Saturday Night Superlight

[bigvarmnt]

I was talking on the phone with my mom planning dinner for Mothers Day when the Beagle started barking. Looked out and saw a coyote walking from my 200 yd to 150 yd backstop. Laid the phone down, went out in garage to get rifle off 4-wheeler, got Beagle in to kennel crate, opened patio door as yote was heading back to 200 b.s. He was spooky, getting ready to jump into woods. Had to hurry the shot but looked like he went into woods with a little help. Told my mom I had to go. Found young male yote about 40yds into woods. Second yote with 223 Superlight, Varget powder, 36 gr. Varmint Grenade. First one dropped dead on spot, 10:30 at night with only snow for light,110yds. Heard a lot about V.G.s but haven't failed me yet.

[bigvarmnt]

OK, believe this or not! I made the first post to try posting my 1st pic. Wife called me to dinner so I had to push post and go upstairs and eat. Looks like it worked but this story doesn't end yet. I finished eating, started feeding my Springer and let the Beagle outside. I looked out at about 150yds the Beagle was standing straight up and barking. Didn't have the shock collar on her. Said what the **** is that. Another Coyote less than 50yds. from the Beagle. I ran to the garage, got 223 off 4-wheeler, back in house. Yote was walking away along woods at 220 yds. No I didn't have a shot. So either the Handi S.L. doesn't belong in the garage or I have to make other arrangements. Bad thing is by the patio door was a loaded Ruger 17 HMR , a Ruger 22 Hornet without bullets because I tested all that were upstairs the other day, a 410 pump, and the 12 guage loaded with #4 buck I took with me last Sat. night in case that yote was wounded. I'm taking my 22-250 back up by patio door. (LOADED) Have to go Beagle is Barking Like HELL! 

[wreckhog]

I would tie up that beagle for a while.

[petemi]

About 15 or more years ago I had the nicest, most promising beagle pup I ever owned.  We were haying and she was out with the guys helping out.  She was a home body and never left the property.  Supper time she wasn't here.......killed by coyotes.....not 200 yards from the house.  I've owned a lot of beagles in the last 40 years, and in the last 15, I've killed a score of coyotes over my beagles "bear barking" as we call it.  They have the same bark if there's a bear or coyotes around.  Sometimes it's a bear, most usually it is coyotes.  My home has two back doors, and each has a loaded rifle and shotgun right there.  If they "bear bark" during the night, I"m up, gun in hand.

The beagles are in a 2000 square foot fenced enclosure with a hot wire around the top.  They have access to their dog houses in the barn and are safe from predators...........I'm not so sure of the last statement.....bear, wolves and coyotes can't get in, but we have cougars here now and I believe they could leap the fence.  The bears are formidable.  I've got two hot galvanized wires and a 1/2 inch electric tape ribbon on top around all my horse pastures.  The other day I found 150 feet of it gone.  Black bear hair on the wire....running in at the horses.  If my horses weren't "home bodies" they could have been in the next county.  That's the second time I've had that happen, the first was on the same pasture with 600 lb young steers.  They were scared so badly, all they did was bolt for the barn.

There's nothing more vulnerable than a tied up dog.  Wolves killed a friends chained beagle, tore the dog in two and dragged the other half and her dog house halfway down the driveway.  Ron Harder, Gulliver, MI if anyone wants to check it out.  The beagle was Joan, a great little hunter and I "baby sat" her a few times when Ron was out of town.


Pete

[bigvarmnt]

Pete, sounds like you have a little piece of Heaven up there. I like having a lot of critters around, except when the dogs go out at night and get sprayed by a skunk (Last spring). I get coons skunks possum fox coyote deer stray cats and dogs. Haven't shot any of those dogs yet! Yours are a bit more dangerous. The hair would be up on the back of my neck all the time up there. My dogs have made their way farther into my heart and now house. I'll be more careful when I let them out. When I was about 8 or so, had a cocker we chained to its house. The nieghbor was a county dog catcher Humane shelter guy HA!. His dog was chained out close to mine and we didn't get along too good because it was always breaking loose. One day it broke it's chain and got wraped around my dogs chain and it kept trying to get loose by running away and almost cut my dogs head off. We got home and found it almost dead. Blood everywhere. Not His I won't chain a dog again.

[petemi]

I've had dogs since I was pre-school.  I've found the best way to ruin a dog is to chain it.  My dogs either live in the house with me as they all do in their old age, or have their own dog estate including a huge outdoor enclosure, and a dog house with bedding inside an insulated and heated part of the barn.  The heat goes on if their water begins to freeze.

I believe chaining a dog frustrates them and makes them vicious.  Around here, it just makes them easy prey for the territorial predators, the wolves and coyotes.  They'll kill a dog because it's on what they believe is their turf.  I could go on for hours with stories about wolf and coyote predation on local neighbors livestock, cats, dogs, etc.

The wolves are off the endangered list here for the moment.  PETA and the SPCA are trying to reverse that.  Now we can shoot them with rubber bullets.   BANG............Officer, are you telling me I used a SJSP by mistake.....I don't have a clue how that could have happened.......except......I don't own any rubber bullets.

Pete

[myarmor]

Looks like you have a good little beagle on your hands there. Just protecting and alerting. Good shooting too bro, sounds like you have your SL barrel tuned in well. Though sadly it sounds like you will need another one to keep by the door just in case... at least you can tell your wife that for an excuse to get another Handi





-Aaron

[petemi]

Aaron.....Thank you!!!! Your idea is great.  I just ordered another handi and called a contractor friend to put 6 new doors in the house so I can order at least 5 more.  She'll understand we gotta have a rifle at each door.  Actually, we have to design and build door/walls so we can catch up with Tim and have about 50 Handis standing about.

Pete

[bigvarmnt]

Yea that beagle can see a lot better than I can. It sees stuff 4-500 yards away. Barks at anything that moves. After the yote exp. last night she bear barked a small black cougar at 160 yds out back. It got a warning shot from superlight. Looks like I need to fine tune it a little more. I now have a Rem 700 sfvs 55 gr. v-max at the door for the yotes. Don't care about the fur right now. Have to protect my pups.

I used to make good use of my second story windows. Now I have too much growing up blocking my line of fire. Time to do some trimming. Neighbor lady I bought property from, years ago, dead now, daughter once asked me why she heard only one shot the eve. before. Her mom replied with a smile got it with the first shot didn't you.

[jeepmann1948]

Hey Pete   arn't moly coated bullets sorta in a way kinda sorta  "Rubber Bullets"
any way that would be my story and I would stick to it. Another excuse would be the Hornady Leverloution Bullets.(cause they got a rubber tip)