invasive

[Bedrock Bob]

I’ve been on a Hawaii pig hunt…. It involved a couple Catahoulas and a pit bull. Once the dogs have the pig strung out, someone runs in and stabs it with a knife. It is very effective, though not my cup of tea.

Bob….

What “Western Tradition” are you talking about? Guys have been shooting bears over bait for a couple hundred years in the West.

I’ve been to Texas a few times, and seems to me that shooting pigs and other exotics (another word for invasive, you mentioned Aoudad before) over an actual timed feeder is well within acceptable practice.

How does a “food plot” differ from a bait station? Especially when there’s 6 trail cams keeping track of every deer, and a tree stand on every corner.

Personally… I’d rather not shoot a bear or cat that’s been treed by dogs. I won’t shoot bears over a trash can full of donuts. And I have no use for feeders.

But…. I also won’t dissuade others from doing it, or claim they are violating some kind of mythical “Western Tradition”. Those are legal and acceptable hunting methods, and to eac

You are very focused on disagreeing with me. Why is that?

You don't shoot game animals over bait. It's illegal here. As it is in most western states. It's fair chase only. Yes there are exceptions.

Texas isn't a western state. They do things differently. They have a completely different concept of sportsmanship. Much different from the western tradition of fair chase.

You don't shoot from a vehicle. You don't shoot from the road or within 100 feet of a road. You don't rally game. You don't shoot corralled game. You must take all edible meat from the field. Game animals shall not be wasted. That's the law too. Unless you are in Texas.

Fair chase is a western tradition. It always has been. Taught to us by our fathers and grandfathers. I respect that and honor that. You certainly don't have to and that is your choice. But don't deny that our western traditions exist. They certainly do. And our game laws reflect that.

Just like my other post I gave MY opinion about MY choices and you want to take exception to it. Then you pretend im looking down on others for their choices and that is simply false. It's becoming a clear pattern.

I don't want to banter with you. I would appreciate it if you could focus on something besides my posts and what you don't like about them. I'm sure it would be much more enjoyable for everyone.

 

[Coinwa]

I live in WA…. that’s as West as it gets. You can bait deer here. You can’t bait bears though, or run them with hounds (cats either).

I shot a Mtn. Lion a couple years ago while deer hunting. I made a great spot on it, and the best field shot of my life to kill it. It’s the prize of all my “trophies”. To me, that’s as “fair chase” as it will ever get… but I was unprepared for many of the responses I received.

I took a lot of flack from some of my Colorado and Utah friends for shooting a mature female cat (125lbs). In those states, cougars are hunted and treed with hounds, and hunters are encouraged (via marketing and GMU quotas) to only kill males. That is how they manage cat populations.

In MY state, Washington, the cougar population has exploded in the past 20 years due to the general public inserting themselves into game management. What was your quote? Everyone is suddenly a biologist.

So…. They manage cats by giving out $20 cougar tags, and encouraging hunters to shoot them when they can.

My point is….

To my CO and UT buddies, my cat is some type of egregious sin. I disagree with their methods, they disagree with my results.

To my PNW buddies it’s the coolest thing ever, and they know I saved a couple hundred deer lives. And to the REAL biologists of this state, I did them a solid by shooting it.

Game management, methods of take, and hunting traditions are very provincial. Rather than point out how one shot was a “violation of Western Tradition”… maybe just accept that where/when/how something was done, was done under the same “fair chase” umbrella that you’re taking ethical shelter under.

A wise man once told me: your ethics and rights stop at the end of someone else’s nose. He was a pretty sage guy.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

You sir are a huge bummer to converse with.

I expect some old bull to start bellowing when a new bull comes into the pasture. I just never expected so much bull and so much bellowing.

 

[beerthief]

Javelina are not much challenge. You can shoot them at range if you want to. But it's easy to get within 20 yards. Much closer if you really want to. Sit still and wait and they will come right up to you and sniff your boots.

