WASHINGTON (AP) — The intruder who breached Joint Base Andrews, the home of Air Force One, reached the residence of one of the Air Force's top leaders before her spouse opened fire, the air base said Tuesday.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass confirmed that the intruder had reached her home on Monday. The chief master sergeant is the Air Force's top enlisted leader.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the sheriff’s office says they believe a man and a woman were trying to rob another man at the complex.
The man who was being robbed was able to get away, went to his truck, and got a gun, investigators say.
The sheriff’s office says, when he was confronted again by the suspects, he shot the male suspect.
Elmore is accused of shooting school resource officer Erik Clark in the March 4 shooting in the assistant principal's office at Olathe East High School.
Prosecutors allege Elmore, who was a senior at the time, was called to the office when he refused to allow school officials to search his backpack after reports that he had a gun.
Clark and Elmore shot each other during the scuffle, according to court documents. The assistant principal was hit by bullets “most likely” shot by Clark during the confrontation, investigators said.
“A homeowner encountered a male attempting to gain access into his residence. The homeowner gave multiple warnings advising the male to stop. The male continued to enter the residence, broke through his screen door, the front entrance, where he gained entrance into the residence. The homeowner then shot him multiple times," Missoula Police Department spokeswoman Whitney Bennett told MTN News.
On May 20, 2022, the defendant, Jared Michael Harrison, was pulled over by the Lawton Policed department for an alleged traffic violation. The officer smelled marijuana. Officers searched the car and found some marijuana and a pistol. Harrison was on bond from Texas, and was wearing an ankle monitor.
Harrison was arrested and is awaiting trial. There are pending state charges. On August 17, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an indictment for possessing a firearm with knowledge he was an unlawful user of marijuana, in violation of Statute 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).
Harrison argued, among other things, the charge violated the Second Amendment under the Supreme Court Bruen decision. The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Judge Patrick R. Wyrick presiding, heard the case. The court is in the jurisdiction of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Court found the prohibition on the possession of firearms, as an unlawful user of marijuana, was unconstitutional, because there is no historical tradition of removing the right to keep and bear arms from people who use intoxicating substances. Here is a summation of the Court order. From the order, p. 1:
Before the Court is Defendant Jared Michael Harrison’s Motion to Dismiss the Indictment (Dkt. 17), which argues that the statute he is charged with violating, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), is unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Due Process Clause, and unconstitutionally infringes upon his fundamental right to possess a firearm, in violation of the Second Amendment. For the reasons given below, the motion is GRANTED.
Here is the exact wording of the statute in question. From Law.cornell.edu, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3):
(g) It shall be unlawful for any person—
(3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
The court noted the ban on possession is fairly recent, and was not enacted until 1986. From the opinion p. 5:
Section 922(g)(3) does not have deep roots; it wasn’t enacted by Congress until the Gun Control Act of 1968. The statute initially prohibited any individual who was “an unlawful user of or addicted to marihuana or any depressant or stimulant drug . . . or narcotic drug” from receiving a firearm, but it was amended in 1986 to broadly prohibit the receipt or possession of a firearm by any person who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)).” In its modern form, § 922(g)(3) thus strips a person of their fundamental right to possess a firearm the instant the person becomes an “unlawful user” of marijuana. And in the United States’ view, all users of marijuana are “unlawful users.”
Without a historical tradition of infringing on rights protected by the Second Amendment of those who use intoxicating substances, the statute is unconstitutional. From the order; p. 7
The question here is thus whether stripping someone of their right to possess a firearm solely because they use marijuana is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. If it is not, then § 922(g)(3) cannot be constitutionally applied to Harrison—no matter the reasonableness of the policy it embodies.
The court goes on to show, while there were occasional laws prohibiting possession or use of firearms while intoxicated, there were no laws prohibiting possession of firearms merely because the possessor used intoxicating substances. The previous laws, which were not common, only prohibited carry or use in very narrow circumstances, sometimes only on very narrow dates, such as December 31 to January 3rd.
In short, there is no historical tradition of banning the right to keep and bear arms, simply because a person uses intoxicating substances. The conclusion of the court is clear. From the order:
Because the Court concludes that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) violates Harrison’s Second Amendment right to possess a firearm, the Court declines to reach Harrison’s vagueness claim. The Motion to Dismiss the Indictment is GRANTED. Accordingly, the Indictment is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 3rd day of February 2023.
