Murphys Law
Member
Good Job!
Shot size for feral cats?
- Thread starter Spec ops Grunt
- Start date
- Status
Good Job!
SlowFuse
Member
I've taken care of feral cats in this area, most of the time I was using a full choked .410 with 3" #4's or 3" 000 buckshot. It's always worked well as long as I kept distances reasonable.
An acquaintance of mine lived in a neighborhood where someone started putting out a LOT of food and water. The number of cats that accumulated was impressive. You could walk outside pretty much anytime and count 20 without any trouble.
He got tired of it and because it was in town he had few options. He started live trapping them and having animal control come pick them up. He ended up trapping literally hundreds of cats.
When the population started falling off it was amazing how many small animals started to make a reappearance. Small lizards, songbirds, etc.
I don't hate cats, in fact, I have one as a pet. But it doesn't go outside and I consider any cat encountered outside off a leash to be fair game for any legal methods of dealing with it.
AStone
Member
After having to live with an 18 year old male cat with mental issues --
it screamed every night, preventing my sleep
(temporary quarters, but I value my sleep),
and given that they're eating song birds,
I'd recommend .50 Garrett.
Might make a deeper impression on the kittens.
it screamed every night, preventing my sleep
(temporary quarters, but I value my sleep),
and given that they're eating song birds,
I'd recommend .50 Garrett.
Might make a deeper impression on the kittens.
KevininPa
Member
Spec Ops
" Looking at his skull either I missed and the big scrape on his face was him running into barbed wire as he ran from me, or the .22 hit the side of his nose and instead of penetrating slid around the bone off the side of his face and just scraped him up that way."
I'm taking this to mean it was a shot to the front of the skull? The front area of any animal's skull is denser than the rear. I try to place shots behind the ear of unwanted critters, and has worked well for me over the years since I moved into the rural area of the Valley. I have dropped ferals with an Air Force Talon SS .22 airgun that way. They dropped on the spot. Also used .22lr and shorts. My first critter gun was and still is a Snake Charmer. Have disposed of more than a few ferals and rabids with a 3 inch #4.
Living in the country is different than in town. My wife worked with a woman who thought it was terrible that we disposed of ferals. But she also admitted that she used to release "strays" up in our area because she knew that us rural folk would take them in. At one time we had between 20 to 30 ferals roaming around. Was years since we had seen any small game at the time. We (as in the small neighborhood here) took care of the problem. We now have all the small game back. Ferals are not natural to any country area and throw off the eco-balance. Especially since they breed like rats. They also help carry diseases, if not through their own biology, then through the parasites they carry( ticks,etc). Being someone who's had or might even still have, I'll find out at my next physical, long term Lymes Disease, then I say if it doesn't belong in the natural scheme of things, it's vermin. And out of hand ferals are vermin.
Side story: One morning I went out my back door with my coffee to enjoy how great a morning it was. There was ten to twelve ferals hanging about that all decided to hiss at me. That was the first time I was ever afraid of cats in my life. Backed back into the house. One of them went down. It's only a single shot Snake Charmer.
Sorry for the long post but after being over-run with this form of vermin at one time, I had to let people know how bad they can get.
" Looking at his skull either I missed and the big scrape on his face was him running into barbed wire as he ran from me, or the .22 hit the side of his nose and instead of penetrating slid around the bone off the side of his face and just scraped him up that way."
I'm taking this to mean it was a shot to the front of the skull? The front area of any animal's skull is denser than the rear. I try to place shots behind the ear of unwanted critters, and has worked well for me over the years since I moved into the rural area of the Valley. I have dropped ferals with an Air Force Talon SS .22 airgun that way. They dropped on the spot. Also used .22lr and shorts. My first critter gun was and still is a Snake Charmer. Have disposed of more than a few ferals and rabids with a 3 inch #4.
Living in the country is different than in town. My wife worked with a woman who thought it was terrible that we disposed of ferals. But she also admitted that she used to release "strays" up in our area because she knew that us rural folk would take them in. At one time we had between 20 to 30 ferals roaming around. Was years since we had seen any small game at the time. We (as in the small neighborhood here) took care of the problem. We now have all the small game back. Ferals are not natural to any country area and throw off the eco-balance. Especially since they breed like rats. They also help carry diseases, if not through their own biology, then through the parasites they carry( ticks,etc). Being someone who's had or might even still have, I'll find out at my next physical, long term Lymes Disease, then I say if it doesn't belong in the natural scheme of things, it's vermin. And out of hand ferals are vermin.
