Can I shoot a Buffalo

[denowt]

Like I said denowt, where I hunt in the hill country where we see a lot of exotics and have seen buffalo down the road behind a mediocre low fence- I wouldn't hesitate to shoot. Every situation is different and the OP made the right call for his particular situation.

Yes, the OP made the right call by not shooting his neighbor's livestock.

Would you shoot a brahma bull at your feeder?
I've got some down the road from me behind a mediocre low fence.

[Firecuss]

The Decision

You got that Angel on one shoulder and that Devil on the other. What to do?

[denowt]

Im glad that several of the guys making comments on here arent on my lease,LOL dang you guys will shoot anything!!

I'm glad none of them hunt near any of my places with cattle on them.
Bulls do tear up fences from time to time and get out.
Creeks flood and wipeout water gaps when it rains, sometimes cows get out before it can be repaired.

I'd hate to have to go through the trouble of filing charges on someone for shooting the cattle, and then having to replace the dead cattle and wait for the new ones to start producing calves.

It amazes me that there are some who admit they would still shoot it, knowing it was illegal.
Hopefully some were posting in jest, but something tells me, most were not.
That lack of ethics/morals disturbs me on this site.

They would be willing to pay the restitution in order to keep the meat and the trophy.
Do people really think that they would get to keep the meat, or any part, from the bison?
Uh, duh, if you poach an animal, it gets confiscated, and you still have to pay fines/restitution.

[JW]

I'm glad none of them hunt near any of my places with cattle on them.

Bulls do tear up fences from time to time and get out.

Creeks flood and wipeout water gaps when it rains, sometimes cows get out before it can be repaired.



I'd hate to have to go through the trouble of filing charges on someone for shooting the cattle, and then having to replace the dead cattle and wait for the new ones to start producing calves.



It amazes me that there are some who admit they would still shoot it, knowing it was illegal.

Hopefully some were posting in jest, but something tells me, most were not.

That lack of ethics/morals disturbs me on this site.



They would be willing to pay the restitution in order to keep the meat and the trophy.

Do people really think that they would get to keep the meat, or any part, from the bison?

Uh, duh, if you poach an animal, it gets confiscated, and you still have to pay fines/restitution.

Their feeder that sits on your land trumps your cattle.

[Larry]

Their feeder that sits on your land trumps your cattle.

So true. I mean, what the heck am I paying to lease this place for anyhow?! Freakin' greedy landowners holding the huntin' man down. KAL! No wait, KAB!

[denowt]

Their feeder that sits on your land trumps your cattle.

I don't want to argue, but no, a $400 feeder does not trump a $2-3000 cow, or a $2-5000 bull.
I don't lease out to hunters on my land, but if I did, my cattle would trump any of the hunter's property. They accepted the risks of hunting on land with cattle when they signed the lease and/or paid me money.
The easiest and quickest way to get kicked off of a lease is to mess with the landowner's cattle. Except in south Texas, those cows are making a lot more money than the hunters.

In this case though, the bison came from a different property than the one the OP is hunting on.
The bison owner would be liable for the OP's feeder and any other damage that it caused while trespassing.
That still does not justify shooting it.

If the OP would've shot the bison, he would've had to pay restitution for the replacement cost, and any future earnings that it would've provided such as offspring, minus the cost of the damaged feeder.
It is not unreasonable to predict that he would've ended up paying $2000 or more when it was all said and done.
He would have gotten to keep his empty rifle shell as his trophy, since the animal and all parts of it would be confiscated and returned to the owner.
It is possible that his rifle could be confiscated as well, since he basically poached this animal.

[Kurdawg]

So did owner ever come get it? Did he tear up more stuff?

[Patton]

Yes, the OP made the right call by not shooting his neighbor's livestock.

Would you shoot a brahma bull at your feeder?
I've got some down the road from me behind a mediocre low fence.

No I wouldn't shoot a brahma. Like I said every situation is different and where I hunt in the hill country we own the land, know all the neighbors, and have tons of exotic species- all low fence. In that situation, yeah I'm shooting the buffalo. Again, OP made the right call for his situation. Have a good Sunday.

[denowt]

No I wouldn't shoot a brahma. Like I said every situation is different and where I hunt in the hill country we own the land, know all the neighbors, and have tons of exotic species- all low fence. In that situation, yeah I'm shooting the buffalo. Again, OP made the right call for his situation. Have a good Sunday.

Because bison are free-ranging and jump low fences all the time right?
Axis, audad, fallow, etc. are all different than a bison.
They can and do jump low fences and roam wherever they want, just the same as a whitetail deer.

A bison has to either tear through that fence, or find a hole in it such as an open water gap, fallen tree, etc., just the same as a common cow would need to do.
There are no free ranging bison on private property unless that landowner put them there.
If one shows up at your feeder, it should be common sense that somebody owns it.

Do whatever you want, it makes no difference to me either way.
I'm just trying to potentially save someone a lot of money if they were to follow the bad advice of several who posted on here to go ahead and shoot it.

[JW]

I don't want to argue, but no, a $400 feeder does not trump a $2-3000 cow, or a $2-5000 bull.

I don't lease out to hunters on my land, but if I did, my cattle would trump any of the hunter's property. They accepted the risks of hunting on land with cattle when they signed the lease and/or paid me money.

The easiest and quickest way to get kicked off of a lease is to mess with the landowner's cattle. Except in south Texas, those cows are making a lot more money than the hunters.



In this case though, the bison came from a different property than the one the OP is hunting on.

The bison owner would be liable for the OP's feeder and any other damage that it caused while trespassing.

That still does not justify shooting it.



If the OP would've shot the bison, he would've had to pay restitution for the replacement cost, and any future earnings that it would've provided such as offspring, minus the cost of the damaged feeder.

It is not unreasonable to predict that he would've ended up paying $2000 or more when it was all said and done.

He would have gotten to keep his empty rifle shell as his trophy, since the animal and all parts of it would be confiscated and returned to the owner.

It is possible that his rifle could be confiscated as well, since he basically poached this animal.

Your sarcasm meter is out of blinker fluid bud. Here...

[denowt]

Your sarcasm meter is out of blinker fluid bud. Here...

Haha, yeah you got me.
I was confused because you were complimenting the OP for doing the right thing, then you posted that without any smileys or anything.

[JW]

Haha, yeah you got me.
I was confused because you were complimenting the OP for doing the right thing, then you posted that without any smileys or anything.

Smileys are overrated. [emoji135]

[T-Placke]

Good job