12 ga , 37gr bluedot, 1 1/4 oz # 4 shot.

After 2 trapped crats got away after reliesing from my trap and shooting my 22, I decieded a shotgun should be used . I hope the coyotes get those 2 ferels before the cats get any quail,

Well I trapped a big, real mean black one saturday night. Oh , this sucker is pisssed , its Hissing and banging the gage. Tryed to claw me when I lifted the cage into the truck. A ferocious lyon. This time I grapped my 870 and some of my heavty pheasant loads with #4 shot.

The reliesed cat took off fast, got about 30 yards out when #4 bird shot caught him.

I thought the crat would take a few more shots , but it bit the dust with one shot. I aproached ready for a follow up shot if it suddenly tryed to attack me. It was laying there with its big eyes wide open. Looked ready to attack. But No , the #4 shot did a fine job.

I've shot them in the face with turkey loads.
It kinda flattens out the features.

quote:

Originally posted by GSP7:
After 2 trapped crats got away after reliesing from my trap and shooting my 22,

Good lord, man; you actually trapped, released, THEN shot with the .22? Some things just shouldn't need to be taught; one could think one could figure these sort of things out by oneself. As a great man once said, "A cat in a live trap can swim like hell for about a minute." Get it?

quote:

Originally posted by panzerguy:


Good lord, man; you actually trapped, released, THEN shot with the .22? Some things just shouldn't need to be taught; one could think one could figure these sort of things out by oneself. As a great man once said, "A cat in a live trap can swim like hell for about a minute." Get it?

Pamzerguy. "Good Lord Man" Blasting a cat when its still in the cage is no Fun. Some things just shouldn't need to be taught; One could think one could figure out Relieseing is more sporting and more of a challenge. Do you shoot clay targets while there still in the box?

I have some bird launchers for training dogs and might build a heavy duty version for some Crat skeet shooting.

If your goal is to give the cats a chance and create a challenge for yourself, stick with the .22. If your goal is to kill the cats, kill them in the trap by shooting, drowing, gassing, or whatever.

quote:

Do you shoot clay targets while there still in the box?

Well, I have. I got aholt of a dumbass redneck one day at the range while clay shooting, we wuz discussing "perfect scores" in sports. I opined that in golf a perfect score was 18, he said Par. I said perfect in clays would be "1", only problem being the arrangement of all targets occupying the same point in space at the same time. He said ! Therein can be found my motive, and being the ever opportunistic predator I am...hell, you don't even need a turkey load for that trick! HE learned something that day, so I considered it a great success!

As to releasing prior or after the shot, first you have to consider the facts. Our dedicated purpose is to eliminate crats from the face of the earth, so I suggest a statistical efficiency analysis. First off, the object is to catch/kill as many as you can. You can lure them with scent or sound, shoot 'em, trap 'em, run over them(they need to be removed from the trap for that), and CRATapult them. Oh, they can be stuffed in punkin' chunkers or mortars too. The ideal is to do it more than once with a given piece of hardware...unless ya got more money than Bill Gates anyway. So, I'd say this about that: Assuming you got a crat all boxed up in a trap ya don't wanna be shootin' them with a shotgun. It'll damn sure make a mess out of the whole KITTENkaboodle. If you got a .22 that leads to a different scenario...most aren't practiced enough in the rabbit fields to pop a high Mach crat after release with a rifle, so I'd favor the shoot and release theory then. Of course you always have to take stock of your personal skill, appetite for fun, and how many houses there are in the neighborhood, and whether or not your neighbors are of similar mindset as yourself. It's a judgement call you don't wanna screw up and that's a fact. It is also why the CB short was invented.

That brings to mind the story about how they were invented. One night on the mid-shift at the Olin plant, Jimmy Kratzhateski and his shift partner Lon Cohorney were talking shop while running a batch of HV Shorts. They got into a discussion about production line SNAFU's(forget which state) and soon enough they was arguing about how Ivory Soap came into being, and didn't notice the powder hopper was gettin' low. Finally, after beating each other senseless, then laughing about it over a cold one, they realized their "mistake". Well, there weren't nothing for it but to make a goodly portion of that lot 'disappear' so to speak. The next day at a family picnic they were laughing about it, then talking about it, and finally beatin' the crud out of each other again, the point of discussion being whether or not they would be able to launch one of the bullets without a full dose of powder.

