You don't want to go with anything too cheap, but you want the job done. I have a Ruger Single-Six 22 caliber revolver that is made very well. Some 22's are not, check them for "cylinder rattle" and loose construction. Also consider a 22 rifle. 22 ammo is dirt cheap, and they would cap a chicken at 200 feet easy.
I'm more interested in cooking said chicken/rabbit..... I mean really...Look at what we kill cook and eat in Louisiana.....lol
Do ya want to alert every neighbor for a mile around that you are shooting.....? And .22LR ain't so cheap anymore........ Wring his neck and be done with it - so quick and easy - a caveman could do it!
I have never personally had to kill a chicken, yet. But when I have seen it done, it was done as follows: First, chase down the bird, and break its neck by grabbing the head and snapping the bird in the air. Second, fasten birds feet to clothes line or similar, and chop head of with machete or large knife. Allow blood and what not to drain into a bucket placed underneath the bird. Third, after blood has finished draining, plunge whole bird into a large pot of boiling water for less than twenty seconds to scald the bird to make plucking easier. Forth, pluck feathers by grabbing a clump and bulling sharply with the grain. Fifth, remove wings and feet with large knife, you can save the wings if you want to make hot wings, but IMHO it is to much work for so little meet. From there you just clean the bird like any other animal. I hope this helps, Josh
I've watched. I've seen them bled out and I've seen them plunged into boiling water then plucked.... I'm ok with that... I've even helped before. I'm just not ok with ringing their necks with my hands or slicing their throats with a knife yet and honestly.... I might have had a shot at it with my hand ax since I've used that tool the most but....thoughts of hitting my own hand holding the chicken's neck still between the two nails on the block while taking a swing at it doesn't exactly thrill me.... I'm so not into pain or my own body parts going projectile. If I was a golfer with a good aim I might try the golf club technique but alas.... I suck big time at golf and am fit for little more than driving the beer cart at charity events. Trust me.... if you saw me golf you'd know why I get a standing ovation every time I volunteer to drive the boozemobile. I'm afraid of not killing one of my chickens dead the first time is all and then the animal suffers because of my incompetence. I'm going to be ok with shooting them.... I promise.... toss some feed on the ground.... gun to head... pull trigger... bang. It's worth the cost of a BB to me and a little used chicken handgun. If I ever run out of BB's and get really hungry.... well then I'm backed into a corner with no work around and I'd probably go for my bare hands... God help the chicken if I screw up. I don't like rumblies in my tummy.... nobody does.
For chickens ax + wood stump = dinner For rabbits grab them by the back legs hang them upside down lower their head down to the wood stump and hit them in the back of the head with a hammer. Then cut the head off and proceed. My daughter started butchering animals when she was about 8 y/o. It's really not that hard. BWM
Talk Your Chicken / Rabbit To Death. Sit your chicken or rabbit down.....and then kindly inform them that Sarah Palin has become a card carrying member of the communist party, and that Barak Obama has taken out a life membership of the NRA AND joined the John Birch Society....the chicken/Rabit will either die of shock...or die laughing....either way it will have died humanely, without shedding blood....and the bonus will be nice tender meat undistressed by the hormones of fear that tend to make the meat a little tough. You may still be in strife from the RSPCA for causing your lifestock cruel and unusual punishment...but what the heck...how did you know your chicken / Rabbit had a weak heart or an uncontrollable funnybone! If you want a quick and easy way of butchering a chicken, just check out the following link.....it doesn't offer any advice about killing the damn things though. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/grim79.html From a health point of view spoilage would be somewhat slower if the chicken is bled while the heart is still pumping. The blood can be saved and used as a high nitrogen fertiliser.
First IMO a good 22 pistol and rifle are a necessary in any home collection. I've had great luck with Ruger 22's. I've had one of the MK series since 74. My son now has that one. I can't tell you how many thousands of rounds it has fired and it still going strong. I now have a MKII and it just as good as the MKI. If you are not into autos, there are the single 6 or the bear cat. One of my friends bought his wife a Walther P22. She likes it. My point is a decent 22 pistol will last several life times.
I've found some really good how-to videos and tutorials myself. I do like that backwoodshome site. What I'd like to know is how do I go about saving videos like YouTubes? I know how to save photos.... right click on them and I get a menu and I can put them where I want but that's not working with videos. There are a few on basic skills I wanted to watch again and now I've lost the one on soap making that I wanted to refer to when trying that on my own. If there's a thread here on saving videos.... I can't find it.
Saving Videos I can only help out with saving videos using the Firefox web browser by Mozilla. There are probably many other ways to save videos out there but I'm not familiar with using them. If you don't already have the (free) Firefox v4.0 web browser, download it from this link and follow the instructions to install. Once you have the new browser up and running, go to these Firefox add-on link sites and install the Easy YouTube Video Downloader and/or Video DownloadHelper. Just click on the Add To Firefox buttons to automatically install these add-ons. I have used both (free) downloader programs and have found them quite useful. Please let me know if you have any questions or problems. --GTB
This thread really amuses me every time it comes up. It brings up many more appropriate questions such as, what kind of weedwacker is best for making milk shakes? and what kind of car do you need to store the cattle feed in? I have often wondered what flavor jello is best for washing the car and how many aquariums we will need to hold all the ball-bearing slingshot ammo? What type of fur do you line the kitchen cabinets with? How many pumkins are you supposed to put on the couch?
That is too funny. To the question. The gentleman has asked a specific question and doesn't want to hear about all the reasons not to use a gun - even if there are alot. A good pellet gun will work at close range most times. But I second the cheapest .22 pistol you can find. Low quality ammo is not that expensive...
Good questions Sea. Tonight I am going to have a few drinks and start thinking about them.....might get back to you???
use a small bola to twirl around your head and catch the critters, then club them, etc. it is quite simple to do and over with in a few seconds, at most. Guns are too noisy and inefficient. Without lots and lots of practice/skill, and quite short ranges at that, and ear protection when you fire your 22 hg is still going to result in non-lethal wounds and crippled critters running around.
i should add, the few times i have shot a chicken, duck or turkey, ive used a .410. just pop their heads right off with it then finish butchering
IMHO I would not go with anything less than a 50BMG a 25mm chain gun would be better though. Have you ever seen how a chicken will tear apart a worm, they are vicious little ^$#&$$% don't under estamate them it could cost you your life, you have been warned BWM
Chickens/ducks= wood stump and an axe Or, you can always twist their necks ( not something I am personally fond of, but I have done it a number of times) If you are squeamish, get someone else to do it for you. Rabbits= karate chop (knife edge of hand) behind the ears always worked, and how I was taught by an uncle on his farm/ranch. Regardless how you choose to do it, it will be messy. Now for a gun, try a small .22 caliber air gun/pistol or rifle. Not a C02 but the types you pump or a single stroke. I have had to dispatch pets that for one reason or another were beyond being saved by a vet and had to be put down. It's not easy and it will bother you, and that's just the way it is. I used to help slaughter up to 100 chickens a day on my uncle's place, and somedays we killed up to 24+ rabbits. You get over it.