Increased Predator Population

[Britsmoothy]

Here's another long-term solution that would be lots easier on the shoulder. The predators are drawn by something. They're there cuzz the eats are better than elsewhere. Thin the population of rabbits and birds, and you'll help encourage them to move elsewhere.

Or am I simply self-justifying my love of small game hunting? :rotf:

You are yes but I fully understand.

B :hatsoff:

 

[cynthialee]

We don't have rabbits.
I know what is bringing them around. This property and the surrounding properties is a nursery for deer and turkey. Has been for a number of years. We have always had a predator here and there but never like it is now.

 

[azmntman]

Long as they eat just deer n turkey I'd be OK. Now if my pooch was to go missin I would make the ol time bounty hunters look like city folk! I love all animals but those that snuggle get priority!

The above load you described is far more than adequate. I kill most elk now with 80 gr rb in a .54. Pops buff took three steps (jumps) and hit the dirt with a .58 and 85 gr so yer well armed to protect the egg layers n snugglers in yer roost :grin:

 

[Billnpatti]

Weeelll, no big dangerous animals near my home here in good old Georgetown, TX but yesterday I did see a pretty vicious looking armadillo strolling though my back yard. :haha:

careful shooting them Armadillos I hear they shoot back.

Only the hairy ones with the white stripe down their back. :haha:

 

[Billnpatti]

Here's another long-term solution that would be lots easier on the shoulder. The predators are drawn by something. They're there cuzz the eats are better than elsewhere. Thin the population of rabbits and birds, and you'll help encourage them to move elsewhere.

Or am I simply self-justifying my love of small game hunting? :rotf:

No, no you are spot on. While I lived in Indiana, I hunted squirrels a lot and kept the freezer stocked with them. I thinned them out so much that I was never attacked by a bear or mountain lion. Yep, thin the little critters and the big critters will be no problem.

That is sort of like my military service. I was in the Marines from 1957 until 1959 and in the Navy from 1959 until 1963. I was stationed in San Diego, Coronado, Virginia and Texas and from 1957 until 1963 we had absolutely no enemy attacks on U.S. soil. Damn I was good!!! :rotf:

 

[BrownBear]

You got it!

My elderly mom is fond of reminiscing that her last dog was a tiger dog. Not once in all the years she owned it was her neighborhood bothered with tigers. :grin:

 

[Wes/Tex]

I was in the Marines from 1957 until 1959 and in the Navy from 1959 until 1963. I was stationed in San Diego, Coronado, Virginia and Texas and from 1957 until 1963 we had absolutely no enemy attacks on U.S. soil. Damn I was good!!! :rotf:

Too bad they didn't have you goose-stepping along the river from Brownsville to El Paso. You might have done some real good! :rotf:

 

[cynthialee]

Dug out the Hawken pistol today. It has been in deep storage for the last 2 years. Checked the bore with a patch and not a single issue. 3 in 1 Oil. Good stuff. Love it.

Now last I remember a .490 ball, .010 patch, over powder card and 30 grains of 3f gave me my best group. Law says I got to use a minimum of 40 grains of powder in a pistol. Bet 40 grains of 2f will give me a decent group. Now where the hell did I stash the 2f....I never use the stuff except for when I loaded the .56 as a Shotgun and it is anemic as a shotgun so I just use the gun as a roundball gun.

 

[ZUG]

Nature abhors a vacuum. It has become quite the deer refuge around here the last few years and now some predators have moved in...

Today the neighbors had to shoot one of the 6 Mountain Lions in the neighborhood. Probably the naughty kitty I mention in another post on the forum. I hope it was her. She was going after the neighbors Jack Russell terrier. Now I will admit to a mountain lion such a small pooch looks like an easy diner, we can't have that around here.

On top of 5 Mountain Lions left in the area, 2 of which are kittens there are also 2 large black bear. One of them has a pair of cubs.

So with so many apex predators in my area I am not liking my odds when I go try and shoot a white tail.
This year I will carry a pair of .40 derringers and a .50 hunting pistol with me when I go out. Just in case. I don't particularly favor the idea of ending on the menu. Come to think on it...Probably use my .54 rifle with a heavy conical this go around. Critters that are capable of eating me scare me, but not enough to keep me from a deer hunt.

Any words from the wise when it comes to hunting with these particular predators in an area?

Only one -- S&W model 29 along for the ride with that .54 caliber :v !

 

[BrownBear]

I have to fess up about something.

In the 40+ years we've lived, hunted, fished and raised a family in Alaska our local bear population has doubled. In the first 20 years we NEVER saw them on the road system and now we expect it on every outing.

