Letting a critter slide

[Larro Darro]

My wife has an ever varying number of orange cats that she feeds on the front porch. Every three or four months I have to kill a possum that has found the feeders. They will not even run when you turn on the lights and go outside. I catch them in the live trap, then take them down the road to shoot.

We hear the coyotes at night, and they will mess up a field of ripe melons like you wouldn't believe, but we very rarely see one. They have learned that if they show themselves they get shot.

 

[MoKelly]

Good story and you did a good thing. But, did I read this correct --- you were up at 4:30 A.M.? In the morning? Isn't is still dark?

MoKelly

 

[rider0]

I have no problem killing things that cause trouble.

Coyotes are on the short list; we have plenty of them. Suburban transplants actually feed them, or inadvertently allow them access to pet food, which amounts to the same thing. They need to learn to fear something, and I am here for them. I have yelled at them at as little as 30 yards, and they have turned to face me off (when unarmed). They massacred a stray dog in our pasture, and got the little black and white dog across the street.

We are overrun with bunnies but I don't shoot them any more. They don't taste that good (kinda jack-cottontail hybrids) and haven't caused much trouble. Of course, they attract the yotes, but both bunnies and yotes are everywhere around here.

My personal goal is to render western pocket gophers extinct. They bear the brunt of my malice.

I suspect the surplus of "bunnies" is directly related to a lack of coyotes. The rodents and langomorphs have such a surfeit of food in the suburban/wildland interface that coyotes, hawks, and owls are the only natural check to their population; they are not food limited, even in an extraordinarily dry year like this. I'm always thrilled to watch our resident coyotes on patrol, and for their part, I've never seen any behavior challenging or threatening towards humans. They're wary and intelligent, and I'm happy to have them around.

 

[SPIKER]

Back in early 80's my / our dogs treed 2 young coons, REAL young only about the size of a rat. The Momma was hit out front and killed she was laying in the road belly up with recent signs of feeding the babies.

Well the little ones were not with momma at the time but hear the dogs (they ran pretty free) back in orchard going off. I went back and found them coons (1male and 1 female) standing on hind legs holding-hugging each other on top of a stump not much bigger than a fence post but maybe 2 feet higher. They were just out of reach of the bigger Coon Hound-Doberman mix of my brothers. I got up close to them a few feet and they reached out to me... my initial instinct was let the dogs have breakfast but I ended up reaching out with my hand to them. They reached back & were terrified but not acting mean. I was going to let them go up a bigger tree. Well they held on to me for dear life and cuddled under my arm (cool enough morning I had on flannel shirt.) So I ended up taking them out into field and kept dogs off and let them get used to each other. Knowing they were not much more than just out of birthing hole they would not survive so I took em home built a kennel for them. Those things ended up being pretty good fun pets for 2~3 years before they ran off. The dogs and them played and ran together & much like a cat only always playing in water and then using YOU to dry their feet They were not yet weened off momma so had to feed them bread/milk/kitten food for a few weeks but they grew fast and friendly. Make ran off first and then followed by female a year later. They were aloud to run free at the farm (no chickens then so nothing for them to hurt.)

Mark

 

[MotorSeven]

Heck I even carry moths, lighting bugs, fireflies, etc outside & let 'em go instead of squashing them, so yes I have given many coons and opossums a free pass.

 

[daveshoot]

But, did I read this correct --- you were up at 4:30 A.M.? In the morning? Isn't is still dark?

I was up at 4, just happened to be outside at 4:30. It is hot here, and whatever you're going to do, you want done before noon.

Also, I have a three and a half year old who is troubled by "monkeys" in the middle of the night. Yes, monkeys; the same ones who spill things and take my pens and draw on stuff. I will definitely shoot that whole herd of monkeys if I ever catch them.

Along those lines, I have forgotten... does it get dark right after 9 PM or a lot later?

 

[cqaigy2]

I went back and found them coons (1male and 1 female) standing on hind legs holding-hugging each other on top of a stump not much bigger than a fence post but maybe 2 feet higher. They were just out of reach of the bigger Coon Hound-Doberman mix of my brothers. I got up close to them a few feet and they reached out to me...
Mark

Oh come on, that's not even fair! It's a good thing other animals don't act that way, there'd probably be many more vegetarians.:laughing:

 

[QRTRHRS]

Out here in the desert we have coyotes just like everyone else, but out here they serve a useful purpose. There is little livestock or domestic animals for them to attack. What they do accomplish is to keep the other vermin population under control.We see them regularly, but they are very wary of man and will usually run as soon as they see you.

A month or so ago I was going outside when this young 'yote was in the yard. He did not run as they usually do, but actually moved to continue watching me as I went out of sight by the barn. I yelled at him and he did not move. He actually stepped a few feet closer to me. I picked up a rock and threw it at him and he did not react much but finally ambled away.

About a week later I saw him again in front of the house and his actions were similar. He seemed to have no fear of people. This bothered me as it was not typical of our yote's.

Unfortunately, I had to dispatch him. Actually made me feel bad.

I was at a gun show over the weekend and happened to be talking about coyote's with some folks who seemed to be in the know. I had started the conversation with this coyote I had seen by me that was more black than tan. My neighbor informed me that they do breed with dogs and that two black ones have been seen around us.

One of the guys in the conversation claimed that the interbred ones have less fear of men. If that is true, I would not feel to badly about dispatching the one that you did.

I was out shooting ground hogs one day years back when I saw a coyote with a groundhog in his mouth. I figured I could use his help so I left him pass.

Groundhogs are about the last thing I hunt and very few of those anymore either as the coyotes around me have them hunted out. The one thing I will not do though is to run one over with a vehicle. I don't even like to run over something already dead.

 

[Jtschnel]

Heck I even carry moths, lighting bugs, fireflies, etc outside & let 'em go instead of squashing them, so yes I have given many coons and opossums a free pass.

Good lord, and I thought I was the only one! What a strange relief.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Good lord, and I thought I was the only one! What a strange relief.

Welcome to the club! I used to hunt a lot which is why I complain about so much Tinnitus these days .
Turkey, squirrel, deer, duck, pheasant, goose, rabbit, quail, coon, etc; really whatever was in season. These days I enjoy
shooting them more with a camera. I too have gotten softhearted in my old age although I still like venison
chili. I let my cousin hunt my land and he always fills enough tags to share the harvest so it's all good.

The key: one shot, one kill. I don't like to see animals suffer.