Side story: One morning I went out my back door with my coffee to enjoy how great a morning it was. There was ten to twelve ferals hanging about that all decided to hiss at me. That was the first time I was ever afraid of cats in my life. Backed back into the house. One of them went down. It's only a single shot Snake Charmer.
Sorry for the long post but after being over-run with this form of vermin at one time, I had to let people know how bad they can get.
AStone
Member
That's pretty amazing.
I've heard of attacks by wild dogs, but cats? Wow.
I deal with feral animals in two ways. at my little "mini farm" in town(where we currently live) I live trap them, take them to a vet where they are spayed for free, and then release them. I want them around so long as there are only 2-3 or so on the property. If we get more hanging around then I either trap them, have them spayed, and take them to a rescue center.
At my farm I have 5-8 cats around at any given time. All are semi feral and all have been spayed/neutered. Any new cats that show up are shot with no remorse whatever. People drop off cats, dogs and horses at an alarming rate in a rural setting and it eventually gets to the point where you have to dispose of them Horse rescue people told me they couldn't take any more horses and I very politely told them that the horse is leaving my property whether they get it or not. I don't want horses, been there and done that. Low life scum that get their kid a pony and then realize they actually have to feed it and take care of it should be forced to live in my back pasture for 30 days
Don't EVER go for a head shot! It's the part that can move the quickest and the kill spot is pretty small. As has been said before, right behind the shoulder with a 22 LR inside 50 yards and you will have a dead cat within two minutes. I don't ever want to see an animal suffer but the objective of predator and nuisance control is to kill the animal and if it runs off and dies then that is just as good as a DRT.
Glad you got rid of him!
At my farm I have 5-8 cats around at any given time. All are semi feral and all have been spayed/neutered. Any new cats that show up are shot with no remorse whatever. People drop off cats, dogs and horses at an alarming rate in a rural setting and it eventually gets to the point where you have to dispose of them Horse rescue people told me they couldn't take any more horses and I very politely told them that the horse is leaving my property whether they get it or not. I don't want horses, been there and done that. Low life scum that get their kid a pony and then realize they actually have to feed it and take care of it should be forced to live in my back pasture for 30 days
Don't EVER go for a head shot! It's the part that can move the quickest and the kill spot is pretty small. As has been said before, right behind the shoulder with a 22 LR inside 50 yards and you will have a dead cat within two minutes. I don't ever want to see an animal suffer but the objective of predator and nuisance control is to kill the animal and if it runs off and dies then that is just as good as a DRT.
Glad you got rid of him!
I can't stop laughing at this. Thanks!
jaysouth
Member
Flaming arrows.
OP
OP
Spec ops Grunt
Member
Yeah I can for sure see why the behind the shoulder broadside shot is so recommended for quadrupeds. Just like CoM training on people its about the greatest margin of error when it comes to hitting something important.
Regarding headshots, that's almost like its a disadvantage of our physiology. We have large brains, but that also means our brains are relatively large targets.
I looked up cross sections of cat skulls. There's not a lot of brain to hit, and like stated a few posts above, there is a lot of bone in the front.
Just random 2 am thoughts
Regarding headshots, that's almost like its a disadvantage of our physiology. We have large brains, but that also means our brains are relatively large targets.
I looked up cross sections of cat skulls. There's not a lot of brain to hit, and like stated a few posts above, there is a lot of bone in the front.
Just random 2 am thoughts
Grumulkin
Member
Not to say that cats don't negatively impact bird populations but keep in mind there are various organizations representing various animals and diseases that grossly overestimate problems to justify their existence.
PJSprog
Member
As others have noted, it happens. Thanks for finishing it, though.
I've read not to shoot lions in the head, as the skull slopes and the mane is just hair. You can die that way, shooting a charging lion in the head. You'd have to hit the nose and hope the bullet reaches the brain.
I know of one charging lion that took 11 hits from powerful rifles. One man used a .375 H&H and his white hunter had a heavy double, I think one of the .500's.