In the 20+ years we've owned our place in the Rockies we've managed the land for wildlife and as a result have more deer, elk and rabbits, and along with them more coyotes, bobcat and yes, mountain lions. Heck, we even had a pair of bobcats den and raise their litter, then teach them how to hunt within sight of the deck on our cabin.

And I love it all!

It just feels more real to me than a sterile predator-free world. Sure it adds a little spice to my life now and then, even having a mountain lion walk past 20' away while we were on the deck quietly drinking our coffee one morning.

They're doing their job helping keep a healthy natural population. I'll do my job in making room for them and respecting them while going about my own business. Sure I'll kill one if it ever comes down to a choice between me and them. Ain't happened yet, even with a lotta years living among predators. :hatsoff:

 

[Billnpatti]

Too bad they didn't have you goose-stepping along the river from Brownsville to El Paso. You might have done some real good! :rotf:

Goose stepping, hell, Marines don't goose step. They don't need to. The most dangerous thing in the world is a ****** off Marine with a rifle. Goose stepping was never a pre-requisite to the protection that I provided. I like to think it was just because I was there that did the trick. That's what I like to think anyway. :haha:

 

[FishDFly]

What does this have to do with the OP post???????????????????????????????????, seems a lot of wandering to me.

 

[Britsmoothy]

The generic term is "conversation".
A dying traditional method of communication once popular between friends.

:thumbsup:

 

[Calum]

”˜morning,

While I don’t have the land, and don’t hunt, I have to agree with BrownBear. However, that said, I always have the means to prevent being on the menu should wildlife decide that I look tasty.

To me, that’s really the issue here ”“ not so much the increased predator population, but that they are losing their fear of man. Mainly because we are forcing them to, by reducing their environment and forcing ours upon them.

Mike

 

[robinsroost]

Do not trifle with large carnivores as we are crunchy and taste good to them.....robin :hmm:

 

[cynthialee]

the problem is our Fish and Game decision makers are clueless and make bad calls. They have some fellas drive down the major roads counting deer at lousy times. Count road kills and use some twisted voodoo math to determine local herd populations. Same with turkey...They get bad numbers for their projected critter populations and justify our hunting laws with them.
No one is getting an accurate count of deer or turkey in Stevens county. We have to have 2-3 times more than they think we have.
You get one deer a year for the average hunter. If you are a proven hunter you can put in for a special permit to get an extra one from certain game management units.

Laws designed to prevent collapse of the deer herds back when most men hunted are over populating the herds now. When I was a kid it was odd to me to meet a man who wasn't going hunting in the fall. Now, no men that I know in my circle of friends or family hunt.


Anyways, the current situation equals lots of food for the predators and their numbers are increasing.

Now I get that in Seattle maybe they need to keep it down to 1 deer a year per hunter, but that is silly for us country folks.

 

[Brokennock]

I've recommended it before and I will again. People need to read "A Beast in The Garden" and maybe buy copies for their local wildlife officials. It deal directly with the tragic outcome of wildlife laws that result in overpopulation of prey species.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in many areas, especially those getting close to suburban settings, anti-hunting folks are really anti-gun and are trying to shut down hunting as a way of removing a justification for firearms ownership.

 

[Patocazador]

Now I get that in Seattle maybe they need to keep it down to 1 deer a year per hunter, but that is silly for us country folks.

Doncha know that all regulations, game or otherwise, are made by "experts" in urban areas?

NYC residents know much more about mule deer and elk than the "rubes" in Salmon, Idaho or Cody, Wyoming.

 

[harleysboss]

Cynthialee, I live on the "Wet" side of the state and really only carry a concealed weapon for two legged predators. If I were you (I also practice this) carry a big can of bear spray. much lighter in weight and the range of use will be that same as the pistols you describe. The spray will probably be more effective if you actually got into a situation where you had to use it. One shot with a muzzleloading pistol equals bad odds for success. I have been up close with both black bears and a lion and in both instances they wanted nothing to do with me once they figured out what I was. The Lion wears a scar across his back due to a bad shot on my part. The bears turn tail once I started to yell at them. (recurve bow and bad shot angle). I know bear spray is not traditional at all but it does solve your issues with predator attack. Much easier to carry with you to the woods. You also have your rifle as your first line of defense dont forget. Good luck this fall.

 

[Billnpatti]

What does this have to do with the OP post???????????????????????????????????, seems a lot of wandering to me.

Alas, I digress. Please allow me to goose step out of this thread with the tattered remains of my dignity.