Shooting over feed is a big sin in the western tradition. I'm not judging. Just saying I wouldn't shoot a game animal over feed. That shot would be illegal in New Mexico. It's fair chase only here. That's the game I play. But others can do whatever they want.

You could kill one with a pencil in his neck if you wanted to. They are super curious. I've got close enough to touch one on several occasions. No food involved. If I had some I think he would have taken it out of my hand.

A bow is fun with javelina. I've taken them with a .22 handgun. They have thin skin and are super easy to kill. For me they are really not the sport animal that would justify a different weapon.

The natives in Hawaii hunt hogs 10x that size barefoot with a stick. That's more like a sporting challenge to me.


We do have a problem with feral hogs. Those rascals can be difficult to locate and tough to set up a shot. They aren't in farmland with ATV roads everywhere like in Texas. They are a huge problem. I've shot many and you could hunt them with a PCP if you were so inclined. But it certainly would not be the gun I would hunt with.

I know a spot where there are hundreds of turtles. You could shoot out to 150 yards. You couldn't shoot a firearm in this spot. But you could shoot an air rifle all day every day for months and not run out of targets. The heads are tiny. Their backs are armor plated. They are half submerged at the surface. That seems like the best PCP target I can come up with around here.

I get a kick out of shooting from a boat. Bowfishing carp is a passion. Frogs too.

There is a guy on that show "swamp people" He's a fairly unimpressive cat with a garish rifle that misses a lot of simple shots on alligators. But he shoots off the bow of the boat and that's pretty cool. I think a PCP would be cool from the bow of the boat sniping bullfrogs and turtles. Maybe even carp at the surface when they come up.

I think a .22 cal would work just fine. One that could hit a nickel at 100 yards would give you enough range to play with. A pair of binoculars to spot. You could have a bunch of fun and stay in targets all day. Set some lines and catch catfish while you were plinking. There are plenty of rock squirrels on the banks and those would present a target too.

If I were to invest in a PCP I think that would be the game. Off the bow of the boat in the morning before the waves kicked up. When the water got too rough for an accurate shot you could transition to the bow.

I think I'll take the springer out and try it. If I can't get enough range or impact to be effective I'm going to take someone with a PCP out and see if it's a thing. It's the only game I can think of that would justify a new gun and all that goes with it.

Urban prairie dogs in Santa Fe was a big thing. Dozens of guys shot them out of their truck windows at intersections with short PCP's. They had a club going and had contests. Someone in traffic saw a guy take one in a median while stopped at a stoplight. It became a huge issue and a few guys got in trouble. I admit it wasn't the safest or most ethical hunt but it was pretty cool. I might have been doing it if I'd thought of it before they were busted.

Anyhoo I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe I'll decide to get a PCP going this winter. If I can rig it as a boat gun and modify my bowfishing deck a little it could be a bunch of fun.

do you eat the turtles ?

 

[Bedrock Bob]

do you eat the turtles ?

I haven't so far. Haven't shot any yet. Just catch them on the trotline.

My uncle made turtle soup. I've eaten it. It was a long time ago. I imagine they would be great if you cooked them right.

 

[Coinwa]

You sir are a huge bummer to converse with.

You sir… are the kind of guy that gets the general public turned against hunters/hunting.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

You sir… are the

You sir… are the kind of guy that gets the general public turned against hunters/hunting.

I can see you have never faced an enemy in your life. If you had you would realize that I'm not one. You are way too emotional and easy to anger. And you don't know when to quit. Dead giveaways. You are just a keyboard bully looking for conflict.

Please stop disparaging me. Please stop characterizing me. It's nothing but personal attacks from the safety of your keyboard.

Get a life man. Go shoot a pellet gun. Have a normal conversation with someone. This is not a healthy interaction. Just accept the fact that many folks have different opinions and try to not let that bother you so much.

I'm going to continue to post and comment here. I expect you are going to continue trying to pick apart my words and find issues. Unless you figure out how to live with my opinions it's going to get rough.

