Up late.. hunting armadillo.. I love living in the country.

DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
VincenzioVonHook said:
Rabbits are a present pest issue here and the population is causing massive issues ecologically so I go to town. Best i've done here is 27 in 45 minutes with the .17 Air rifle chilling on my bedroom windowsill. Make for decent eating as well.

My cat has the time of its life chasing them down. She starts chattering at the window every time one pops it head out of the brush.
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I may see a pair of rabbits every day or 2. Not a problem tho. I like watching them. Never shot one tho, as they're not over populated. Now... cats. ... I thought it would be a good idea to have a couple of "tree cats' around to keep the mice population in check. But, after a year or so, I became over populated with tree cats. I'd feed a pan every day, but soon found that I had like 36 of them. 8 toms, and 8 pregnant moms. I had no choice. I got my dad gathered up, 2 12g shotguns, and filled the pan.. they came a running. "I'll take left, you take right... 3,2,1.. " I had a John Deere front end loader full of dead cats. Dug the hole prior. Sorry for all you cat lovers, but this was getting out of control.
 
VincenzioVonHook

VincenzioVonHook

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
I may see a pair of rabbits every day or 2. Not a problem tho. I like watching them. Never shot one tho, as they're not over populated. Now... cats. ... I thought it would be a good idea to have a couple of "tree cats' around to keep the mice population in check. But, after a year or so, I became over populated with tree cats. I'd feed a pan every day, but soon found that I had like 36 of them. 8 toms, and 8 pregnant moms. I had no choice. I got my dad gathered up, 2 12g shotguns, and filled the pan.. they came a running. "I'll take left, you take right... 3,2,1.. " I had a John Deere front end loader full of dead cats. Dug the hole prior. Sorry for all you cat lovers, but this was getting out of control.
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i probably see a hundred or more per day rabbit wise. The mice are out of control here as well. Don't even get me started on the bloody mice. I gave up shooting them. Luckily its died down to a few hundred mice in the shed daily, whereas a few months ago the whole floor was a seething mess.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
VincenzioVonHook said:
i probably see a hundred or more per day rabbit wise. The mice are out of control here as well. Don't even get me started on the bloody mice. I gave up shooting them. Luckily its died down to a few hundred mice in the shed daily, whereas a few months ago the whole floor was a seething mess.
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Man... we've spent thousands of dollars repairing wiring on vehicles due to mice chewing on the injector solenoids. I keep 4-5 acres manicured down to keep them at bay hoping that hawks will spot and snatch them. I keep baits in my shops to keep them from chewing on my tractor wiring,, fuckers are relentless. Ironically, they make the sheathing of the wiring out of soy bean. Mice love that shit. So,... we keep bait around everywhere. Pro tip: take a piece of 2 inch PVC, maybe 12 inches long, and drill a hole in the middle... stuff your bait to the middle, and run a short piece of wire though the middle of it and place them in the woods. This keeps dogs from getting to it (they will die within 10 min of eating it), and still kill mice.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Mine bring me snakes for some reason which is fine except they're usually not dead and sometimes they're copperheàds. I had 28 at one point like you Ron but I did some research and got hooked up with a great group thru the ASPCA that helps out with spay/neuter and they adopt out the kittens if you have them. I managed to get down to 5 over the years and will probably get a couple younger versions in the next year or so as these guys have lost their edge and are in their golden years. One thing they do is keep the mice away. I haven't had a problem with chewed wires on my tractor or old cars since we got them and I hardly ever see a snake as there's no mice and the cats love to play with the snakes. I feed them every night and it gives me a chance to get outside and just relax and enjoy the mountain views I don't stop to enjoy enough. I'm definitely more of a dog guy but cats are cool too.IMG_20220508_180256568_MP.jpgIMG_20220511_174035025.jpgIMG_20211101_054416678~4.jpgIMG_20220412_171123561.jpgIMG_20220203_170752742.jpg
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
The one missing most of its ear in the black and white picture died about a month ago but she lived almost 12 or 13 years which is really long for a feral cat. She was my favorite out of the bunch, she would follow me into the woods when I used to still go squirrel hunting like a beagle and grab them up before I could get them. RIP Xena. The one flexing hard is actually a female but one of the better hunters, shes named Possum because she's famous for killing a big one and barely surviving it.
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
He's gone now but he was a great dog for pegging/retrieving, I done a bit of rifle shooting and vermin control but my favorite was walking with the shotgun and the dog flush out rabbits, pheasants etc.
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He pegged the duck it wasn't shot :-)

Growing up shooting trapping and snaring were common place but there's so much bs to legally set them now it's not worth the trouble.