The court noted the late provenance of the ban, which did not occur until 1986. This shows how the slippery slope works in practice. There was no such ban in 1938, when the first list of federal prohibited providers was created. The "users or addicted to" group was added in 1968. It only applied to receiving firearms, not to possessing them. Finally, the group was significantly enlarged in 1986, and the prohibition enlarged to include mere possession.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
A 32-year-old Hispanic man was shot while attempting to rob a convenience store in northeast El Paso Monday, according to El Paso police sergeant Robert Gomez.
The shooting took place at the DK convenience store at 5201 Fairbanks Drive around 12:28 p.m.
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - WDBJ7 has learned new details about a shooting over the weekend at a Food Lion in Northwest Roanoke. Roanoke City’s commonwealth’s attorney told WDBJ7 the suspect was released because there is a substantial argument for self defense.
Saturday night, there was a disagreement at the store on Peters Creek Road. Investigators say one man threw a punch at another man, who then took out his gun and shot several times.
Image courtesy of Rock Island Aucitons
In the research done by this correspondent and colleagues, much credit must be given to those who sent in detailed information about bear attacks and pistol defenses.
As incidents of defense against bears with pistols mounted, some did not have enough information to be considered documented. One of those was mentioned by Warden Louis Kis in "More Alaskan Bear Tales" by Larry Kaniut on page 276. In previous articles it was mentioned as an incident requiring more information. Reader were asked to provide information. The information was presented thus:
1. Early 1960s, North Fork of the the Flathead river in Montana, .22 H&R 9 shot revolver, grizzly bear.
The worker approached a bear in a black bear snare. The bear charged the worker, who shot it with the .22 revolver. The bear died, but it took some time to do so, as told by game warden Louis Kis. p. 276, More Bear Tales
There was no name of a person who did the shooting, no date, no specific location.
The request for more specific information has been answered.
Allen Schallenberger is a long time Montana resident. He was a helper of Chuck Jonkel in 1963. Jonkel had killed the grizzly bear the previous year, in 1962. Chuck told Allen about the incident and allowed Allen to shoot the H&R revolver he had used to kill the grizzly. The incident was well known in Montana Fish & Game, which is how Lois Kis heard about it decades later.
"It is not surprising that Kis got most of the story correct, but did not have all the details, and got one or two things wrong. Allen continued with Fish & Game and did significant grizzly bear research in Montana. Here are excerpts from the letter by Allen Schallenberger:
I assisted on black bear research trapping with Chuck Jonkel, MT Fish and Game Dept. for most of June 1963 on the head of Big Creek and other smaller drainages such as Hallowat Creek and Skookolleel Creek, all north of Whitefish on the North Fork of Flathead River. Chuck and his wife and small son James lived in Whitefish. I believe the Aldrich snare Louis Kis talked about was incorrect. It was used later in Montana. I used it on grizzly bear research in the 1970’s. We were using steel, double spring bear traps with an approximate 3/4 inch gap in the jaws in 1963. They were fastened to a double hook drag with approximately 6 feet of log chain. We lived in a 16 FG camp trailer which a grizzly bear had tried to enter by ripping all the aluminum siding off one side. He did not make it through the plywood. I stayed there alone whenever Chuck went home to Whitefish. We ran the trap line with an FG Jeep Wagoneer.
The incident with the grizzly bear happened in the 1962 spring trapping season. Another worker was helping Chuck then. I met the guy once but have forgotten his name. A 500-pound male grizzly bear was caught in the steel jawed trap and took it and the tangled up drag about two miles where the bear hid in an aspen patch. Chuck and his helper tracked the grizzly on foot. The helper was armed with a 12 gauge shotgun and all Chuck had was his nine shot Harrington and Richardson Model 939, double action, .22 revolver in a holster on his belt.The grizzly charged and Chuck stood still waiting for his helper to shoot. He looked around and the helper was running off with the shotgun. Chuck turned to run and tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. The 500-pound male grizzly ran up to Chuck and stood up on his hind legs over him with the trap on a front paw. Chuck pulled out his .22 revolver and fired all nine shots in it. Some missed, some glanced off the grizzly’s skull and one went into an eye socket, killing the bear. I shot that .22 when working for Chuck in 1963. It was first manufactured in 1958.
