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[Autumn]

This message was self-deleted by its author (Autumn) on Fri Jul 27, 2012, 02:09 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[virgogal]

1. Oh my !

[Electric Monk]

2. Some psycho shoots up a theater so all of a sudden unrelated gun discussions are ok in GD?

Statement of Purpose

Discuss politics, issues, and current events. No posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports unless there is really big news. No conspiracy theories. No whining about DU.

[TalkingDog]

10. I was poo-poo'ed in other threads for suggesting there were valid uses for guns

namely: Keeping coyotes or potentially rabid animals away from my critters, including my chickens.

www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1004663

So... yeah. I think it's valid.

[pintobean]

17. This isn't a gun thread.

I would agree with you on a lot of the threads here, but not this one. If I posted about driving to a rally, it wouldn't be a car thread.

[progressivebydesign]

83. Thank.. I just came back to GD to see if it was normal again.. it's not. It's ruining DU. n/t

[xchrom]

3. Did you use an assault rifle to kill it?

There are areas for give and take there - an old fashioned double barrel or a .22 or even a well aimed rock might of done the trick.

Just because you killed a varmint doesn't mean you shouldn't be regulated. (well regulated)

[Autumn]

6. I agree with you. To kill a predator you don't need an assault rifle

I might have yelled at it and shot toward it but it didn't seem to be afraid so I decided not to go there. Usually when they see me they take off, but not today.

[TalkingDog]

11. Agree.

I think part of what's missing in the discussions is the fact that if it were a requirement to undertake training in order to own a gun, I don't think most people would have a problem with that. I would gladly do so; even though I have been proficient in gun use for over 30 years.

You can never be too safe with a gun.

[tularetom]

4. Agreed, that and rattlesnakes

We've lived here since 1987 and I'll bet I've shot 50 coyotes. We used to have sheep and every year we'd lose a couple lambs. They'd get our chickens too.

The snakes were really bad up until 2 or 3 years ago. They'd crawl out onto our driveway apron after dark to get warm from the hot asphalt and they'd still be there when we went out to get the newspaper early in the morning. They frightened the horses too.

I don't think you'd want to live here without a gun.

[CTyankee]

5. trust me, I wouldn't want to live there with a gun either...good luck on your lovely life...

[tularetom]

18. Sorry you feel that way but there probably are too many people here already

It can really be a lovely place from late September to early June. Spring begins quite early and we get very little snow. The summers are miserable for sure but to us that's a small price to pay.

We can be in Yosemite in 45 minutes or San Francisco in 2-1/2 hours. We can ski in the winter, fish in the summer and hunt in the fall without leaving our county.

You do have to make some accommodations to nature to live here but IMO that doesn't include letting coyotes eat the sheep that are part of your livelihood.

[CTyankee]

19. You know, that sounds very nice. I am not sure where you are but really it sounds pleasant.

I don't fish or hunt but I do enjoy natural beauty. So we can agree to our love of that. And that is just fine with me!

[tularetom]

21. If you'd sit and drink wine on our porch on a warm spring night

and smell the grass and listen to the tree frogs down by our little creek you'd understand why we choose to live out here in spite of the fact that we're a half hour away from shopping, medical facilities or our grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I don't know if I describe it as natural beauty but believe me it really does become part of who you are.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

76. I know where you live.

I went to high school in Bakersfield. My nephew is on a major month long hike in Yosemite right now. He comes back with awesome pictures.

[RKP5637]

61. It sounds like a wonderful place and I bet quite beautiful! n/t

[Zorra]

87. Rural areas of the west are deadly. The fierce critters that live here prefer the flesh of urban

folk who naively come here to hike and camp.

Mountain lions, bears, wolves, coyotes, eagles, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, scorpions, tarantulas, snipe, and jackalopes prowl at will, preying on hapless city folk as they lie quivering with terror in their tents or, where available, motel rooms. Crazed hunters sit in trees with rifles and bows, waiting to pick off anything that moves.



Urban folks should never attempt to hike or camp in the rural west!!! They should absolutely never try to move here and live in this deadly environment!!!

We don't want to see folks get hurt. Ain't that right, tularetom?

Folks should stay in those cities, where they are safe, safe from nature and all those nasty critters.

2010 Data

[Autumn]

8. I've shot three snakes but this was the first coyote I have had to shoot.

I felt bad because I really enjoy them at night and I hate the rabbits here, and they really have never gotten that close to the girls before.

[tularetom]

20. Yeah the coyotes are kind of at the top of the food chain around here

When we first moved out here there was the occasional mountain lion episode and I've even heard tales of bear sightings. But gradually the coyotes have become the alpha predator in our little micro ecosystem.

