How much is enough for yard varmints?

[jashoffa]

I have an old Crossman 760 Pumpmaster pellet/bb gun. I got the gun as a kid (must have been 20 years ago or so). I got it for Christmas one year and my dad and I set up a pellet trap and target in our basement where I would shoot all year round.


It shoots the .177 pellet as a single shot. I think that it shoots the pellet at around 600 fps. Is this enough gun to deal with rabbits and ferrel cats at back yard distances? I am talking under 100 feet. I hate to give it a try and find out it isn't enough.

[Mooseman684]

No , its not a viable weapon for Humane killing !

Rich

[Beast]

Dunno if it would cleanly kill a cat. I used to kill a LOT of squirrels with the pumpmaster, as a kid. Don't use BB, use pellets and pump it at least 8 time for squirrels. Cottontail Rabbits are easier to kill than fox squirrels, they arent as thick skinned.

If you pump it just once and shoot a cat in the ass with a BB it prolly wont kill it just scare it away.

[waterinthefuel]

We don't advocate shooting pets with pellet/BB guns here at G and G. How exactly would you know a feral cat from a domesticated one? With absolute certainty, you cant.

[Whootsinator]

Though this thread is nearing a month old, I'll reply anyway.

Shoot my cat with a pellet rifle, I'll shoot YOU. And it won't be a pellet rifle.

Make sure it's a stray, and is actually doing some harm. If all it does is wonder around and cause no trouble, why kill it anyway?

[DaTeacha]

Well, this could grow into a serious debate. Free running pets, especially cats, are among the worst predators of many small game animals. Cats are very hard on ground nesting birds such as pheasants as well as rabbits. Free running dogs will often form packs and function much like a pack of wolves, killing deer and stock.

Pet owners are responsible for the damages done by their animals. Dogs, at least in Ohio, are required to be licensed and confined to the owner's property. Cats should have the same restrictions but for some reason don't. City people are often guilty of taking unwanted pets out into the country and dropping them off to fend for themselves instead of dropping them at the local humane society. These animals, if they survive, quickly revert to feral behavior. The dogs can interbreed with coyotes, creating coy-dogs, one of the worst problems in this area. My wife lost several sheep to the neighbor dog a few years ago. The guy who farms her land came over and shot the dog as it lay on the barn bank, covered with sheep blood. The neighbor had to pay a large ticket for the unlicensed free running dog and also had to pay for the loss of several pure bred show stock sheep.

Some idiot dropped a litter of 8 lab mix puppies about 1/4 mile from my house. Fortunately for the pups, my neighbor was out for her morning run and found them. She brought them home, managed to adopt out 5 of them. They are keeping one to join their other 2 labs, and the final 2 were taken to the local humane society.

I once tried to pick up a kitten someone had dropped off alongside the road and was thanked by said kitten by getting a pretty torn up hand.

Bottom line -- keep your pets under control. Free running pets are a threat to wildlife, can spread disease, and have been known to attack people. When they come from a dependable food supply and a comfortable home, they can afford the energy needed to chase deer or whatnot "just for fun". The wildlife, especially in winter, has to expend valuable and hard to replace energy to escape, and may end up starving to death or freezing to death later that winter because of being chased.

My dad kept his cat on a leash when it was outside, and the cat was no worse for the experience. The cat may not be happy at first, but neither is a dog. They can adjust to it.

[waterinthefuel]

Well, I agree with the above poster. If someone were to shoot YOUR animal in YOUR yard, then they are 100% at fault. But no one else should have to deal with YOUR animal in THEIR yard. Not that simple trespassing deserves a pellet up their anus but lets face it, non pet owners don't want to have to deal with the feces and damage of the pets of irresponsible pet owners. I should NOT have to step in dog shit in my own yard when I don't own a dog. If I see a dog shit in my yard, I will take a photo of it and present it to the dogs owner, who will then come and remove his dogs feces or face me pressing charges as the evidence would be undeniable. With cats, they're a little different. They tend to be more nocturnal where I can't catch them in the act. If I have a problem with a cat repeatedly climbing on my truck and scratching it with his claws I will accidentally forget to pick up the bowl that I drained the antifreeze out of my truck in for a week or two. Usually solves the problem.

Before you get angry, it's my vehicle on my property. Keep your animals in your own yard and you don't have to worry about them. Once they step foot in my property they become my business and if you ever aim a gun at me you better make sure you make the first shot count because you wont get a second.

[iflylow74]

+1 waterinthefuel!!!

I'm a dog/cat lover but that doesn't mean I want my neighbors animals crapping and turning over the trash in my yard. I also don't think you should shoot a pet the first time it crosses your property. But I live in the country in an area that the local towns folks considered an ideal place to dump unwanted pets. I can't begin to count the number of pets that have been dumped on or near my property.

I also have had stray animals chasing my chickens and livestock. Don't think for a second that I won't kill an animal that is doing harm to my property.

[Whootsinator]

Like I said in my post, make sure its doing harm before you see an animal in your yard and start shooting. I'm all for solving problems, but don't go creating problems.

And, if you ask me, a free-roaming dog is a hell of a lot bigger problem than a free roaming cat. They don't typically like people they don't know, and stay away from people outside. A dog, on the other hand, is much more likely to be aggressive, and will cause a much larger disturbance.

A cat might pee on your flowers. That's the worst problem I've ever heard of a free roaming cat causing. There are plenty of deterrents that will keep a cat away. A pellet to the ass wouldn't be my first choice.

Edit - and to clear things up, before someone starts saying things they shouldn't, I wouldn't actually shoot someone for shooting any animal, but I would certainly be none-too-pleased. There would be repercussions.

[ArkansasHunter]

Though I hunt I will not be cruel to any animals nor will I shoot the wildlife, or stray animals that comes in my yard.

Just a shout and a the clap of my hands seems to do the trick for me. In the many years I've been alive I've never had to shoot or hurt stray cats or dogs.

[jashoffa]

All cats and dogs in my town are required to be registered and wear a tag. I did say ferrel cats which by definition is a wild domesticated animal. I would never shoot a cat that I beleived to be a pet. In my case if I see the same cat in my yard, deficating on my deck like they have been known to do, and they constantly don't wear a tag then I know that it must not belong to anyone. If it did the owner would have it registered and have a tag on it. Ferrel cats are a problem in our town, hence the registration requirement. Some people trap them and hall them out of town. I disagree with this practice because of the damage ferrel cats do to wild game.