Allen Schallenberger believes the bear trap was probably a Newhouse Number 150. Such traps with chain and drag are reported to be about 21 and a half pounds. The traps used in the research did not have teeth, and had a 3/4 inch gap between the jaws. Allen says they did not do much damage to the bears.
Over 20 lbs of steel on a bears paw would be a fearsome weapon, even if used unintentionally.
It is entirely believable a .22 Long Rifle slug could be fired into a big bear's brain, killing it. The most famous case was Bella Twin killing a world record grizzly with a single shot .22 rifle in 1953. She is reported to have used .22 long cartridges.
Now we know Chuck Jonkel killed a 500 lb grizzly boar, with a .22 pistol, in self defense, on Big Creek on the North Fork of Flathead River, in the spring of 1962.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Multiple people called 911 around 2:30 p.m. to report a man was acting erratically at the dog park at 1399 S. 48th Ave., according to a Yakima Police Department news release.
The man, later identified as Daniel Ortega, 22, of Yakima, was interacting with another man and his child at the park, and "attempted to endanger the life of the small child with his words and actions," the police news release said.
The father told Ortega to leave his family alone, and attempted to leave the park, the release said. When his attempts to de-escalate the incident failed, the 28-year-old Yakima man "discharged his legally owned firearm in defense of himself and his child," the release said.
BILLINGS - A Billings woman shot two men who attacked her outside her residence.
Billings police said Monday the 25-year-old woman shot the two men, ages 29 and 37, in an apparent case of self-defense.
"As far as the victim using a firearm for self-defense the law is pretty clear on people’s right to use self-defense when they can articulate a threat to themselves or others," police Lt. Matt Lennick said in a statement about the incident to Q2. "Like all cases of this nature the case will be reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office and they could bring fourth criminal charges against the shooter if they deemed the threat didn’t meet the level of force used."
At the SHOT Show, Browning ammunition has introduced a subsonic, 45 grain, suppressor optimized .22 Long Rifle load for pistols. It uses the heavy, 45 grain bullet to increase energy from a pistol at subsonic velocities. It is loaded to reliably stay subsonic from pistols. If fired in rifle length barrels, it may reach supersonic velocities, with the resultant sonic barrier snap produced by bullets exceding the speed of sound.
Browning ammunition is produced by Winchester, which does the research, testing, marketing, and production, branded with the Browning name.
This is the first introduction, of which the author is aware, of .22 Long Rifle rimfire being produced for optimum subsonic energy from pistols. It is optimized for suppressor use, with black copper plated bullets to reduce fouling. According to this correspondent's calculations, a 45 grain bullet at 1060 feet per second, produces a bit more than 111 foot-pounds of energy. That is about 9% more energy than a CCI standard velocity 40 grain bullet produces at the muzzle of a .22 rifle. On the boxes produced for the SHOT Show, the graphic designers mistakenly placed an energy number of 100 foot-pounds. The error will be corrected before the new ammunition is shipped out.
The energy level and bullet weight makes the cartridge an interesting contender as a self defense cartridge for .22 pistols. In this correspondent's opinion, what is wanted in a .22 for self defense, is penetration. The 45 grain bullet is 12.5% heavier than the standard 40 grain bullet. It is not a hollow point, so it should penetrate about 12.5% more than the 40 grain bullet, at the same velocity. Theory needs to be tested to validate the concept, of course.
Optimizing the round for suppressed pistols may mean the powder burns a little faster. This would help suppressors reduce the sound signature a bit. The concept behind the cartridge is sound, pun intended.
This correspondent looks forward to testing some of the ammunition, once it becomes available. A conversation with Jimmy Wilson, Winchester Product Manager, indicated it could reach dealers in early summer.
Winchester produces a similar product for rifles. It is a suppressor optimized .22 Long Rifle, 45 gr black copper plated, bullet, rated at 1060 fps from rifle barrels. The one box this correspondent obtained last year appeared promising, but no more has been seen. The product manager said they only do about one production run a year, and another is expected this spring.