Thankfully there's still some experts available lmao £500,000 for 2 stoats :-) wtf.
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Eta... Link not working again?
 
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FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
He's gone now but he was a great dog for pegging/retrieving, I done a bit of rifle shooting and vermin control but my favorite was walking with the shotgun and the dog flush out rabbits, pheasants etc.
View attachment 5134877
He pegged the duck it wasn't shot :-)

Growing up shooting trapping and snaring were common place but there's so much bs to legally set them now it's not worth the trouble.

Thankfully there's still some experts available lmao £500,000 for 2 stoats :-) wtf.
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There's nothing quite like a good retriever. I just had to put my service dog to sleep last month and he was kind of young for a Labrador, only 13. He was trained to get my cane if I dropped it, fetch me drinks from the kitchen, and all kinds of helpful stuff in addition to just being a great dog. I love the drive to please that retrievers have. Definitely NOT something you will see in a cat.
 
BarnBuster

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
xtsho said:
www.eattheweeds.com

Armadillo: Possum on the Half Shell - Eat The Weeds and other things, too

Array
www.eattheweeds.com www.eattheweeds.com
ARMADILLO MEATLOAF
11/2 lbs. ground meat
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 c. dry crumbs
1 c. evaporated milk
1/4 onion, minced or grated
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon

Soak meat overnight in salted water (1 tablespoon salt to 1 quart water). Drink 2 ounces of bourbon. Remove meat from bones and grind. Mix thoroughly with other ingredients. Place in meat loaf dish. Place dish in pan containing hot water. Drink 2 oz of bourbon. Bake in a moderate oven, 350 degrees for 11/4 hours to 2 hours. Throw the whole mess out and finish off the bourbon.
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fify
 
lusidghost

lusidghost

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
I may see a pair of rabbits every day or 2. Not a problem tho. I like watching them. Never shot one tho, as they're not over populated. Now... cats. ... I thought it would be a good idea to have a couple of "tree cats' around to keep the mice population in check. But, after a year or so, I became over populated with tree cats. I'd feed a pan every day, but soon found that I had like 36 of them. 8 toms, and 8 pregnant moms. I had no choice. I got my dad gathered up, 2 12g shotguns, and filled the pan.. they came a running. "I'll take left, you take right... 3,2,1.. " I had a John Deere front end loader full of dead cats. Dug the hole prior. Sorry for all you cat lovers, but this was getting out of control.
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Damn. I could have lived without ever reading that.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
Damn. I could have lived without ever reading that.
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Same here. Not cool.:sad: My neighbor had ferral cats. One had a baby under my spa deck, so I took him to the Intermountain Humane Society. He was adopted by a family with kids.

They will give you traps too so you can catch them and take them to the shelter, and they will deal with them humanely.

