Okay, there’s this bull in the herd that keeps crossing my territory to get to Landlady’s meadow and the watering station, right? And we’ve had a meeting or two, nothing too dramatic. I keep my eyes open for him when I’m on foot, because to get cornered by him when he’s feeling ornery would be very bad. I’d have to shoot him, and then one or both of two bad things would happen. He’d shrug off the bullets and stomp my skinny ass flat, and/or I’d have to pay for him because this is open range country and the law is not my friend.
But yesterday morning while the boys and I were making our battery circuit, we ran into him while we were in the Jeep. He was just strolling along, taking up the whole road. And damned if he didn’t turn and try to face down the Jeep. He really did. Heh.
And I’m all…
…and keep right on driving.
He made the right choice.
Y’know, it occurred to me the other day that since they drove that herd in here I haven’t seen a single elk or mule deer, or any fresh sign. Only cattle. Stupid cattle everywhere.
I think if the bull were attacking you, there’s be some slack given re the “open range” thing. You can’t exactly carry a fence around with you. Might do some inquiry there.
In general, beef type bulls are not aggressive. They are BIG, clumsy and stupid, but not usually mean. If you don’t crowd him or frighten him, he’ll probably never offer to hurt you. He doesn’t look as if he’s looking for a fight. Do note that things might change a bit when he’s ready to breed… don’t stand between him and his current light of love if you can help it.
Dairy bulls, on the other hand, can rank right up there with Tasmanian Devils. They simply hate everything.
As for the wildlife and cattle, can’t really think of why that would be. Here we very often see herds of antelope and other wildlife mixed with herds of cattle. The antelope especially seem quite comfortable grazing among the cows.
ML, the problem is that the burden of proof would be on me. A carcass riddled with .44 caliber holes is not deniable. “I thought it had a gun” only works when you’re a cop.
And I’m not totally sure self-defense would be a useful argument in any case. Example: It has been established – there actually is a law – that if a cow and calf get trapped inside your fence and die, you are responsible for paying the owner their value. I believe the figure I was told is currently $2350. And that’s absurd. You let your property run loose, it does something stupid on my property and dies, and I owe you? If that’s really the legal “principle” at work here, I don’t trust the law to protect me.
Having said that, you’re right: The bull has never been particularly aggressive toward me personally. That doesn’t mean I trust it to be sweet and cuddly, though: It has tried to face down the Jeep twice now.
Stupid range law is right. On the plus side if you did shoot that bull look at all the meat you would have to sell… quickly. BTW kidding aside with the bull around I would start putting a 12 gauge or the AK in the jeep. I’m not sure how well the .44 would be as a stopper.
“I don’t trust the law to protect me.”
Welcome to the club. 🙂
Just kidding, I know you’ve been in that club a while.
I have a couple of bull stories. When we had that hay farm in N Wyoming we would let a neighbor run his black Angus cattle in there before (or was it after? can’t remember) we got into hay production. The fencing was old and once in a while the cows or horses would get out and run along the railroad tracks, not a good thing. Anyway one time the bull and a few cows did that. I ran out there and got in front of him and just stopped there. He stopped and looked at me for a bit, then decided to turn around and go back in. I was trying to figure out the ratio of our weights. He was a big one.
My uncle once was gored or trampled by a dairy bull, Holstein I think. My aunt didn’t care for that bull and this put her over the edge so she ran in the house, got a gun and ran out and killed him. Whatever damage the bull did to my uncle was just added to the collection of injuries he had from running a dairy farm.
Good grief… All I can say is that AZ has seriously more messed up “laws” than WY, at least for that. A while back a few head of buffalo got through a fence – just walked through it – and the owners of the animals tried to sue the fence owners for the one that got hurt and had to be put down. They fought it in court and the guy with the buffalo lost, including being required to fix the fence. But then, buffalo are not real popular here and cows pretty much are, so who knows?