Suppressors are becoming more and more common in the United States, in spite of the heavy regulation and extreme taxes on these safety devices. The last data from the ATF, over two years old, showed about 2.5 million legal suppressors in the USA. There could easily be more than 3 million now. Once you have used a suppressed .22, the utility of these devices becomes obvious. They are excellent training devices for new shooters, and help preserve hearing throughout a lifetime.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
When they arrived, they found a 44-year-old Salina man with a Glock handgun standing outside his residence. The man told police that he had been in his residence, into which he had moved approximately a week before, when another man entered the residence through a basement door.
The intruder was described as being skinny with long hair and wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. The resident told police the intruder was holding something in his hand, which he thought could either be a weapon or a flashlight.
The resident fired a total of three shots inside his home to scare off the intruder, who did flee the scene, Forrester said. Police do not believe that the intruder was shot.
In Ada, Oklahoma, about 9 p.m. on December 31, a few hours before the new year, Jassmone Ashton was minding his own business outside the Sunset Market Valero gas/convenience establishment. Jassmone had very important business to watch: protecting his life. He had filed a protective order against Denavarie Brooks in 2021. Jassmone is 35 years old. Denavarie Brooks was 37 years old. It is not clear what the issues between them were.
According to police, who did a 10 day investigation, and intensely examined surveillance video, Jassmone was pumping gas at the Valero store before the shooting. From the prosecutor, District Attorney Erik Johnson:
"It's obvious by watching the video that Denavarie Brooks came into that gas station. He had passed Jasmonne and witnessed him at the gas pumps and then pulled back around, pulled in aggressively in an aggressive manner, came up, and approached Jasmine from behind," Johnson said.
On January 12, 2023, District Attorney for District 22, Erick Johnson, stated he will not file any charges against Jassmone Samuelle Ashton. From theadanews.com:
Johnson indicated he believes it was a matter of self-defense and made his determination after spending the past 10 days reviewing all the evidence available, which included watching video footage of the shooting dozens of times.
“I don’t make these decisions in a vacuum,” Johnson said, “ultimately, this is my decision, no one else’s. No one else has this responsibility to make this decision. (However), I have very talented and experienced investigators in my office, I have the benefit of having a professional police department assist me in making this determination, and I’ve got experienced prosecutors who also reviewed all this evidence, and we all came to the same conclusion. So, it was my call and my call alone, but I believe it was the right call.”
In Oklahoma, as in many states, a person who is legally in a public place, is not required to flee from an attacker. However, in this case the prosecutor believed Ashton did not really have a choice, because of the speed of Brooks approach.
The prosecutor stated, during the investigation, they discovered other people who had been threatened by, and had altercations will, Denavarie Brooks. There was a history of Brooks having violent altercations with Jassmone Ashton as well, which was the reason for the restraining order in 2021.
At the gun violence archive, the categorization of the shooting has not been changed as of this writing. From the gunviolencearchive.org: the shooting is listed as "Shot - Dead (Murder, accidental, suicide). There does not appear to be a "justified" block in this incident.
Opinion:
The "woke" narrative is a black man, who defends themself with a firearm, will be either immediately executed by police, or locked up without any serious investigation.
This case shows an intensive investigation, due dilligence, and a decision by the prosecutor not to charge the man who defended himself.
Oklahoma is a "constitutional carry" state, where no permit is required to carry a firearm, openly or concealed. The firearm was in the victim's vehicle. The surveillance video showed the whole incident.
How many people have been sent to prison, simply because the laws in their state infringed on the rights protected by the Second Amendment, to keep and bear arms for their defense?
Treating self defense cases with respect for the law and the facts builds trust in the justice system.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - A homeowner allegedly shot a man who is accused of unlawfully entering his house and threatening his fiancé.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Smith County deputies were dispatched to the 15,000 block of Treasure Cove near Bullard in reference to a suspicious person, according to a release from Smith County Sgt. Larry Christian. While en route to the location, deputies were informed that a white male had entered a residence unlawfully and confronted the homeowners, insisting that the homeowner’s truck belonged to him, Christian said. The homeowner reportedly forcefully removed the intruder from his residence and was able to lock the door.
A Florida homeowner will “absolutely not” face charges after firing an “AK-47-style gun” at suspected home invaders, a local sheriff said.