That doesn't bother me as much since we got out of the sheep business a few years ago and I must agree they are good at controlling the varmint population.

Rattlesnakes? My wife would make me move away from here if we didn't do something about them, especially since she went to throw some clothes in the dryer one day and found one inside.

[joshcryer]

44. Snakes? That's pretty interesting. How far do you have to be from them?

I'm moving to rattlesnake country, it's the one thing that has me worried.

[Autumn]

51. I've shot them from at least 10 feet away. I'm not getting any closer

than that.

[ellisonz]

73. Rattlesnakes are mostly afraid of people...

...if you're going through an area where you think there might be rattlesnakes be nosy (clap, sing, shout, stomp) and keep your eyes on the ground. If you come across a snake on your trail don't throw a rock, poke it with a stick, leave it alone, wait and it will mostly just move on somewhere else, do not attempt to flank it through the brush. Millions of people every year enter rattlesnake habitat and come out fine. I can understand shooting them if you've got them infesting your home area (try clear brush/snake proofing), but you really don't need a gun to deal with them out and about town or even hiking. Their behavior is pretty predictable and they are somewhat seasonal (spring/summer/early fall). About 6,000 people get bit every year, but only 4 or 5 die from their bite. You just need to be aware that they're out there when you expect to come into contact. The baby rattlesnakes don't have rattles so avoid tall grass in the Spring.

[joshcryer]

74. I have encountered them 3 times, they scare the crap out of me.

Mainly because each time I was alone in the middle of the woods hiking and they were quite too close for comfort. Coiled up, ready to strike, I jumped in the air on one of them, it scared me so bad. It'd struck at me, too.

The land I'm getting is pretty much 20 miles from civilization and it worries me that if I get bit I wouldn't be able to get it tended.

[ellisonz]

75. I agree the noise is terrifying.

I don't like them either. But like with most things in nature it's really about being prepared and acting appropriately. I guess that will teach you to go hiking "alone in the middle of the woods."

Anti-venom treatment is expensive even with health insurance.

Maybe you should reconsider and move to a big city?

[joshcryer]

77. I love nature and hate city life. :/

Been shot at once, had a gun pointed at me, shaken down several times (didn't have my wallet on me any of those times, luckily). Car antenna broken off, window broken, radio stolen (all separate incidents). City life ain't for me.

It just was interesting that one would shoot a snake because I figured you'd have to be close and I'd think that'd be dangerous for shrapnel.

[ellisonz]

78. I'd bet tularetom is being pretty deliberate about it...

...and not just blasting away on a narrow mountain trail.

[orwell]

9. I live in the country...

...I've relocated many a rattlesnake.

I have no interest in shooting them.

To each their own...

[TwilightGardener]

86. Based on the one I've seen near my house, they seem pretty shy. (Which may

explain why I've ONLY seen one around). I just make sure to use a flashlight at night when I walk my dog, and don't stick my hand in gopher/prairie dog burrows or under rocks.

[tabasco]

40. Coyotes eat a lot of mice too.

By killing coyotes, you are feeding the rattlesnakes.

[Nevernose]

85. Funny. For rattlesnakes we use

A broom and dustpan. Take a little walk, drop the sucker off, and no more rattlesnake. The only one too angry to take a ride was quickly mitigated by a garden hoe.

[panader0]

7. Damn........I love coyotes. There are many where I live, beautiful, smart animals and here before me

When I had hens I kept them in a coyote proof enclosure.

[Lex]

13. seems logical

to keep them in a safe as place as possible

[Beaverhausen]

30. I love them too

Not sure why a coyote has to be shot for simply being a coyote.

[Le Taz Hot]

35. +1

Killing wildlife then bragging about it. Makes me sick.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. awww. RIP coyote.

[joeybee12]

14. Poor coyote...too bad they're a nusiance and they are because of guns...

Because man killed off the wolves with guns, and wolves helped keep the coyote population down.

[MercutioATC]

81. If "man" hadn't "killed off the wolves with guns", wouldn't we then have a wolf problem?

...just sayin'

[MrSlayer]

15. What did you do with the carcass?

Do you just leave it there to rot? Do you eat it? Do you take the pelt? What happens to old Wile E. once you shoot him?

[Autumn]

24. Buried it. Only an idiot would leave a rotting carcass out in this heat.

I have no interest in the pelt, I do have an interest in protecting my animals.

[MrSlayer]

26. I was just wondering.

No judgement from me. I'm a city dweller so this whole thing is alien.