Let's just leave each other alone. Please. For the sake of the forum. Let's have a good time here and share/gain some knowledge. This isn't the place to crusade against imaginary enemies or strut around like a tom turkey.

 

[coastal drifter]

Javelina are not much challenge. You can shoot them at range if you want to. But it's easy to get within 20 yards. Much closer if you really want to. Sit still and wait and they will come right up to you and sniff your boots.

Shooting over feed is a big sin in the western tradition. I'm not judging. Just saying I wouldn't shoot a game animal over feed. That shot would be illegal in New Mexico. It's fair chase only here. That's the game I play. But others can do whatever they want.

You could kill one with a pencil in his neck if you wanted to. They are super curious. I've got close enough to touch one on several occasions. No food involved. If I had some I think he would have taken it out of my hand.

A bow is fun with javelina. I've taken them with a .22 handgun. They have thin skin and are super easy to kill. For me they are really not the sport animal that would justify a different weapon.

The natives in Hawaii hunt hogs 10x that size barefoot with a stick. That's more like a sporting challenge to me.


We do have a problem with feral hogs. Those rascals can be difficult to locate and tough to set up a shot. They aren't in farmland with ATV roads everywhere like in Texas. They are a huge problem. I've shot many and you could hunt them with a PCP if you were so inclined. But it certainly would not be the gun I would hunt with.

I know a spot where there are hundreds of turtles. You could shoot out to 150 yards. You couldn't shoot a firearm in this spot. But you could shoot an air rifle all day every day for months and not run out of targets. The heads are tiny. Their backs are armor plated. They are half submerged at the surface. That seems like the best PCP target I can come up with around here.

I get a kick out of shooting from a boat. Bowfishing carp is a passion. Frogs too.

There is a guy on that show "swamp people" He's a fairly unimpressive cat with a garish rifle that misses a lot of simple shots on alligators. But he shoots off the bow of the boat and that's pretty cool. I think a PCP would be cool from the bow of the boat sniping bullfrogs and turtles. Maybe even carp at the surface when they come up.

I think a .22 cal would work just fine. One that could hit a nickel at 100 yards would give you enough range to play with. A pair of binoculars to spot. You could have a bunch of fun and stay in targets all day. Set some lines and catch catfish while you were plinking. There are plenty of rock squirrels on the banks and those would present a target too.

If I were to invest in a PCP I think that would be the game. Off the bow of the boat in the morning before the waves kicked up. When the water got too rough for an accurate shot you could transition to the bow.

I think I'll take the springer out and try it. If I can't get enough range or impact to be effective I'm going to take someone with a PCP out and see if it's a thing. It's the only game I can think of that would justify a new gun and all that goes with it.

Urban prairie dogs in Santa Fe was a big thing. Dozens of guys shot them out of their truck windows at intersections with short PCP's. They had a club going and had contests. Someone in traffic saw a guy take one in a median while stopped at a stoplight. It became a huge issue and a few guys got in trouble. I admit it wasn't the safest or most ethical hunt but it was pretty cool. I might have been doing it if I'd thought of it before they were busted.

Anyhoo I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe I'll decide to get a PCP going this winter. If I can rig it as a boat gun and modify my bowfishing deck a little it could be a bunch of fun.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Super cool. Swap the stuff out and shoot most anything. I admit it's tempting.

You are trying to lure me in. I'm trying to keep the devil down in a hole.

I'll have one. The curandera told me an FX rifle was in my future. I'm not sure how far in the future. You Florida guys with your big lizards are shortening the time line for sure.

I'd like to shoot a few first. I always buy and then move up. I'd like to cut to the chase and get what I need up front. That's going to take some research and connection.

I met a guy here I think cam get my feet wet with PCPs. Hopefully we'll have a chance to chew the fat.

I have scuba tanks and access to a breathing air compressor. So it's not all uphill. I'll shoot a few, do some research and get me one pretty soon. It just looks fun and blurs the line between the powder rifles and the springer. It's a really neat deal.