I'm an animal lover. They're innocent creatures. I do have a problem with woodpeckers when they peck on my house though, so they get shot. But I still feel a little bad for them, since they're just doing what is natural for them.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
OK.. calm down guys. This is just country living. Sometimes you gotta do stuff like that. I've done it twice in 21 years out here. I don't have any now, and don't plan to do that again. These are not "house cats" .. they were wild tree cats that were over populating, over tearing my landscaping up, and doing the math, I was about to end up with 100+ cats in a matter of weeks. I like animals too. I don't shoot the deer, turkey, quail, rabbits,etc unless I plan to eat them.... and I don't. I like watching them in thier natural habitat. Don't hate me for doing what needed to be done. You guys don't understand the filth, ticks, fleas that these things in large populations can bring. It took me 6 months after I got back in my home (after a long divorce) to get rid of all the fleas. I couldn't walk 10 steps to my pool without having my ankles covered in fleas. Tree cats also carry diseases from interacting with possums, armadillos, skunks, etc. So.. please give me a pass on this one. I would feel bad if a kid got sick from "adopting" one of these filthy creatures. Just think of them as woodpeckers Padawan.... with diseases.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
OK.. calm down guys. This is just country living. Sometimes you gotta do stuff like that. I've done it twice in 21 years out here. I don't have any now, and don't plan to do that again. These are not "house cats" .. they were wild tree cats that were over populating, over tearing my landscaping up, and doing the math, I was about to end up with 100+ cats in a matter of weeks. I like animals too. I don't shoot the deer, turkey, quail, rabbits,etc unless I plan to eat them.... and I don't. I like watching them in thier natural habitat. Don't hate me for doing what needed to be done. You guys don't understand the filth, ticks, fleas that these things in large populations can bring. It took me 6 months after I got back in my home (after a long divorce) to get rid of all the fleas. I couldn't walk 10 steps to my pool without having my ankles covered in fleas. Tree cats also carry diseases from interacting with possums, armadillos, skunks, etc. So.. please give me a pass on this one. I would feel bad if a kid got sick from "adopting" one of these filthy creatures. Just think of them as woodpeckers Padawan.... with diseases.
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What kind of math could those cats do? So you killed some cat nerds? Isn't that a hate crime? :bigjoint:
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior said:
What kind of math could those cats do? So you killed some cat nerds? Isn't that a hate crime? :bigjoint:
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Dude.. they were fucking thier brothers and sisters at a fast pace. 8 pregnant moms can make another 64 before you know it. If I had given it another year, I would have had 300+ cats around with inbred genetics, fleas beyond control, and you can imagine what your yard would look/smell like.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
Dude.. they were fucking thier brothers and sisters at a fast pace. 8 pregnant moms can make another 64 before you know it. If I had given it another year, I would have had 300+ cats around with inbred genetics, fleas beyond control, and you can imagine what your yard would look/smell like.
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I get it. My neighbor had a bunch that kept reproducing. But the Mountain Lions took care of most of them. I saw a Lion jump from our driveway to our neighbors once while I was out smoking a cig. Fucker jumped at least 20 ft through the air. It was crazy. I didn't even see the Cougar until it jumped and it was an instant "Mewwy". And the end. Then he came closer and ate the cat under my tree. It took him like a minute and that cat was gone. Talk about a Cat Snack, :lol:

But after his first snack, he was back regularly to get more treats. That fucker could care less that I was there. He knew I wasn't a threat compared to him. After I saw that shit, my respect for Mountain Lions went up big time. I'd rather fight a Black Bear, :bigjoint:
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
Everybody kills flies, mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, scorpions, tarantulas, armadillos, skunks, etc. They are all living creatures too... but if they can harm you or others, you just gotta do what needs to be done.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior said:
I get it. My neighbor had a bunch that kept reproducing. But the Mountain Lions took care of most of them. I saw a Lion jump from our driveway to our neighbors once while I was out smoking a cig. Fucker jumped at least 20 ft through the air. It was crazy. I didn't even see the Cougar until it jumped and it was an instant "Mewwy". And the end. Then he came closer and ate the cat under my tree. It took him like a minute and that cat was gone. Talk about a Cat Snack, :lol:

But after his first snack, he was back regularly to get more treats. That fucker could care less that I was there. He knew I wasn't a threat compared to him. After I saw that shit, my respect for Mountain Lions went up big time. I'd rather fight a Black Bear, :bigjoint:
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.. and I didn't have time to hire a Mountain Lion. Thier rates were too high.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
Everybody kills flies, mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, scorpions, tarantulas, armadillos, skunks, etc. They are all living creatures too... but if they can harm you or others, you just gotta do what needs to be done.
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Mosquitoes and flies are another thing. Death To Mosquitos. They love my families blood. We've got something in it that those bitches love. The males get a bad rep. They don't bite, and only want to have sex with the ladies and then take a nap, :eyesmoke:
 
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