Yes, most every time I leave 'em lay. Buzzards and coyotes can have em. In my mind, hogs rank above fire ants and mice on the vermin list. Nasty lice and brucellosis carrying suckers.

I had a large buck that would be at the feeder every day at 3:30.

He would come out with 1 doe and eat before the other deer showed up. One day he showed up with said doe and after about 10 min I head shot the doe ( with dramatic effect) and he ran off. Next day he was back at 3:30 and was killed by our hunter the next week.

Every place and deer is different. We did quite a bit of shooting as well and I can’t say that any deer got ran off a feeder because of noise or deer being shot next to it.

You sound very young.

Haha

Well that's good to hear, however, my age and grey hair don't make me look very young

I do find it entertaining that you would believe someone "sounds young" because they have a healthy respect for animals. Make no mistake, the number of animals I've killed in 49 of the 50 states is in the four figures (probably more than most people in this forum). I simply have a healthy respect for the life of animals and only kill what I will eat. To do otherwise is wasteful.

Actually, in all fairness, I do just turn squirrels into jerky treats for my dogs these days - so perhaps I should say I've never killed an animal that I didn't harvest and that me, my family, friends, or pets didn't eat (pets are family in my household though)

I have eaten small, young hogs that I smoked whole that were great. The big nasty ones I kill and let lay, not touching them!! The coyotes, other hogs, and buzzards clean them up in about three days.

You must have a healthy appetite too.

And humble to boot.

I shoot pigs to control the population, which is WAY out of control at our place. I will clean and eat 2-3 a year, but I think I have killed 25+ so far this year. Typically, I will agree with you on only shooting what I will eat. If pigs and coyotes were not so heavily populated around our place, then I probably would not shoot them on sight. However, they are, so they do get shot. on sight. at all times.

What is your favorite coyote or bobcat recipe?

I quit eating those nasty things a long time ago. Shoot them just like a coyote gut shot so they run off.

It's not that much meat really when it's spread out over the years and when a lot of it is small game. But I do host a lot of social events with friends, family and neighbors - so we tend to use a good amount during those times. But yeah, overall, I have a pretty good appetite.

If I were to kill a coyote or bobcat - neither being something I would hunt for --> I'd pelt 'em out and jerky them up for pet treats.

If you gut shot animals on purpose so they run off and suffer until they die: 1) you're a sicko - you have serious mental issues and should seek help - in fact, you should probably be permanently banned from hunting anything; and 2) you're the reason why, eventually, hunting will be regulated to death or just made outright illegal for everyone.

It's really sad to see people admit to such despicable practices.

As humble as a man who judges other people's humbleness no doubt

Share the popcorn Mr. T!

We've come a long way from the widespread use of cyanide bombs, leg snares, nose traps, leg traps, nail traps, etc. Shooting an animal in the liver so it dies somewhere else is far more humane than any of those methods. Not the preferred method of course. I recall being a kid even as recently as the mid 80's seeing coyotes hung on fence posts for as far as the eye can see.

They made it legal to use blood pressure medicine to rot the guts out of hogs so they must not be that concerned with the humane treatment of the hog population seems like.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand hogs and coyotes are pest and can do a lot of damage and there are areas of overpopulation like your property. And I agree they need to be dispatched. And it's good to hear that you generally agree with the idea of only shooting what you eat. You have to protect your property, crops, and live stock - no doubt, I completely understand.

I just think that ALL hunters should dispatch their kills as quickly as possible and make use of the kill. Mind you, while I personally don't kill unless I plan on eating it - there are other uses people can make of a kill if they harvest everything they kill. As an example, I know a guy here in Texas who hunts hog year round but eats very few of them (I mean for a living he hunts hogs). He harvests them all and uses most of them for making pet food (dog jerky, ears, etc..). He doesn't make a killing doing it, but I know he makes around 60ish/year doing it. Basically just him and his wife do it all.

Those 25 unharvested hogs, depending on size of course, could have probably made you a couple extra grand if you had harvested them.

On a professional level(business attorney), I've worked with several businesses around the country over the years in the 'animal harvesting' industry, so I always just shake my head when I hear about unharvested kills.

But you know, that's just my opinion. I know a lot of people don't agree with me.