***GRAPHIC IMAGES*** Dead Predator...Dead Goat.

[babsbag]

I hear my dog right now...love hearing him work. As soon as the threat is gone he will settle down and be quiet waiting for the next one. My dogs don't let the goats eat their food either. If it weren't for my dogs I would never sleep at night. I have no dogs with my chickens due to having to move chickens out of goat pen and I have lost probably a dozen chickens in the last few months from coyotes and hawks. I never had that problem when the chickens were with the goats and dogs.

 

[greybeard]

Good video. I understand the night scope, but how was the video rigged up to look down the scope? Or are there combination scope/video?

The 'scope' they are using IS the video camera. You aren't looking thru the scope like you would a regular rifle scope. You are looking 'into' the scope and seeing a digital thermal image of what the electronics of the optics displays for you to see.
The range finder data that is displayed and the crosshairs are all part of the display.

In very layman terms, these optics work the same way your phone does when you take video. You aren't looking thru the iPhone...you are looking at a display of what it's camera 'sees'. Now, imagine if your phone was small and round shaped, with crosshairs in the middle of the lens and somehow taped to a rifle..... Got it?
Add thermal capability to your phone as well as a laser dot and you have a cheap (but not very good) thermal imaging rifle 'scope'. (An iPhone would never be able to handle the recoil of the rifle for very long)

The units used in these videos can do just about anything your iPhone can with the video. Store what you shot on a mini SD card or send it directly somewhere else via wifi. There are also cable terminal ports to download the video without removing the sd card.

There are, some clip on thermal units, that clip on in front of a regular rifle scope and that provides enhanced magnification, but you are still seeing only what the thermal clip on unit displays for you to see thru the regular scope. IOW, you aren't looking 'clean thru' that setup either..

Yes, they are expensive. Probably cost more than the rifle or shotgun did. I don't have one. I do it the old fashioned way,with a good tac light and red dot laser sight mounted on the rail of a rifle and on the barrel of my shotgun.

 

[Latestarter]

yeah... basic models start around $5000 and the best run up to and over $10K. Little out of my price range

 

[greybeard]

For hog hunting, they can and do pay for themselves fairly quickly. There are, according to a reputable source on a beef cattle board (posted last week) farmers/ranchers in Coastal, West Central, and South Texas paying $20-$25 per head regardless of size. IF they were killed on that rancher's land. Kill 40 a night (not unusual) and you have $800 per night x 5 nights=$4000.
I'd make an investment like that in a skinny minute if I had a market for the dead ones.

I saw a fancy 12' diameter round hog trap in the same thread, built and sold in Beeville Tx that went for nearly $4000..included the trap, head gate with the remote trip, camera, light, batteries, etc. They pay for themselves but not as quickly, and not as much fun and a lot more work to get the live hogs to a Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) holding facility. Depending on size, they are bringing

Live wild hog buying station
November 29 at 5:06 PM ·


Price Change
60-80 .10 per lb,
81-100 .15 per lb,
101-150 .20 per lb,
151-170 .25 per lb,
171 and up .30 per lb
(no head bonus at this time)

 

[Baymule]

That is fascinating about the scope. I knew that such things existed, but have never seen a video of what they do. Thanks for the explanation, it really made sense. Talk about an expensive toy!

there are herds of hogs around here, we topped a hill one night coming home and there must have been 30-40 of them right in the road. DH's truck straddled some, if we had been in the car, it would have been damaged. We saw one bunch of them in a field one morning that showed definite Hampshire breeding with the white band in their middle.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

I'm all for predator control- especially when it comes to protecting livestock. Fox here have stayed well enough away, but coyotes are literally in the back yard. Raccoons and possums get in the trees over the chicken coop at night. If you've ever wanted to learn to skin and tan hides, don't let your predator culls go to waste!

 

[goatboy1973]

***Update: We killed 2 big coyotes, piled up their carcasses and the next day killed another and wounded another feeding on the carcasses. I hate that one was wounded, but...don't eat my goats!!!

 

[greybeard]

Now, you're cookin!

 

[Rezchamp]

I've personally seen to the removal of over 50 free roaming domestic K9 and 30(+or-)free roaming domestic feline from the land upon which I reside. "Fido" & "Chester" have proven to be well over 90% the cause of losses of my birds and stock including goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, pigeons and Guinea fowl. I've lost nary a critter to Coyote, Bear, Wolf, Cougar. Granted, my Huskys killed 25 Chickens, 3 Geese, 1 Turkey, 1 Duck, 24 Pigeons(I had 370), nary a Guinea fowl, and 17 Rabbits in 25 years.
I've lost over 100 pigeons, about 20 each of the other birds except Guinea and Turkey, and about 50 Rabbits to Mink and Weasel. Annually Fox was responsible for roughly 10 each of the barnyard birds and avian predators, mostly Owls, took about 10-15 overall. As well they've each taken a few bunnies that escaped the cages.
I've lost many $1,000.00's of(much of which were show winning) stock to "pets" of irresponsible owners.
It's been said that"Good fences make good nieghbors." Much better if those fences contained/restrained their pets.
I add that free roaming domestic K9's are also responsible for digging under, jumping/climbing over and in 2 instances breaking(chewing/clawing?) through my fencing to breed my purebred females and wounding and/or killing purebred male Husky causing me much in vet bills(medical attn, abortions,etc).
My point.....I have little problem with endemic non-domestic critters. My war is on non-endemic domestic predators.
So...ya...I can relate to your "war"

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I Wish both Rezchamp and goatboy 1973 100 percent succes in eliminating their predatory animals, i am very sorry for your losses...and I 'd be pissed also....go get em !