“He started shooting for his own protection, to get them out of his house and to protect himself,” Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said of the recent shooting in a video address posted to the office’s official Facebook page.
Simmons said three men, including one armed with a gun, entered a
home in Escambia County just ahead of midnight on July 7. The homeowner
was present when the three men entered the house and pulled out a
handgun from his waistband, but dropped the firearm.
Taurus has shown a compact version of its popular TX22 pistol at the 2023 Shot Show in Las Vegas. The pistol is .34 inches shorter with a half inch shorter barrel, at 3.6 inches compared to the standard version, which has a 4.1 in barrel, or the TX22 competition, with a 5.25 inch barrel.
The compact version is 6.7 inches in length, and 4.9 inches tall, with a slightly reduced magazine capacity of 13 rounds instead of 16 rounds. It is .54 inches shorter from top to bottom of the grip, compared to the original TX22.
The Taurus web site says it has a barrel twist rate is 1 in 10, instead of the more common 1 in 16. Consultation with Taurus representatives at the SHOT Show confirm this is not a typo. The rate of twist was deliberately changed to increase the back pressure to make function of the pistol more reliable. An ancillary purpose is to increase the stability of heavier bullets. In this correspondent's estimation, a 1 in 10 twist should stabilize the 60 grain bullets made by Aguila. Those cartridges are made to be quiet, and the heavy bullet for caliber should penetrate well.
The weight has been reduced to 16.5 ounces from 17.3. The compact version fit my hand well. The slide has lightening cuts in it, presumably to accommodate the weight of the optic. An option to bundle a Riton optic with the pistol is said to be available, for an extra $70 for the compact version. It seems a pretty good discount from purchasing the optic separately. The Riton optic appeaas to be the 3 Tactix MPRD2. Small optics on pistols are an excellent option for those with aging eyes. The optics take a little getting used to, but can deliver fast and accurate shots on target.
The compact TX22 at the SHOT Show had a HOLOSUN optic mounted. It does not appear to be a factory option.
The version this correspondent handled at the SHOT show had the excellent trigger of the original TX22, and the same manual safety, which is ambidextrous, positive, and easy to use. The safety allows the pistol to be unloaded with the safety on, a nice feature.
10 round magazines are available for those areas who still have restrictions on magazine capacity. Those include other countries as well as states which insist on court challenges. The magazine restrictions are likely to be resolved in the courts in the next year or two, in the United States. 16 round magazines fit the compact pistol. The user needs to be careful. Do not forcefully slam the 16 round magazine into the compact version. It can damage the magazine and/ or the pistol.
A representative at the Taurus booth indicated some of the market is anticipated to be concealed carriers who are recoil sensitive, or who choose to carry a .22 for whatever reason. In the vast majority of defensive situations, having a gun is far more important than caliber. Most situations are resolved without a shot being fired.
The compact version of the TX22 has a Manufacture Suggested Retail Price of $399, $50 more than the original TX22. It comes with two 13 round magazines, or two 10 round magazines. Versions without a manual safety or a threaded barrel are available as well.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
One suspect in an attempted armed robbery in East Hartford is dead after a store owner who was shot during the ordeal shot back, according to police.
Police said two people wearing black ski masks went into Humble & Paid Co. at 1285 Main St. just after 10:30 p.m. Thursday, intending to rob the business.
The store owner struggled with one of the suspects, who pulled out a firearm and the suspect shot the owner in the back, police said.
The owner returned fire with two of his legally registered firearms, striking one of the suspects several times, according to police.
Liquor World on Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas.
On January 16, Monday, after coming back from the industry day at the range, prior to the opening of the SHOT Show on Tuesday, this correspondent was outside in Las Vegas, on Tropicana Avenue, in front of Liquor World, taking a few pictures. The weather was cool, but not cold. It was overcast, without raining. A young black man drove up in a late model sporty car, parked, got out, and entered the store with an openly carried pistol stuck in his waistband.
As a writer for AmmoLand, this correspondent knew he had to take action. This correspondent formulated a hasty plan.
As the young black man exited the store, this correspondent approached him and said:
"I am a writer covering the SHOT Show. May I take a picture of your open carry pistol?"
