Story by Tom Claycomb III

Many young hunters think they’re the inventors of varmint hunting but Texans have been pursuing predators since before the Lone Star State was settled. My great-great-grandmother moved to Texas right after the Civil War. They had to shoot marauding coons, foxes, and skunks at night that raided their hen house.  During the day they tried to pick off chicken hawks trying to take chickens when they were feeding around the ranch house.

Despite modern misconceptions of who invented varmint hunting and it is a new phenomenon, the reality is it has been going on for decades.  Even though it was a life and death situation back then, varmint control is still a big deal.  If we want to effectively manage game animals, we also have to manage their natural predator numbers too.

Left to herself, nature is a cruel taskmaster. That’s why man must manage the Earth. The problem with mankind is that occasionally our intentions swinging from one side of the pendulum to the other.

WOLVES

Decades ago wolves were eradicated from the lower-48. Now there’s a push to not only re-introduce them but to reintroduce a species that was not native in the areas where they are being introduced. There is even a push to introduce wolves into Texas.  Plus, these dog-like carnivorans are being allowed to free range.

Wolves are vicious cold-blooded killers. They don’t just kill to eat, but they do it as a form of pack entertainment.  A few years ago, wolves killed 172 sheep in one night while I was on an archery elk hunting.

At the same time this incident occurred a guy in another hunting camp was calling elk when a pack of wolves came in and circled him while he was calling. A second incident occur on the same hunt he had his kid with him.

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