[loli phabay]

42. by the time i get a shovel the vultures would be on it

Its amazing to watch how quickly the get on a roadkill and the tkme to clean it up. On edit does your county give a bounty on coyotes.

[quaker bill]

16. Some fellow biologists use them here

to shoot feral hogs. I have no problem with that. Properly dressed and smoked low and slow, feral hogs can be pretty tasty. Feral hogs are a big problem here, they are not native and rip up alot of habitat for the natives. Down south they have pythons and iguanas, here we have hogs (and the occasional nile monitor).

[ileus]

22. by keep the rabbits down you mean all of them right?

I used to love to rabbit hunt....it's been many years now because the coyotes (and house cats) eat every one in the country. Of course a coyote eat my most beloved cat last September and my neighbors little dog in three nights.

I remember my dad killing the first coyote I'd ever seen back when I was in college heading for the hen house one morning. (1990 or so)

Now they're everywhere...I "built" an AR just for coyote hunting. By built I mean added a nice bi-pod and 4-12/50 scope. I haven't killed one with the AR yet, but the shotgun has been pretty hard of a few since last fall. I wish I had a mentor that could help me learn to hunt the rotten bastards.

[Autumn]

25. I don't really like to hunt, but I really do hate the rabbits.

I ride through the pasture pretty often to check and fill all the damn holes they dig. The coyotes usually take pretty good care of the rabbits so I really felt bad shooting this one. My Husband thinks it might have been suffering from an old injury and that's why he was so close to the house.

[otohara]

23. I Bang A Pan to Chase Them Away

I would like to shoot my neighbors cat however.

RIP Coyote

[Peregrine Took]

27. Why bang a pan when you can SHOOT something?

Otohara, you need to step up on your killing!

[otohara]

31. I Bought A Mouse Catcher - The One's That Don't Kill

worked like a charm.

Princess Kiko brought us a present the last week - finally bought the mouse house and the next morning...presto.

I can only kill mosquitoes and flies.

[snooper2]

65. plus pans need lovin too...

bang two old steel posts together or something

[ileus]

28. My neighbor has 11 outside cats.

I figure they'll disappear one at a time once the coyotes notice. 8 or 9 are kittens.

We have a 5 acre field as a backyard, I think the dogs make a trip thru one or two nights every 3 or 4 weeks. I've spotted them in the field at night but I won't disturb the neighbors by trying to kill one after dark.

[otohara]

37. 4 Cats In Our Hood, Victims of Coyotes

and I live in the city, not far from the University of Denver - never thought I'd see so many critters like we do now. I saw a large family of racoons, about 10, scurrying across the street coming home late a couple weeks ago.

[ileus]

41. My neighbor across the road backs up to national forest

they run thru 4 or 5 cats a year...I swear I don't know why the even bother getting kitties. They got two this last time, on disappeared in the first week.

[otohara]

46. That is Sickening

They must hate cats.

[loli phabay]

58. was wondering why they bother as well. i got neighbours who do the same thing.

[RKP5637]

64. I have one cat, he's a full time indoor cat, smart as anything and a

full time companion by his own choice. He just decided he liked my company when he was lost as about a 5 week old kitten and found my doorstep and me.

[DrewFlorida]

29. And the point of this post was?

[madrchsod]

32. i had several varmint rifles when i lived on a farm.

i moved to town ,gave up my guns,and got a very good guard dog.

[lonestarnot]

33. You certainly protected the remaining ladies.

[lib2DaBone]

34. Coyotes moved into Florida in the last 5 years...

..now they are EVERYWHERE. Goes to show that species will adapt.

My neighbor let his cat out into the yard.. the Coyotes grabbed him and ate him in a matter of two seconds.

They really are pests... but I admire their will to survive.

[Ganja Ninja]

89. I'll say.

About a year ago I saw one standing on the Erlich Rd on ramp for the Veterans Expressway. That is in Citrus park and a totally urban area. I looked at it and it seemed kind of funny looking for a German Shepard. The legs were too long and the tail was too bushy. Then I realized what it was.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

36. I understand you were protecting your Ladies

But


Did you at least assure him/her that they will be welcomed in the Wild Hunt where they will have more than enough rabbits to chase?

[Autumn]

39. No I didn't. Is it too late now?

There is a den on the back of the property across the fence. The female from there and I have had a few encounters when she crosses the pasture, We pause, look at each other and go on our way.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

49. No it's not too late

Next time you see her in the pasture, pause and think about it, passing the message on. Don't be surprised if she stops and 'listens' to you.

