To a city slicker, a rabid bobcat would be a problem; to a rugged Arizonan frontiersman, it’s an opportunity. Bravo, good sir. Not exactly the easiest (or wisest) way to handle a rabid predator… but better than just letting it roam free, able to infect other animals.
(H/T Firearms and Freedom)
“Something uttered a deep throated growl at me. A warning. This was not some cute woodland creature from a television cartoon. The stench of something primordial was in the air, more than blood, less than my suddenly dry mouth, and I knew that I had somehow in that moment slipped a rung on the food chain.”
- Brigid
Been there– nothing stirs the old blood like realizing that something large, furry and ill-tempered stands between you and home. My equipment shed stands about 100 yards from my house, on the northern face of a hill. In the winter time, it gets dark quickly in the little grove of trees that surround the shed. More than once I’ve been working on a mower or tractor at night and looked out the shed door to see multiple pairs of eyes. Not the low to the ground eyes that signal a rabbit or armadillo, but the eyes that signal a coyote. Needless to say, this provided a great incentive to quit working on equipment at night.
In addition to the coyotes (two groups, about 6-8 members in each), my area is home to at least two bobcats (possibly three, I think it’s two males with bordering territory and a younger female), a group of red wolves (less than a half dozen members), a pair of red foxes, a pair of gray foxes, and the kicker– a pair of Florida panthers. Nothing says “stay inside the rest of the week” like hearing the scream of a female panther looking for a mate.
Why not? The meat is fresher, more economical (and environmentally friendly,) is steroid and hormone free (well, besides the natural stuff,) and doesn’t contribute to the inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms.
That is, if you can hit the bloody things. As the old fighter pilot joke goes, “they’re called missiles because that’s what they do…” It’s called hunting for a reason. You go hunting for an animal, and if all goes well, you get a shot. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you go several trips into the woods without a shot, or even seeing an animal.
And if you’re very, very lucky, buck fever doesn’t set in. What’s that? Buck fever’s a myth, you say? Oh, I thought so too– until I had my first deer in my sights. Then my heart took off like a sprinter, my glasses fogged up, and my hands began quivering. I missed. I still get ribbed for that by my friends.
You also create memories. I have fond memories of hunting with my papa, including the few times we went deer hunting. (Like me, he was a sap for animals, and only hunted when he had to, or if the animals began to overpopulate.) I also remember him missing a beautiful eight point buck– twice– on frosty November morning. (Also like me, he fell for the buck fever.)
It’s not hard to get into, either. Most states have public lands, and a good shotgun for deer is affordable (if you don’t have one already, as the home defense shotgun most gun owners have is a perfectly good deer gun.) The basics can be learned from listening to older hunters (and asking questions,) and quite a few hunters are willing to teach neophytes.
Hey, try it, you might like it. Cuts down on the grocery bill, too.
Of course, it always happens. When season is out, and you have nothing to hurt them with, the wildlife just comes out to play. (See Rule #6) I was eating supper when I got a call to come to the door. “Is that… a buck?” Nope, it’s a doe. Matter of fact, the same exact one that’s almost run both of us over. She’s decided that the back yard is hers, and us stinkin’ humans are gonna stay out of it, see? So I get to spend 10 minutes watching a beautiful doe strut through my backyard, and I can’t so much as spit at it. (sigh) Well, at least it wasn’t one of the panthers that’s been seen near the house. At least Mrs. Bambi won’t eat me.
In the South, hot weather (i.e., March to September) means wildlife of all sorts come out to play. Most are mostly harmless (unless you’re trying to raise a garden, that is,) but every now and then, you run across a critter that’s a bit more dangerous. Like rattlesnakes.
Had to get rid of one today that was trying to get into one of the outbuildings. Most of the time, they try to coil up or slither away, but this one raised up in a fairly good imitation of a cobra. First time I’ve seen a rattler do this, but it does make it easier to get a shot in at the head.
