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I suspect a full wad cutter even in .38sp would kill small game and small predators just as fast or faster than .357 mag hps or even semiwadcutters. But I have not tried it.
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my Smith is loaded with Buffalo Bore .38+P lead SWC
I drink my morning coffee out on the deck now, over watching the geese, my wife encourages this - she raised the Emden in the house and is very protective of her
does you wife allow you to site on your deck with a loaded pistol, while you drink your morning coffee?
do your neighbors?
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I shoot of my deck on a regular basis and my wife doesn't restrict me on doing anything. Same goes for me restricting her from doing anything
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then you have a Keeper!
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Something tells me that OldBroad44 doesn't have to ask her wife...
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I have no wife being female and straight. Back when I had the duck flock, neighbors didn't worry about occasional single shots, day or night. My closest neighbor knew the occassional pistol shot from my place was me doing duck predator control. And I knew the occassional shotgun blasts from his place was gopher control. (He sat in a chair on his deck drinking his coffee, reading a book, shotgun in reach, and keeping an eye out for any gopher holes with moving vegetation or dirt. Then he would pick up and aim shotgun and wait until gopher stuck his head up for just a second...and kabooey! The gophers do stuck their heads up regularly but very briefly when moving the mound back to make room for more freshly removed dirt. The gophers in Willamette Valley seem to do this tunnel repair and extension work mostly between 8am and 10 am. I know this from trapping them. Set a trap later than 10 am and you don't catch a gopher until 8-10 the next morning. Set the trap at 8 am and you'll have the gopher by 10 am the same morning.)
I did my fair share of sitting on the deck with the ducks before they were released for the day and drinking my coffee while the ladies finished laying their eggs. (Ducks usually lay between 4am and 9am, which greatly facilitates letting them free range during the day. Most breeds of ducks can also easily be taught to come home and pen themselves at supper time.) But with the exception of just one huge coon and two foxes, the duck predators all came at night. I had the screen off an upstairs window. I had Ancona ducks, who are better watch dogs than most dogs or geese.. The ducks would see the predators from the other side of the yard, and the drakes would start making their distinctive croaking alarm calls meaning a serious predator. The females do not make their predator alarm calls (loud quacks) under these circumstances.
By the time the predator reached the duck pen I would be sitting on the floor in front of the upstairs window right over the duck pen with the gun sticking out the screenless window. No lights on in the house so I would be invisible to the predator. The drakes would then fall silent.... After the kill I used a pitchfork to remove the body from the duck pen area. Then the following morning I would move the body by pitchfork to a section of the yard where the ducks didn't go so the vultures would not scare the ducks. Vultures gotta eat too. I like vultures. They are the only scavenger I know that eats skunks.
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A side note on gopher control:
I found the most efficient way to deal with gophers is to bring out my forestry fire truck with a high volume/pressure pump. I take the nozzle off the hose reel (flexible, but not too stiff) 3/4" inside diameter rubber hose and stick it down the most recent hole. I run the pump a little above idle, and it fills the whole hole system with water, driving the gopher to the surface. It pops up, disoriented and sopping wet. They never seem to try to escape on the surface, just sitting there in a daze. I walk up and blast with a .22, or just use a shotgun from a distance, since I have no neighbors to worry about. I could probably just smack them with a shovel! Or perhaps a 6-iron golf club. Fore!
A garden hose won't be effective, because it doesn't have enough flow. It takes a lot of flow to fill the system. I have one spot this doesn't work in because the hole system must intersect the 8" tile line that runs through there.
I found the most efficient way to deal with gophers is to bring out my forestry fire truck with a high volume/pressure pump. I take the nozzle off the hose reel (flexible, but not too stiff) 3/4" inside diameter rubber hose and stick it down the most recent hole. I run the pump a little above idle, and it fills the whole hole system with water, driving the gopher to the surface. It pops up, disoriented and sopping wet. They never seem to try to escape on the surface, just sitting there in a daze. I walk up and blast with a .22, or just use a shotgun from a distance, since I have no neighbors to worry about. I could probably just smack them with a shovel! Or perhaps a 6-iron golf club. Fore!
A garden hose won't be effective, because it doesn't have enough flow. It takes a lot of flow to fill the system. I have one spot this doesn't work in because the hole system must intersect the 8" tile line that runs through there.
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Just like in caddyshack. Y'all cook these critters up for the church potluck on bingo night or let them sleep in their element.
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Well I think I like buzzards now too.
Edit: I have just learned that buzzards are a type of hawk, not a type of vulture, despite the fact that there is a breed of buzzard called the Turkey Vulture. On the upside, they also eat skunks.
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Same thing I thought.Well I think I like buzzards now too.
Edit: I have just learned that buzzards are a type of hawk, not a type of vulture, despite the fact that there is a breed of buzzard called the Turkey Vulture. On the upside, they also eat skunks.
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I shot a rabbit with a 30.06 once. It was entertaining. I wish I had videoed it in slo-mo. You know, for science and stuff.
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Coyotes eat skunks too. Most coyote lure for trapping has skunk in itWell I think I like buzzards now too.
Edit: I have just learned that buzzards are a type of hawk, not a type of vulture, despite the fact that there is a breed of buzzard called the Turkey Vulture. On the upside, they also eat skunks.