Back when I could still do stuff like go camping, I would stay awake by the fire late into the night. It was fairly common for coyotes to come by to visit and we would talk until I had to call it a night and get some sleep. They usually waited for me to say 'good night' before leaving. Those were great times and some of the best conversations I ever had.

[Autumn]

52. I will do that. Thank you

I keep my window open at nigh because I like their "singing". I took no pleasure in shooting one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Yup, good use

Did you use a gas operated, semi automatic fire riffe though, that has a potentially high rate of fire? Methinks a lowly 22, bolt action, would be enough...

Oh and I commend you for defending the girls from the varmint.

[loli phabay]

43. wouldnt use a 22 good chance of just wounding it. 22 is okay for smaller game though

Wouldnt want to wound it and have it suffer longer than necessary.

[nadinbrzezinski]

45. A coyote?

You're right, use a shotgun...

If you insist a 30-30

Well, what can I say?

By the logic, he needed an RPG

[loli phabay]

48. well either you have never seen a coyote or a 22 before

One is bigger than a chihuahua and the other is smaller than crap. If you want a clean kill and less suffering for an animal then you dont go with the smallest round you can find you go for something that is quick and humane. Yeah a shotgun is okay but i would use a slug to ensure you dont just wound the animal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

50. Yes I have

Are you confusing the .22 long with the .22 short? The RIFFLE round is more than sufficient, or at least used to be.

[loli phabay]

53. nope still wouldnt use it as i want a clean kill if i have to shoot one

[sorefeet]

59. You guys remember when the right wing nut jobs here in Montana

wanted to put spear hunting on the ballot??? Can you imagine the wounded animals they would have after these macho men stabbed them and the spear fell out and the animal took off to die a slow miserable death.

[Autumn]

54. No, used the Winchester 30-30

It was a clean quick kill.

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. Good, you used a perfectly good and reliable

Hunting weapon.

[loli phabay]

69. much smarter than trying a 22. shame you had to do it but you have to protect your livestock

[U4ikLefty]

47. Just imagine if there were 20 coyotes

[loli phabay]

55. hand grenade as its obviously them assaulting the compound lol

[Autumn]

56. I would be keeping my ass in the house, and calling 911.

20 coyotes, they can have the chickens.

[agent46]

57. Kill anything

that gets in your way. Gotta protect your way of life. Gotta kill.

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. This is actually a good use

Sorry...humans have protected their useful animals for at least 10k years.

[Vattel]

63. You're not smart enough to protect your hens without killing?

[loli phabay]

66. problem is it becomes costly as when tbey discover food they will work yo get it

I spent thousands yo try to protect my gardens with fences but have had more luck with a 22 and some traps plus we get the meat as well.

[ailsagirl]

67. Oh, I bet that made you feel real good

Thank you so very much for sharing. Keep us posted.

[tawadi]

68. What kind of gun did you use?

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

80. .30-30 (upthread). Nearly identical in ballistics to the AK47 & more powerful than Homles' AR15.

[Prophet 451]

70. Unfortunate but sometimes necessary

You used a perfectly respectable hunting rifle and didn't cause the animal any unnecessary suffering. I don't see any problem with that.

[intaglio]

71. Check out the effectiveness of guard Llamas

Seriously ...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0610_030610_llamashepherds.html

[Autumn]

82. I wouldn't mind having one but I have sold off 3 of the horses due

to arthritis and another large animal that would probably out live me is something I really don't need. Now the lama poo would be great for the garden, but even that is becoming too much work.

[rl6214]

72. To protect life I agree, just for the sake of shooting, no

[UnrepentantLiberal]

79. The coyote is the only animal that has expanded

it's territory. Killing off the dumb ones created super coyotes. They're bigger and much smarter. They've been seen teaching their young to avoid traps.

[Alduin]

84. Did you use an assault rifle with a 100-round clip?

Or did you use a sensible gun to kill the coyote, like a .22?

Anyways, why would you come on an internet discussion forum an let people know this? How is it related to the theater shooting? And did you think about alternative methods to get rid of the coyote other than shooting and killing it? I've lived in the country for ten years and we got rid of coyotes by making loud noises and scaring them away.

[Autumn]

90. No, I used a hunting rifle. DU is a discussion board is it not?

Gun control is a current issue.

[Douglas Carpenter]

88. I guess I can't criticize that use of a gun. But I suspect the coyote has a different perspective

[Autumn]

91. Will self delete this post

shot a coyote this morning, which I think is a damn good use for guns

It was going after my Ladies and I can't have that. I felt really bad because I really like them, they keep the rabbits down. But when they go after the girls all bets are off. RIP Ms. Molly. I will miss you and your eggs.