I’d still do some checking if I were you, as well as talk to the people who own the bull. Might ask him what he suggests you do about the problem. No guarantees, of course, but it can’t hurt. 🙂
Mama Liberty – That was what I was thinking, both on the phone and in writing, let them know they have an aggressive bull and you will be compelled to protect yourself and the dogs. Videos of him charging the jeep with date stamps, wouldn’t hurt either.
Oh! And keep posting about it, cause it is documentation of the problem. Plus, we like to read about the trials and tribulations of being a hermit! ; >)
Cattle are not bulletproof ‘bullet sponges’ like the famed African Cape Buffalo. In slaughter houses, a .22lr is often used to kill them. I killed a cow that required being put down (dislocated hip) with a .30 carbine with zero problem – went through both sides of skull with no difficulty. Your AK or even your .44 Special would do it with no problem.
I hate hunting with cattle sharing that same pasture. I would be still hunting and come upon a herd of cows grazing. I would slowly try to move around them and the stupid cows would stampede (run Forrest RUN!) in the direction I was trying to hunt and scare everything off. I’ll bet that is why cow was chosen as a favored food in historical times – spoil my hunt – okay – welcome to the menu !
Yes, even a .22lr will quite likely do the job if you get a shot into the eye or the side of the skull. A bull charging at you, however, would present the seriously thick bone just above their eyes and between the ears, which would probably deflect or slow a lot of rounds. Depends on how thick that bone is, and how much power is behind the bullet. Those of us who live surrounded by cattle and predator wildlife like to bet on larger, more powerful ammunition, usually. As always, shot placement is a big part of the picture, and the bull might not give you more than one or two chances to get it right…
I spent twenty years as a dairy herdsman and while I managed the herds it was strictly AI. Two of the farmers I worked for had put beef bulls (one was an angus and the other a highland) in with the cows while they were short handed to keep the cows bred. Both of these were mean and dangerous and both went on a truck as soon as there was someone to pay attention to cows in heat. Don’t ever trust a bull.
The 44 should do a bull just fine but if you put one down follow it up. One time I dropped a cow I bought for meat with the 38 special. (6 inch shot) She dropped right down but came back up before I got a knife in her. I must have got the angle wrong on the first shot.
Indeed, Howard! As with any other dangerous critter, I’ll do my darnedest to stay out of range as much as possible. I am well aware of how fast a person can cover 20 feet… and a bull (or a bear) can get there even faster!
Yes, the “mean” factor between dairy and beef bulls is only relative. It’s plain dumb to trust any animal, really, especially those that outweigh one substantially. Funny thing… I worked with a lot of horses over the years besides cattle, and I got hurt more by the smaller stock, especially ponies. It is easy to underestimate their strength and ability to do you serious harm, even if they are not actually “mean.” They are big, strong, heavy and relatively stupid… Bad combination that requires serious situational awareness.
ML and/or howard: City slicker question: how does one tell the difference ‘twixt a dairy bull and a beef bull? Other than whether or not it is trying to kill you, I mean.
The dairy bull, Robert, usually has some milk on its schlong.
}:-]
Joel if you are comfortable with just the .44 good luck just remember to use solids. You want to break bones or traverse the skull. And now for your viewing enjoyment…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmEHZvqAHF4
Bulls do what bulls do – what kind of wimpy steaks do you want to wind up eating. Maybe we should jack that stud up on ritalin – sounds downright anti-authoritarian to me! There are certain risks you accept when you get into the country and off the beaten track. (and I wouldn’t have it any other way) Joel seems pretty capable of defending himself unless the bull gets the drop on him.
Getting evil and defiant looks from a bull – that’s just what some do. The best outcome is a non-event – and unless you press that animal that’s most likely what you’ll get.
Now try loading that thing into a trailer without a chute and we’ll talk about fun!
Robert, for a city person it doesn’t matter which kind the bull might be. You simply want to avoid any sort of confrontation with bulls… which would seem fairly easy to do in a city. LOL
And yes, PNO… I have little doubt that Joel is quite able to do what is necessary. He’s just too modest. 🙂