We didnt eat this one...... Cat Lovers BEWARE, pics may be upsetting.

orchidman

Technology is a wonderful thing.....

Took a gate alert down south on our recent trip. One of those wireless IR thingys that when something breaks the beam on the sender unit it sends a signal to the receiver and you get notified by a flashing light and an audible beep.

Also took a bag of frozen fish heads and frames to act as bait........

Here is the setup.....

In the centre of the above pic just to the left of the stock pen you can see a white patch on the ground. This is the view from the deck of the accomodation.

Here is a closeup. Just to the left of the white pile of fish frames you can see a white shape at the base of the clump of rushes, thats the sender unit. Range from the deck is just on 60m ....

The plan was that any wild cats in the vicinity would be attracted to the fish, activate the sensor alerting us to their presence and we could deal to them with our .22's

To assist our plan we purchased 3 bags of environmentally friendly targets which were rolled down the hill from the deck so we could practice offhand shooting at ranges up to

70m.

Whats this you say? Environmentally friendly targets? Yep. Its mandarin season and we noted various roadside stalls selling 3kg bags of small mandarins for $2.00 a bag. Average size of these was between 1.45 and 2" in diameter and they proved to be perfect for reactive targets with highly visual 'effects' as they exploded when hit.

We actually ate some as well..........

Now, during the  course of the night when answering natures call we would check the area with our headlamps before relieving ourselves off the deck. For the first 3 nights we scored a couple of Hares a rabbit and some possums...........but no wild cats.

On the 4th night we retired around 11pm and I had just got settled into my sleeping bag when the alert sounded. Initially I thought it may have been one of the sheep wandering past so I just rolled over.............Didnt hear any movement from BH in the next room....then the alert went off again.

Clad only in my briefs and Tshirt I scrambled out of my sleeping bag, grabbed the Norinco,found the only unloaded magazine in my ammo bag ( there were 3 loaded ones in there but in the dark they eluded me ) grabbed a packet of Winchester subs, tore it open scattering shells all over the floor, stuffed 4-5 in the mag and headed to the deck. In the meantime the alert was continually sounding adding pressure.

BTW, Lego can take a back seat to 45 subsonic .22 shells scattered on the floor when your feet are bare.......

Got to the door to the deck, slowly eased it open, raised the rifle and flicked on the attached spotlight.........CAT!!!!

Closed the bolt, took aim and the Norinco said its piece. I hit the cat where I was aiming and it dropped to the neck shot. Sent 2 more rounds after the first to make sure.

Put my boots on, wandered down to the cat and dragged it away from the bait pile and set it up so BH would see it if he stirred during the night. ( He did btw but realised that it was dead )

Took these pics the following morning....Put my foot ( size 10 1/2 foot btw) in the pic so you have some idea of scale...

When I picked it up I est its weight at close to 16-17lb.....it was  very solid in the body with shoulders that were packed with muscle. Its claws and teeth were well developed as well and in my experience had reverted completely to feral.

Since we have been going down there we have tried to deal to as many cats as possible as they are devastating to the local native bird life. The nearest inhabited house is at least 12 km away and you can rest assured that any felines in the area are true feral cats.

Since we have been shooting them, the bird life has increased quite dramatically.

Sometimes low tech answers are more effective than 'Hi tech'

Gate alert cost me $21.00 as opposed to night or thermal scopes which start at $3000 over here.........

Linefinder

I love cats, always have. But once they go feral they are no longer "cats". They are an invasive species and need to be dealt with as such. Rehab for a feral cat is dismally low %.

Mike

earlyagain

One down, how many to go???

Don't feel bad about the darkness fumble. I once saw a coyote skyline himself in front of my truck. I grabbed a rifle from the floorboard and jumped out. Forgot to take it out of gear. Got back in after a chase. Corrected, got back out, shouldered my piece. Forgot to remove the scope covers. Corrected, forgot to load the rifle............

Jayhawker

When we lived in KS, there was the "100 yard rule"...any feline found more than 100 yards from a farm/ranch was automatically declared feral...

NN

Good job

knitepoet

Sleepy kitty taking a nap

orchidman

Jayhawker said:

When we lived in KS, there was the "100 yard rule"...any feline found more than 100 yards from a farm/ranch was automatically declared feral...

Same rule my dad taught me when we were out chasing pheasants behind English Setters. All the farmers whose land we had access to agreed with that rule.......their wives not so much...

JerryBobCo

What the hell's wrong with you and BH, Alec?  Shooting a perfectly good mandarin orange?  Oh the horrors.

Other than that, well done.

bullsi1911

orchidman said:

Jayhawker said:

When we lived in KS, there was the "100 yard rule"...any feline found more than 100 yards from a farm/ranch was automatically declared feral...

Same rule my dad taught me when we were out chasing pheasants behind English Setters. All the farmers whose land we had access to agreed with that rule.......their wives not so much...

Growing up in the middle of farms, we had dogs.  We knew that if our dogs went onto a neighbor’s farm and chased pigs or chickens, they would be shot.  It was sad, but a known quantity, and the stupid dogs did not last.

JerryBobCo

I remember once when I was a kid my grandfather's dog chased a feral cat up a tree.  My granddad shot and killed it, despite pleas from my 2 sisters not to.  Along with a lot of other "varmints", the only good feral cat was a dead feral cat.

tennmike

Feral cats are devastating on birds and other wildlife. They have to be dealt with, and that's the way to deal with them. People are horrible about dumping out unwanted cats in the country, and they go feral pretty fast. I've seen nests of baby bunnies all killed by feral cats; rabbits over here have a hard time as it is with foxes, coyotes, owls, and hawks. Add in feral cats and they have a hard time reaching maturity. So I get rid of feral cats found on my farm.
I do love a fat well fed house cat that catches a mouse from time to time outside, but won't tolerate ferals around. Keep the house cat well fed and they're too tubby to do much damage.

lancebanyon

I have a problem with irresponsible cat owners in my neighborhood. They let their cats out to kill birds on my feeders and birdbaths, and use the areas under my enclosed trailer & car hauler for a litter box.
        I set-up a live trap and take the critters to the pound. The pound calls the owners of the cats with tags to come & get them (the 1st time) the second time they get a fine around a $100 or so. They keep those without tags. 
        I like cats, but have learned to dislike their owners. I like my birds, so I will keep thinning out the feline population. 

Varmintmist