Urban Hunting

Underdude · Jun 23, 2011

Everybody is jumping the gun here.........

I said IF something happens, such as a child playing in field and they attack.
Nothing else....I live in a rare spot around here. There are grass, shrubs, and trees.
Been here 11 years, come across red-tail hawks (they nest across the canyon), horned owls, the occasional bat, 3 different rabbit types, skunks, raccoons, possum, feral dogs, fox, coyote, and 3 different types of snakes. Where can you find that in an urban setting without cages? They were here first, live and let live.
Defense only.

Clicker · Jun 24, 2011

Given that you want to shoot only in a defensive case I'd think any handgun you have on you at the time would suffice. Shouldn't take much to kill a dog with anything in 9mm thru 44 caliber and some type of fragmenting ammo.

Ideally I'd use a suppressed 22 rifle and take them down but that's near impossible since you're in Cali. The down side to 22 is ricochets. We shoot a lot of turtles as a control measure in a friends pond with 22LR and often hear a bullet zip off in another direction.

Midnight Raver · Jun 24, 2011

Underdude said:
Been here 11 years, come across red-tail hawks (they nest across the canyon), horned owls, the occasional bat, 3 different rabbit types, skunks, raccoons, possum, feral dogs, fox, coyote, and 3 different types of snakes. Where can you find that in an urban setting without cages? They were here first, live and let live.
Defense only.

Here in Dodge City and the surrounding area, we have had and/or seen:

Black Bear
Deer
Moose
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Hawk(lots of them)
Fox
Coyote
Racoon
Skunk
Opossum
Woodchuck
Suspected Mountain Lion(never fully confirmed)

This is a city area with a major river going through it. Certain police officers seem to have "incidents" with the wild animals(and peoples dogs- Pit Bulls mostly) before Animal Control can deal with situations that pop up from time to time. Guess they don't get to the range enough...

Areas that have no hunting due to humankind being too densely present(in more ways than one

) are an open invitation for any and all wildlife- even in the city.

Shrapnel762 · Jun 24, 2011

If you're waiting for an incident, then you're doing the same thing as animal control. If I saw an animal (or animals) attacking a child, I'd have to put myself pretty much inbetween them in order to take the safest shot possible. I've seen pack animal feeding frenzies on TV and it doesn't look like someplace I'd want to be. If it's a serious concern fix it beforehand, in a situation you control and not the animal. BTW The only critters I kill on sight around my house are poisonous snakes. The only things coyotes do around here are eat sheep at a nearby farm and spoil a deer hunt.

Underdude · Jun 24, 2011

Of course I'm not waiting for an incident. Why else would I make the phone calls and pose these questions on the forum? Calls to try and head off a potential problem, questions to deal with it if it becomes nescessary. I bet if I said large cat instead PD and animal control would be here. They wait for something to happen, I try and prepare. Not waiting for something, hoping for nothing.

PCShogun · Sep 13, 2011

Old thread I know but had a thought on it anyway. Get a Mosin NAgant 91/30, Slap the 18 inch bayonet on the end and play Pikeman with it. No gunshots, no problems.

Enjay · Sep 14, 2011

Here and I thought the thread was going to be about how to convince squirrels and rabbits how to get their delicious behinds out of my garden and into the cook pot without irritating the pesky neighbors.

Tigerstripe · Nov 11, 2011

you will probably have real trouble if you are caught messing with them on a state park. since animal control wont come to you, get some cage traps, catch them and take them to animal control (or your nearest disposal spot). mean traps would be a bad idea also. once caught you have to deal with a pissed of coyote.
David

armaborealis · Dec 30, 2011

First, I'd rethink the legal implications of what you're doing and what you're calling it.

Shooting an animal because you fear that you or someone else will suffer imminent death or serious bodily injury is not hunting. it is self defense. The operative phrases there are IMMINENT and DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. I don't know the self defense laws in your specific jurisdiction but those general principles hold true in most areas. That means no plinking until the thing is actually seconds away from tearing at a person, probably. It probably would not include a premeditated "removal" effort.

Next, almost every jurisdiction in a city or town in almost every state regulates the discharge of firearms, especially near dwellings. Even states with strong preemption laws often allow for localities to regulate the discharge of firearms. Your plan will probably violate this law, so unless there's a good self defense exemption that you qualify for you're getting ready to violate another law.

You're probably dealing with restrictive carry laws in the PRK. You've already implied that you currently carry illegally. I'd suggest stopping doing that immediately. It is not worth becoming a felon and losing all gun rights when there are other options. For another 48 hours you can do unloaded open carry. You may be able to open carry a long gun. There are some counties in the PRK that actually do issue CCW permits so you may be able to apply to one of them for a permit. Check out CalGuns for more info on those options. We can argue about how stupid the PRK laws are all day, but the bottom line is that when busted you will lose and go to jail. That may not be a big deal to you, but it may impact the people you love like your family if you're in prison, or if you have a felony record and can't get jobs anymore. Heck, even an ARREST (without conviction) is enough to prejudice you in the eyes of many employers.

Next, all legalities aside, consider the type of shot you're thinking about. You have talked about intervening to save a child. So, if you see a child getting mauled by a coyote, are you going to consider shooting into the melee? How confident are you that you'll hit the dog and not the kid? Are you 100% confident that there's no bystanders that can be hurt by your round? You better be 100% sure of your shot because you can never take it back, and that's pretty darn hard to assure. The four rules of gun safety don't go away in a defensive situation -- you still have to be sure of your target and what's behind it.

All in all I'd rethink where this plan is going, especially in an urban setting. Get a can of bear spray (dogs do NOT like bear spray any more than bears do). Get a club or other blunt object to whack wild dogs with. Get licensed to carry a sidearm LEGALLY and get training so that you have realistic ideas about your capabilities with that weapon against a melee in an urban setting.