A couple things I've read in the last year or so say that "Eastern" coyotes have a lot of Red Wolf DNA in them, through cross-breeding.

www.eparks.org/wildlif...edwolf.asp

+1 on a jackass hating coyotes - I have seen yotes skirt an entore section to avoid one a guy keeps with his mares and foals.

Feral dogs were always my biggest headache. Had a pack of them once that tried to turn on me when I shot one of them trying to "nose" a cow (grab her nose to bring her down). I quickly retreated to the truck. Let me tell ya...the next time I had a browning A5, no plug, loaded with buckshot.

The interesting thing I had happen to a cow that was trying to have a breached calf was that the buzzards (vultures to you yankee types) attacked her and had eaten most of her rear while she was still alive and helpless. I shot a few of them too. My lassie type collie was with me and she was impressed. I guess she picked up on how pissed (not drunk Vince...mad ) I was because from that moment on she HATED buzzards. She would run around in circles in the hay field, barking at circling buzzards.

The end of this story is I had to shoot the cow to end of misery. Killed two coyotes over her the next day. Small compensation.

We don't have buzzards/vultures out here...but we do have the eternal garbage disposal bird...the crow. I didn't think that vultures would attack live animals...I am under the impression that they are carrion eaters and will sit back and wait till the animal is dead before moving in for a feed.

Feral dogs are just downright nasty and bloody dangerous. Back when I was in the Army, there was one range in particular we would go out to and there was a pack of feral dogs in that area. On more than one occasion the gate sentry was "tree'd" by them. It became standard practice to call the sentry on the radio on a regular basis and if there was no answer go down and check on him. Usually found him up on top of the sentry box. Some of the paw prints from these dogs were very scary...they were huge.

Cheers, Vince

If the sentry is being treed by feral dogs somebody needs to re-evaluate their procedures! How about ARMING the poor guy?

I agree Punkin....but there is the safety factor to consider...where the sentry is located is not safe to fire a rifle...but you are totally correct mate.

The best option, which is one that they put into place is a program of poison baits. Trouble is, on the other side of the river was all residential areas, so all the dogs had to do was wander in about 500m.

Cheers, Vince

I am very much against baiting and the various forms of traps because they are prone to kill things you do not want to kill. However, if we get into a canine VS people confrontation on the farm, things might well go to canine total eradication status. Raised on a ranch, I was taught to never tolerate threatening animals of any kind.
Best,
Ed

Yep- raised on a ranch.

The ol' .410/.22 O/U was the ultimate varmint tool. I'm not sure what happend to that thing, it was older than me by a bunch too.

stovepipe wrote:

Yep- raised on a ranch. The ol' .410/.22 O/U was the ultimate varmint tool. I'm not sure what happend to that thing, it was older than me by a bunch too.

Anybody ever think about how Stovepipes .410/.22 stack barrel was totally adequate back then, and now if we don't put at least $1,000 into a gun we think it is a popgun. For me it was a .16 guage winchester single shot. I was eight years old and cut yards all summer to save up $32 to buy that gun and a box of shells because my hand me down .410 "had a crooked barrel".

Oops, I guess it all started when I was eight.

TC wrote:

because my hand me down .410 "had a crooked barrel".

Yeah yeah yeah...another excuse for not bein' able to hit the target....although I must admit, I've never heard this one before.

Cheers, Vince

tcknight wrote:

because my hand me down .410 "had a crooked barrel".

That was exactly my dad's reaction but he did drive me around town for me to mow lawns. Great dad. He was disabled from emphysema but was once a auto body repair man and had all his tools. So, he takes my .410 barrel off and put it between two boards and pounded away, stopping now and then to inspect the "crooked barrel". What a guy.

Besides Vince, I was eight years old. As I aged my excuses have become MUCH more sophisticated.

Fair call mate.

Cheers, Vince

There is an old IHMSA poem about excuses which ends with "and our excuses are the best."

I know you will love this old German excuse:

"Alle kunst ist unsonnst, Wenn ein Engel in sein Zernloch brünst."

Trans. All skill is useless when an angel pees in your flintlock.



Which really means that shooting excuses are as old as shooting iself.
Best,
Ed