The young man looked me up and down. Approaching a complete stranger in front of a liquor store is a mildly risky proposition. He answered:
"Who do you write for?"
"AmmoLand" was the reply.
I elaborated: I do not need to include your face, or any identification. I simply want to document the open carry here in Las Vegas. He obviously had places to go and people to meet. After he agreed, I quickly took a couple of shots. We briefly chatted.
He stated he was glad they made open carry legal, and wished they would do it everywhere.
I told him I frequently open carried in Arizona. It was common there.
It was not the time or place to critique his holster or offer expert advice. A holster clipped to the inside of the waistband of sweatpants is not a practice I would normally recommend. Offering intimate advice about the carry of weapons is not something this correspondent is willing to do with chance encounters in front of liquor stores.
The young man may have had good and sufficient reason to pop the holstered pistol inside the waistband of sweatpants, with only a small cord for a belt. The trip to the liquor store might have been to meet the urgent request of a wife or girlfriend, or another reason which required quick action.
The above paragraph is speculation.
Factually, a young black man in a very nice car (late model Mustang) felt no inhibitions to openly carry what appears to be a Smith & Wesson SD series into a liquor store on Tropicana Avenue. No one complained, or even seemed to notice, except for this correspondent.
My new brother in the Gun Culture turned onto Tropicana and expertly merged into the far left lane to turn north on Koval.
Opinion:
The normalization of armed Americans continues. Some might claim a young black man in a lovely, late model car, entering a liquor store with a pistol tucked into his waistband, would be reason for alarm. It was not for this correspondent, nor did it appear to be for anyone in the vicinity. Criminals almost never openly carry arms, for obvious reasons. They have a "mens rea" to use the legal term, or "guilty mind". The Bible has much sound advice. From Proverbs: the wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Detectives said they learned that Doug Crowder, 59, of Montgomery, entered his son’s home at about 9:30 a.m. and approached his son in a “threatening manner.”
Police said the son took out a gun and shot toward Crowder. He was struck once in the chest.
Back pasture. Wooded area in the red circle is where the coyotes were shot.
A decade or more ago, a middle aged couple in Washington State settled in on some acreage near the Hood Canal. They started raising chickens and sheep. All was going well, but coyotes started showing up, killing and eating their livestock. There was a wash/intermittent stream/ravine at the back of one of their pastures. It was a coyote highway through the area.
As the problem got worse, they obtained a McNab dog. He was very effective at chasing off coyotes. The population of coyotes kept growing. There was a nearby marina, where the coyotes were able to obtain food. More housing was moving into nearby suburbs. The coyotes had access to lots of pets (cats and small dogs) for food. The numbers of coyotes became overwhelming for their dog to defend against.
The coyotes were taking an average of a chicken or two a week. You do not want to lose a laying hen, just when she starts to produce. The final straw was reached when the husband witnessed a pack of coyotes pull down and kill one of their oldest producing ewes. Call him Grant. Grant's wife told him that was enough. She said: Do what you have to do to protect our livestock. The coyotes had become so numerous, they would see them every day. They would hear numerous coyotes yipping and howling at night. Grant did not have experience as a hunter. He was and is a shooter and a thinker.
Grant formulated a plan. It was well executed.
There was a hog slaughterhouse not too far from their acreage. Grant obtained a hog's head. He securely attached it to a steel cable. It was tied above the ground, in the wash at the back of the acreage, so coyotes would have to jump, and make noise, to reach it. He could see the area from his porch.
On about 16 September in 2019, Grant was working at home, on a Friday. The pig head had been hanging for four days. Grant heard them yipping a bit before noon. Coyotes were at his bait. Grant grabbed his AR15 type .300 blackout pistol. It had a 7.5" barrel with a brace, and was equipped with a Yankee Hill Machine suppressor. The .300 was loaded with supersonic 125 grain ammunition. The coyotes were about 100 yds out. They were not cautious. Grant said they were nearly as unconcerned as feral dogs.
Grant stepped out through a sliding glass door, onto his porch. He took up a position on the back porch, using the post rail of the porch as a support.