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Coons are a tough animal. I'm not sure if I told this story here or someplace else.....I work long hours and come home late at night. Down the road about two blocks length a coon was dragging himself across the road on his front legs. I quickly swerved and ran him over with my truck. I never stopped to check as I made a solid hit. Next morning I head out and that coon is not dead in the road. A few days to a week later I see odd tracks in my front yard near the bird feeder. Drag marks. After seeing these drag marks for a couple weeks I set out a trail cam and sure enough I catch super coon dragging himself along on his front feet. Day later we can hear him flopping down the porch steps. I set up the camera and catch him using his nose and front legs to climb stairs.
I was able to lay eyes on him one night and the back half of him was flat like a cape.....hence the given name of super coon. I ran over him in the same spot as his first hit so my hit did not do any more damage on him. I then wondered how long this animal could live like he was. He traveled with a buddy and visited our water bowls almost nightly.
It was a full two months or more later that super coon died and was found under my porch. His cape was bare of hair on the bottom and calloused over with no apparent tears in the skin. I did not spend too much time examining him before I burned him in a pit and buried him.
One tough SOB to live that long after two hits across his back half. I have neighbors that blast the coons all the time as they are causing issues. I guess I'm luck they only cruz through here and don't mess with anything.
I was able to lay eyes on him one night and the back half of him was flat like a cape.....hence the given name of super coon. I ran over him in the same spot as his first hit so my hit did not do any more damage on him. I then wondered how long this animal could live like he was. He traveled with a buddy and visited our water bowls almost nightly.
It was a full two months or more later that super coon died and was found under my porch. His cape was bare of hair on the bottom and calloused over with no apparent tears in the skin. I did not spend too much time examining him before I burned him in a pit and buried him.
One tough SOB to live that long after two hits across his back half. I have neighbors that blast the coons all the time as they are causing issues. I guess I'm luck they only cruz through here and don't mess with anything.
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I was in Long Beach, Wa a couple weeks ago and these guys crossed the road in front of me and then stopped and looked at me as if I was supposed to throw a hamburger out to them. Interesting how something so cute can be so mean and destructive.
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Place Wife and I used to live there was a pack would come through now and then. I used to feed them some cat food and now and then an egg. They were cute and our dogs gave them a wide berth. Till one morning one ran over and attacked the one dog. All I had at hand was a Maglight and I am amazed I did not have to go get rabies shots as I went after it with the light till it let go of the dog. The pack seemed to realize they had worn out their welcome as they would go by on the fence but I no longer saw them come down into the yard again.
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Myself and the neighbors have pretty much weeded out most around our place, but my dog is just a little guy and I am always worried about that. I'd tear that flashlight up beating a coon if it was on my dog. We live on the river and I've heard that they will drag the dog into the water to drown it. My neighbor's dogs were harassing one and it went right out into the water and waited for them to come out so it kind of substantiates that rumor a little. I popped it with a .22mag to it didn't get the chance to proof it.
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That's why they call them trash pandas.
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Raccoons are very fast learners. Back when I first got a duck flock at my current house I tried to deal with predatory raccoons by trapping them and releasing them in McDonald Forest, the other side of the nearest mountain basically. After about three raccoons I found it impractical as it took too long to drive them far enough so that they weren't somebody else's problem. And I found that 2/3 of them could be trained to stay away from my ducks if I put a shot into the ground next to them. The other 1/3 would try for my ducks again, usually two nights later. And those I would just shoot.
However, that first coon I trapped was an experience. I needed to hold him for a day until I had time to transport him. Part of my ancestory is Highland Scots. Our tradition towards captured enemies requires generous hospitality. As good or better comfort than we have ourselves. So I put the coon in the trap in the garage out of the sun where I could keep him fed and watered. When I approached and handled the trap the coon attacked the cage wire, screaming and growling and trying to bite me through the holes in the wire. I put down a bed of hay and put the trap on that so it would be easier on his feet. I put cut up cheese and fruit on the top of the trap where he could pull it through the wire to provide food and moisture.
I came back a few hours later. The coon had industriously pulled every bit of the hay through the wires, completely filled the back of the trap, and made himself a comfy burrow. The food was gone. He came out of his burrow and made a few symbolic growls, but didn't attack the sides of the trap. I put some grapes and bits of leftover steak on top of the trap and left. A few hours later I checked on him again, and brought more food. This time he came out of his burrow quite eagerly and peacefully, and looked at me expectantly. Like "What did you bring me?"
However, that first coon I trapped was an experience. I needed to hold him for a day until I had time to transport him. Part of my ancestory is Highland Scots. Our tradition towards captured enemies requires generous hospitality. As good or better comfort than we have ourselves. So I put the coon in the trap in the garage out of the sun where I could keep him fed and watered. When I approached and handled the trap the coon attacked the cage wire, screaming and growling and trying to bite me through the holes in the wire. I put down a bed of hay and put the trap on that so it would be easier on his feet. I put cut up cheese and fruit on the top of the trap where he could pull it through the wire to provide food and moisture.
I came back a few hours later. The coon had industriously pulled every bit of the hay through the wires, completely filled the back of the trap, and made himself a comfy burrow. The food was gone. He came out of his burrow and made a few symbolic growls, but didn't attack the sides of the trap. I put some grapes and bits of leftover steak on top of the trap and left. A few hours later I checked on him again, and brought more food. This time he came out of his burrow quite eagerly and peacefully, and looked at me expectantly. Like "What did you bring me?"
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