Zissy wrote: 
When it becomes a matter of survival people will do all sorts of things to make it out of the mire...
What kinds of suggestions do you get on the web? Are you in a house or apartment? Is there a way to discourage their night time perch, mesh of some type? Fake hawks or owls...Probably a couple of tricks you can pull to find a solution. 

 oldviolin wrote: 

I do too, OV. I had an enchanting "Snow White" experience once, where a bunch of baby squirrels (first time I'd ever seen them, because they usually don't go out and about until they're pretty big) were wandering around under this pine tree on my walking route (I was hoping their mom wasn't killed somewhere, and them helpless), and they ran up to me like puppies—-completely unafraid. One even climbed up my pant leg and let me pet his/her little haid! When I left they tried to follow me down the sidewalk and I was afraid they might wander into the street and get hit.
 
It was awesome.

 
 

 
No, I wasn't concerned about rabies b/c when I was little, a pest control guy who came to our house said squirrels did not carry rabies.

 bokey wrote: 
Hit yourself in the thumb with that and you'll be sorry.
 
Thing that surprised/irritated me was I finally saved up for some authentic Wrist Rocket™ ammo, little quarter-inch metal BBs ... they had a tiny flat spot! Wouldn't fly straight for anything.
 
I generally used marbles. Got pretty good and exploded nicely if you hit your (granitic) target. 

 oldviolin wrote: 
well I'm opposed to eating either and I want to get rid of these dang pigeons without killing them of course.

 Zissy wrote: 
Heck, I love the little guys. I'd only eat one if I had too. I'd eat a pigeon too for that matter. But I don't have to eat either as of yet. There's plenty of good grub on my dumpster route... I ain't lyin'!

I don't have any problems with squirrels but if anyone can help me with pigeons I sure would
appreciate it. My patio is gross to say the least.. 

 cc_rider wrote: 
The first thing I ever shot was a squirrel with a . 410. It was a . 22 over/under, but I kept missing with the . 22.

    Pops gave up trying to salvage any meat and buried it, then went back to sleep in the goose pit while I went back to the woods for more adventure.

 Proclivities wrote: 
That and a half inch lead ball is all you need.

 cc_rider wrote: 

Waaaaaaaaay cool.

 Alexandra wrote:
  Yeppers. I have a 1937-ish .22LR that belonged to my great-grandfather. Remington Model 41. Dirt simple, still shoots straight. I know it put food on the table more than once.

The survivors may want to retaliate, however:

 Proclivities wrote: 
now that's what I'm talking about!

 DaveInVA wrote: 
...or one of these if you're in the sporting mood:

 cc_rider wrote: 

Good, because my best shots are with a .22 rifle.

 cc_rider wrote: 
I used to have a Sheridan and it would easily go through both side of a metal garbage can. Accurate also..

 cc_rider wrote: 

bah!  a little birdshot in their teeth never hurt anybody.

 DaveInVA wrote:  Good point, excellent idea. There are some really sweet pellet rifles these days, with velocities over 1100 fps. That'll take out a squirrel with, uh, extreme prejudice.

They are not cheap, but the advantages are obvious.

 cc_rider wrote: 
A decent pellet rifle will do the trick with minimal damage to the meat. And the noise won't scare the others away as bad as a powder gun...

 oldviolin wrote:
 
Sure it'll kill 'em, but there may not be much left to eat. Even a little .410 will make a mess of a critter. Best bet for varmints/food is prolly a .22LR bolt-action, especially with a little scope. Semis and levers are less accurate, and usually more expensive anyway. .22LR ammo is cheap cheap cheap, while .410 rounds just seem to keep going up.

 oldviolin wrote: 
Still is at my house.  Except for the skinning and hanging stuff.  Dad takes care of that.