I've seen jaguar skulls and the shallow slope looks like a real bullet-bouncer.
The same is probably true of domestic cats, bobcats, lynxes, cougars, etc. The frontal chest shot is indicated on cats facing you.
I once hit a feral cat with a three-inch .410 shell loaded with 7.5 shot, intended for doves. It needed a finishing shot as it writhed in horrible agony for about 30 seconds. I couldn't bear to see it suffer longer. (My .410 is choked Full.)
I think at least No. 6 shot is indicated, certainly heavier if the range is very long. Cats are tenacious of life; they tend not to die easily. That's a major reason why many hunters use .375's on leopards instead of deer-class rifles.
I mostly like cats, but not in excess. They are definitely heck on small game. On the plus side, they do kill snakes and rats.
And I was interested to read the post by the man threatened by a group of carts. I've read that in Europe, packs of feral cats are indeed dangerous. The case I read about was in Italy.
I know of one charging lion that took 11 hits from powerful rifles. One man used a .375 H&H and his white hunter had a heavy double, I think one of the .500's.
I've seen jaguar skulls and the shallow slope looks like a real bullet-bouncer.
The same is probably true of domestic cats, bobcats, lynxes, cougars, etc. The frontal chest shot is indicated on cats facing you.
I once hit a feral cat with a three-inch .410 shell loaded with 7.5 shot, intended for doves. It needed a finishing shot as it writhed in horrible agony for about 30 seconds. I couldn't bear to see it suffer longer. (My .410 is choked Full.)
I think at least No. 6 shot is indicated, certainly heavier if the range is very long. Cats are tenacious of life; they tend not to die easily. That's a major reason why many hunters use .375's on leopards instead of deer-class rifles.
I mostly like cats, but not in excess. They are definitely heck on small game. On the plus side, they do kill snakes and rats.
And I was interested to read the post by the man threatened by a group of carts. I've read that in Europe, packs of feral cats are indeed dangerous. The case I read about was in Italy.
I was in Wheeling West Virginia in a bad neighborhood today looking at a warehouse. Several abandon buildings mixed in with some pretty poor residences. In all my life I have never seen so many Feral Cats. One had to be over 25 lbs and it was not fat. I was concerned for children around them. Inbred wild cats can be some of the strangest looking and acting animals alive.
Liquidring
Member
Try using a 17HMR ballistic tip, we get ferral cats around here all the time and the 17 takes care of them with one shot. Last one was a neck shot, only thing that remained of the neck was parts of the spin, the fur on top and a strip of fur on the bottom, he was dead before he hit the ground, didn't run scream or anything, just flipped up in the air and hit the ground. We've got 4 cats of our own outside, so it's not like I hate cats, just don't like cross eyed inbred crazy varmits going off on my cats and dog and eating up their food.
Gordon
Member
I too must confess to shooting a few pest feral cats around my place with a .17HMR out of a Ruger Hunter with a 2x Leupold scope. DRN under 100 yards. Once again #4 duck loads are killer
PJSprog
Member
We have a similar problem. People from town come out and dump their unwanted pets thinking that the farmers will "take care of them," and they'll have plenty to eat. Cats are very territorial, and they're now intruding on another cat's territory. One of our cats has lost all of her canine teeth fighting with various strays and ferals. In one fight, she even lost a large chunk of flesh off the back of her neck, requiring a vet trip.
We have one large stray lately that's pretty benign. Most, though, get too aggressive. Those are the ones we have to "take care of." I've always been more of a cat person than a dog person, but you have to do what you have to do.
plumberroy
Member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2006
- Messages
- 813
When I have to shoot a feral cat, I want it dead right there. Because it reaching a bleeding heart that doesn't understand the real world. It can cause problems . My old H&R 10 ga comes out 2 1/4 oz of 4's do the job if I do my part
243winxb
Member
Shooting cats may be a felony and get you jail time, in some areas. I sure wouldn't be posting online about it.
OP
OP
Spec ops Grunt
Member
Couldn't find anything about feral cats in Oklahoma
Let them run with it. I got more than one person to admit to "nobody tells me where and when I carry". Gun forums seem to bring up a mob mentality at times.
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Looks like the question is more than well answered, and now we're getting into snide comments about legality, so we'll call this done.
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