For some reason the yard grizzlies on my property didn’t adhere to the biologists’ guidelines about sustainable population density…we were overrun. What were tolerably annoying pests became intolerable when they gnawed through my truck’s main wiring harness. Turned their family trees into shrubs. Fed the resident fox couple and some happy Red-tailed hawks. Circle of life.
Thanks. It was a gift from my father back in the 1970's. Somewhere along the way I sanded it down and rubbed in seven coats of Tru Oil. When my bony teenage son started shooting it I replaced the hard plastic butt with a cushy recoil pad. He also talked me into replacing the 1970's 3-9x with a more modern 3.5-10x Leupold. It's done more varmint shooting than anything, but has also taken a fair number of mule deer and a couple of whitetail.
Agree. I started shooting Richardson ground squirrels, aka gophers, sod rats, hole-digging-grass-gobbling monsters of the prairies, when I was six, and it's no exaggeration to say I've shot a metric ton or more of them. Also coyotes, a wolf, a couple black bears...and did not eat them. But it sure helped out the ranchers and farmers. The Federal government here recently banned the use of strycnine for gophers in it's wisdom, and farmers are suffering for it. Crop losses are estimated at over a billion a year because of gophers on the prairies now. Anyway, elk, moose and deer are fine eating. I see no reason to add sod rats to the menu.
A good lesson is to know the environment you are hunting. What animals are in balance and which ones need to be culled to maintain balance. Kill what needs to be killed. Eat what can be eaten. Enjoy the hunt.
Many people spout abject stupidity to preen morally. Eating what you hunt/kill does not make it right. And some things need killing that ought not be eaten.
But, the dude who only shoots what he eats must inform you of his choosiness!
I do not eat the feral hogs i shoot. too many diseases and parasites. that's for the vultures to accomodate and return to the environment, as fertilizer.
Nothing prepares a hunter for the task of taking edible game like the hunting of varmints. I was trained on rockchucks and ground squirrels, and all the best shooters I know were the same. A person may not eat varmints (although many are edible and tasty, rockchucks, I'm looking at you), but high-pressure practice on varmints during the spring will pay dividends during the fall when making that critical shot on something you are planning on eating.
The rancher over in Scenic Duval County, Texas where I used to hunt always said >
"Ten jackrabbits eat as much as one cow - Kill 'em All"
We tried for 15 years but they just kept coming!! An old feller and friend of my Dad out in New Mexico said they ate a lot of jackrabbit chili back in the Great Depression, so I cleaned one with the intention of cooking up a pot but it smelled more like a salad and I chickened (sic) out!
Perfect read for a Monday evening... I confess I'm of the eat what I kill disposition, it makes me think twice about going after foxes. Yet I know the farmer would be devastated if his lambs were taken, and he relies on hunters to predate on the predators; luckily there are plenty of people more into foxing than I am!
For some reason the yard grizzlies on my property didn’t adhere to the biologists’ guidelines about sustainable population density…we were overrun. What were tolerably annoying pests became intolerable when they gnawed through my truck’s main wiring harness. Turned their family trees into shrubs. Fed the resident fox couple and some happy Red-tailed hawks. Circle of life.
I shoot the pond turtles Guy. They eat all my Blue Gill and kill the tank. Other than that, I agree with you.
“I’d brought the 25-06 with handloaded 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets for mule deer and pronghorn but it also did a fine job on this coyote.”
Stop talking dirty to me! 25-06! I thought I was the only one left. :)
My old boss used a .25-06 on Red Deer, you're not alone!
Your 1974 Remington 700 BDL in 6mm is.... sweet.
Thanks. It was a gift from my father back in the 1970's. Somewhere along the way I sanded it down and rubbed in seven coats of Tru Oil. When my bony teenage son started shooting it I replaced the hard plastic butt with a cushy recoil pad. He also talked me into replacing the 1970's 3-9x with a more modern 3.5-10x Leupold. It's done more varmint shooting than anything, but has also taken a fair number of mule deer and a couple of whitetail.
Agree. I started shooting Richardson ground squirrels, aka gophers, sod rats, hole-digging-grass-gobbling monsters of the prairies, when I was six, and it's no exaggeration to say I've shot a metric ton or more of them. Also coyotes, a wolf, a couple black bears...and did not eat them. But it sure helped out the ranchers and farmers. The Federal government here recently banned the use of strycnine for gophers in it's wisdom, and farmers are suffering for it. Crop losses are estimated at over a billion a year because of gophers on the prairies now. Anyway, elk, moose and deer are fine eating. I see no reason to add sod rats to the menu.
A billion a year because of gophers... Wow!
Apparently they temporarily lifted the ban, but it's of course too late for this season to be of help...
Strychnine delays mean it's 'too late' for gopher control this spring, farmers say | CBC News https://share.google/IoQFVWLLx6sGUkClU
Great essay. Thanks
A good lesson is to know the environment you are hunting. What animals are in balance and which ones need to be culled to maintain balance. Kill what needs to be killed. Eat what can be eaten. Enjoy the hunt.
Many people spout abject stupidity to preen morally. Eating what you hunt/kill does not make it right. And some things need killing that ought not be eaten.
But, the dude who only shoots what he eats must inform you of his choosiness!
Large predators yes, harvest and eat them.
wood chucks and coyotes, nope. it is resorting the balance the predators filled.
.
I do not eat the feral hogs i shoot. too many diseases and parasites. that's for the vultures to accomodate and return to the environment, as fertilizer.
Ethical hunting isn't just about food. It also encompasses wildlife and land management.
Nothing prepares a hunter for the task of taking edible game like the hunting of varmints. I was trained on rockchucks and ground squirrels, and all the best shooters I know were the same. A person may not eat varmints (although many are edible and tasty, rockchucks, I'm looking at you), but high-pressure practice on varmints during the spring will pay dividends during the fall when making that critical shot on something you are planning on eating.
That whistle pig looks fat enough to be fair eatin’.
The rancher over in Scenic Duval County, Texas where I used to hunt always said >
"Ten jackrabbits eat as much as one cow - Kill 'em All"
We tried for 15 years but they just kept coming!! An old feller and friend of my Dad out in New Mexico said they ate a lot of jackrabbit chili back in the Great Depression, so I cleaned one with the intention of cooking up a pot but it smelled more like a salad and I chickened (sic) out!
Good read. 100% concur. Being a steward of the land sometimes means protecting it.
Perfect read for a Monday evening... I confess I'm of the eat what I kill disposition, it makes me think twice about going after foxes. Yet I know the farmer would be devastated if his lambs were taken, and he relies on hunters to predate on the predators; luckily there are plenty of people more into foxing than I am!
“It's okay, I'll drive over it instead!”
(A painful-sounding “whump whump” can be heard from under the car)
Ha! :) Thanks for that.