Damn Cats!
 

On our TN farm the feral cat population has skyrocketed over the past few years, they are killing our doves,pheasant,quail now we don't raise them for damn cats to kill them. What do you think would be good for these cats would a .22lr hollow point to the head do the job? The warden said I can kill all the cats I see, he also thanked me for wanting too. He agrees the population is out of control on farmland, and he gave me permission to exterminate them. What are good ways to get rid of them with a rifle. Like bait or something?

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Get a couple live catch traps and put out, that way you can let loose anything you dont want harmed or seasons closed on to stay legal, put it up high enough skunks cant get in it, bait it with some wet cat food or something and when you get one pop him in the head with a .22.Id shoot him in the trap or wear leather gloves if you gotta move it/let him out to shoot, they can get pretty mean and theyre fast, get you right through the wire if you arent carefull.

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Thanks, I'll go pickup some live-catch traps this week. Just around my house daily I see 20-40 cats, they live in the old barns, and everywhere. Usually during the summer if one lets me close enough I pop it in the head with a little .22lr pill, I carry my .22 whenever I can in the truck,ATV, or walking.

RE: Damn Cats!
 

well we did that on our farm and we went giggin the night before and just tokk the bodys and skin of the suckers and dumpped them in a pile the night before so they could get used to it. Killed 14 from 6:00 in the morning to around 11:00. I was usin my 22 mag with a 30gr Hornady V-MAX. My partner was usin a 17 HMR with a 30gr V-MAX and a 25-06 Ackley with a 100gr VMAX. lets just say we made it rain. lol

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Here kitty kitty

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Cats are extremely tough for some reason. With a 22 lr I would stick to head shots. I have had extremely good shots on the vitals with a very accurate rifle and seen them flop a bit and run off. Would see the same cat a few months later. I switched to only head shots and solved the problem. I do still use centerfires on body shots out far, but they are varmint bullets. I use box traps as well. I run them near a creek and dispatch them in it. I use shad for bait. They are netted and frozen. Stink to high heaven but effective.
I have the same problem as you. No neighbors within a few miles so they are totally feral. They become very wary so just because you see them all around don't make the same mistake I did and think you can pop one whenever you want. A more stealthy approach is advised. Thankfully I have never caught a skunk. Only opposum and cat with the fish. I would advise you to devise a system to secure your box traps. I use aircraft cable to trees. It will stop the more honest people from walking off with them. Before I started doing this I lost quite a few over the years in places where no one was supposed to be.
Blessings

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Every time I have shot one I aimed for the eye and when I hit them they flop around for like 2 minutes. It is funny to watch them, last year I killed an old tomcat and it was huge like the size of a bobcat, it would attack our pets so we decided it had to go.

RE: Damn Cats!
 

If I spot a feral cat, I usually go after it with a double barrel coachgun, 12 ga. 2 3/4 #5, stop them really quick. And my brother will carry a .17 hmr. Or one of us might carry a .22lr with a red-dot sight, makes shooting running cats a breeze.

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Big pile of meow mix and a 12 ga. Follow up with bucket and shovel.

RE: Damn Cats!
 

Are you hitting them with a shovel, or burying them???:D