In the city that might be a good idea (assuming your city won't call using a BB or pellet gun a felony discharge of a firearm - might want to check your local laws on that). When you live two miles from the main road you learn that chasing a cat away is a temporary thing when you've got the only shelter for miles around. Living out here comes with a whole different set of rules.
“...Living out here comes with a whole different set of rules. ...”
Which is why you live out there in the first place... for a little bit of freedom and independence.
Good on ya!
Anyway, I don't get it why people think that it is okay to let their cats run. Maybe the owners think that they are denying their animal in some way.
When they becomes feral or mean they become more than just a nuisance and then they are no longer a pet. The cat is a wild animal like a coyote.
In the city, if a cat runs wild, its life expectancy is much much shorter. Lots of cat fights, cars, dogs,... It is a tough life — I saw someones cat wandering our neighborhood when it was below zero degrees the other day.