Mrs. Kratzhateski went inside only to return with an old Remington 24 chambered for shorts, gave both of them a crack on the noggin with the butt, and said "Why don't you settle this like men?" At first Lon thought she meant a duel, and he grew heavy of heart, trying to imagine life without the frequent friendly brawls with Jimmy. And there was only the one gun, so it seemed maybe Jimmy would naturally get first crack. He stood up to meet his fate, Jimmy began loading the gun.

So Lon said goodbye to all his friends, just in case...and was totally astounded that Jimmy, who devoutly believed the bullet would NOT leave the barrel, exercised the first rule of gun handling, and drew down on their crat "Trouble", who he'd thought about shooting MANY times. There was a click, a 'FWOP', and Trouble began flopping around in the grass, and barfed up two cardinals, and Mrs. Kratzhateski's missing canary. After the initial surprise, Lon and Jimmy looked at each other, the light coming on in their minds as one. It was Jimmy that said it...."We gotta tell the boss! We can sell 'em as Crat Buster Shorts! We'll get an award from Mr. Olin hisself! We's gonna make Millions! Lon, ever the more politically astute of the two thought a minute, beer foam running down his chin..."I think we should just call 'em CB Shorts Jimmy. Sorta keep it under the radar a little. Word'll get out, sure 'nuff.

Anyway, that's my .02 worth(1965 dollars).

Dan

POTYHC

www.Hysterical.History

Damn fine, Dan. I never knew that.

DD, I'm in awe.

Is there anything you don't know?

Digital Dan....

Master of arcane lore.

DD - the master of all knowledge

I will admit to being master of tongue-in-cheek , little more.

Dan

POTYHC

www.ConfessionIsGoodForThe.Soul

As is often the case, your version is better than the offical story.

quote:

Trouble began flopping around in the grass, and barfed up two cardinals, and Mrs. Kratzhateski's missing canary

DD,

I have tears in my eyes. Beautiful story!

Jim

.338 Snipe-Tac,

powder Hodgon BMG50

Nosler 200gr ballistic tip Cartridge length 4.117"

Starting load 124.0grns velocity 3500fps

128.0grns velocity 3714fps

132.0grns velocity 3800fps

Max Load 136.0grns velocity 3900fps

At 1000 yards, that round should retain 2929 ft/lbs of energy. Should be good for adult porch panthers up to 50 yards or so. I'd want a good PH backup with CB Longs, though. Just in case the lap lynx charges.

Great narration DD.

As for the cat in the trap, I put thick bodied superglue on a long stick and insert in throught the cage and
under the cat. After the glue sets I push the cat out the back door to the trap and wave him over my dog's head
a few time to get the right state of agitation in the cat. I kennel up the dog and then poke the stick into the
ground to create a cat-on-a-stick target. I back off 25 yards and put a 25 round clip in my 10/22. I close my
eyes and aim at the cat sounds, shooting until they cease. This has a calming affect on me that lasts for
a couple of hours.

Dan!!! HooHooHooHaHaHaHeeHeeHoHoHO OOPS! Think I got to go change my CB Shorts!
OEH, Here's one for you:
They make cable ties with a ring on the "ratchet" end. Make up the tie. Secure a piece of fishing line, a wire leader or some other sturdy retainer to the ring. (What you use depends on the amount of fight you expect. I've never had one chew through a piece of 20lb. test in time, but it could happen I suppose.) Play out the desired amount of line and secure the loose end to something that can't be dragged easily. I just tie it to the handle of the Havahart. Work the looped tie into the trap. When the client sticks his head into the loop, pull it tight. Open the trap, grab your firearm of choice, and let the chase begin. If I'm real pissed, I grab a shambak. Yippee!

Brassb,

Thanks for the idea. Now I have a use for all those old steel barracuda leaders. I've got a handfull of
those wire tires with loops. Never found a use for them before.