and is full of new homes. Discharging firearms is prohibited so I'm down to my .177 Beeman R97 underlever for shooting in the backyard. Varmints include chipmunks and red squirrels which have figured out that the insulation under the hood of my Ford pickup makes really cushy nest lining! Among the feathered varmints are Starlings, English sparrows and female cowbirds. Cowbirds are the ones that wait for some songbird to leave its nest long enough for the cowbird to deposit an egg. The unsuspecting songbird ends up hatching and feeding the cowbird which has a fast growth rate and big appetite, often leading to the demise of her own offspring. I know it's all part of nature but we have so many cowbirds lately it seems like a little thinning is in order. Politics is off limits here so I will avoid making any comparisons...
While sitting in my hiding spot I had a visit from some bigger birds. This years turkey hunt was a bust but I'm not a hen shooter or violator. Just the same, it was hard not to picture 1/2" thick slices of turkey breast marinated overnight in olive oil and seasoning, grilled 3 minutes on medium heat and then flipped over for a couple minutes more...

We had a big problem with the mice eating the wiring and nesting in the duct work in the trucks. Turned on the fan in the Titan Pro4x one day and it sounded like a blender filled with Rocks! Brand new truck so we took it to Nissan thinking a bearing was failing. $200 later they handed me a ziplock bag filled with acorns and misc sticks, hair, moss, etc. It wasn't warranty since vermin had carried the junk in thru the ducts. I told them I was going to put a grill of ratwire over the intake for the air filter system. He pointed out two other small spaces in front of the windshield beside the wipers, triangle shaped. I cut them to fit there as well. No more problems. Every now and then I'd find something on top of the engine, but the heat would quickly rid us of that issue.

When we added the Frontier Pro4x five years later... I didn't wait, just immediately added the ratwire protection. No issues. I have taken the trucks to new service centers several times and started to point out the mods and never had an issue. "Excellent Idea." was the most often heard comment. The only suggestion for them stealing insulation? Buy a plastic owl and hang it over the truck wherever you park it. Might swap it out with a hawk now and then.

Have a mice problem too. I have wire mesh over all the intakes including the engine and cabin air. Still getting in. Currently think they are getting in through the body drain holes at the bottom of the engine compartment firewall, right behind the front wheels. Haven't figured out what to do for that. Need to keep the drain holes clear so that they don't plug up with things like tree debris.

I have a neighbor varmint. She openly feeds all the birds. I have no issue with the Robins finches ect. But the Grackles roost in my tree and make a mess outa my driveway and cars. The Grackles have also taken over her feeders. Most of the neighbors hate it but we havent figured out yet how to handle it as she is not even approachable or reasonable

Squirrels are my nemisis here. Once I found a bunch of maple leaf "spinner pods" down in the valley of my '97 Powersroke, between the turbo and fuel filter. Wondered how those got there? Next time I drove the truck, it would die every time I turned left. The squirrels had chewed on the wiring to thing that controlled injection pressure from the High Pressure Oil Pump, the Injection Pressure Regulator. The two bare wires had enough slack and evidently "weight" to them that they would swing and short on each other when I turned left.

I figured it out by standing on my bumper with the hood up, engine running, and moving wires until the truck died. This was after I had paid a local diesel shop to find the issue. At the time I paid the guy $80, and he gave it back to me un-fixed. "I put my scanner on it, and it didn't show anything wrong, but I guarantee ya it'll die everytime ya turn left."

Geez, tell me something I didn't already know.....

Mr. Neutron wrote: ↑

Mon May 08, 2023 2:58 pm

Squirrels are my nemisis here. Once I found a bunch of maple leaf "spinner pods" down in the valley of my '97 Powersroke, between the turbo and fuel filter. Wondered how those got there? Next time I drove the truck, it would die every time I turned left. The squirrels had chewed on the wiring to thing that controlled injection pressure from the High Pressure Oil Pump, the Injection Pressure Regulator. The two bare wires had enough slack and evidently "weight" to them that they would swing and short on each other when I turned left.

I figured it out by standing on my bumper with the hood up, engine running, and moving wires until the truck died. This was after I had paid a local diesel shop to find the issue. At the time I paid the guy $80, and he gave it back to me un-fixed. "I put my scanner on it, and it didn't show anything wrong, but I guarantee ya it'll die everytime ya turn left."

Geez, tell me something I didn't already know.....

Does this mean you won't be competing in NASCAR? (Go fast, turn left)

Hee hee,Gene, I couldn't press the "heart/liked your post" enough times for that! Nice one!