There were three bigger coyotes and two smaller ones. The bigger ones were jumping up and trying to rip the flesh off the pig head. He caught the biggest coyote in his Romeo5 red dot, and fired. As the first coyote dropped, Grant put the sight on the second biggest and fired. Down it went. As the second dropped, the third of the large coyotes took a moment to look at them. With the third shot, the third coyote dropped and the two smaller coyotes were out of sight and gone. The sequence of three shots took less than three seconds.
Grant immediately retrieved the carcasses. He covered the blood spoor with lime, and covered the lime with soil.
With this early success, Grant's two grandsons volunteered to help stop the coyote threat. The grandsons were about 28 and 30, named Garrett and Chris. They had AR15 type rifles in .223/5.56 caliber, without suppressors. One was equipped with a Holosun red dot, the other with a Vortex red/green dot.
The three men installed a battery operated, motion detector activated, light at the bait. They put up a Cabela's trail camera as well. They were gathering intelligence about the coyote's schedule and habits. The coyotes came back at about 2 a.m. two days later.
There were at least four of them. The light and camera caught their presence. No one was standing guard. The grandsons volunteered to stand shifts to watch at night.
The following night, Tuesday, the coyotes did not show up at 2 a.m. They showed up at 4 a.m. Garret was standing watch with his AR15 type rifle. The rifle had a 16 inch barrel, chambered in 5.56, equipped with the optical sight. He shot two coyotes before the others took flight. One coyote came back. Garret shot his third predator.
Two days later, the pig head was getting very ripe. The three men were working on fencing at about 10 a.m. when they heard coyotes. Garret and Chris grabbed their rifles. Garret ran to the back porch where Grant had shot previously. Chris went to the edge of the barn, where, crouching down, he could see into the area from another angle. There were about seven coyotes. Chris got two and Garret got two. They retrieved the bodies, and performed the same drill with lime and soil over the blood. The distance was about a hundred yards. These coyotes were mid-sized to smaller.
A few days later, the light went on about 1 a.m. Grant got a lucky shot with the .300 and took out the eleventh coyote. It was the last coyote they shot. The bait was much decayed by this time.
There were no more stock taken by coyotes for over a year and a half.
Due to tragic circumstances outside the families control, they sold and moved to another location.
Predators have always been a bane of man's struggle to survive and gather or grow food. They are direct competitors for many of the resources man desires and lives from. Larger predators are direct threats to man and his children.
Opinion:
Throughout history, there are many examples of people claiming the circumstances they have not lived, are much better than the circumstances they are living in. It is a form of "the grass is greener". Today, those who know little of, or who have become captivated by, the idea of a "nature" they experience through the lens of advanced technology, often declare nature to be far more virtuous than civilized and/or technological, society.
"Ecological" and or "Back to nature" promoters are seldom willing to give up the advantages of technology for themselves. Researchers helicopter in for days or weeks, eating processed foods and warmed in advance tech clothing, enjoying the benefits of advanced medicine, and leaving. Tourists visit, photograph, and leave. Many satisfy the desire to validate their preformed viewpoints.
Those who do not have to live with predators have a much higher opinion of predators than those who constantly need to guard against predations.
It is a modern myth that pre-literary tribes loved big predators. They respected them, their danger and their power. They did not want lots of them around them and their children.
Modern technology has increased man's power to control animal populations, especially large predators. The idea of a "balance" in nature is a myth. Predators and prey seldom live in balance of near-static proportions. Instead, predator and prey populations tend to climax and crash. Man, with modern methods of game management, can moderate those cycles, to the benefit of man and animal populations alike.
Predators will increase their populations until they run out of food or until another predator or disease keeps their population in check. Man is the most humane manager of animal populations, far more humane than starvation or disease.
Predator populations, in the modern era, become a threat to humans and their property only because humans who do not live with the predators restrict other humans ability to control the predator populations they are forced to live with.
Predator populations can be controlled to the level where they exist in areas set aside for wildlife (and the enjoyment of humans), without undue threats to humans and their property. The obstacle to management is the mythology such management is "unnatural", "evil" or "speciest". Hunters have a level of confidence, skill, and independence many of those in power see as a hindrance to their ability to control society. Hence, hunters are denigrated.
Animal populations do not control themselves. Management of the natural world can be accomplished by man, if man takes up his responsibility to do so.
Man must acknowledge his dominance over animals. To do otherwise is to deny reality.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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