Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife
Coyote predation, once a problem limited to the American West, has spread to pet and livestock owners in the Eastern US.
So Grandfather built a blind overlooking one of his pastures, where he could sit and watch for coyotes and take appropriate countermeasures.
After the posts were set in the ground, cross-braced, and the floor was fastened atop them, the superstructure was jacked up to the floor with steps on stepladders alternately supporting one side and serving as fulcrums for a lifting lever on the other. That way, Grandfather didn’t have to build the superstructure while standing on something far off the ground.
Finished! To stay warm in the winter, there’s pink insulation board and a pair of electric space heaters supplied by a 10-gauge extension cord:
Inside.
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian from West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
Good setup, RD.
Friend of mine and I were using our 22.250’s one day, trying some really hot, light bullet weight, hand loads.
His kept missing the targets out beyond 400-500yds….turns out the bullets were actually vaporizing prior to getting there ! We would find holes in paper target that looked like shotgun bird shot had hit it, but not a solid round.
What brand scope did you mount on yours ?
Well, Andy I don’t have to worry about hitting anything at 400 yards – The longest view I have over my pasture is about 320, and the coyotes arrive from the woods considerably closer that that.
The scope is an ATN.
…and I don’t do much shooting, anymore. But Coyotes could be a real bad problem if they were sufficiently numerous and hungry in the spring, when the cattle and sheep are birthing their young.
Fortunately, my second-nearest neighbor (about two miles away, the nearest is about a mile in the opposite direction) is retired military and an excellent hunter. He can tell me about how many wild turkeys are on my place, how many bear there are and where they are bedding down,, etc.
He has taken over 200 coyotes over the past four years.
Unlike other wild animals here, they are not territorial and range in packs – here today – gone tomorrow.
We just got back from Montana and they are experiencing a similar problem with wolves. The horse paths we took on our ride through the national forest were littered with bones from wild animals.
In our area of upstate New York, for decades the problem had been coydogs. People dump a dog (or litter) of dogs they don’t want out on some country road, which then breed with the coyotes. We have some strange looking critters running around, but it’s not smart to get too close when you’re out in the woods – or in the backyard with the chickens.
My brother and his hunting group have reduced the population.
Here we see the remains of deer all the time, JB.
Gee, My neighbor who has taken over 200 of these predators tells me many of them are coyote hybrids. They are getting larger and more aggressive here in the Eatern U.S:
http://www.wyff4.com/article/regions-coyotes-getting-larger-more-wolf-like-scientists-say/13798002