Scientists probe recent coyote attacks in California

“I am going to buy a paint gun today and this weekend I plan to sit on my roof and ‘paint’ a few in an effort to scare them off.”

Good luck with the paint ball gun. Not to rain on your parade but it’s doubtful that you will hit one (no disrespect to your marksmanship)as they’re extremely quick, intuitive and crafty to boot. Post how you do for sure...

Yes, I have good enclosed pens. The redtail hawks generally leave the adult chickens alone, but the hatchlings make nice targets. One thing the feral cats, foxes, and probably coyotes have put a dent in is our rabbit population here in SC. I have already thinned the cats out. I think the foxes are few enough that they are a good check and balance, so I leave them alone. The dog will definitely be a welcome addition.

About 50 years ago I shot a feral cat that was climbing up to a redtail hawks nest with my Stevens .22. The cat was about 4 feet away from the chicks and I put a slug into its head. Then I spent the rest of the morning watching the mother feed pieces of the cat to the babies. Without a doubt, one of the best days I have ever had out in the woods with a rifle.

“Not to rain on your parade but it’s doubtful that you will hit one (no disrespect to your marksmanship)as they’re extremely quick, intuitive and crafty to boot. Post how you do for sure...”

No offence taken on my markmanship, (which is excellent BTW...LOL). I have been reading about coyote hunting the last few days and everything you said is true. They can be a very hard to hunt. I am surprised more people don’t hunt them for sport because of the challenging nature of the hunt.

My late father taught me to shoot a gun when I was very young and it came so natural that he used to tease me that I must have ‘indian blood’ from my mother’s side because of my ability to shoot straight and true...LOL.

Not sure about a paintgun, but it can’t be that much different. My biggest fear is falling off the roof....LOL! I’ll let you know if I see or ‘hit’ any willy coyotes.

I was going to get one of those cougar sound machines after reading that they work to scare coyotes, but then wondered if I might end up with a cougar problem instead of a coyote problem....LOL

That is pretty cool. I love to watch nature in action. I will say that was one crazy or very hungry cat. I don't think I would pick a hawks nest to raid. Mockingbirds are bad enough on cats and they don't have the “equipment” that a hawk has. You may have saved that cat a more lengthy and painful ending, lol.

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