another pleasant kitten killer
As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
From time to time I still mention real life and not blog life, and in this, before the old man died, he got a number of junk guns on some farm sale, and I have them, and repaired most of them I think.
I think the one was a Montgomery Wards, bolt action 20 gauge. The trigger guard was some kind of plastic and broke, so I used E 6000 or something to glue it, and decided to see what it would do. My first shot was at a skunk and it put the lights out.
I always wanted to shoot food with it, but never had the opportunity. Instead it kind of worked itself into the rotation of the "must kill gun on feral tom cats". See male cats travel after being fought out, and then appear, kill the kittens so they can rape the she cats, and usually chews the hell out of and runs off the tame male cat we have. This is the case in this ugly ass bobtail cat appeared one night, ran off when I stepped out, beat up our tame tom cat, killed kittens and I thought he had left, but TL told me that it was on the picnic table where we feed our cats, so I went out with the 20 gauge.
I was skulking around, when a cat in the weeds jumped up on the bench, and it looked like the cat. Problem is we have 3 other white cats, so TL was down the drive and I was trying to figure out what the hell this cat was, half hidden from me. If it's ass was there, I would have seen if it had a tail or not.
I knew our white tom cat was behind me playing, so that was one cat not this cat, but it looked like the she cat we had, so I was standing there, the cat was edgy and I was like, "I don't want to miss this shot as it is too hard to get a second shot at those damned wild cats". Finally I figured I had it dicked at about 99% sure until I pulled the trigger and killed the wrong damned cat, but I put the bead on the head, and let loose.
It flung itself back. I maneuvered over and there was a cat without a tail. I had judged right.
I shoot in this 20, 6 shot lead, 2 3/4's and it works good at not overt distances past 50 feet. I shot another tom a month before this, knocked it over and it scrambled away. I smelled it dead a few days later so it did work at that range too.
Now here is the thing. Cats like bears take allot of killing. You shoot a cat with a 22 and that damned cat will jump, and run away and you won't know for weeks if you killed the thing or not. Have had that happen too often, so that is why when I have to kill a cat, I use as shotgun as that blast pretty much knocks the life out of them. I have no idea what the principle is in a 22 through the chest would seem to knock them down, but they run off, but you hammer a tom cat with a shotgun, and they pretty much die on the spot. That is why I use a shotgun.
Back in the
day my brother used to load up some 12 gauge, 2 shot, 2 3/4s in Winchester AA casings. Think it was an ounce and an eight or sixteenth, but it was a light load, that he found that really had speed to it. Was my favorite pheasant load and it became my go to catwacker load. Just knocked the hell out of stuff at distance. That is the past now as the brother is dead, did not leave me anything in his will which is no surprise, so I shoot Estate 20 gauge lead in 6 shot, and I do pretty good with this.
That old Wards kicks and my ear is still ringing, but it adds charm to the homestead defense. I suppose they made this thing for slugs for deer which really must have kicked like hell and punished children into real flinchers, but I do not have any time for bolt actions in shotguns or any form, unless they are give to me. I have grown fond of this one though as a pot gun. Never had much use for 20 gauges as my brother had one, but I can see they can have a purpose for defense or whacking murderous tom cats.
Never forget that expression it had the first time I seen him. Snuffing the wind for cat sent, lips curled back, acting like he was all shit, quite thin as wherever he got run off of, has been a bit, but this time his expression has changed and he ain't running no more or killing any more cats.
It is all kind of ghastly in the real world. He chewed on our tom cats head, it swelled up, and busted the next day from pressure as cat fangs are quite toxic with poison septic. So not much of a cat crop this year, but the tom cat harvest is number 3 so far.
People must catch them allot beforehand as I rarely get one in a box trap which I have around here for coons. Out cats get taught and steer clear of them. Just easier plugging them growling bastards in a trap, like Christmas eve with a special gift to make you smile.
If you have sense that should help you in a meltdown of something that will do some service.
Nuff Said
agtG
agtG
